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Parlophone



 
 
Parlophone is a record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
, founded in Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1896
1896 in music

Events * February 1 - Giacomo Puccini's La boh?me debuts in Turin* March - Leo Stern plays in the premiere of Anton?n Dvor?k Cello Concerto in London...
 by the Carl Lindström Company. The £ trademark is a German L, for Lindström. It also resembles the British pound sign
Pound sign

.The pound sign is the symbol for the pound sterling?the currency of the United Kingdom . The same symbol is used for currencies of the same name in some other countries and territories; there are other countries whose currency is called "the pound", but that do not use the ? symbol....
 (£), which itself is derived from the letter L for Libra
Libra

Libra is Latin language for "scales". It may refer to:* Libra , an astrological sign* Libra , a star constellation in the sky* Libra, an Ancient Rome Ancient Roman units of measurement#Weight, which originated the current use of the term "Pound " as a measure of mass , which in turn originated the United Kingdom pound sterling currency....
, meaning pound in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
. In 1931 Columbia merged with the Gramophone Company
Gramophone Company

The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early record company, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label....
 to form Electric & Musical Industries Ltd EMI
EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
. Parlophone is best known for their association with The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
.

strom initially used the "Parlophon" brand on gramophone
Gramophone

Gramophone might refer to:* The British English term for U.S. English "phonograph", the first device for recording and replaying sound. The two names were originally those used by rival manufacturers...
s before it started making records.






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Encyclopedia


Parlophone is a record label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
, founded in Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1896
1896 in music

Events * February 1 - Giacomo Puccini's La boh?me debuts in Turin* March - Leo Stern plays in the premiere of Anton?n Dvor?k Cello Concerto in London...
 by the Carl Lindström Company. The £ trademark is a German L, for Lindström. It also resembles the British pound sign
Pound sign

.The pound sign is the symbol for the pound sterling?the currency of the United Kingdom . The same symbol is used for currencies of the same name in some other countries and territories; there are other countries whose currency is called "the pound", but that do not use the ? symbol....
 (£), which itself is derived from the letter L for Libra
Libra

Libra is Latin language for "scales". It may refer to:* Libra , an astrological sign* Libra , a star constellation in the sky* Libra, an Ancient Rome Ancient Roman units of measurement#Weight, which originated the current use of the term "Pound " as a measure of mass , which in turn originated the United Kingdom pound sterling currency....
, meaning pound in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
. In 1931 Columbia merged with the Gramophone Company
Gramophone Company

The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early record company, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label....
 to form Electric & Musical Industries Ltd EMI
EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
. Parlophone is best known for their association with The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
.

Early history

Lindstrom initially used the "Parlophon" brand on gramophone
Gramophone

Gramophone might refer to:* The British English term for U.S. English "phonograph", the first device for recording and replaying sound. The two names were originally those used by rival manufacturers...
s before it started making records. During the First World War, the Transoceanic Trading Company was set up in the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 to look after its overseas assets. On August 8, 1923, the British branch of "Parlophone" (with the "e" added) was established, led by A&R
A&R

Artists and Repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and the artistic development of recording artists....
 manager Oscar Preuss. Parlophone established a master leasing arrangement with co-owned United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 based Okeh Records
Okeh Records

Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States in 1918 in music; from the late 1920s on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records....
, making Parlophone a leading jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 label in the UK. In 1927 the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 company Columbia Graphophone Company
Columbia Graphophone Company

The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom....
 acquired a controlling interest in the Carl Lindström Company and thereby in Parlophone.

Okeh Records

In the U.S. in 1929 there was a short lived Parlophone label made and distributed by OKeh . OKeh also pressed other Parlophone recordings as the PNY-34000 series along with the Odeon ONY-36000 series, were both discontinued in 1930. No one has been able to determine where these two labels were intended to be sold, since many surviving copies are in new condition. Speculation amongst record collectors is that that these records were found uncirculated in a warehouse. (Actually, starting early in 1929, selected OKeh records were issued on Parlophone (sometimes spelt "Parlophon" and "Odeon" using the regular OKeh catalog number, but using the PNY and ONY prefixes. These preceded the 34000 and 36000 series.)

