DJM Records (also known as Dick James Music) was the British

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, set up in the late 1960s by British music publisher

Dick James Dick James (born Leon Isaac Vapnick; 12 December 1920 – 1 February 1986) was a British music publisher and singer. He and Brian Epstein established the Beatles' publisher Northern Songs. Later, with his son Stephen, James founded the DJM re ...

. It was distributed by

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

in the UK, and various other companies around the world, including the US. The first release on the label was by Dave Sealey and entitled "It Takes a Thief", which had been adapted from the theme music from the television series for which a lyric was written. Frank Neilson was A&R manager from 1976 to 1979, before he moved to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. Andy Stinton was Promotions Manager for several years before moving to Canada in 1980 to start his own communications company.

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

was prominent on DJM, except in the United States and Canada where his records were issued on the

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

label. In 1976, he began his own label,

The Rocket Record Company The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973 in music, 1973. The company was named after the hit song "Rocket Man (song), Rocket Man". The label was ...

. He brought a lawsuit against DJM in the 1980s over the rights to his earlier (pre-1976) work. Other acts on the label in the 1970s included Hector; Ireland's

Celtic rock Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been extremely prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundatio ...

ers Horslips;

John Inman Frederick John Inman (28 June 1935 – 8 March 2007) was an English actor and singer best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in '' Are You Being Served?'', a British sitcom between 1972 and 1985, and was the only actor from that series to featu ...

Mr. Bloe Mr. Bloe was the name given to the musicians who performed the single "Groovin' with Mr. Bloe", which was a hit in 1970 in the UK for Dick James Music (DJM). These included Harry Pitch on harmonica, and on piano. Background The tune "Groovi ...

, who included pianist and harmonica player

Harry Pitch Harold Cecil Pitch (9 May 1925 – 15 July 2015) was an English harmonica player who featured on many recordings and soundtracks between the 1950s and 2000s. According to the National Harmonica League, he "was one of the handful of players wh ...

; former

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

member Danny Kirwan, who recorded three albums for DJM, ''

Second Chapter ''Second Chapter'' is the debut solo album by British blues rock musician Danny Kirwan, released in 1975 on the DJM Records label. This was his first solo album after being dismissed from Fleetwood Mac in 1972, and his solo career was being mana ...

'' (1975), '' Midnight in San Juan'' (1976), and ''

Hello There Big Boy! ''Hello There Big Boy!'' is an album by British blues rock musician Danny Kirwan, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1968–72. Released in 1979 on the DJM Records label, this was his last solo album. It was eventually released on CD in Febru ...

'' (1979);

The Tremeloes The Tremeloes are an English beat group founded in 1958 in Dagenham, England. They initially found success in the British Invasion era with lead singer Brian Poole, scoring a UK chart-topper in 1963 with "Do You Love Me". After Poole's departure ...

, after their departure from

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

/ Epic in 1974; singer-turned-actor

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', '' Minder'' and '' New Tricks'', singing the theme tunes of th ...

; and

Johnny "Guitar" Watson John Watson Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996), known professionally as Johnny "Guitar" Watson, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording caree ...

, who had several successful singles and albums in the US.

Roger Hodgson Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’ ...

– prior to joining

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...

– issued a UK single on DJM under the name "Argosy". This record was also released on Congress Records (a division of

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

) in the US. DJM had a daughter label called "Weekend Records" for releases relating to the ITV contractor

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

such as T.V. themes and some releases appeared both on the DJM and "Weekend Records" labels. Notable releases include " Hi Summer" by

Carl Wayne Carl Wayne (born Colin David Tooley; 18 August 1943 – 31 August 2004) was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s. Early days Wayne was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, and grew up in ...

. After Dick James' death in 1986, the DJM catalogue was acquired by

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

. Today, the catalogue is now owned by Polygram's successor-in-interest

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Djm Records British record labels Record labels disestablished in 1986 Pop record labels Elton John Record labels established in 1969 Pye Records Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom

See also

References