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Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a
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, ...
founded in
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in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parlophone Company Limited (the Parlophone Co. Ltd.), which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
record label. On 5 October 1926, the Columbia Graphophone Company acquired Parlophone's business, name, logo, and release library, and merged with the Gramophone Company on 31 March 1931 to become Electric & Musical Industries Limited (EMI). George Martin joined Parlophone in 1950 as assistant to Oscar Preuss (who had set up the London branch of the company in 1923), the label manager, taking over as manager in 1955. Martin produced and released a mix of recordings, including by comedian Peter Sellers, pianist Mrs Mills, and teen idol Adam Faith. In 1962, Martin signed
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, a beat group from
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
who earlier that year had been rejected by
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
. During the 1960s, when Cilla Black, Billy J. Kramer,
the Fourmost The Fourmost are an English beat music, Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964. History Formation Guitarist/vocalist Brian O'Hara and best friend guitarist/vocalist Joey Bower (bor ...
, and the Hollies also signed, Parlophone became one of the world's most famous labels. For several years, Parlophone claimed the best-selling UK single, " She Loves You", and the best-selling UK album, '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', both by the Beatles. The label placed seven singles at number 1 during 1964, when it claimed top spot on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
for 40 weeks. Parlophone continued as a division of EMI until it was merged into the Gramophone Co. on 1 July 1965. On 1 July 1973, the Gramophone Co. was renamed EMI Records Limited. On 28 September 2012, regulators approved
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
's (UMG) planned acquisition of EMI on condition that its EMI Records group would be divested from the combined group. EMI Records Ltd included Parlophone (except the Beatles' catalogue) and other labels to be divested and were for a short time operated in a single entity known as the Parlophone Label Group (PLG), while UMG pended their sale.
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
(WMG) acquired Parlophone and LGon 7 February 2013, making Parlophone their third flagship label alongside Warner and Atlantic. PLG was renamed Parlophone Records Limited in May 2013. Parlophone is the oldest of WMG's "flagship" record labels.


History


Early years

Parlophone was founded "Parlophon" by Carl Lindström Company in 1896. The name Parlophon was used for gramophones before the company began making records of their own. The label's trademark is a stylised
blackletter Blackletter (sometimes black letter or black-letter), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule or Gothic type, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 until the 17th century. It continued to be commonly used for ...
''L'' (\mathfrak) that stands for Lindström. (Its resemblance to the British
pound sign The pound sign () is the currency symbol, symbol for the pound unit of account, unit of Pound sterling, sterling – the currency of the United Kingdom and its associated Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories and previously of Kin ...
''£'' and the Italian lira sign ''₤'' is coincidental: both derive from the letter ''L'' used as an abbreviation for the Ancient Roman unit of measurement .) On 8 August 1923, the British branch of "Parlophone" (with the "e" added) was established, led by A&R manager Oscar Preuss. In its early years, Parlophone established itself as a leading jazz label in Britain.


EMI years and initial success

In 1927, the Columbia Graphophone Company acquired a controlling interest in the Carl Lindström Company, including Parlophone. Parlophone became a subsidiary of Electric & Musical Industries ( EMI), after Columbia Graphophone merged with the Gramophone Company in 1931. In 1950, Oscar Preuss hired producer George Martin as his assistant. When Preuss retired in 1955, Martin succeeded him as Parlophone's manager. Parlophone specialized in mainly classical music, cast recordings, and regional British music, but Martin also expanded the reach into novelty and comedy records. One notable example is ''The Best of Sellers'', a collection of sketches and comic songs by Peter Sellers undertaken in the guise of a variety of comic characters. It reached number three in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
in 1958. Others include the albums of the comedy music double act Flanders and Swann. Musicians signed to the label included Humphrey Lyttelton and the Vipers Skiffle Group. A consistently successful act for Parlophone was teen idol Adam Faith, who was signed to the label in 1959. The label gained significant popularity in 1962 when Martin signed Liverpool band
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. Parlophone gained more attention after signing the Hollies, Ella Fitzgerald, and Gerry and the Pacemakers in the 1960s. Martin left EMI/Parlophone to form Associated Independent Recording ( AIR) Studios in 1965. Norman Smith took over as Parlophone director, though EMI chairman Sir Joseph Lockwood unsuccessfully attempted to recruit Joe Meek for the job. Parlophone became dormant (except for Beatles reissues) in 1973 when most of EMI's heritage labels were phased out in favour of EMI Records, only to be revived in 1980. The first single released on the revived label was by British group The Cheaters (Parlophone – R6041). During the next decades the label signed
Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
,
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
, Roxette,
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,
Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...
, Guy Berryman, the Chemical Brothers, Blur,
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,
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
,
Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...
, Conor Maynard, Gabrielle Aplin, and
Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...
. On 23 April 2008, Miles Leonard was confirmed as the label's president.


