POLYDOR
RECORDS
Polydor Records was a branch of Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft; it made
its debut in 1924, as a label for exported records. From 1946 it
became a Popular Music label, leaving DGG to concentrate upon Classical
Music. In Britain, it tasted success with European artists such as
the orchestras of Bert Kaempfert and James Last; though its main claim to fame
in some quarters is that it released the first records by the Beatles, in the
guise of Tony Sheridan's 'Beat Brothers'. 1962 saw Siemens, the
owners of DGG and Polydor, linking up with the Philips Electrical Company to
form the Gramophon Philips Group; in 1972 GPG evolved into
Polygram. The Polydor and Philips (now 'Phonogram') departments kept
separate management organisations in Britain until 1981. Polydor's
ratio of hits to releases wasn't especially impressive, but it found big sellers
with some frequency: the Bee Gees were regular visitors to the Singles Charts
throughout the latter half of the '60s and into the '70s; Slade and the New
Seekers - an unlikely pairing - kept the hits coming through the middle of that
decade, while Roxy Music, the Jam and Jean-Michel Jarre saw the company into the
'80s. All sorts of music appeared on the familiar red label, from the
Glam Pop of the Rubettes to the Disco of the Fatback Band, by way of the Rock of
Rainbow, and Polydor is still a popular and successful operator on the UK music
scene today. Polydor owned or handled a number of other labels in
the '70s, including MGM, Mojo, RSO, Track, Pablo, Spring and
Verve . The Polydor labels were manufactured and distributed by
Phonodisc, as were those of its partner, Phonogram. In Britain, numbering in the Vinyl era
appears to have started off in an NH-66000 series, 1958. There were
variations, and there were large gaps in the numbers, which were presumably down
to the 'missing' ones being used for overseas releases. After
NH-66999. 1962, the numbers changed to NH-52000s; there were also a NH-59000
series. Around 1965 a BM-56000 series was adopted, again with minor
variations; this lasted into the first two months of the following
decade. For much of the '70s Polydor group labels issued singles in
various seven-figure numerical series, the first number of which was always a
'2'. An exception was the CTI / Kudu pair, whose licensing agreement
stipulated alphabetical prefixes. Singles on Polydor appeared in several
different series, the most common of which were 2058-000 and 2001-000; other
prefixes were 2041, 2056, 2066, 2121, 2141, 2229 and 2230. When the
2058 series reached 2058-999 it was replaced by a 2059-000 one. At
the start of 1978 a POSP-0 series was adopted alongside the numerical
ones, initially as a three-month experiment. The experiment
must have been successful, as it was continued beyond the three-month period and
the letter prefixes replaced numerical ones in the early '80s. The last
year of the decade saw the introduction of a series of singles under the
'Steppin' Out' banner; they had their own numbering and sleeve, The actual
Polydor labels didn't change much over the years: the '50s and early '60s orange
one was replaced by a red one in 1964; this continued, in a slightly changed
form until the advent of injection-moulding. The label with no white
printing appears to have been confined to a period in 1966, despite the '1963',
which couples two old recordings. The kind of dinking which results in
three prongs appears to have been peculiar to the Polydor and Philips companies,
as were the rather graceful triangular 'spiders' which were supplied with
factory-dinked singles - it was common in the early '70s for singles in the
Polydor and Philips family labels to be dinked before they left the
factory. 1971 saw a short-lived 'Action Replay' series of reissues;
the labels of the singles involved were overprinted appropriately. The
first injection-moulded labels appeared in 1972, and could be found
with the same trio of dinking perforations that the old paper label had
had. The first design resembled that of the paper labels; this was used
for only a few singles (such as 2058-155, 2058-185, and 2058-195) which
could also be found in paper-labelled form. The second design,
which first saw the light of day in 1972, saw the Polydor logo migrating to
the left-hand side and turning 90 degrees. In 1973 injection moulded
singles became the norm. They came either with solid centres or with
large spindle holes and three-pronged 'spiders'. The
injection-moulded labels enjoyed a long life, lasting into the early '80s with
only minor changes to their design: the letter 'A' on the top right-hand side
increased in size in 1976. In the last couple of years of the decade
silver labels began to be used alongside the red ones and they became
increasingly common, while metallic blue ones made infrequent
appearances.During the 1960s promotional records had white labels
with a large red 'A' on them but neither Polydor nor its subsidiaries
appear to have had special labels for promos during the '70s - a sticker on the
paper-labelled singles did the job instead, while injection-moulded promos were
generally identical with the issues. The New Seekers single shown
above, which has 'FOR PROMOTION ONLY' and 'NOT FOR RESALE' pressed into the
vinyl, was an exception to that rule; were there any
others? Polydor's Special Products division supplied pressings of
tracks from its vaults to firms which wanted to make singles to promote their
products, the 'Yardleys' EPs shown, Occasionally other companies pressed singles
for Polydor during this period, resulting in paper labels and four-pronged
dinks; the first looks like a Decca product, while
the narrow perforations on the second suggest that it came
from EMI or RCA. Thanks to Robert Lyons For The
Info.
