London Recordings
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2011) |
London Recordings | |
---|---|
Parent company | Universal Music Group (pre-1980 catalogue, London USA, trademark rights for "London Records" and "London Recordings" names and logos, and distribution of Because Music) Because Music (label and most of post-1980 catalogues, also licenses trademarks from UMG) Warner Music Group (New Order catalogue and certain releases of post-1998 catalogue) |
Founded | 1947 |
Founder | Edward Lewis |
Distributor(s) | Decca Records/UMe (pre-1980 catalogue) Virgin Music (most of post-1980 catalogues) Rhino Entertainment (New Order, All Saints, Slash Records) |
Genre | Various |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Official website | londonrecordings |
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London name – as London American Recordings, often shortened to London American – was also used by British Decca in the UK market, for releases taken from American labels, which British Decca licensed.
The label is owned by Because Music, which also owned most of the post-1980 and post-1998 catalogues.
History
London arose from the split in ownership between the British and American branches of Decca Records. The American branch of London Records released British Decca records in the U.S., as British Decca could not use the "Decca" name there as well as vice-versa. The label was noted for classical albums made in then state-of-the-art stereophonic sound, and such artists as Georg Solti, Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti.
In a reverse situation, the London name was also used in the UK market by British Decca for releases taken from American labels which were licensed by British Decca, such as
An unusual feature was the letter code in the numbering system. From the late 1950s until 1973, the label bore the logo "London American Recordings", and on
In America, the label was best known as the American imprint of the pre–1971 recordings of
In the 1960s and 1970s London Records got involved in then innovative quadraphonic sound techniques and launched vinyl LPs. Beginning with their "Phase 4" series of immersive, spatialized STEREO sound (which was NOT quadraphonic despite claims to the contrary) which, along with their "FFRR - Full Frequency Range Recording" series and appellation, gained them a well earned reputation on their sound quality.
Phase 4 recordings were originally made on then-novel 4-track tape, but the innovation was in the special scoring used to maximize the technology. Normally in recording techniques of the mid-60s, in order to get the kind of layered sound realized in Phase 4 recordings, required multiple overdubs over multiple reels of tape, bouncing down and bouncing across to different recorders. This increased the level of tape hiss on the final master, something which Phase 4 engineers could not tolerate. So they achieved in their scoring techniques what could be recorded in one pass what everybody else was achieving with multiple overdubs. Similar scoring techniques were used with sound pioneer Enoch Light and his Project 3 Records label around the same period.
In the late 1970s, London signed deals with
The president of London Records in the 1970s was D. H. Tollerbond.[2]
After British Decca was acquired by PolyGram in 1980, London followed a more independent course with subsidiary labels such as Slash, Pete Tong's Essential Records and FFRR (London's dance music label, named after part of London's logo design).
In the 1990s, London signed Madchester indie band The High and ended up being fined £50,000 by the BPI in 1991, for suspected chart hyping in the UK Singles chart in regards to this band,[3][4][5] with the suspicion that their chart position may have been bought by the record company and not due to fans purchasing their record, "More".[6]
After PolyGram took over British Decca, classical-music albums recorded by British Decca continued to be released on the London label in the U.S., with a logo similar to the Decca classical label logo, until American Decca owner MCA merged with British Decca owner PolyGram in 1999 and formed Universal Music, after which they were all reissued on the original British Decca label in the US.
The London pop music catalogue owned by Universal Music is now managed by
When Nick Raphael became president of Capitol Records's UK division in 2013, London Records moved there,[11] and operated as a sublabel until Because Music acquired the trademark license in 2017.
In July 2017, Because Music announced that it would acquire Warner Records 90, a subsidiary of Warner Music UK that reissued most London Records artists from the post-1980 era, plus very few titles from the post-1998 era, when Warner Music owned the label. Because completed the deal in August 2017, which includes the rights to over fifty London artists (including Bananarama and Happy Mondays), but excluding Slash Records, All Saints, New Order, and the FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recordings) brand (which became part of WMG's Parlophone label).[12][13] Because is distributed by another UMG division Virgin Music Label & Artist Services, formerly Caroline Distribution.
