PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced almost no music until the company name and trademark was acquired by the Scottish broadcaster and music producer Tony Currie in September 2024. The new Pye Records has begun to release new albums on vinyl: ''Race the Sun'' from the Tony Currie Orchestra, conducted by Gavin Sutherland (principal guest conductor for the English National Ballet), and Callum Au. ''Race the Sun'' was conceived to pay tribute to the pop orchestras of the original Pye Records. The revived label has also released ''Harvest Gold'' by the London-based singer-songwriter Andrea Black. Pye Records was best known for artistes such as

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought ...

(1956–1969),

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

(1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979). The label changed its name to PRT Records (distributing as Precision Records & Tapes) in 1980, before being briefly reactivated as Pye Records in 2006. In September 2024, Pye was relaunched by Currie, using a wind-powered pressing plant in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

to press its vinyl.

History

The Pye Company originally manufactured televisions and radios with its main plant situated off what used to be Haig Road, in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. The company entered the record business when it bought Nixa Records in 1953. In 1955, the company acquired Polygon Records, a label that had been established by Leslie Clark and Alan A. Freeman to control distribution of the recordings of the former's daughter,

. Pye merged it with Nixa Records to form Pye Nixa Records.

Pye International

In 1958, Pye International Records was established. The company licensed recordings from American and other foreign labels for the United Kingdom market, including

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, Disques Vogue (France), A&M, Kama Sutra, Colpix, Warner Bros., Buddah, Cameo, 20th Century, Casablanca Record and Filmworks and

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

. It also released recordings from British artist Labi Siffre which were produced outside the company.

Expansion

Pye Nixa became Pye Records in 1959, and ATV acquired 50% of the label. ATV bought the other half of the business in 1966. Under the management of Louis Benjamin, Albert H. Friedlander, "Obituary: Louis Benjamin", ''The Independent'', 23 June 1994
Retrieved 3 December 2020 the company entered the budget-priced album market in 1957, reissuing older Pye material on Pye Golden Guinea Records, priced at a

guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

(one pound and one shilling). A series of classical recordings was released on Golden Guinea Collector; for example, a version of Handel's " Music for the Royal Fireworks" in 1959. This featured the conductor Charles Mackerras who made other recordings on the label, including a Janacek compilation.The orchestra credited for the ''Music for the Royal Fireworks'' was the Pro Arte Orchestra, but given the number of extra players used, it was effectively an ''ad hoc'' ensemble on that occasion. Golden Guinea Collector was closed in the 1970s and replaced by Marble Arch Records, selling at an even lower price.

Piccadilly and Dawn labels

A full-price subsidiary, Piccadilly Records, was for new pop acts, including Joe Brown & the Bruvvers, Clinton Ford, the Rockin' Berries, Sounds Orchestral, the Sorrows, The Bystanders, Jackie Trent and, later on, the Ivy League. In 1969, Pye launched a less mainstream label for folk,

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 ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and progressive acts, Dawn Records. The label artists included Mungo Jerry,

Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

, Donovan, Comus, Titus Groan and Trifle.

Quadraphonic releases

Beginning in 1971, Pye issued a series of "4D Stereo" LP recordings in the UK. These were designed for playback in 4-channel

quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic, also called quadrasonic or by the neologism quadio ortmanteau, formed by analogy with "stereo" sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are po ...

sound. The records were encoded in the

QS Regular Matrix Quadraphonic Sound (originally called Quadphonic Synthesizer, and later incorrectly referred to as RM or Regular Matrix) was a phase amplitude Matrix decoder, matrix 4-channel quadraphonic sound system for phonograph records. The system was based ...

system which was licensed from Sansui in Japan. Pye also marketed its own line of consumer electronics used for decoding quadraphonic records. These products were not especially successful. The last LP release in this series was in 1977.