Acquisition by Warner Music Group

On 28 September 2012, regulators approved
Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
's planned acquisition of Parlophone's parent group EMI for £1.2 billion, subject to conditions imposed by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
requiring that UMG sell off a number of labels, including Parlophone itself (aside from the Beatles' catalogue, which was kept by UMG and moved to Universal's newly formed Calderstone Productions),
Chrysalis A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...
(aside from
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' catalogue),
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, Virgin Classics, EMI Classics, worldwide rights to Roulette Records (and its sublabels), and EMI's operations in Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. These labels and catalogues were operated independently from Universal as Parlophone Label Group until a buyer was found. UMG received several offers for PLG, including those from
Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
founder
Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...
,
Simon Fuller Simon Robert Fuller (born 17 May 1960) is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer. He is the creator of the Idols (franchise), ''Idols'' TV format, including the British series ''Pop Idol'' and the American ser ...
, a
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/ BMG consortium,
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
, and MacAndrews & Forbes. On 7 February 2013, it was confirmed that
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
would acquire Parlophone Label Group for US$765 million. The deal was approved in May 2013 by the European Union, which saw no concerns about the deal because of WMG's smaller reach compared to the merged UMG and Sony. Warner Music closed the deal on 1 July. Parlophone Label Group was the old EMI Records label that included both the Parlophone and the eponymous EMI labels. The EMI trademark was retained by Universal (as Virgin EMI Records) while the "old" EMI Records became defunct and was renamed "Parlophone Records Ltd." Soon after acquiring Parlophone, WMG signed an agreement with IMPALA and the Merlin Network (two groups which opposed the EMI/Universal deal) to divest $200 million worth of catalogues to independent labels in order to help offset the consolidation triggered by the merger. In April 2016, the back catalogue of British rock band
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
, who had sued Parlophone and EMI over a dispute in music royalties, was transferred to XL Recordings. WMG treats Parlophone as its third "frontline" label group alongside Atlantic and Warner. In the US, most of Parlophone's artists are now distributed under Warner Records except Dinosaur Pile-Up, distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment's Roadrunner Records, Coldplay and Tinie Tempah, both distributed by Atlantic Records, and
David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...
, distributed by Atlantic's electronic music imprint Big Beat Records.


Roster

Parlophone's roster includes many popular music artists. Its contemporary
His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...
was more of a classical music label and mostly ceased issuing popular music recordings in 1967; later replaced by EMI Classics, which was absorbed into Warner Classics in 2013; English Columbia was replaced by the EMI pop label. Parlophone also operates Regal, a contemporary revival of the historic Columbia Graphophone budget/reissue label founded in 1914. The list records those who achieved notability.


The Beatles

The Beatles' albums in the U.K. up to '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' were issued on the Parlophone label. Subsequent releases – ''
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
'' (also known as the "White Album"), '' Yellow Submarine'', ''
Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...
'' and '' Let It Be'' – were issued on the Beatles' own
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
record label, manufactured and distributed by EMI and bearing Parlophone catalogue numbers. On 6 June 1962, producer George Martin signed the Beatles to Parlophone, in turn, making the Beatles' deal one of the cheapest by Parlophone. Despite the separation of Parlophone from EMI as a condition of EMI's acquisition by UMG, Universal was allowed to keep the Beatles' recorded music catalogue, which is now managed by the subsidiary Calderstone Productions.


Gallery of Parlophone record labels

File:Vertinsky Parlophone B.23017 02.jpg, Vertinsky Parlophone B.23017, made in Germany File:EarlyParlophoneLabel.jpg, Early 20th century Parlophone record label of the 78rpm acoustic era File:Parlophone LP PMC 1202.jpg, '' Please Please Me'' by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
(side 1) – 1963. Parlophone ''gold and black'' label File:With the beatles side 1.JPG, '' With the Beatles'' (side 1) – Parlophone ''yellow and black'' label File:Record Label Parlophone, UK, West End Blues.jpg, West End Blues, British Parlophone record
The labels shown here include those used for 78s and LPs. The label design for 7-inch singles had the same standard template as several other EMI labels, with the large "45" insignia to the right. In recent years, design uniformity has relaxed from release to release.


References


External links


Parlophone
on ''
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'' {{Authority control 1896 establishments in Germany British subsidiaries of foreign companies Electronic music record labels EMI German record labels British jazz record labels Labels distributed by Universal Music Group Labels distributed by Warner Music Group Pop record labels Record labels established in 1896 Rock record labels Warner Music labels