Play It Again (record label)
Encyclopedia
Play It Again is a British
record label
formed in Droitwich, Worcestershire
, in November 1989, by Geoff Leonard, Gareth Bramley and Pete Walker. Leonard had had an idea of releasing some of John Barry
's music on CD in an effort to publicise a book on the musical career of the composer, which he had compiled with two other staunch Barry fans - Bramley and Walker. He was interested in Barry's early career, but had already established that EMI
(Barry's record company in those days) had no plans to re-issue anything. However, they were prepared to discuss licensing out material and this led to Play It Again's first release Beat Girl/Stringbeat.
Beat Girl
, was, coincidentally, Barry's first film score
dating from 1960, while the studio album, Stringbeat, was a rare, early stereo recording. The CD was released in September 1990. The albums fitted onto one CD
after careful digital remastering at Abbey Road Studios
. Beat Girl was Barry's introduction to the world of film music scoring. Stringbeat was an easy-listening album which could almost have been a Vic Flick
solo album on which he was accompanied by strings and a clavioline. The CD was accompanied by a booklet which combined extensive notes on the composer with rare photographs - a departure which was to become a trademark of the company.
Next up were two CDs featuring music from John Barry's sojourn at Ember Records between 1963 and 1965. The Ember Years - Volume One contained the music from Elizabeth Taylor in London, a 1963 TV special, together with the music from Four In The Morning, which featured an early film outing for Judi Dench
in 1965.
The Ember Years - Volume Two contained the jazz album (A Handful Of Songs) recorded in 1963 by Annie Ross
, plus John Barry's music from Zulu
. The former utilised the services of conductor Johnnie Spence and sound engineer Eric Tomlinson, whilst Barry was the record producer.
Play It Again's fourth release was The A To Z Of British TV Themes From The 60s & 70s. This 30-track compilation contained the signature tunes from programmes spanning two decades, in particular the themes from some of the popular series made by ITC.
Born Free - The Don Black Songbook remains the only album to date which comprised songs co-written by the lyricist. There are twenty two songs on this album, giving a comprehensive look at Black's career.
Following the success of the first volume of TV themes, Play It Again released three follow-up albums: The A To Z Of British TV Themes - Volume Two, The A To Z Of British TV Themes - Volume Three, The A To Z Of British TV Themes - Volume Four. They also issued The A To Z Of British TV Themes - The Ron Grainer
Years.
The Ember Years Volume Three was a mix of many genres. It contained snatches of rock from Mike d'Abo
's first beat combo, A Band Of Angels, another track from Annie Ross, an oddity from former Coronation Street actor Philip Lowrie
(Dennis Tanner) and the BBC-banned 'satirical' recording of 'Christine' by Miss X, based allegedly on the Profumo affair. The main body of work is twenty one recordings made by Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde
, produced by John Barry and Shel Talmy
.
The final Play It Again release was John Barry - The Hits & the Misses. It was a double album
tracing the early career of Barry at Abbey Road. Featuring his work as musical director for EMI between 1960-64, and some hits. It included fifty tracks and a sixteen page booklet of extensive notes, an appreciation from Brian Matthew
of BBC Radio 2
's Sounds of the Sixties
, plus many photographs and record sleeve reproductions.
The label has not released any material since 1998.
United Kingdom
The 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...
record label
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,...
formed in Droitwich, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, in November 1989, by Geoff Leonard, Gareth Bramley and Pete Walker. Leonard had had an idea of releasing some of John Barry
John Barry (composer)
John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
's music on CD in an effort to publicise a book on the musical career of the composer, which he had compiled with two other staunch Barry fans - Bramley and Walker. He was interested in Barry's early career, but had already established that 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...
(Barry's record company in those days) had no plans to re-issue anything. However, they were prepared to discuss licensing out material and this led to Play It Again's first release Beat Girl/Stringbeat.
Beat Girl
Beat Girl
Beat Girl is a 1960 British film about late-fifties youth-rebellion. The title character is played by starlet Gillian Hills, who later went on to have numerous small roles in 1960s and 1970s films, such as Blowup and A Clockwork Orange, and became a successful "ye-ye" singer in France.The music was...
, was, coincidentally, Barry's first film score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
dating from 1960, while the studio album, Stringbeat, was a rare, early stereo recording. The CD was released in September 1990. The albums fitted onto one CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
after careful digital remastering at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
. Beat Girl was Barry's introduction to the world of film music scoring. Stringbeat was an easy-listening album which could almost have been a Vic Flick
Vic Flick
Victor Harold Flick is an English guitarist, most famous for playing the guitar riff in the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
solo album on which he was accompanied by strings and a clavioline. The CD was accompanied by a booklet which combined extensive notes on the composer with rare photographs - a departure which was to become a trademark of the company.
