Pye Records
Pye Records | |
---|---|
's ACC | |
Founded | 1953 |
Defunct | 1989 |
Genre | Various |
Country of origin | UK |
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979). The label changed its name to PRT Records (distributing as Precision Records & Tapes) in 1980, before being briefly reactivated as Pye Records in 2006.
History
The
Pye International
In 1958,
Expansion
Pye Nixa became Pye Records in 1959, and ATV acquired 50% of the label.[1] ATV bought the other half of the business in 1966.
Under the management of
Piccadilly and Dawn labels
A full-price subsidiary, Piccadilly Records, was for new pop acts, including
Quadraphonic releases
Beginning in 1971, Pye issued a series of "4D Stereo" LP recordings in the UK. These were designed for playback in 4-channel
As PRT Records
When the rights to the name Pye (then owned by Philips)[4] expired in 1980, the label changed its name to PRT, which stood for Precision Records and Tapes, via a brief flirtation with Precision. At that time it had sub-labels such as Fanfare Records, a late 1980s and early 1990s UK-based Hi-NRG label issuing records by Sinitta; R&B Records, a 1980s disco/electro label featuring Imagination; and Splash Records, which featured Jigsaw and the Richard Hewson Orchestra/RAH Band. PRT provided manufacturing and distribution for Gary Numan's label Numa Records, founded in 1984, which went on to release two dozen singles by a variety of acts alongside its eponymous founder, including actress Caroline Munro. Postman Pat songs and music, from the television series of the same name, were recorded at PRT Studios.
PRT's parent company
At the same time, EMI acquired masters of PRT's classical music catalogue and assigned them to EMI Classics.
Brief revival
In July 2006, Pye Records was reactivated by Sanctuary Records as an indie and alternative label, featuring artists such as Scottish alternative rock group Idlewild. However, plans for continued usage of the Pye name were abandoned when Universal Music Group bought Sanctuary in 2007. To fulfil conditions imposed by the European Commission following UMG's acquisition of EMI in 2012, Universal sold Sanctuary to BMG Rights Management in 2013.[6]
Current ownership
Universal Music Group, which owned the label's catalogue from 2007 to 2013, controls the catalogue of reissues from Pye/PRT artists' releases on Sanctuary's behalf after BMG assigned UMG to distribute them in October 2023.[7] Previously, it was distributed by Warner Music Group through its Alternative Distribution Alliance division from 2017 to 2023.[8][9] WMG owns Pye's American former distributors Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records) and Reprise Records.
With its acquisition of EMI Classics' catalogue in 2013, WMG now owns the Pye/PRT classical music catalogue and controls it via Warner Classics.
ATV Music Publishing
Pye Records was a sister company to the better-known ATV Music Publishing. This company, which owned Beatles publisher
International divisions
Pye in the US
Starting with the "
From 1969 to 1971, Pye was a co-owner with GRT (General Recorded Tape) of Janus Records, which at the outset served as the US label for such Pye acts as Jefferson, Sounds Orchestral, Pickettywitch, Mungo Jerry and Status Quo, and also re-issued the early (pre-1966) recordings of Donovan. Pye sold its share of Janus back to GRT in 1971.
In 1972, Bell Records set up a short-lived Pye label, featuring Michel Pagliaro, a Canadian artist whose first English-language album (largely recorded in England) was issued on UK Pye, and Jackie McAuley, whose lone solo album was originally issued on UK Dawn.
In 1974, Pye established an American version of its record label. The label was not a success, however, and closed its US operations in 1976. The head of the US division,
Pye in Canada
Whilst Pye did not have its own operations in Canada, it arranged with Canadian record companies to issue Pye recordings on the Pye label in Canada. Before then, Quality Records issued Pye recordings on the Quality label. Its earliest Pye Canada releases such as Lonnie Donegan's "My Old Man's A Dustman" were distributed by Astral Music Sales. Around 1963, distribution shifted to Allied Record Corporation. In 1968 distribution shifted to Phonodisc.[10]
Roster
(including the US labels that issued records by the artists during the time they were on Pye)
- Shirley Abicair
- Warner Bros.)
- Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen (issued in the US on Kapp)
- Chris Barber's Jazzband (issued in the US on Laurie)
- John Barbirolli and The Hallé Orchestra (from 1956, as Pye Nixa)
- Acker Bilk
- David Bowie (1965–1966; issued in the US on Warner Bros.)
- The Brook Brothers (1961–1964)
- Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979)
- Joe Brown (singer)
- Max Bygraves made a successful series of singalong albums for Pye
- Petula Clark (1957–1971: in addition to dozens of singles, her output for Pye included seventeen albums. Issued in the US on Laurie and then on Warner Bros.)
