Axe Records is a Canadian record label founded by Greg Hambleton in 1972. After a number of years of inactivity, the label was revived in 2013. It is particularly notable as the original recording label of the Canadian duo Gary and Dave.

History

Axe Records was founded by Hambleton in 1972. The label was initially distributed by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

of Canada. The first artists signed to the label included theCanadian group Thundermug. In 1974, Axe moved into offices in the Toronto Sound Studio building on Overlea Boulevard. By 1975, the label was distributed by

GRT Records GRT Records was the name of both a U.S. and a Canadian record label, both created by General Recorded Tape, a California-based company that existed from 1965 to 1979.Richard GreenGRT of Canada, Ltd. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2013-02-26 ...

in Canada. The company had no consistent international distribution. Its most successful artist duo, Gary and Dave, was distributed by London Records in the United States. Its principal rock band, Thundermug, was distributed by the Big Tree and the

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

labels and, from 1975, at the initiative of Hambleton, by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. International licensing arrangements were signed with

EMI Electrola Electrola is a German record label and subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Based in Munich, its roster has included Chumbawamba, Matthias Reim, Helene Fischer, Brings, Höhner and Santiano. History On 8 May 1925, the British Gramophone Compa ...

, Basart and Decca UK. The label's major recording success was with Gary and Dave. It also released records by Thundermug, Fergus, The Sattalites, Rain (with Charity Brown),

Keith Hampshire Keith Hampshire (born 23 November 1945) is an English-born singer and actor. He recorded three songs which were top ten hits in Canada, and hosted the CBC Television show ''Keith Hampshire's Music Machine''. His voice has been compared to Davi ...

Major Hoople's Boarding House Major Hoople's Boarding House is a Canadian pop band from Galt, Ontario (now Cambridge, Ontario). They have released two albums and several singles, three of which appeared on national charts. History In 1967, Rocky Howell (vocals), Peter Padalin ...

, Steel River, Tom Northcott and

Walter Ostanek Ladislav John "Walter" Ostanek, CM (born 20 April 1935) is a Canadian musician. He is known as "Canada's Polka King." He has received twenty-one nominations for Grammy Awards and won three. Early life Born in Duparquet, Quebec in 1935, his fa ...

, among others. In 2013, the label was revived by Hambleton, to re-issue and market the original recordings by its original artists, as well as to sign new artists.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Record labels established in 1972