As a subsidiary label

Under EMI
EMI

The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
 the Parlophone company initially maintained its status as a jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 label. As time went on the label also released speciality recordings of voice and comedy
Comedy

Comedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western culture origins are found in Ancient Greece....
 recordings, such as the comedy recordings of The Goons. In 1950, Preuss hired 24 year old George Martin
George Martin

Sir George Henry Martin Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom record producer, arrangement and composer. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"?a title that he owes to his work as producer or co-producer of all of The Beatles' original records as well as playing piano on some of The Beatles tracks?and is considered one o...
 as his assistant. In 1955, Preuss retired and Martin succeeded him. Leading Parlophone artistes at the time included Germany's Obernkirchen Children's Choir, Scottish musician Jimmy Shand
Jimmy Shand

Sir James Shand Order of the British Empire was a Scotland musician who played traditional Scottish dance music on the accordion....
 and the pianist Mrs Mills
Mrs Mills

Gladys Mills, nee Gladys Jordan, , better known as Mrs Mills, was a pianist who was popular in the 1960s and released many gramophone record....
.

Beat Boom and The Beatles

At the dawn of the rock era, Parlophone artists such as Humphrey Lyttelton
Humphrey Lyttelton

Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an England jazz musician and Presenter, and chairman of the BBC radio programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue....
, the Vipers Skiffle Group, Jim Dale
Jim Dale

'Jim Dale' Order of the British Empire is an England actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On films and is known in the US for his roles as narrator in the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing D...
, Keith Kelly
Keith Kelly

Keith Kelly is a Jamaican football player who currently plays for Harbour View FC in the Jamaican National Premier League. The midfielder is known for his dynamic dribbles and defence-splitting passes....
, the Temperance Seven, Laurie London
Laurie London

Laurie London achieved fame as a boy singer of the 1950s, sound recording and reproduction in both English language and German language.At the age of thirteen he made an up-tempo cover version of the spiritual song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" with the Geoff Love Orchestra for Parlophone Records which was picked up by its co-ow...
 and Shane Fenton would sporadically reach the British Top 20 chart. their only consistent chart action until the "Beat Boom" would be that of teen idol Adam Faith
Adam Faith

Terence Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was an United Kingdom singer, actor and financial journalist. Teen idol turned top actor then financial wizard, Faith was one of the most record chart musician of the 1960s....
. Faith was assigned to the label by Norman Newell
Norman Newell

Norman Newell, Order of the British Empire was born in Plaistow, Newham, Essex , and was a successful United Kingdom record producer in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as songwriter of many notable songs....
. Treading a path similar to other British labels of the era, Parlophone released all manner of domestic and foreign licensed product, including James Brown
James Brown

James Joseph Brown, Jr. was an United States entertainer. He is recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music and was renowned for his vocals and feverish dancing....
, but had little success in comparison to EMI siblings HMV
HMV

His Master's Voice is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up phonograph....
 and Columbia
Columbia Graphophone Company

The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom....
. The label's fortunes began to rise in 1962, when George Martin
George Martin

Sir George Henry Martin Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom record producer, arrangement and composer. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"?a title that he owes to his work as producer or co-producer of all of The Beatles' original records as well as playing piano on some of The Beatles tracks?and is considered one o...
 signed a rising new Liverpool band The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
. Along with Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein

Brian Samuel Epstein was a United Kingdom music entrepeneur, and the music manager of The Beatles. Through his family's company, NEMS he also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J....
 who managed Beatles stablemates Cilla Black
Cilla Black

Cilla Black Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter and television personality. After a successful recording career, she went on to become the highest paid female presenter in British television history....
, Billy J. Kramer
Billy J. Kramer

Billy J. Kramer was a British Invasion / Merseybeat singer. In sharing Brian Epstein as a manager with The Beatles he enjoyed access to the songwriting of Lennon and McCartney, recording several of their original compositions....
 and the Fourmost, they soon turned Parlophone into one of the world's most famous and prestigious record labels.

