Charisma Records
Encyclopedia
Charisma was a record label
founded by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith
in 1969. Manager for The Nice
, the Bonzo Dog Band
and Van der Graaf Generator
at the time, Stratton-Smith was unable to find a record company willing to release an album by one of his favourite groups so he founded his own company and released the Van der Graaf Generator album The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other
himself.
Charisma's first record label was a distinctive "pink scroll" design. The company proudly proclaimed itself "The Famous Charisma Label". Its second logo (used beginning in 1972) of Sir John Tenniel
's drawing of the Mad Hatter
(sometimes combined with a montage of other images from Alice in Wonderland) made the label instantly recognisable.
Its most successful acts were Genesis
, Peter Gabriel
, Julian Lennon
and the Monty Python
comedy team. It also released material by Van der Graaf Generator, The Nice, Lindisfarne
and Alan Hull
, Hawkwind
, The Alan Parsons Project
, Clifford T. Ward
, String Driven Thing
, Jack The Lad
, Audience
, Vivian Stanshall
, Brand X
, Sir John Betjeman
and Malcolm McLaren
. 1970s solo albums of Peter Hammill
, Tony Banks
and Steve Hackett
were also on Charisma Records.
In 1983, Charisma Records was acquired by Virgin Records
. Charisma continued to operate until 1986, when Virgin absorbed the label following its purchase by EMI
. A new version of Charisma, with no connection to the original label other than the name, operated between 1990 and 1992. Some Charisma Records recordings have most recently been re-issued on the EMI label. In the UK, the label has been revived by EMI's Angel Music Group
.
.
In the United States and Canada, Charisma Records recordings were first licenced to other labels such as ABC Records
(Trespass
by Genesis which was actually first issued through ABC's jazz division Impulse Records). The ABC subsidiary Probe Records
released The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other by Van der Graaf Generator, while the Dunhill Records
subsidiary released H to He, Who Am the Only One
by the same group. Elektra Records
in the US released recordings by Charisma Records artists Atomic Rooster
, Audience and Lindisfarne.
In 1971 Charisma entered into a distribution agreement with Buddah Records
and began to release albums on the Charisma label in the US. These albums included Pawn Hearts
by Van der Graaf Generator and Nursery Cryme
, Foxtrot and Genesis Live
by Genesis. Atlantic Records
also later released Charisma recordings in the United States from 1973 to 1974 including many Genesis titles. In 1973, Atlantic stopped distributing Charisma in America; as a result, in the US Charisma's bands signed to various labels such as Mercury Records
(Van der Graaf Generator) and Arista Records
(Monty Python). In 1978, Charisma signed a new distribution deal with Polydor that lasted until 1980. In Canada, many Charisma releases were distributed by PolyGram
Canada.
Between 1980 and 1982, Charisma operated a subsidiary called Pre Records, which was devoted to new wave
and reggae
acts. Pre's roster included Scars
, Prince Far I
, Delta 5
, Gregory Isaacs
, The Monochrome Set
and Congo Ashanti Roy. Pre also licensed albums by The Residents
and Tuxedomoon
from the American label Ralph Records
. In Europe, Pre's releases were issued on the Charisma label.
s released by the Charisma label. In the UK, they were used from Charisma's inception in 1969 until mid-1972, with the release of Lindisfarne's Dingly Dell
LP (CAS 1057). This was replaced by the large Mad Hatter label, designed by Paul Whitehead
of Genesis sleeve design fame. In the United States, the pink scroll labels were used in late 1973 and early 1974 on releases distributed by Buddah Records. Releases distributed by Atlantic Records used the small Mad Hatter design. Because Charisma had many bands who were relative unknowns when they were signed, many original pressings of early UK issues of albums from Charisma bands like Genesis, Audience and Van der Graaf Generator with pink scroll labels have become quite rare and sought after by collectors. They were distributed by B&C Records.
Record label
In 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 by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith
Tony Stratton-Smith
Tony Stratton-Smith was an English rock music manager, and entrepreneur. He was best known as founder of London based independent record label Charisma Records which he began in 1969. Groups he managed included The Nice , Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator...
in 1969. Manager for The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
, the Bonzo Dog Band
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...
and Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester. They were the first act signed to Charisma Records. The band achieved considerable success in Italy during the 1970s...
at the time, Stratton-Smith was unable to find a record company willing to release an album by one of his favourite groups so he founded his own company and released the Van der Graaf Generator album The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other
The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other
The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970. The album was reissued in re-mastered form, with two bonus tracks, in 2005....
himself.
