Eldred Claude Stebbing (3 October 1921 – 6 December 2009) was a New Zealand record label owner and co-founder of the

Zodiac Records Zodiac Records has been the name of at least six different record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the ...

label. He also founded

Stebbing Studios Stebbing Studios is a recording studio in Auckland, New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand. Artists who have recorded at the studio over the years include Ray Columbus & The Invaders, Split Enz, Gary Havoc & The Hurricanes, Th' Dudes, The Human Inst ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Biography

Stebbing was born in 1921. After leaving school in the 1930s, he was working on a production line for a company manufacturing radios. Later in the 1930s, along with his brother Phil, via their company, he supplied sound equipment for events. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was also involved in running dances attended by visiting servicemen. After the war, Stebbing Record and Sound Company Ltd was founded, and the company manufactured

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

records. In 1960, he founded Zodiac Records. He built the Stebbing Recording Centre in 1970, which became known as

. In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, Stebbing was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to the recording and entertainment industries. He was presented the

Benny Award The Benny Award is bestowed on a New Zealand variety entertainer. It is presented annually by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, a non-for-profit organisation and showbusiness club, founded in 1966 and awarded to a variety performer who h ...

from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc in 2004 in recognition of his contribution to New Zealand entertainment. Stebbing died on 6 December 2009, aged 88, and his ashes were buried at Purewa Cemetery, Auckland.

References

External links

Stebbing Recording : History

The Stebbing Legacy, Chris Bourke, Audioculture

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stebbing, Eldred 1921 births 2009 deaths New Zealand audio engineers Music industry executives 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Burials at Purewa Cemetery