Formerly an amateur boxer in east London, Jake Riviera (born Andrew Jakeman, February 1948, in Edgware, Middlesex) is best known as one of the founders of Stiff Records, a pioneering indie label that released records by many punk and new wave acts, including Nick Lowe, the Damned, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric, and Madness.
Riviera's first excursion into the music industry was to form Revelation Records in 1972. Revelation released a triple-album of the 2nd (1971) Glastonbury Fayre.
Riviera managed pub-rock act Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers in the early 70s. In 1975, he organized Naughty Rhythms, a package tour with Chilli Willi, Dr Feelgood, and Kokomo that effectively put pub rock on the map. He went on to manage Dr Feelgood on their first US tour, until he was sacked. .
In 1976 he co-founded Stiff Records with Dave Robinson. He managed The Damned early in their career, but gave them up to concentrate on managing Elvis Costello. In 1978 he left Stiff to form Radar Records taking Costello and Nick Lowe with him. In 1980 formed F-Beat Records, again taking Costello and Lowe with him.
Riviera often used the graphic designer Barney Bubbles to design the sleeves of his labels' records.
