Editing Warp Records (section)

=== 1980s record shop origins ===
[[File:Division Street, Sheffield - geograph.org.uk - 2884164.jpg|thumb|[[Division Street, Sheffield]], where the Warp Records shop was located in the 1980s]]
In the mid-1980s, Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell, then in their early twenties, were active in the music scene of [[Sheffield]], England.<ref name="King-2012">{{cite book |last=King |first=Richard |url=https://www.musicismysanctuary.com/the-history-of-warp-records |title=How Soon Is Now? The Madmen and Mavericks Who Made Independent Music 1975–2005 |publisher=[[Faber & Faber]] |date=5 April 2012 |isbn=978-0571243907}}</ref> Beckett described 1980s Sheffield, once a major industrial town, as "run-down and industrial".<ref name="Hadfield-2009">{{cite web |last=Hadfield |first=James |date=13 November 2009 |title=Warp Records hits the big 2-0 |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2009/11/13/music/warp-records-hits-the-big-2-0/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307204422/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2009/11/13/music/warp-records-hits-the-big-2-0/#.Vt3oN-zP32c |archive-date=7 March 2016 |access-date=16 April 2025 |website=[[The Japan Times]] }}</ref> Sheffield's [[steel manufacturing]] was in decline, and abandoned warehouses were being used for illegal [[rave]]s as part of the growing subculture of [[club music]] and [[acid house]].<ref name="King-2012" /><ref name="The Independent" /> Sheffield had produced electronic bands including [[the Human League]], [[Heaven 17]] and [[Cabaret Voltaire (band)|Cabaret Voltaire]].<ref name="The Independent" />

Beckett and Mitchell worked at FON, a record store on [[Division Street, Sheffield|Division Street]] that was a focal point of Sheffield's music scene.<ref name="Birke-2007">{{cite web |last=Birke |first=Sarah |date=2 November 2007 |title=Label profile: Warp Records |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/label-profile-warp-records-398605.html |access-date=13 April 2025 |website=[[The Independent]] }}</ref><ref name="King-2012" /><ref name="Hadfield-2009" /> According to Beckett, the shop mainly sold [[Indie rock|indie]] and [[Alternative rock|alternative]] records before expanding to imports from electronic [[Chicago house]] records.<ref name="Morse-2010">{{cite web |last=Morse |first=Erik |author-link=Erik Morse |date=1 July 2010 |title=Warp Records and the birth of popular electronic music |url=https://www.thebeliever.net/warp-records-and-the-birth-of-popular-electronic-music/ |access-date=25 April 2025 |website=[[The Believer (magazine)|The Believer]] }}</ref> Beckett had a background in indie rock, and discovered [[electronic music]] while working in FON.<ref name="Simpson-2009">{{cite news |last=Simpson |first=Dave |date=16 April 2009 |title=Bleep of faith |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/apr/17/warp-records-20-years |access-date=13 April 2025 |work=[[The Guardian]] |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> FON also operated a recording studio used by artists such as [[David Bowie]], [[Yazz]] and [[Chakk]].<ref name="King-2012" />

In 1987,<ref name="Morse-2010" /> Beckett and Mitchell partnered with the Sheffield musician and producer Robert Gordon to refit the FON shop as Warp Records, funded by selling tickets for events at the [[University of Sheffield]].<ref name="King-2012" /> They originally named the store Warped Records, but this was difficult to hear over a telephone.<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC – 6 Music – events – independents day |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/events/indie/warp.shtml |access-date=19 April 2025 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> The shop specialised in imports released by American dance labels such as [[Transmat]], [[Metroplex (record label)|Metroplex]], [[Trax Records]] and [[Underground Resistance]], which sold out quickly.<ref name="King-2012" />