| Argo Records |
| |
| Parent company |
Universal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
|
| Founded |
1951 |
| Founder(s) |
Harley Usill, Cyril Clarke |
| Distributing label |
Decca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
|
| Genre(s) |
Classical music
Audio books
JazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
Folk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
World musicWorld music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
|
| Country |
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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| Web address |
Argo Records - digital reissues |
- For the American label, see Argo Records
Argo Records was started in December of 1955 to accommodate some of the rapidly growing recording activity at Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Argo.Initially, Argo offered a...
Argo Records was a
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
founded in 1951 by Harley Usill (born c. 1925, died 1991), and musicologist Cyril Clarke with £500 capital, initially as a company specialising in "British music played by British artists" (Day, p.93), but it quickly became a company primarily specialising in spoken-word recordings and other esoteric (or commercially marginal) material. The first issue was
Music from Bali, dedicated to the Indonesian
GamelanA gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
, recorded at the Winter Garden Theatre, London. The catalogue eventually ran to 1,000 items.
In 1953, Usill was introduced to the Indian music specialist
Deben BhattacharyaDeben Bhattacharya was a Bengali radio producer, record producer, ethnomusicologist, anthropologist, documentary filmmaker, photographer, translator, poet, writer, broadcaster, lecturer, and folk music consultant...
, who was responsible for field recordings of traditional music in India. Bhattacharya had been frustrated by the absence of recordings he could use for his BBC Radio broadcasts. Around the same time Walter Harris recorded an amateur Brazilian choir in
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. Such recordings as these appeared in the labels "Living Traditions" series.
Taking advantage of the capacity of the longer playing time of LP records Argo embarked on recording the complete works of
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Cambridge University's Marlowe Players participated in the series, which was the responsibility of George "Dadie" Rylands (1902-99), a fellow at
King's CollegeKing's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
. Recording began in 1957 and was completed by 1964. Initially professional actors had been reluctant to work for the project, but in time
Judi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
,
Derek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
and
Prunella ScalesPrunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
participated.
"The Poet Speaks" series was the work of contemporary poets read by the poets themselves, and among those featured were
Ted HughesEdward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
,
Sylvia PlathSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
and
Anthony ThwaiteAnthony Simon Thwaite, OBE, is an English poet and writer. He is married to the writer Ann Thwaite. He was awarded the OBE in 1992, for services to poetry. He was mainly brought up in Yorkshire and currently lives in Norfolk....
.
In 1954, the company recorded the
Festival of Lessons and Carols (Christmas) service at King's College, Cambridge, whose acoustics had previously defeated the abilities of engineers at other companies. A series of the masses of
Joseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
, initially recorded at the same venue, commenced in 1960, although after the first release with the
London Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
later recordings were made using the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge and the
Academy of St. Martin in the FieldsThe Academy of St Martin in the Fields is an English chamber orchestra, based in London.Sir Neville Marriner founded the ensemble as The Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields in London as a small, conductorless string group. The ensemble's name comes from Trafalgar Square's St Martin-in-the-Fields...
under
George GuestGeorge Guest was a Welsh organist and choral conductor.- Birth and early life :George Guest was born in Bangor, Wales. His father was an organist, and George assisted him by acting as organ blower. He became a chorister at Bangor Cathedral, and subsequently at Chester Cathedral, where he...
.
Cash flow problems in 1957 meant that the company only survived by being taken over by British
DeccaDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, although Usill remained in charge and the company was able to maintain autonomy from the parent company.
The company at this time recorded dramatized versions of
Alice in Wonderland (1958) and
Through the Looking-GlassThrough the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of literature by Lewis Carroll . It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
, both directed by
Douglas Cleverdon Douglas James Cleverdon was an English bookseller and radio producer, in both fields associated with numerous leading cultural figures in the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
and both starring
Jane AsherJane Asher is an English actress. She has also developed a second career as a cake decorator and cake shop proprietor.-Early life:...
in the title role with actors
Tony ChurchJames Anthony "Tony" Church was a British Shakespearean actor, who has appeared on stage and screen. In 1989 he became the Dean of the National Theatre Conservatory, which is the teaching arm of the Denver Center Theatre Company in Denver, Colorado.-Stage:Church was educated at Hurstpierpoint...