Next up were two CDs featuring music from John Barry's sojourn at Ember Records between 1963 and 1965. The Ember Years - Volume One contained the music from Elizabeth Taylor in London, a 1963 TV special, together with the music from Four In The Morning, which featured an early film outing for Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame 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...
in 1965.
The Ember Years - Volume Two contained the jazz album (A Handful Of Songs) recorded in 1963 by Annie Ross
Annie Ross
Annie Ross is an English jazz singer, and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.-Early years:...
, plus John Barry's music from Zulu
Zulu (film)
Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War....
. The former utilised the services of conductor Johnnie Spence and sound engineer Eric Tomlinson, whilst Barry was the record producer.
Play It Again's fourth release was The A To Z Of British TV Themes From The 60s & 70s. This 30-track compilation contained the signature tunes from programmes spanning two decades, in particular the themes from some of the popular series made by ITC.
Born Free - The Don Black Songbook remains the only album to date which comprised songs co-written by the lyricist. There are twenty two songs on this album, giving a comprehensive look at Black's career.
Following the success of the first volume of TV themes, Play It Again released three follow-up albums: The A To Z Of British TV Themes - Volume Two, The A To Z Of British TV Themes - Volume Three, The A To Z Of British TV Themes - Volume Four. They also issued The A To Z Of British TV Themes - The Ron Grainer
Ron Grainer
Ronald Erle “Ron” Grainer was an Australian-born composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. He is mostly remembered for his film and television music.- Biography :...
Years.
The Ember Years Volume Three was a mix of many genres. It contained snatches of rock from Mike d'Abo
Mike d'Abo
Michael David "Mike" d'Abo is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the former lead vocalist of Manfred Mann.-Biography:...
's first beat combo, A Band Of Angels, another track from Annie Ross, an oddity from former Coronation Street actor Philip Lowrie
Philip Lowrie
Colin Philip Lowrie is an English television actor. He played Dennis Tanner, the son of Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street, from 1960 until 1968. On 25 January 2011, it was announced that he would return to the role, reappearing on screen later in the year...
(Dennis Tanner) and the BBC-banned 'satirical' recording of 'Christine' by Miss X, based allegedly on the Profumo affair. The main body of work is twenty one recordings made by Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde
Jeremy Clyde
Michael Thomas Jeremy Clyde is an English actor and musician. The son of Lady Elizabeth Wellesley, he made his first public appearance as a pageboy at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1953...
, produced by John Barry and Shel Talmy
Shel Talmy
Shel Talmy is an American record producer, songwriter, arranger best known for his work in London with The Who and The Kinks in the 1960s, with a role in many other English bands including Cat Stevens and Pentangle...
.
The final Play It Again release was John Barry - The Hits & the Misses. It was a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
tracing the early career of Barry at Abbey Road. Featuring his work as musical director for EMI between 1960-64, and some hits. It included fifty tracks and a sixteen page booklet of extensive notes, an appreciation from Brian Matthew
Brian Matthew
Brian Matthew is a veteran English broadcaster, who became well known in the 1960s. He is still broadcasting on radio for the BBC, having presented Sounds of the 60s since 1990, often employing the same vocabulary and the same measured delivery he used in previous decades.-Early life and...
of BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
's Sounds of the Sixties
Sounds of the Sixties
Sounds of the Sixties can refer to:* Sounds of the 60s, a radio series broadcast on BBC Radio 2 since 1983* Sounds of the 60s , first broadcast on BBC Two in 1991 and featuring music performances from the BBC archives...
, plus many photographs and record sleeve reproductions.
The label has not released any material since 1998.
Notable artists
- John BarryJohn Barry (composer)John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...
- Don BlackDon Black (musician)Don Black, OBE is an English lyricist. His works have included numerous musicals, movie themes and hit songs. He has provided lyrics for John Barry, Charles Strouse, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Quincy Jones, Jule Styne, Henry Mancini, Michael Jackson, Elmer Bernstein, Michel Legrand, Hayley Westenra,...
- Ron GrainerRon GrainerRonald Erle “Ron” Grainer was an Australian-born composer who worked for most of his professional career in the United Kingdom. He is mostly remembered for his film and television music.- Biography :...
- Adam FaithAdam FaithTerence "Terry" Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was a Teen idol English singer, actor and later financial journalist. He was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5...
- Annie RossAnnie RossAnnie Ross is an English jazz singer, and actress, best known as a member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.-Early years:...
- Chad & Jeremy