Charisma's first record label was a distinctive "pink scroll" design. The company proudly proclaimed itself "The Famous Charisma Label". Its second logo (used beginning in 1972) of Sir John Tenniel
John Tenniel
Sir John Tenniel was a British illustrator, graphic humorist and political cartoonist whose work was prominent during the second half of England’s 19th century. Tenniel is considered important to the study of that period’s social, literary, and art histories...
's drawing of the Mad Hatter
Mad Hatter
Hatta, the Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll...
(sometimes combined with a montage of other images from Alice in Wonderland) made the label instantly recognisable.
Its most successful acts were Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
and the Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
comedy team. It also released material by Van der Graaf Generator, The Nice, Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne (band)
Lindisfarne were a British folk/rock group from Newcastle upon Tyne established in 1970 and fronted by singer/songwriter Alan Hull. Their music combined a strong sense of yearning with an even stronger sense of fun...
and Alan Hull
Alan Hull
Alan Hull was an English singer-songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk rock band, Lindisfarne.-Career:...
, Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
, The Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band, active between 1975 and 1990, consisting of singer Eric Woolfson and keyboardist Alan Parsons surrounded by a varying number of session musicians....
, Clifford T. Ward
Clifford T. Ward
Clifford Thomas Ward was a popular English singer-songwriter, best known for his career as a solo artist.-Early life:...
, String Driven Thing
String Driven Thing
String Driven Thing were a 1970s folk-rock band from Scotland led by husband and wife Chris Adams and Pauline Adams and featuring the electric violin of Graham Smith.-Formation:...
, Jack The Lad
Jack The Lad
Jack the Lad was a folk rock or electric folk group from North East England formed in 1973 by three former members of the most successful band of the period from the region Lindisfarne. They moved from the progressive folk rock of Lindisfarne into much more traditional territory and were in the...
, Audience
Audience (band)
Audience is a cult British art rock band which existed between 1969 and 1972, and reformed in 2004.The original band consisted of Howard Werth on nylon-strung electric acoustic guitar and vocals, Keith Gemmell on tenor...
, Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall
Vivian Stanshall was an English singer-songwriter, painter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his surreal exploration of the British upper classes in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, and for narrating Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.-The great...
, Brand X
Brand X
Brand X was a jazz fusion band active between 1975–1980 and 1992-1999. Noted members included Phil Collins , Percy Jones , John Goodsall and Robin Lumley ....
, Sir John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
and Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
. 1970s solo albums of Peter Hammill
Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English singer-songwriter, and a founding member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Most noted for his vocal abilities, his main instruments are guitar and piano...
, Tony Banks
Tony Banks (musician)
This article is about the musician. For other people named Tony Banks, see Tony BanksAnthony George "Tony" Banks is a British composer, and multi-instrumentalist, who performs as a keyboardist and a guitarist...
and Steve Hackett
Steve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
were also on Charisma Records.
In 1983, Charisma Records was acquired by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. Charisma continued to operate until 1986, when Virgin absorbed the label following its purchase by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. A new version of Charisma, with no connection to the original label other than the name, operated between 1990 and 1992. Some Charisma Records recordings have most recently been re-issued on the EMI label. In the UK, the label has been revived by EMI's Angel Music Group
Angel Music Group
Angel Music Group is a management company for various dance music groups in the United Kingdom, including Godskitchen, Global Gathering, Polysexual, and others. It was set up in 2005...
.
Distribution
Charisma was initially manufactured and distributed in the United Kingdom as an off-shoot of B&C Records, but it later absorbed that label. During the mid and late 1970s Charisma's European distribution was handled by Phonogram RecordsPhonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
.
In the United States and Canada, Charisma Records recordings were first licenced to other labels such as ABC Records
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
(Trespass
Trespass (album)
Trespass is the second studio album by Genesis and was recorded and released in 1970. Their last with guitarist Anthony Phillips, Trespass had a folk-flavoured progressive rock sound that was a marked departure from their earlier work....
by Genesis which was actually first issued through ABC's jazz division Impulse Records). The ABC subsidiary Probe Records
Probe Records
Probe Records was a sub-label of ABC-Paramount Records. It was started in 1968 as their label for psychedelic rock and progressive rock.-Releases:Number - Title - Artist [Release Date]...
released The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other by Van der Graaf Generator, while the Dunhill Records
Dunhill Records
Dunhill Records was started by Lou Adler, Al Bennett, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts in 1964 as Dunhill Productions, originally for the purpose of releasing Johnny Rivers recordings on Imperial Records. It became a record label in 1965 and was distributed by ABC Records...
subsidiary released H to He, Who Am the Only One
H to He, Who Am the Only One
H to He, Who Am the Only One is the third album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970.During the recording of the album, Nic Potter quit the band. Organist Hugh Banton offered to play bass guitar on the two tracks that had not yet been finished. In...
by the same group. Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
in the US released recordings by Charisma Records artists Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...
