OLD GOLD
RECORDS

Independent label: Old Gold Records. Lightning Records started out as an importer and distributor of Oldies; the 'Old Gold' label was an extension of that business.  In 1978 the company began licensing records and issuing them on Old Gold.  The first two releases were numbered in the LIG-1000s. In 1978 Lightning was setting up the Golden Oldies Record Club and was issuing its 'first batch' of product.  Records in this and a subsequent batch had catalogue numbers in a different series, the LIG-9000s; the first batch had a small black 'A' on the appropriate side, which was apparently WEA practise at that time.  Later LIGs lacked the 'A'.  The new LIG-9000 series was itself changed in the summer of 1979, to OG-9000, apparently at the point when distribution of Old Gold records, which had been done by WEA until that point, was taken over by Lightning themselves. There was a minor change to the label design at the same time: the wording 'Distributed by WEA Records Ltd A Warner Communications company', which could be found from 5 o'clock to 3 o'clock on the early labels, was replaced by 'Distributed by Lightning Records Ltd'.  The design changed several times in the '80s and '90s, and at some point the 'Lightning Records' disappeared from the label.  LIG-1001 and 1002 were reissued in 1979 as LIG-9001 and 9002, 9002 getting a different 'B' side.  To complicate matters further, when the LIG-9000 series singles were reissued in 1978, they kept their old numbers, but the 'LIG' prefix was replaced by the then-standard 'OG'.  In addition, singles were regularly re-pressed, and the re-pressings were given whatever style of label was current at that time.  Thus, for example, The Troggs' 'Wild Thing' can be found as LIG-1001, LIG-9001 and OG-9001, with a variety of different labels and made by different manufacturers.  Early singles were pressed by CBS, thanks to the WEA connection; by the end of the decade Multiple Sound Pressings appear to have been doing that job.  Ten 1979 issues (9011 to 9020) were released as picture discs, under the 'Cruisin' banner, standard black vinyl versions replacing the picture ones when they sold out; there was no reference to Old Gold on the picture discs. Heinz's hit 'Just Like Eddie' (F-13762) had been reissued by Decca in a joint venture with Lightning as a one-off venture; that single appeared in a batch of six reissues all with a red label in the old-fashioned Decca style, an example of which can be found on the Decca page.  It doesn't seem impossible that the other singles in that batch, and perhaps in the two subsequent batches, had Lightning involvement.  Old Gold singles covered any number of musical styles and came out at an astonishing rate: OG-9800 was reached in 1988.  The label was still in existence well into the CD era. Distributed By WEA and  Records. Thanks to Robert Lyons For The Info.

   

78	Troggs	Wild Things	OLDGOLD	LIG	1001
78	Mr Bloe	Groovin' With Mr Bloe	OLDGOLD	LIG	1002

  

78	Troggs	Wild Things	OLDGOLD	LIG	9001
78	Mr Bloe	Groovin' With Mr Bloe	OLDGOLD	LIG	9002
78	Chicory Tip	Son Of My Father	OLDGOLD	LIG	9003
78	Python Lee Jackson	In A Broken Dream	OLDGOLD	LIG	9004
78	Lindisfarne	Meet Me On The Corner	OLDGOLD	LIG	9005
78	Shocking Blue	Venus	OLDGOLD	LIG	9006
78	Boone Daniel	Beautiful Sunday	OLDGOLD	LIG	9007
78	Ward Clifford T	Gaye	OLDGOLD	LIG	9008
78	Shearstone Gary	I Get A Kick Out Of You	OLDGOLD	LIG	9009
78	Flowerpot Men	Let'S Go To San Francisco	OLDGOLD	LIG	9010
79	Montez Chris	Let'S Dance	OLDGOLD	LIG	9011
79	Lester Kitty	Love Letters	OLDGOLD	LIG	9012
79	Del Vikings	Cone Go With Me	OLDGOLD	LIG	9013
79	Drifters	Save The Last Dance For Me	OLDGOLD	LIG	9014
79	Teddy Bears	To Know Him Is To Love Him	OLDGOLD	LIG	9015
79	Tillotson Johnny	Poetry In Motion	OLDGOLD	LIG	9016
79	Darin Bobby	Dream Lover	OLDGOLD	LIG	9017
79	Flowerpot Men	Let'S Go To San Francisco	OLD GOLD	LIG	9019
79	Akens Jewel	The Birds And The Bees	OLD GOLD	LIG	9020
79	Equals	Baby Come Back	OLD GOLD	LIG	9021
79	Lopez Trini	If I Had A Hammer	OLD GOLD	LIG	9022

      
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF THE LIG / OG 9000 SERIES CAN BE FOUND HERE
  

90	Buddy Holly	Buddy Holly  (EP)	OLDGOLD	OG	7701
90	Bill Haley And His Comets	Bill Haley And His Comets (EP)	OLDGOLD	OG	7702
90	Chuck Berry	Chuck Berry  (EP)	OLDGOLD	OG	7703
90	Bo Diddley	Bo Diddley (EP)	OLDGOLD	OG	7704
90	Lonnie Donegan	Lonnie Donegan (EP)	OLDGOLD	OG	7705

92	Animals	House Of The Rising Sun	OLDGOLD	OG	8000
92	Bluebells	Young At Heart	OLDGOLD	OG	8001
92	Animotion / Swans Way	Obsession / Soul Train	OLD GOLD	OG	8002
92	Curiosity Killed The Cat	Down To Earth	OLDGOLD	OG	8003
92	Wet Wet Wet	Wishing I Was Lucky	OLDGOLD	OG	8004
92	Lovelady Bill	Reggie For  It Now	OLDGOLD	OG	8005
92	Climie Fisher	Love Changes Everything	OLDGOLD	OG	8006