Legendary label Relentless Records marks 25th anniversary with history-spanning limited-edition vinyl boxset 'Relentless 25' 02 Dec 2024
EXCLUSIVE MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY BOXSET FEATURES RARE REMIXES, GENRE-DEFINING TRACKS, AND NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN ARCHIVE IMAGES FEATURING SO SOLID CREW, ROLL DEEP, LETHAL BIZZLE, HEADIE ONE, NOT3S, JOSS STONE, TOM WALKER, BAD BOY CHILLER CREW AND MANY MORE
INCLUDING VISUALS BY ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHER EWEN SPENCER AND ORIGINAL VIRGIL ABLOH LOUIS VUITTON SKETCHES
“For 25 years Shabs Jobanputra has blazed a trail with Relentless Records and his risk-taking approach has led to a treasure trove of hits… and a business that would change the face of British music. The trailblazing Relentless Records spearheaded the explosion of UK garage and put Black British music firmly on the map, generating in excess of 30 billion streams along the way.” MUSIC WEEK
UK’s legendary label Relentless Records is marking its 25th anniversary with Relentless 25, a limited-edition vinyl boxset that’s a fitting tribute to a quarter-century of shaping British music culture.
Out today, Relentless 25 curates the label’s journey and impact, celebrating genre-defining UK Garage, Grime, and Drill tracks from Artful Dodger, So Solid Crew, Roll Deep, Lethal Bizzle and Headie One along with iconic releases that helped artists like Craig David, Joss Stone, Tom Walker, Daniel Bedingfield, KT Tunstall, Not3s, Jay Sean, Professor Green, Cage The Elephant and Bad Boy Chiller Crew break into the mainstream.
The Relentless 25 boxset is an exclusive 10-disc exploration of the label’s influence across genres, filled with fan favourites, rare remixes, and never-before-seen exclusive archive content. From Artful Dodger’s era-defining UK Garage hit “Re-Rewind” featuring Craig David, to So Solid Crew’s ground-breaking “21 Seconds”, Roll Deep’s “When I’m Ere", "POW (Forward)” by Lethal Bizzle, “Gotta Get Thru This” by Daniel Bedingfield and a full disk dedicated to Headie One featuring Skepta, Dave, AJ Tracy and Stormzy; Relentless 25 showcases how the label have consistently championed British underground music and transformed it into a global influence.
Packaged in red vinyl with a Relentless-branded slipmat, Relentless 25 is also a visual experience. The boxset includes a 28-page booklet filled with seminal archive images including exclusives from photographer Ewen Spencer alongside original sketches from Virgil Abloh for Headie One’s custom Louis Vuitton look at the Brit Awards 2021. Remixes by Grant Nelson and Four Tet add depth to the collection, offering fresh perspectives on tracks that defined eras.
Reflecting on the journey, Relentless Music Group Founder & CEO, Shabs Jobanputra says, “Relentless was born from a late-night conversation in 1999, driven by our passion to create a label for UK Hip Hop and R&B. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come—all thanks to the artists, the incredible team, and the fans who have kept the vision alive.”
From elevating talents like Jay Sean, and Not3s, to supporting breakthrough artists like So Solid Crew & Headie One, Shabs built Relentless into a genre-spanning label that consistently elevates voices from the UK’s underground to the global stage.
The anniversary comes ahead of the annual Relentless 2025 showcase on January 8th set to spotlight the next generation of talent. Known for championing new voices and taking risks on fresh sounds, Relentless’ showcase will celebrate the label’s enduring role as a springboard for ground-breaking talent, past performances have included the likes of Professor Green, Big Narstie, Nadia Rose, Headie One, Not3s and Bad Boy Chiller Crew.
Through Relentless Music Group which comprises of Relentless Records, artist management company Relentless Talent; higher education music college Notting Hill Academy of Music; West London venue Notting Hill Arts Club (which helped launch the careers of Mark Ronson, Lily Allen, Libertines and more), Shabs continues to pave the way for the next generation of music entrepreneurs and artists ensuring that Relentless’ impact on music and culture endures for the future.
With Relentless 25, Relentless Records isn’t just celebrating its history—it’s cementing a legacy for years to come.
Track -Listing
Disc 1
A side: “Re-Rewind” Artful Dodger feat. Craig David
B side: “Re-Rewind” Bump ‘n’ Flex (Sweet ‘n’ Low Mix)
Disc 2
A side: “21 Seconds” So Solid Crew (12” Version)
B side: “Dilemma” So Solid Crew
Disc 3
A side: “Gotta Get Thru This” Daniel Bedingfield (DND Radio Edit)
B side: “Gotta Get Thru This” Daniel Bedingfield (Original Version)
Disc 4
A side: “Dance with You” Rishi Rich Project
B side: “Dance with You” Rishi Rich Project (Wayne Wonder Remix)
Disc 5
Side A: “POW! (Forward)” Lethal Bizzle
Side B: “When I’m ‘Ere” Roll Deep
Disc 6
Side A: “Real Joy” Fono
Side B: “Real Joy” Fono (Duke Dumont Edit)
Disc 7
Side A: “Addison Lee” Not3s
Side B: “My Lover” Not3s feat. Mabel (Remix)
Disc 8
A1 “Know Better” Headie One
A2 “Ain’t It Different” Headie One feat. AJ Tracey & Stormzy
B1 “18 Hunna” Headie One feat. Dave (Four Tet remix)
B2 “Back to Basics” Headie One feat. Skepta (Floating Points Remix)
Disc 9
Side A: “BMW” Bad Boy Chiller Crew
Side B: “BMW” Bad Boy Chiller Crew x French the Kid x MIST x Bugzy Malone
Disc 10
A1: “Fell In Love With A Boy” Joss Stone
A2: “Black Horse & Cherry Tree” KT Tunstall
A3: “Lady of the Sea” Seth Lakeman
B1: “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” Cage the Elephant
B2: “Leave a Light On” Tom Walker
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THE HEADLINES
The "ugly truth" about Spotify is finally revealed (see News)
WMG CEO Robert Kyncl addresses staff: ‘The industry is at a pivot point’ (see News)
Concerns raised over Virgin Music Group acquisition of Downtown (see News)
Creative Rights In AI Coalition calls on government to protect copyright as GAI policy develops (see News)
Virgin Music Group to acquire Downtown Music (see Business)
Majors labels' primary physical distributor Utopia Distribution Services collapses (see Business)
General Product Safety Regulation comes in to effect (see News)
End of year tours report: Coldplay recorded the most tickets sold by any artist on a single tour (see Analysis)
US media groups warn UK over AI content-scraping rules (see News)
Spotify’s music editors pick their songs of the year (see Digital)
For anyone who values music - know your enemy (see Comment)
Paul McCartney warns AI ‘could take over’ as UK debates copyright laws (see News)
Taylor Swift’s Eras tour smashes touring revenue record (see News)
Sony Music pulls catalogue from Boomplay over non-payment issues (see Digital)
What will Taylor Swift do next? (see Features)