, Audience and Lindisfarne.
In 1971 Charisma entered into a distribution agreement with Buddah Records
Buddah Records
Buddah Records was founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding...
and began to release albums on the Charisma label in the US. These albums included Pawn Hearts
Pawn Hearts
Pawn Hearts is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in October 1971. The album reached number 1 on Italian album charts.-Differences between the European and North American releases:...
by Van der Graaf Generator and Nursery Cryme
Nursery Cryme
Nursery Cryme is the third studio album by Genesis and was recorded and released in 1971. It is also the first album to feature the classic five-piece line-up of Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins and Steve Hackett; the latter two replacing John Mayhew and Anthony Phillips, on...
, Foxtrot and Genesis Live
Genesis Live
Genesis Live is the first live album released by rock group Genesis in 1973. It was the band's first top 10 hit in the UK reaching No.9 and remaining on the charts for 10 weeks.-History:...
by Genesis. Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
also later released Charisma recordings in the United States from 1973 to 1974 including many Genesis titles. In 1973, Atlantic stopped distributing Charisma in America; as a result, in the US Charisma's bands signed to various labels such as Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
(Van der Graaf Generator) and Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
(Monty Python). In 1978, Charisma signed a new distribution deal with Polydor that lasted until 1980. In Canada, many Charisma releases were distributed by PolyGram
PolyGram
PolyGram 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:...
Canada.
Between 1980 and 1982, Charisma operated a subsidiary called Pre Records, which was devoted to new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
acts. Pre's roster included Scars
Scars (band)
Scars were a Post-punk band that hailed from Edinburgh, Scotland, and were a part of that city's bustling music scene of the late 70s - early 80s.-History:...
, Prince Far I
Prince Far I
Prince Far I was a Jamaican reggae deejay, producer and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics against measures initiated towards violent crime.-Biography:He was born Michael James Williams in...
, Delta 5
Delta 5
-Career:The original members of Delta 5, Julz Sale , Ros Allen and Bethan Peters , formed the band "on a lark", but soon became a part of the thriving Leeds post-punk scene, and later added Kelvin Knight on drums and Alan Riggs on guitar...
, Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....
, The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk band originally formed in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides...
and Congo Ashanti Roy. Pre also licensed albums by The Residents
The Residents
The Residents is an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1972, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs....
and Tuxedomoon
Tuxedomoon
Tuxedomoon is an experimental post-punk/New Wave group formed in San Francisco, California, consisting of core members Blaine L. Reininger, Steven Brown and Peter Principle....
from the American label Ralph Records
Ralph Records
Ralph Records was The Residents' original record label, the name coming from the somewhat colorful phrase "calling Ralph on the porcelain telephone."...
. In Europe, Pre's releases were issued on the Charisma label.
Collectable "pink scroll" label design
The "pink scroll" label design was the first label design used on LPGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
s released by the Charisma label. In the UK, they were used from Charisma's inception in 1969 until mid-1972, with the release of Lindisfarne's Dingly Dell
Dingly Dell
Dingly Dell is a 1972 album by English rock band Lindisfarne.-Production:The album was produced by and mixed by Bob Johnston, who had also worked on the earlier #1 album Fog on the Tyne. However, the band were unhappy with the album, and remixed it themselves shortly before it was released.-Release...
LP (CAS 1057). This was replaced by the large Mad Hatter label, designed by Paul Whitehead
Paul Whitehead
Paul Whitehead is a painter and graphic artist known for his surrealistic album covers for artists on the Charisma Records label in the 1970s, such as Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator.-England: Liberty Records and Charisma Records:...
of Genesis sleeve design fame. In the United States, the pink scroll labels were used in late 1973 and early 1974 on releases distributed by Buddah Records. Releases distributed by Atlantic Records used the small Mad Hatter design. Because Charisma had many bands who were relative unknowns when they were signed, many original pressings of early UK issues of albums from Charisma bands like Genesis, Audience and Van der Graaf Generator with pink scroll labels have become quite rare and sought after by collectors. They were distributed by B&C Records.
External links
- Charisma Label 1969 - 1986 Charisma Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-903455-15-7
- The Famous Charisma Discography - A comprehensive discography of all known UK releases, plus a history of the label including contributions from ex-Charisma staff and artists, including a foreword by Michael PalinMichael PalinMichael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
(ISBN 978-0-9563531-1-5) - Collectors Website - Contains discography
- Tony Stratton-Smith and The Marquee Club
- Colin Richardson was International Manager for Charisma between 1972 and 1976
- Current Charisma label from Angel Music Group UK
- Charisma Labelography
- Audience website