Innocent Records was a pop

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 company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

created to cater to for EMI's

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

more pop oriented acts. Following the success of the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

, Virgin Records decided to delve into the pop market. In doing so they poached Hugh Goldsmith from

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

(famous for steering

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

's initial flagging sales, to a multi-platinum act). They let him launch his own Virgin Records offshoot. His first signing was

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer who is best known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2006, 2008, 2010). She initially gained recognition as a singer a ...

, followed by Martine McCutcheon, along with several dance acts. The label continued to thrive well into the mid-2000s with

Atomic Kitten Atomic Kitten were an English girl group formed in Liverpool in 1998, whose original lineup comprised Kerry Katona, Liz McClarnon, and Natasha Hamilton. The group was founded by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) members Andy McCluskey an ...

and

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

achieving Platinum sales. In early 2005, Goldsmith returned to

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

(parent company of

) to set up Brightside Records. Not long after Goldsmith's departure, Innocent Records was shifted from Virgin Records to the newly formed Angel Music Group, EMI's newly created commercial division, which also handles EMI Classics. For a time in the mid-2000s Angel Music Group also licensed

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

for the UK. Innocent Records' most notable success during this period was Blue's Simon Webbe's double platinum solo album ''

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

''. The Innocent Records imprint seemed to have vanished by the late 2000s (decade) being replaced by the revived Charisma Records label, itself disappeared after limited success with pop acts such as

Alphabeat Alphabeat are a Danish pop band from Silkeborg, fronted by singers Stine Bramsen and Anders Stig Gehrt Nielsen. Their single " Fascination" was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2006, as well as the United Kingdom in 2008. Their 2007 ...

Former artists

(1999–2004) *

(2001–2005) *

(1998–2001) * Geri Halliwell (2004–2005) (shifted from EMI) *

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...

(2002–2004) * Martine McCutcheon (1999–2003) * Duncan James (

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

) (2004–2007) * Simon Webbe (

) (2005–2007) * Javine Hylton (2003–2004) * VS (2004–2005)

References

British record labels EMI Virgin Records Pop record labels Record labels established in 1997 Record labels disestablished in 2007 1997 establishments in the United Kingdom 2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-record-label-stub

Former artists

See also

References