As PRT Records

When the rights to the name Pye (then owned by Philips) expired in 1980, the label changed its name to PRT, which stood for Precision Records and Tapes, via a brief flirtation with Precision. At that time, it had sub-labels such as Fanfare Records, a late 1980s and early 1990s UK-based Hi-NRG label issuing records by Sinitta; R&B Records, a 1980s disco/electro label featuring Imagination; and Splash Records, which featured Jigsaw and the Richard Hewson Orchestra/RAH Band. PRT provided manufacturing and distribution for Gary Numan's label Numa Records, founded in 1984, which went on to release two dozen singles by a variety of acts alongside its eponymous founder, including actress Caroline Munro. Postman Pat songs and music, from the television series of the same name, were recorded at PRT Studios. PRT's parent company ACC was purchased by The Bell Group of Australia in 1982. In 1988, the Bell Group was purchased by the Bond Corporation. However, the Bond Corporation was suffering financial problems itself and proceeded to quickly sell off most of its assets. PRT's record and cassette factory was sold to another record manufacturer, Meekland. Most of the masters of PRT's catalogue (except classical music catalogue) were sold to Castle Communications, which eventually became Sanctuary Records (now a division of BMG Rights Management). Precision Records & Tapes Ltd, formerly Pye Records Ltd, was officially liquidated in December 2013. At the same time, EMI acquired masters of PRT's classical music catalogue and assigned them to EMI Classics.

Brief revival

In July 2006, Pye Records was reactivated by Sanctuary Records as an indie and alternative label, featuring artists such as Scottish alternative rock group Idlewild. However, plans for continued usage of the Pye name were abandoned when

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, ...

bought Sanctuary in 2007. To fulfil 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 ...

following UMG's acquisition of EMI in 2012, Universal sold Sanctuary to BMG Rights Management in 2013.

Previous ownership

Universal Music Group, which owned the label's catalogue from 2007 to 2013, controls the catalogue of reissues from Pye/PRT artists' releases on Sanctuary's behalf after BMG assigned UMG to distribute them in October 2023. Previously, it was distributed by

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 ...

through its Alternative Distribution Alliance division from 2017 to 2023. WMG owns Pye's American former distributors

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

(formerly Warner Bros. Records) and Reprise Records. With its acquisition of EMI Classics' catalogue in 2013, WMG now owns the Pye/PRT classical music catalogue and controls it via Warner Classics.

ATV Music Publishing

Pye Records was a sister company to the better-known ATV Music Publishing. This company, which owned

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 ...

' publisher Northern Songs, was bought by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

in 1985 and later merged with

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

to form Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

International divisions

Pye in the US

Starting with the " British Invasion" of 1964, Pye placed their artists in the US mostly on labels that they distributed in the UK: the Kinks to Cameo Records and then to Reprise Records,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, the Sorrows and

to Warner Bros. Records, Donovan to Hickory Records, the Searchers to

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 ...

, Liberty Records, and finally Kapp Records, and Status Quo to

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

(which issued their records on their newly created Cadet Concept Records label). From 1969 to 1971, Pye was a co-owner with GRT (General Recorded Tape) of Janus Records, which at the outset served as the US label for such Pye acts as Jefferson, Sounds Orchestral, Pickettywitch, Mungo Jerry and Status Quo, and also re-issued the early (pre-1966) recordings of Donovan. Pye sold its share of Janus back to GRT in 1971. In 1972, Bell Records set up a short-lived Pye label, featuring

Michel Pagliaro Michel Armand Guy Pagliaro (born 9 November 1948) is a Canadian rock singer, songwriter and guitarist from Montreal, Quebec. Although he writes and records predominantly in French, Pagliaro has reached international success mainly with material ...

, a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

artist whose first English-language album (largely recorded in England) was issued on UK Pye, and Jackie McAuley, whose lone solo album was originally issued on UK Dawn. In 1974, Pye established an American version of its record label. The label was not a success, however, and closed its US operations in 1976. The head of the US division, Marvin Schlachter, then started Prelude Records, named after one of Pye's acts of the time, Prelude; its initial LP and 45 catalogue series were carried over from the ill-fated American Pye label (with the catalogue prefix changed from PYE- to PRL-), and Prelude had a string of

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

hits into the early 1980s.

Pye in Canada

Whilst Pye did not have its own operations in Canada, it arranged with Canadian record companies to issue Pye recordings on the Pye label in Canada. Before then, Quality Records issued Pye recordings on the Quality label. Its earliest Pye Canada releases such as

's "My Old Man's A Dustman" were distributed by Astral Music Sales. Around 1963, distribution shifted to Allied Record Corporation. In 1968 distribution shifted to Phonodisc.

