Back in 2007, music fan Nick Duckett walked into a record shop hoping to buy a comprehensive history of rhythm and blues on CD. To his surprise, the owner told him no such set existed at the time. Having a bit of time on his hands, Duckett thought to himself, "Well, there bloody ought to be?" From that small acorn, the oak that would become Rhythm and Blues Records took root.

The Middlesex-based UK label now boasts some 300 plus soul, rhythm & blues, rock and jazz titles on CD and vinyl and, as one might expect, the r&b section gives a pretty comprehensive account reaching back to the 1930s.

"My friends class it as a hobby but I spend around 40-50 hours a week on it," Duckett tells me. "As a fan, I produce things that I'd be happy to buy myself. I thought, if I like it, then other people probably will do too. A discussion with someone in the business alerted me to the fact that the copyright elapses 50 years after a broadcast date of broadcast, so everything I release is in the public domain. However, I do try and get copies of my releases to the artists if they are interested."

This is just the kind of life/work history that in earlier eras led to the likes of Blue Note, Chess or, in the UK, Island Records. For now, Duckett is happy in his corner of the burgeoning reissue market. So, when and how did his interest in music start?

"Well, it was back in the '50s." Duckett says, "Initially, it was investigating my mother's collection of 78s, ranging from