,
Norman ShelleyNorman Shelley was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers....
and
Carleton HobbsCarleton Percy Hobbs was an English actor with many film, radio and television appearances. He portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 80 radio adaptations between 1952 and 1969, and also starred in the radio adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour.Hobbs was born in Farnborough, Hampshire, into a...
, with
Margaretta ScottMargaretta Scott was an English stage, screen and television actress whose career spanned over seventy years. She is best remembered for playing the eccentric widow Mrs...
as the narrator; and
Wind in the Willows (1960) with
Richard GooldenRichard Goolden was a British actor, most famous for his portrayal of Mole from Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows...
as Mole, Frank Duncan as Rat, Tony Church as Badger and Norman Shelley as Toad, with
Patrick WymarkPatrick Wymark , was a British, stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Born Patrick Carl Cheeseman in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, England...
as the narrator.
Another notable recording from this era is the premiere recording of
Benjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's miracle play for children,
Noye's FluddeNoye's Fludde is an early 15th century mystery play from the Chester Mystery Cycle. It was set to music by Benjamin Britten in 1957 based on an edition by Alfred W. Pollard...
(1961).
A series of actuality recordings of steam locomotives (then in the early stages of being phased out in the UK) was masterminded by the film sound recordist/mixer
Peter Handford, selling up to 30-40,000 copies per year under the name Transacord.
Later, the repertoire soon diversified in to modern
British jazzBritish jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in...
, through the poetry and jazz movement of the early 1960s. This meant that recordings by pianist
Michael GarrickMichael Garrick MBE was an English jazz pianist and composer, and a pioneer in mixing jazz with poetry recitations.-Biography:...
, were particularly well represented. The radio ballads of
Ewan MacCollEwan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
and
Peggy SeegerMargaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years with her husband, singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl.- The first American period :...
originally produced by
BBC RadioBBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
(1957-70), were leased and issued by Argo from 1965. A small cluster of folk artists joined the label around this time including
Tom PaleyTom Paley is an American guitarist, banjo and fiddle player. He is best known for his work with the New Lost City Ramblers in the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:Paley was born and raised in New York City, United States...
(with his New Deal String Band), The Druids,
The CluthaThe Clutha was a traditional Scottish band hailing from Glasgow, that released a small number of albums in the 1970s. The line-up on the Clutha's first album, Scotia , was John Eaglesham , Erlend Voy , Calum Allan , Ronnie Alexander and Gordeanna McCulloch...
, The Songwainers and The Garret Singers.
In the 1970s, Decca extended their children's audiobook series
The Railway StoriesThe Railway Stories are a series of audio adaptations of The Railway Series books by the Rev. W Awdry and his son Christopher.Nearly all of the 41 books in the series have been recorded by one of five different narrators: Johnny Morris, William Rushton, Ted Robbins, Michael Angelis, and even the...
on the Argo label, with six further books (3 LPs) narrated by
William RushtonWilliam George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...
. In 1974, they produced an abridged, dramatic version of
The HobbitThe Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
, read by
Nicol WilliamsonNicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
.
The label passed to
PolyGramPolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
, when the conglomerate acquired British Decca in 1980. Usill left the company and went on to co-found
ASV RecordsASV Records is a London-based record label set up by Harley Usill, founder of Argo Records, Decca producer and former Argo General Manager, Kevin Daly, and producer Jack Boyce, after Argo's parent company Decca was bought by Polygram in 1980. ASV stands for "Academy Sound and Vision"...
. Argo as an independent entity was finally wound up in 1988.
The label was relaunched in 1990 as an imprint of Decca, with a remit to focus on four specific areas: choral, organ, and British and American classical music. Releases continued throughout the 1990s, modern American music growing ever more dominant. The last release in this incarnation was in
1998This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
.
The audio books (in cassette and CD form) continue in the Argo name but under a different logo.
The Argo catalogue is now controlled by
UniversalUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
.
In June 2007, Decca began to reissue a selection of sixty classic, deleted Argo recordings as digital-only downloads and launched a new site at
www.argo-records.com, which contains a full list of the available releases.