Telstar Records
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Telstar Records was a British record label that operated from 1982 to 2004.


Background

Telstar Records was founded in 1982 by Sean O'Brien and Neil Palmer with a government loan of £120,000. It was launched as a specialist compilation marketing label and had hits with a range of compilation franchises such as the Deep Heat, Kaos Theory and 100% ranges. As well as these brands, the company licensed a number of major artist recordings (for example
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
and the
Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...
) to release telemarketed compilations. In the mid-1990s, it diversified its output into the singles market and long-term artist development. Until then, Telstar normally only released singles that were telemarketed or associated with acts like The Chippendales or Byker Grove's PJ & Duncan. Many of PJ & Duncan/Ant & Dec's early records came out XSRhythm, Telstar's dance music label, though by the mid-1990s this had been superseded by Multiply Records. This dance label was run by Mike Hall and originally featuring a large amount of acts licensed on a track-by-track basis from overseas companies, before becoming home to acts such as The Cheeky Girls. Acts signed in the late 1990s period included Conner Reeves, Phats & Small and a Tony Mortimer-free version of
East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. They are best known for their 1994 hit single " Stay Another Day", which was the UK Christmas number one that year. The g ...
, while
Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...
had two UK number one singles on the Wildstar label, a joint-venture between Telstar and the Capital Radio Group (now known as media company
Global Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...
), which was run by music managers Ian McAndrew and Colin Lester. Other artists included
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline, Lady Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spic ...
(in a £1.5 million deal arranged with Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings), Rosie Ribbons, Skream!, Danny Erskine and Mis-Teeq. In the late 1990s, Telstar became closely associated with BMG Records, especially with the Telstar TV compilation label. Telstar Records went bankrupt in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, largely due to the company's habit of giving large advances to artists such as Claire Sweeney and
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline, Lady Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spic ...
who failed to make them any money. In the media much of the blame for the label's failure was placed on their most high-profile signing, Victoria Beckham. However, as most of Telstar's artists were not directly signed to the label, instead being either sub-licensed or part of a number of joint ventures, BMG (soon to be 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 ...
) declined to buy the label's assets outright. The majority of Telstar's back catalogue (the artists signed directly to the label not sub-licensed) ended up with Phoenix Music International alongside the rights to songs from Gut Records, Jet Star and Azuli, whilst Ant & Dec's hits ended up being sub-licensed to BBC Studios' Crimson Productions/DMG TV in the early 2010s (which resulted in a number one hit for DMG TV's Edsel label in 2013 when "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble" charted again). In February 2017, the remains of Wildstar was bought by Sony Music Entertainment UK, a company who signed Craig David in 2016 (in a deal which was part of another joint venture called Insanity Records), whilst Ian McAndrew runs management company Wildlife, home to Miles Kane, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Royal Blood.


Artists


Telstar

* Ant & Dec (also as PJ & Duncan) *
BBMak BBMak are a British band consisting of Mark Barry, Christian Burns and Stephen McNally (musician), Stephen McNally. Formed in Liverpool in 1996, they sold over three million albums worldwide between 1999 and 2003. The band first achieved success ...
*
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline, Lady Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spic ...
(from 19) * Ladytron * Crush (ex-Byker Grove) * E-17 * Danny Erskine * Monk & Canatella * Vinnie Jones * Mis-Teeq (from Inferno Cool – recordings owned by Twenty First Artists Ltd) * N-Tyce * Harry * Maria Willson * The Cheeky Girls * Poloroid * Specialist Compilation Marketing: **
ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...
(compilation with tracks licensed from Polar) ** Daniel O'Donnell **
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...
**
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
(compilation with various licensing deals) ** Maggie Moon ** Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers ** Bonnie Tyler ** Heatwave (Disco remixes) ** Bad Manners ** Boney M. (compilation with tracks licensed from MCI/ BMG Germany) **
Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...
** Roy Orbison


T2

* Claire Sweeney * Rosie Ribbons


Telescope

* London Symphony Orchestra – '' Classic Rock series''


Multiply

* Sash! (licensed from mainland Europe) * Phats and Small * Basement Jaxx (licensed from Atlantic Jaxx) * Fabulous Baker Boys


Wildstar

Wildstar Records was 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, ...
launched in
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
by Colin Lester, Ian McAndrew and
Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...
in a joint venture with Telstar. In February 2017,
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
acquired Wildstar from
Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysal ...
and Telstar for £1.8m. * Alda * Conner Reeves *
Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...
* De Nada * Fierce * Lutricia McNeal


XSrhythm

* The Chippendales * PJ and Duncan a.k.a. Ant and Dec


Compilation brands

* '' Deep Heat'' * ''100%'' * ''
Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
'' (to
Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...
) * ''The Greatest Hits of...'' (yearly compilation series e.g. ''The Greatest Hits of 1987'') * ''Hits 93'' / ''Hits 94'' (these were listed as part of the '' Hits Album'' brand in the ''Complete Book of British Charts'' due to Telstar TV's later involvement with the series, but were actually released by Telstar in joint venture status with BMG. There was later a ''Pure Hits 97'') * ''
Box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...
Hits'' (to UMTV) * ''Megabass'' * '' Brit Awards'' (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 ...
) * ''Kaos Theory'' In the late 1990s, Telstar's successful dance music compilation series ''
Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
'' and ''Breakdown'' (full name ''The Very Best of Euphoric Breakdown'') were launched, both of which lasted into the days when BMG were co-credited on compilations, and transcended Telstar Records' closure when they were continued on the
Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...
label.


''Chart Attack''

''Chart Attack'' was Telstar Records' first chart hit on the UK Top 75 album charts. It was released in autumn 1982 and reached number 7 in the main chart in the days before the exclusion of such various artist albums.


See also

*
Lists of record labels File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg File:Bingola1011b.jpg Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, ...


References

{{Authority control 1982 establishments in the United Kingdom British record labels Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom Pop record labels Record labels established in 1982 Record labels disestablished in 2004