HI ALL Especially those people who have a love for collecting 60s UK Vinyl. This part 2 of the long running saga, of what was put out by the ISLAND RECORD in the 60s, that could be classed as a true company PROMO or DEMO,
Now as a bench mark, as a definition of a DEMO/PROMO I have for the sake of drifting away from the pioneer, and what I feel 99% of SOULSOURCE readers will accept, is how collectors have a understanding of how the mager's approached the issue in the 60s, my focus in the main has to keep to the 60s as this is the area that needs more explanation, even though it is pretty straight forward,
Although I have spent the week, thinking about this, I have used as reference to help me, the following.
MANSHIPS GUIDE TO RARE UK, Pete Smiths excellent listing & forerunner to the previous, and also to improve on the excellent FINDAGROOVE Price Guide, Pete Smiths Beatin Rhythm #1 - 10, essential and comprehensive set of fanzine type booklets, also original ISLAND CATOLOGES, ACTION CAT, ISLAND B&C CAT. SOUL CITY SHOP CAT. AND BLUES & SOUL MONTHLY MAG 1 - 23 TO COLATE INFO'
At this time and what I can say for fact, is I can only find 3 example out of all the releases from 1960 onwards, this is not to say there are not more, it is also most important, that to make my point, it is excepted as fact the ISLAND RECORDS was an independent company, however it was backed by a large DUTCH parent company especially for product production & manufacturing, PHILIPS, This has already been discussed on SOULSOURCE,
It is true to state that for much of the 60s, Philips stopped manufacturing white label DEMOS, once the 45 RPM record had taken over from the 78 RPM record, this crossover period covered the years from 1954 - 1960, when the last 78s for the UK market ended, again I have seen a BEATLES PLEASSE PLEASE ME on a PARLOPHONE 78 from 1963 also told that a CAPITAL 78 OF A 65 BEACH BOYS EXISTS?
Who am I to say it does not, but it is guaranteed, I suspect made for the Subcontinent?
Assuming that I am correct? this policy of no Demos on any o f the company's manufacture records, would include the ISLAND RECORD Co, as we are aware there are factory samples of all Philips/Fontana records, with SANPLE painted on in a yellow paint, and some have a sticker FACTORY SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE on the label, however never found this on any of the ISLAND group of labels?
Also as discussed before, ISLAND RECORDS had a history of making records that had been dubbed from a US or JA RECORD, and also relevant was the spurious licensing deals, through out the 60s? and also strange is how records that should have been issue on SUE are on ISLAND, and a small amount of non US records come out on SUE? and even more odd are the couple of records that were issued as promotional giveaways for company get togethers, so that's 2 ISLAND R&W PROMOS, that have no interest in having, unless you have it for sale or to complete a collection, as they are rare, my tip is don't buy them? the same can be said for the LPs on ISLAND, (on ISLAND means they have the ILPS Prefix< not the label) So to colect all the LPs you will need the Rugby songs LPs and so on,
Most of the 60s ISLAND records would not have any demos as the DJs were given the JA pre release, as to-day most DJs like to play records exclusive to them, so this is anouther sound reason of not having UK DEMOS DUKKE VIN would never play a sound that COUNT SHELLY was playing, however unique to JA music was for every lets say record to be released in the UK, there are many versions of the rythem that a sound man would play,
Evein the early 80s this was essential to the Jamaican music buisness,, and is a very important asect of Reggae music, which is based on rythems, going back to mento and SKA, again the most famouse early stuff is by SKATALITES, and BUSTERS BAND both had top musicions playing very indervidueal unique styles, in 1981 lovers rock was the to sound and had been for 3 years, however I heard a record while walking home in BLAKENHAL and thought it was a great sound, over the week I kept on hearing it, so I went to SUMMIT Records said to the bloke I want a record but dont no who it's by, "I could hear the sucking of teeth, and Babalon muttering" bloke said that could be anything, so I hummed the Rythem to him and the onlookers, and the mans face grinned, what verion do you want SPA as there are over 100?
