Twisted Nerve

An unpredictable self proclaimed \“accidental record label\” founded in Manchester in 1997 by 21 year old Grand Central / Fat City graphic designer Andy Votel and printer Damon Gough in order to release Gough’s very first compositions under the name Badly Drawn Boy. The first releases were taken from cassette and pressed on 7\” vinyl in Nashville (via a contact from Votel's friend Gerald Short from Jazzman Records). Votel invented the name and drew the logo in Night And Day Cafe seconds before they posted the first order. Totally unknown artists Like Dakota Oak and Mum & Dad similarly emerged from obscurity in order to persuade Votel and Gough to continue the label which unified a large cult following via regular vinyl releases and events in the area that would soon be known as The Northern Quarter. A much needed alternative to Manchester’s vibrant dance music and laddish Indie-rock scenes of the era, Twisted Nerve reserved a place for genuine alternative and unassuming artists devoid of genre but often dubbed as psychedelic and Lo-Fi. The label did however press the first ever recordings of Elbow, Doves (Gough's short term backing band), Jane Weaver's band Misty Dixon and were the first label to record many successful groups such as Kings Of Convenience. After the realisation that the label purportedly ended up selling more T-Shirts (with the omnipresent dead bunny logo) than actual records, the label slowed down but has never officially closed its doors while Votel and Gough’s further projects blossomed. Essentially a pre-cursor to Votel’s Finders Keepers Records archival label (FK co-owner Doug Shipton did college apprenticeship for Twisted Nerve, and the artist Sirconical still works for Finders Keepers).

TN013 was never released; the label stated: "to even mention this number is asking for bad luck!"
TN020 was a 7" dinked fabric slipmat