Roster

(including the US labels that issued records by the artists during the time they were on Pye) * Shirley Abicair * Long John Baldry (issued in the US on Warner Bros.) * Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen (issued in the US on Kapp) * Chris Barber's Jazzband (issued in the US on Laurie) * John Barbirolli and The Hallé Orchestra (from 1956, as Pye Nixa) * Acker Bilk *

(1965–1966; issued in the US on Warner Bros.) * The Brook Brothers (1961–1964) * Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979) * Joe Brown (singer) * Max Bygraves made a successful series of singalong albums for Pye *

(1957–1971: in addition to dozens of singles, her output for Pye included seventeen albums. Issued in the US on Laurie and then on Warner Bros.) * Clem Curtis *

Joe Dolan Joseph Francis Robert Dolan (16 October 1939 – 26 December 2007) was an Irish singer, entertainer and recording artist. Chiefly known in Ireland for his association with Irish showband, showbands and for his innovative style and high tenor s ...

(1956–1969; issued in the US on Mercury, on Atlantic, then on Dot) * Donovan (1965–1971; issued in the US on

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

and then on Epic) * Carl Douglas (issued in the US on

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

) * The Dummies (1980) * Judith Durham * The Enid * Episode Six (issued in the US on Elektra for one single only) * Fabulous Poodles * Bud Flanagan * The Flying Machine (1969; issued in the US on Congress and then on Janus) * Emile Ford and the Checkmates * The Foundations (issued in the US on Uni) * Graduate (1979) * Davy Graham recorded his album '' The Guitar Player'' in 1963 under Pye; later reissued by Sanctuary Records in 2003 with eight bonus tracks * Benny Hill (1961–1965) * The Honeycombs (1964–1966; issued in the US on Interphon and then on Warner Bros.) * Idlewild (2006) * The Ivy League (1965–1966; issued in the US on Cameo) * Tony Jackson and the Vibrations (1964–1966; issued in the US on Kapp and then on Red Bird) * Jimmy James & the Vagabonds * John Paul Jones released "Baja"/"A Foggy Day In Vietnam" on Pye Records in April 1964; issued in US on Parkway * The Kinks (1964–1971; issued in the US on Cameo and then on Reprise) * Vera Lynn (1979–1981) *

(1968–1969) * Gerald Masters (1977–1980) * David MacBeth (1959–1969; includes a spell on subsidiary label Piccadilly) * Mike McKenzie * Mungo Jerry (1970–1974; issued in the US on Janus and then on

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

) * Olivia Newton-John (''Olivia'',

Festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

, Australia, 1972) * Maxine Nightingale * The Migil 5 (1964–1965) * Des O'Connor *

(Canadian singer/songwriter from Montreal, simply known as Pagliaro in the UK) * Lennie Peters (1966) * Pickettywitch (1969–1973; issued in US on Janus and then on Bell) * The Real Thing (1976–1979) *

Joan Regan Joan Regan (born Joan E. Bethell; 19 January 1928 – 12 September 2013) was an English traditional pop singer, popular during the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Joan E. Bethell was born in either Romford, Essex, or West Ham, London (sour ...

(1960–1961) * The Remo Four * Donn Reynolds (1958–1959) * The Searchers (1963–1967; issued in the US on Mercury, on

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

and then on Kapp) * Sandie Shaw (1964–1972; issued in the US on Reprise) * Labi Siffre (1970–1973, Pye International) * Hurricane Smith (1976–1977) * The Sorrows (1964–1966; issued in the US on Warner Bros.) * Sounds Orchestral (issued in the US on Parkway) * Status Quo (1968–1971; issued in the US on Cadet Concept and then on Janus) * Tommy Steele * Trader Horne * Frankie Vaughan (1973–1978) * Johnny Wakelin * Velvett Fogg (1969) * Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band (issued in the US on Kapp) * Mark Wynter (1962–1968) * The Human Instinct Other artists who recorded for Pye during their careers include Jimmy Young, Dickie Valentine, Russ Conway, Emile Ford, Val Doonican, Jackie Trent, Tony Hatch and Tony Hancock.

References

External links

Discogs.com discographyOfficial Yahoo! Group for Pye Records
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1959 Record labels disestablished in 1989 Pop record labels Rock record labels Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom 1959 establishments in the United Kingdom 1989 disestablishments in the United Kingdom