Tough Love Records

Tough Love is a record label based in London, but birthed in the slightly less glam town of Coventry (home to Two Tone, The Enemy and not much in between). In the last five years they've released records by the likes of HEALTH, Eat Skull and Male Bonding and with their night Old Money in some of the capital's least swanky bars, played host to many more. We spoke to Stephen from the label (because he's got the biggest ego) about the whys and where's of making it happen.

I got into releasing records because....
the potential of higher education lied to me, for a year or two. And girls. Always for girls. And cars and money.

I believe that...
anti-intellectualism is the gravest of sins, even though I'm pretty dumb.

I hate that...
Favours for Sailors split up. Not my favourite band we released; my favourite band of all time.

I love that...
We managed to release an album by them before they died and that one day, maybe, somehow, somewhere, they will become The Nerves of our generation and each member can relax into a life of comfortable affluence, much like the popular Nick Hornby novel About A Boy. I think that's what The Nerves are doing now

Recently I've been thinking that...
the word 'amazing' should be banned from the lexicon. People should be more realistic in their evaluations. I feel pressurised.

I would never release a record by a band if...
they didn't want me to.

But I'll always want to release a band's record if...
They mess up my Last FM statistics.

The hardest decision I've had to make is....
Not releasing a record by a band featuring people we really love. That was tough.

Staying in business is...
a war of attrition. Sometimes you can't even think about it as a business, like that would be insulting to economics and the free market. I imagine there are awful people somewhere that cringe at our lack of financial acumen. I'm probably related to them and owe them money.

I hope that...
we win the war. I hope that we make another 5 years. I hope Thomas Mark Whitfield gets his own TV show. I hope the dreams of JRC and Maltese Falcon come true. I hope DC Berman phoenixes so bright that the Pavement reunion is eclipsed. And I hope that less bands we work with split up.

The new stuff that is on my label that I love is...
So much! All of it! Girls Names, Becoming Real, Seams, Calories, Dream Cop, Fair Ohs, Spectrals...

The music that isn't on my label that I love is....
Prize Pets, Cymbals, Cold Pumas, How To Dress Well, Dunian, Ariel Pink, Women, Korralreven, Total Slacker, Drake, Drake, Drake, Drake...And James Murphy when he talks.

When I'm not fiddling about with records I like to...
Impress girls with my inexhaustible philanthropy, impressive physique and Facebook status updates. And do boring stuff like write a PhD and help out on a TV show. Some of these things are not lies.

I'm excited about...
the future. But also terrified. If the Day After Tomorrow becomes today, I'm going to be pretty useless to just about everyone.

Tough Love have a blog www.toughloverecords.com/blog

They're celebrating turning five at The Stag's Head in Dalston next weekend with Fair Ohs, Graffiti Island. Becoming Real, Prize Pets and More. Read more about it here.