Everything about London Records totally explained
London Records is a
record label headquartered in the
United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the
United States,
Canada and
Latin America from
1947 through
1979, then becoming a semi-independent label.
London arose from the split in ownership between the British branch of
Decca Records and that same company's USA branch; the American London label released British Decca records in the USA, since it couldn't use the "Decca" name there. They were noted for their classical albums made in then state-of-the-art
stereophonic sound. Such artists as
Georg Solti,
Joan Sutherland and
Luciano Pavarotti made many, if not all, of their recordings for the company.
The London name was also used by British Decca in the UK market to release American labels which British Decca licensed, such as
Imperial,
Chess,
Dot,
Atlantic,
Specialty and
Sun, as well as the first few UK releases from
Motown. In the sixties more licensing deals were made with
Big Top,
Monument,
Parrot,
Philles and
Hi. (An unusual feature was the letter code in the numbering system: see
Catalog numbering systems for single records.) On
Radio Luxembourg, the label was known as "London American".
In the late seventies London signed deals with the legendary "Bomp" records and with Big Sound in Connecticut. This changed the label in the eyes of many from a backwater into something a little more "edgy" compared to the pedestrian contemporary releases from parent company Decca.
After British Decca was acquired by
PolyGram in 1979, London followed a more independent course with subsidiary labels as
Slash,
Pete Tong's
Essential Records and
FFRR.
Universal Music Group (the owner of American Decca) acquired PolyGram in
1998;
(External Link
) however, by this time, London Records had become a semi-independent label within the
PolyGram group operated by Roger Ames. When Ames moved to the
Warner Music Group, he "took" the label with him, and so London's recent back catalogue was acquired by Warner, which licensed the London name from Decca (which still owns the trade mark and pre-PolyGram back catalogue). The name is still used, mainly for UK-based artists, and for ex-
Factory Records artists. Notable artists published by the current incarnation of London,
London Records 90, include
New Order,
Happy Mondays,
A and
Shakespear's Sister.
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 Universal Music bought British Decca owner PolyGram in 1998, after which they were all reissued on the original British Decca label in the U.S.
The London pop music catalogue owned by Universal Music is managed by
Polydor Records.
Subsidiary or Associated Labels
Previous London Records artists
The Bachelors
Bananarama
Dannii Minogue
Teresa Brewer
Marianne Faithfull
Holly Valance
Vera Lynn
Mantovani
Marmalade
Moody Blues
The Nashville Teens
Poppy Family
Rolling Stones
Salt N Pepa
Savoy Brown
Sugababes
The Tornados
Unit 4 + 2
Win
ZZ Top
London 90 Artists
Back To The Planet
Chumbawamba (over One Little Indian Records from 1993-1995)
East 17
The Yes/No People
Voice of the Beehive
New Order
Kaliphz
Michaela Strachan
The High
Hard Rain
Junior
Michelle Shocked
No Sweat
Perfect Day
Wet Wet Wet
Glenn Medeiros
Jimmy Somerville
Banderas
Then Jerico
Zucchero
All Saints
Sugababes
His Latest Flame
A
The Platinum Collection
The Platinum Collection is Warner Music Group's budget hits collection brand. Currently the range features recordings from the following London artists:
Dannii Minogue
Happy Mondays
Hothouse Flowers
Bananarama
Fine Young Cannibals
Faith No More
Los Lobos
Orbital
Shakespear's SisterFurther Information
Get more info on 'London Records'.
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