Leedon Records
| Leedon Records | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1958 |
| Founder | Lee Gordon |
| Defunct | 1968 |
| Genre | Rock and Roll, pop music |
| Country of origin | Australia |
Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by American Australian entrepreneur Lee Gordon in early 1958.
Establishment and early releases
In Australian in the 1950s and early 1960s, locally distributed labels such as
had few Australian rock'n'roll artist on their rosters; their main focus was on local releases of British and American artists or, local mainstream vocalists or artists, as well as others.The advent of Leedon Records in 1958, soon after the establishment of Australia's first
Entrepreneur Lee Gordon had broken into the Australian entertainment scene in 1955 with a record-setting tour by United States vocalist
Leedon's first releases were "Oh, Oh I'm Falling in Love Again" by pop singer
Johnny "Scat" Brown
Notable among Leedon's early releases were a couple of wild singles credited to the mysterious Johnny 'Scat' Brown – "Indeed I Do" (Leedon 514) and "Mama Rock" (Leedon 518). The flip sides of both records were performed by totally different artists, despite the fact the b-side of "Indeed I Do" also listed Johnny Scat Brown as the singer. The performer of "Little Star", the flip of "Mama Rock" was shown as Moon Rockets, another mystery act. These singles were preceded by another Leedon single (#008) also billed to Johnny 'Scat' Brown which featured cover versions of current American chart hits,
According to former Leedon employee Max Moore, Heffernan's cousin discovered decades later (the 70s), that although there was a real Johnny "Scat" Brown performing in the US, the person who had recorded "Indeed I Do" and "Mama Rock" was noted rockabilly artist Johnny Powers.[1]
Johnny O'Keefe becomes A&R manager
During 1959 leading Australian rock'n'roll singer
Acquisition by Festival
By 1960, Lee Gordon's business enterprises were making significant losses, and without consulting Heffernan (who was also the general manager and chief accountant of Gordon's promotions company Big Show Pty Ltd), he sold the label to Festival Records for a reported figure of AU£10,000. Leedon continued operation as a wholly owned subsidiary of Festival until 1969. Gordon died in London in 1963.
The Leedon "LK" series was started in June 1961 with Lonnie Lee's "You're Gonna Miss Me" and from this point on the label's releases were made up almost entirely of Australian artists. Johnny O'Keefe featured very prominently in this series.
Internationally, Leedon's most significant signing was a young British-born vocal trio, the
In the mid-1960s Leedon released many classic beat-era singles and albums by bands including Ray Brown & the Whispers, The Showmen, The Pogs, The Amazons, which featured singer Johnny Cave (aka William Shakespeare) and bassist Harry Brus. The label's final release was a reissue of "She's My Baby" by Johnny O'Keefe. which had been recorded in 1959.
By the time the label was folded in 1969, it had released 420 singles.
The Leedon LK Series featured many prominent Australian artists including
See also
References
- ^ Moore, Max 2003: Some Days Are Diamonds (New Holland Publishing, Sydney, 2003), pp.102-107
- Hank B. Facer, Downunder Discography M.I.R.L. Discography No. 22, August 1981