Warner Records 90 was renamed London Music Stream, and later London Recordings.[14]
Subsidiary or associated labels
London Records had dozens of subsidiary and distributed labels throughout its existence. Among the labels are:
- Colonial
- Monument
- Felsted
- Dial
- Double F Double R Records (dance music)
- Sire
- Hi
- Garpax
- Parrot
- Press
- Deram
- Threshold
- MAM
- UK
- Phase 4 Stereo
- FFRR Records (this dance music label is sometimes known as Full Frequency Range Recordings)
- PayDay
- Ffrreedom Records (rave music)
- Go-Feet
- Slash
Artists
Pre-1990
- Ernest Ansermet
- The Bachelors
- Bananarama ("Aie a Mwana" released under Deram, whilst Siobhan Fahey was signed solo as Shakespears Sister in the late 1980s)
- Blancmange
- Bloodstone
- Teresa Brewer
- Bronski Beat
- Caravan
- Kate Ceberano
- Dollar
- Marianne Faithfull
- Fine Young Cannibals
- Funkapolitan
- Garolou
- Genesis
- Buddy Greco
- Grotus
- Adelaide Hall
- The Kinks
- Lisp
- Guy Lombardo
- Los Bravos
- Vera Lynn
- Mantovani
- Marmalade
- John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers
- Meat Puppets
- Mirjam & Stephen
- The Moody Blues
- The Nashville Teens
- No Sweat
- Onslaught
- Perfect Day
- The Poppy Family
- Queen B
- The Rolling Stones
- Salt N Pepa
- Savoy Brown
- Seona Dancing
- The 6ths
- Sleep
- Small Faces
- Sparks
- Specimen
- T2
- Then Jerico
- The Tornados
- Thin Lizzy
- Total Contrast
- Unit 4 + 2
- Universal
- Voice of the Beehive
- The Yes/No People
- Win
- Y&T
- Zulema
- ZZ Top
1990s/2000s
- A
- Ace of Base
- Armand Van Helden
- All Saints
- Back to the Planet
- Banderas
- One Little Indian Records from 1993 to 1995 and signed to EMI Germany in 1997)[15]
- Marcella Detroit[16] (also part of Shakespears Sister in the early 1990s)
- East 17
- Shane Filan
- Gay Dad
- The High
- Junior
- Kaliphz
- Marion
- Glenn Medeiros
- Menswear
- Dannii Minogue
- New Order
- No Sweat
- Onslaught
- Michelle Shocked
- Showbiz & A.G.
- Jimmy Somerville
- Michaela Strachan
- Sugababes
- Then Jerico
- Tin Machine (through Victory Music)
- Utah Saints
- Holly Valance
- Whigfield (signed to Systematic)
- Zucchero
2010s (reopened label)
See also
- List of record labels
References
- ^ John Broven, Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers, University of Illinois Press, 2009, pp.401-411
- ^ Cat People, Bill Hayward, introduction by Rogers E. M. Whitaker. New York: Dolphin/Doubleday, 1978, p. 132
- ^ "Into the limelight by any means necessary". The Independent. 23 October 2011.
- ^ "What's cookin'?". The Independent. 23 October 2011.
- ^ "The numbers game is up". The Independent. 23 October 2011.
- ^ "HIGH | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com.
- ^ "Polygram Holding, Inc.; Decca Music Group Limited; UMG Recordings, Inc.; and Universal Music & Video Distribution Corp". Federal Trade Commission. 31 July 2001. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
- ^ "Case details for Community Trade Mark E3038437". Intellectual Property Office. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
- ^ "New Order | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com.
- ^ "Raphael to relaunch London Records for Universal". CMU. 3CM Unlimited. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ "Capitol Records UK Launches, Nick Raphael Named President". Universal Music Group. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- ^ "Because confirms acquisition of London Records catalogue - Music Business Worldwide". 6 July 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ "FFRR rebrands, aims to become 'No.1 home for electronic artists in the UK'". Musicweek.com.
- ^ "Because Group acquires catalogue of iconic London Records". Musicweek. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ "CHUMBAWAMBA | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com.
- ^ "MARCELLA DETROIT | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com.
- ^ "Shakespears Sister | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com.