to many you may know the rythem as the backing to "under my sleng teng" a minor hit, over the next month I had 40 x 2 differant versions? amazing,
When ISLAND launched the soul label SUE, again the contract was with Juggy Jones and that story is well known, and there were no demos also discussed was the black mark, as ISLAND sent the music to the demographic that it appealed to. The catalouge was distrubuted in small batches, to cater for the West Indian populus and also at the MOD clubs in 5 citys, these are I believe some of the ones that had the A stamped the records with the shop logo or the 3/- price was simmular to the us 45s with a drill hole and were classed as old stock, again easy mistaken by the soul market as a demo, because of the fact that they only had a few outlests,
Again I have written about the way ISLAND & SUE went about the way deals were made, and when Guy Stevens left ISLAND, and Blues & Soul man John Abbey took over the label & the frustrations of DAVE GODIN had after he pionted out the goings on, the other week,
However it was at this time the ISLAND RECORD group joined with B&C RECORDS, SUE record ended, along with the R&W Bow tie label. Action label was developed by John Abbey, but the real change was how the Jamaican Music was handled by B&C the launch of TROJAN RECORDS in 1967 issued classic music from DUKE REID not that we noticed at the time, When the Soul label Action was Launched in 68, B&C relaunched TROJAN - DUKE REID and then added more labels, also they issued some BLAK UK Pressed Pre release, again this is the nearest you will get to a DEMO.
The ACTION Label issued advanced copys with the famouse skelington capitol A on I class these as DEMOs as there are very few of them, however they are all on stock copys, B&C did use the A but these are very had to locate as they were sent to a very small number of white DJs who played to the inner city kids black & white to capture the new Skinhead Rude Boy sub culture, however they quickly dispended that idea and repromoted the most popular records through buget LPs TIGHTEN UP Vol 1-10 and by putting the 45s in a great sleeve. most of all the history of ISLAND can be sort out on a few books, but the YOUNG GIFTED & BLACK BOOK is worth getting even though the auther has put skinhead on nearly every page???
oh the 3 proper Demos were the ISLAND pressed BLACK & WHITE SOUL CITY RECORDS,
These demo make the GESTALT as PHILIPS 6 FONTANA started to issue B&W DEMOS at the same time??? if any one has a simular DEMO on any other 60s label please show, also ALL the BLACK AND GREEN ACTION LABEL that EMI Distributed have there company DEMO stuff on ad come out in the 70s
Now as a bench mark, as a definition of a DEMO/PROMO I have for the sake of drifting away from the pioneer, and what I feel 99% of SOULSOURCE readers will accept, is how collectors have a understanding of how the mager's approached the issue in the 60s, my focus in the main has to keep to the 60s as this is the area that needs more explanation, even though it is pretty straight forward,
Although I have spent the week, thinking about this, I have used as reference to help me, the following.
MANSHIPS GUIDE TO RARE UK, Pete Smiths excellent listing & forerunner to the previous, and also to improve on the excellent FINDAGROOVE Price Guide, Pete Smiths Beatin Rhythm #1 - 10, essential and comprehensive set of fanzine type booklets, also original ISLAND CATOLOGES, ACTION CAT, ISLAND B&C CAT. SOUL CITY SHOP CAT. AND BLUES & SOUL MONTHLY MAG 1 - 23 TO COLATE INFO'
At this time and what I can say for fact, is I can only find 3 example out of all the releases from 1960 onwards, this is not to say there are not more, it is also most important, that to make my point, it is excepted as fact the ISLAND RECORDS was an independent company, however it was backed by a large DUTCH parent company especially for product production & manufacturing, PHILIPS, This has already been discussed on SOULSOURCE,
It is true to state that for much of the 60s, Philips stopped manufacturing white label DEMOS, once the 45 RPM record had taken over from the 78 RPM record, this crossover period covered the years from 1954 - 1960, when the last 78s for the UK market ended, again I have seen a BEATLES PLEASSE PLEASE ME on a PARLOPHONE 78 from 1963 also told that a CAPITAL 78 OF A 65 BEACH BOYS EXISTS?
Who am I to say it does not, but it is guaranteed, I suspect made for the Subcontinent?
Assuming that I am correct? this policy of no Demos on any o f the company's manufacture records, would include the ISLAND RECORD Co, as we are aware there are factory samples of all Philips/Fontana records, with SANPLE painted on in a yellow paint, and some have a sticker FACTORY SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE on the label, however never found this on any of the ISLAND group of labels?
