Con Tapes (Comapny)

Con Tapes (Conventional Tapes), like many cassette labels, was a bedroom operation run by a single individual, in this case an A. (Anthony) Clough. Con seems pretty much uncommemorated (it has a Discogs page), but it released perhaps 20 or 30 tapes, albums and compilations, including quite a bit of material by Mark Perry and his various projects: ATV, The Good Missionaries, The Door and the Window (which last mentioned A. Clough was associated with at some point). Video Rideo was released in June 81, but in December we received a newsletter announcing the "End of Con". Although a list of tapes still available was given, it did not include Video Rideo. I don't think we have any idea of how many copies went out. The tape was re-released by Datenverarbeitung. Then this label also ran into difficulties, or at least withdrew the agreement to release Obscenity. Such were the perils of distribution in the cassette culture. We learned subsequently that Con in fact carried on for another two or three years, so the "End of Con" was perhaps the product of a moment of discouragement. 

It's incorrect to say that Datenverarbeitung withdrew the agreement to release Obscenity. Cultural Amnesia and the label lost contact with each other – we were under the (mistaken) impression that Datenverarbeitung had folded, and Andreas Müller never got back in touch, and it was about this time that CA stopped recording (spring 1983).

See also: Cassette Culture
"Wild Planet", Sounds, 1983 (full document at this site)