Absorbed onto EMI

After Martin become an independent producer in 1965, the Parlophone Company was absorbed into EMI's Gramophone Company
Gramophone Company

The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early record company, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label....
 unit (renamed EMI Records in 1973) with the Parlophone label maintaining its identity. For a long time Parlophone claimed the best selling UK single "She Loves You
She Loves You

"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an idea by McCartney, originally recorded by The Beatles for release as a single in 1963....
", and the best selling UK album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". The label also achieved placement of seven singles at #1 during 1964, when it also claimed top spot in the album charts for 40 of the 52 weeks during that year.

Parlophone today

Now known as Parlophone is still an important label. Its contemporary HMV
HMV

His Master's Voice is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up phonograph....
 became solely a classical music label and Columbia was later absorbed by the EMI
EMI Records

EMI Records is a record label, founded by EMI in 1972 in music as the successor label to the Columbia Graphophone Company label. The global success that EMI enjoyed with pop music in the 1960s also exposed trade mark issues as EMI only had the rights to some of its trade marks, most notably His Master's Voice and Columbia, in parts of the wo...
 label.

Artists signed to Parlophone

  • Lily Allen
    Lily Allen

    Lily Rose Beatrice Allen is an England singer-songwriter. Best known for her songs "Smile ", "LDN ", "Littlest Things", "Alfie ", "Oh My God ", "The Fear " and her Mockney style, Allen is the daughter of actor/musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen....
  • All Saints
    All Saints (band)

    All Saints were a BRIT Awards-winning British-Canadian all-female vocal group. Founded in 1996, the group consisted of founding members Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis, and sisters Nicole Appleton and Natalie Appleton....
  • Athlete
    Athlete (band)

    Athlete are an England indie rock band formed in Deptford, London, comprising Joel Pott , Carey Willetts , Stephen Roberts and Tim Wanstall . Recently, the quartet have recruited Jonny Pilcher of Weevil as a live guitarist....
  • Babyshambles
    Babyshambles

    Babyshambles are an England indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project....
  • Bat for Lashes
    Bat for Lashes

    Bat For Lashes is the pseudonym of England musician Natasha Khan , a Brighton-based songwriter....
  • Beverley Knight
    Beverley Knight

    Beverley Knight Order of the British Empire is an England soul music and rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, and record producer who released her debut album in 1995....
  • Blur
    Blur (band)

    Blur are an English alternative rock band who formed in London in 1989. The four members of the band are singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree....
  • Geri Halliwell
    Geri Halliwell

    Geraldine Estelle "Geri" Halliwell is an England pop music singer-songwriter, children's author, actress and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund....
  • Gorillaz
    Gorillaz

    Gorillaz is a virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn of alternative rock band Blur , and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl....
  • Interpol
    Interpol (band)

    Interpol are an American band formed in 1997 in New York City.The band's line-up is Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Sam Fogarino ....
  • Jamelia
    Jamelia

    Jamelia Niela Davis , known simply as Jamelia, is a Mercury Music Prize nominated English contemporary R&B singer-songwriter and occasional model who found fame in early 2000 after impressing music executives at Parlophone with self-written a cappella songs....
  • Late of the Pier
    Late of the Pier

    Late of the Pier are a four-piece indie electronic band from Castle Donington, England, currently signed to Parlophone Records. They have released five singles to date....
  • Supergrass
    Supergrass

    Supergrass are an England alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consists of brothers Gaz Coombes and Rob Coombes , Danny Goffey , and Mick Quinn ....
  • The Divine Comedy
    The Divine Comedy (band)

    The Divine Comedy are a pop music from Northern Ireland fronted by Neil Hannon....
  • The Good, the Bad and the Queen
    The Good, the Bad and the Queen

    The Good, the Bad & the Queen is the album by an unnamed British alternative rock Supergroup , made up of Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen , released in January 2007....
  • The Verve
    The Verve

    The Verve are a British people Rock music band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 1989 at Winstanley College, by vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones , and drummer Peter Salisbury....
  • Humphrey Lyttelton
    Humphrey Lyttelton

    Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an England jazz musician and Presenter, and chairman of the BBC radio programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue....
  • Bobby Tench
    Bobby Tench

    Robert Tench is a respected and accomplished British people vocalist and guitarist. He has been occasionally known to have played keyboards and bass guitar as well....
  • Gass
    Gass (band)

    Gass was a Rock music band formed by Bobby Tench, who was credited as Bobby Tench, during 1965 and were managed by Rik Gunnell. The band became involved with Catch My Soul produced by Jack Good during 1969 and recorded an album of the original UK stage version....
  • Vipers Skiffle Group
  • Jim Dale
    Jim Dale

    'Jim Dale' Order of the British Empire is an England actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On films and is known in the US for his roles as narrator in the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing D...
  • Suretama Ath
  • Keith Kelly
    Keith Kelly

    Keith Kelly is a Jamaican football player who currently plays for Harbour View FC in the Jamaican National Premier League. The midfielder is known for his dynamic dribbles and defence-splitting passes....
  • Temperance Seven
  • Laurie London
    Laurie London

    Laurie London achieved fame as a boy singer of the 1950s, sound recording and reproduction in both English language and German language.At the age of thirteen he made an up-tempo cover version of the spiritual song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" with the Geoff Love Orchestra for Parlophone Records which was picked up by its co-ow...
  • Shane Fenton
  • Adam Faith
    Adam Faith

    Terence Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was an United Kingdom singer, actor and financial journalist. Teen idol turned top actor then financial wizard, Faith was one of the most record chart musician of the 1960s....
  • The Beatles
    The Beatles

    The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
  • Bliss
    Bliss (band)

    Bliss was a pop group from Coventry, England....
  • Coldplay
    Coldplay

    Coldplay are a United Kingdom alternative rock Musical ensemble formed in London, England in 1998. The group comprises vocalist/pianist/guitarist Chris Martin, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Will Champion....
  • Duran Duran
    Duran Duran

    Duran Duran are an English music group from Birmingham, United Kingdom. They were one of the most commercially successful of the 1980s bands and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States....
  • John Lennon
    John Lennon

    John Winston Ono Lennon, Order of the British Empire was an English Rock music musician, singer, songwriter, artist, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles....
  • Mansun
    Mansun

    Mansun were an England indie band formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper , bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone....
  • Paul McCartney
    Paul McCartney

    Sir James Paul McCartney Member of the Order of the British Empire is a multiple Grammy Award-winning England singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record producer, film producer, Painting, and Animal rights....
  • Kylie Minogue
    Kylie Minogue

    Kylie Ann Minogue, Order of the British Empire, , is an Australian pop singer-songwriter and occasional actress. She rose to prominence in the late 1980s through her role in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987....
  • Pet Shop Boys
    Pet Shop Boys

    Pet Shop Boys are an English people electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main Singing, Keyboard instruments and occasionally guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards and occasionally on vocals....
  • Queen
    Queen (band)

    Queen were an England rock music band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Meddows-Taylor, with bassist John Deacon completing the lineup the following year....
  • Radiohead
    Radiohead

    Radiohead are an English alternative rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire. The band is composed of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway ....
  • Scarlet Party
    Scarlet Party

    Scarlet Party was formed in Essex, England, in the early 1980s. The founder members were, singer/songwriters Graham Dye, and brother Steven Dye, with drummer Sean Heaphy....
  • Dusty Springfield
    Dusty Springfield

    Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, Officer of the Order of the British Empire , known as Dusty Springfield, was a leading pop music singer and entertainer....
  • Tina Turner
    Tina Turner

    Tina Turner is an United States singer and actress whose career has spanned over 50 years and who has won numerous awards. Her achievements in the Rock genre have led to her being referred to as "The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll"....


Parlophone record labels


The labels shown here include those used for 78s and LPs. The label design for 7" singles had the same standard template as several other EMI labels, with the large "45" insignia to the right. In recent years, design uniformity has relaxed from release to release.

External links

  • at YouTube
    YouTube

    YouTube is a Video hosting service website where users can upload, view and share video clips. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005....