Also as discussed before, ISLAND RECORDS had a history of making records that had been dubbed from a US or JA RECORD, and also relevant was the spurious licensing deals, through out the 60s? and also strange is how records that should have been issue on SUE are on ISLAND, and a small amount of non US records come out on SUE? and even more odd are the couple of records that were issued as promotional giveaways for company get togethers, so that's 2 ISLAND R&W PROMOS, that have no interest in having, unless you have it for sale or to complete a collection, as they are rare, my tip is don't buy them? the same can be said for the LPs on ISLAND, (on ISLAND means they have the ILPS Prefix< not the label) So to colect all the LPs you will need the Rugby songs LPs and so on,
Most of the 60s ISLAND records would not have any demos as the DJs were given the JA pre release, as to-day most DJs like to play records exclusive to them, so this is anouther sound reason of not having UK DEMOS DUKKE VIN would never play a sound that COUNT SHELLY was playing, however unique to JA music was for every lets say record to be released in the UK, there are many versions of the rythem that a sound man would play,
Evein the early 80s this was essential to the Jamaican music buisness,, and is a very important asect of Reggae music, which is based on rythems, going back to mento and SKA, again the most famouse early stuff is by SKATALITES, and BUSTERS BAND both had top musicions playing very indervidueal unique styles, in 1981 lovers rock was the to sound and had been for 3 years, however I heard a record while walking home in BLAKENHAL and thought it was a great sound, over the week I kept on hearing it, so I went to SUMMIT Records said to the bloke I want a record but dont no who it's by, "I could hear the sucking of teeth, and Babalon muttering" bloke said that could be anything, so I hummed the Rythem to him and the onlookers, and the mans face grinned, what verion do you want SPA as there are over 100?
to many you may know the rythem as the backing to "under my sleng teng" a minor hit, over the next month I had 40 x 2 differant versions? amazing,
When ISLAND launched the soul label SUE, again the contract was with Juggy Jones and that story is well known, and there were no demos also discussed was the black mark, as ISLAND sent the music to the demographic that it appealed to. The catalouge was distrubuted in small batches, to cater for the West Indian populus and also at the MOD clubs in 5 citys, these are I believe some of the ones that had the A stamped the records with the shop logo or the 3/- price was simmular to the us 45s with a drill hole and were classed as old stock, again easy mistaken by the soul market as a demo, because of the fact that they only had a few outlests,
Again I have written about the way ISLAND & SUE went about the way deals were made, and when Guy Stevens left ISLAND, and Blues & Soul man John Abbey took over the label & the frustrations of DAVE GODIN had after he pionted out the goings on, the other week,
However it was at this time the ISLAND RECORD group joined with B&C RECORDS, SUE record ended, along with the R&W Bow tie label. Action label was developed by John Abbey, but the real change was how the Jamaican Music was handled by B&C the launch of TROJAN RECORDS in 1967 issued classic music from DUKE REID not that we noticed at the time, When the Soul label Action was Launched in 68, B&C relaunched TROJAN - DUKE REID and then added more labels, also they issued some BLAK UK Pressed Pre release, again this is the nearest you will get to a DEMO.
The ACTION Label issued advanced copys with the famouse skelington capitol A on I class these as DEMOs as there are very few of them, however they are all on stock copys, B&C did use the A but these are very had to locate as they were sent to a very small number of white DJs who played to the inner city kids black & white to capture the new Skinhead Rude Boy sub culture, however they quickly dispended that idea and repromoted the most popular records through buget LPs TIGHTEN UP Vol 1-10 and by putting the 45s in a great sleeve. most of all the history of ISLAND can be sort out on a few books, but the YOUNG GIFTED & BLACK BOOK is worth getting even though the auther has put skinhead on nearly every page???
oh the 3 proper Demos were the ISLAND pressed BLACK & WHITE SOUL CITY RECORDS,
These demo make the GESTALT as PHILIPS 6 FONTANA started to issue B&W DEMOS at the same time??? if any one has a simular DEMO on any other 60s label please show, also ALL the BLACK AND GREEN ACTION LABEL that EMI Distributed have there company DEMO stuff on ad come out in the 70s