- Clem Curtis
- Joe Dolan
- Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969; issued in the US on Mercury, on Atlantic, then on Dot)
- Donovan (1965–1971; issued in the US on Hickory and then on Epic)
- Carl Douglas (issued in the US on 20th Century Fox)
- The Dummies (1980)
- Judith Durham
- The Enid
- Episode Six (issued in the US on Elektra for one single only)
- Fabulous Poodles
- Bud Flanagan
- The Flying Machine (1969; issued in the US on Congress and then on Janus)
- Emile Ford and the Checkmates
- The Foundations (issued in the US on Uni)
- Brian Joseph Friel (issued in the US on ATV Records)
- Graduate (1979)
- Davy Graham recorded his album The Guitar Player in 1963 under Pye; later reissued by Sanctuary Recordsin 2003 with eight bonus tracks
- Benny Hill (1961–1965)
- The Honeycombs (1964–1966; issued in the US on Interphon and then on Warner Bros.)
- Idlewild (2006)
- The Ivy League (1965–1966; issued in the US on Cameo)
- Tony Jackson and the Vibrations (1964–1966; issued in the US on Kapp and then on Red Bird)
- Jimmy James & the Vagabonds
- Parkway
- The Kinks (1964–1971; issued in the US on Cameo and then on Reprise)
- Vera Lynn (1979–1981)
- Man (1968-1969)
- Gerald Masters (1977–1980)
- David MacBeth (1959–1969; includes a spell on subsidiary label Piccadilly)[11]
- Mike McKenzie
- Mungo Jerry (1970–1974; issued in the US on Janus and then on Bell)
- Olivia Newton-John (Olivia, Festival, Australia, 1972)
- Maxine Nightingale
- The Migil 5(1964–1965)
- Des O'Connor
- Michel Pagliaro (Canadian singer/songwriter from Montreal, simply known as Pagliaro in the UK)
- Lennie Peters(1966)
- Pickettywitch (1969–1973; issued in US on Janus and then on Bell)
- The Real Thing(1976–1979)
- Joan Regan (1960–1961)
- The Remo Four
- Donn Reynolds (1958–1959)
- The Searchers (1963–1967; issued in the US on Mercury, on Liberty and then on Kapp)
- Sandie Shaw (1964–1972; issued in the US on Reprise)
- Labi Siffre (1970–1973, Pye International)
- Hurricane Smith (1976–1977)
- The Sorrows (1964–1966; issued in the US on Warner Bros.)
- Sounds Orchestral (issued in the US on Parkway)
- Cadet Conceptand then on Janus)
- Tommy Steele
- Trader Horne
- Frankie Vaughan (1973–1978)
- Johnny Wakelin
- Velvett Fogg (1969)
- Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band (issued in the US on Kapp)
- Mark Wynter (1962–1968)
- The Human Instinct
- Dead Fingers Talk
Other artists who recorded for Pye during their careers include Jimmy Young, Dickie Valentine, Russ Conway, Emile Ford, Val Doonican, Jackie Trent, Tony Hatch and Tony Hancock.
See also
- Category: Pye Records (albums, singles, artists)
- List of record labels
- Nixa Records
References
- ^ "Billboard – Google Books". 10 November 1958. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ Albert H. Friedlander, "Obituary: Louis Benjamin", The Independent, 23 June 1994. Retrieved 3 December 2020
- ^ The orchestra credited for the Music for the Royal Fireworks was the Pro Arte Orchestra, but given the number of extra players used, it was effectively an ad hoc ensemble on that occasion. Blyth, Alan (March 1975). "Charles Mackerras talks". The Gramophone. pp. 1, 626.
- ^ "Intellectual Property Office – By number results". Intellectual Property Office, Concept House, Cardiff Road, Newport, NP10 8QQ.
- ^ "PRECISION RECORDS AND TAPES LTD – Filing history (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ Chmielewski, Dawn C. (14 February 2013). "Universal Music agrees to sell Sanctuary Records". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013.
- ^ "BMG FORMS ALLIANCE WITH UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP; PLANS TO MOVE PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION TO UMG'S COMMERCIAL SERVICES DIVISION". musicbusinessworldwide.com. 19 October 2023.
- ^ Christman, Ed (28 April 2016). "Warner Music's Global Deal for BMG's Catalog Sets Up Showdown With RED". Billboard.com.
- ^ "BMG moves distribution of 8,000 albums to Warner's ADA - Music Business Worldwide". musicbusinessworldwide.com. 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017.
- ^ [1] Archived 19 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "David Macbeth Discography - UK - 45cat". 45cat.com. Retrieved 6 May 2021.