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF Polydor
2001-000 SERIES 1970-1980 CAN BE FOUND HERE
A FULL
DISCOGRAPHY OF Polydor 2041-000 SERIES 1970-1978 CAN BE
FOUND HERE
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF Polydor 2056-000 SERIES 1970-1982 CAN BE
FOUND HERE
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF Polydor
2058-000 SERIES 1970-1978 CAN BE FOUND HERE
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF Polydor 2066-000 SERIES 1970-1979 CAN BE
FOUND HERE
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF Polydor
2121-000 SERIES 1970-1982 CAN BE FOUND HERE
| 71 |
Not
Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
001 |
| 71 |
Aunt Mary |
Whispering Farewell |
POLYDOR |
2814 |
002 |
| 71 |
Yes |
I've Seen All Good People: (a)
Your Move |
ATLANTIC |
2814 |
003 |
| 71 |
Rory
Gallagher |
It's You |
POLYDOR |
2814 |
004 |
| 71 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
005 |
| 71 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
006 |
| 71 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
007 |
| 72 |
Slade |
Hear Me
Calling |
POLYDOR |
2814 |
008 |
| 72 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
009 |
| 72 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
010 |
| 72 |
Rare Bird |
Roadside
Welcome |
POLYDOR |
2814 |
011 |
| 72 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
012 |
| 73 |
The
Hillsiders |
Charleston West
Virginia |
POLYDOR |
2814 |
013 |
| 73 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
014 |
| 73 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
015 |
| 74 |
Lyn Paul |
Sail
The Summer Winds |
POLYDOR |
2814 |
016 |
| 74 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
017 |
| 74 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
018 |
| 74 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
019 |
| 74 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
020 |
| 74 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2814 |
021 |
| 74 |
James Last |
Nabucco |
POLYDOR |
2814 |
022 |
| 73 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2141 |
001 |
| 73 |
James Brown |
James Brown Goes Maxi |
POLYDOR |
2141 |
002 |
| 73 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2141 |
003 |
| 73 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2141 |
004 |
| 73 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2141 |
005 |
| 73 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2141 |
006 |
| 73 |
James Last |
Non Stop 73 |
POLYDOR |
2141 |
007 |
| 73 |
James Brown |
Papa's Got A Brand New
Bag |
POLYDOR |
2141 |
008 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
001 |
| 75 |
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra |
Die Fledermaus Overture |
POLYDOR |
2816 |
002 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
003 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
004 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
005 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
006 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
007 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
008 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
009 |
| 75 |
Not Traced |
|
POLYDOR |
2816 |
010 |
| 75 |
Various
Artists |
4 Hunks Of Funk |
POLYDOR |
2816 |
011 |
| 76 |
James Brown |
James Brown Goes
Maxi |
POLYDOR |
2230 |
101 |
| 76 |
Neil Sedaka |
Make
Your Own Sunshine |
POLYDOR |
2230 |
102 |
| 77 |
Ray Dorset And Mungo Jerry |
Mungo Rox |
POLYDOR |
2230 |
103 |
| 76 |
The Beatles |
Excerpt From Paul McCartney
Interview |
POLYDOR |
PPSP |
1 |
| 77 |
Barclay James
Harvest |
Live
EP |
POLYDOR |
2229 |
198 |
| 79 |
The Jolt |
Maybe
Tonight EP |
POLYDOR |
2229 |
215 |
| 78 |
Jimi Hendrix |
The Essential Jimi
Hendrix |
POLYDOR |
JIMI |
1 |
| 78 |
Otway And
Barrett |
Down The Road |
POLYDOR |
OT |
1 |
A
FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF Polydor 2059-000 SERIES 1978-1982 CAN BE
FOUND HERE
A FULL
DISCOGRAPHY OF Polydor POSP-000 SERIES 1978-1982 CAN BE
FOUND HERE
| 78 |
WH0 |
Who Are You |
POLYDOR |
WHO |
1 |
| 79 |
WH0 |
Long Live Rock |
POLYDOR |
WHO |
2 |
| 79 |
WH0 |
5.15 |
POLYDOR |
WHO |
3 |
| 81 |
WH0 |
You Better You Bet |
POLYDOR |
WHO |
4 |
| 81 |
WH0 |
Don't Let Go The Coat |
POLYDOR |
WHO |
5 |
| 82 |
WH0 |
Athena |
POLYDOR |
WHO |
6 |
| 82 |
WH0 |
Eminence Front |
POLYDOR |
WHO |
7 |
| 82 |
WH0 |
Ready Steady Who |
POLYDOR |
WHO |
8 |
| 78 |
Roy Ayers |
Get On Up Get On
Down |
POLYDOR |
AYERS |
7 |
| 78 |
Olympic
Runners |
Get It While You
Can |
POLYDOR |
RUN |
7 |
| 78 |
Jean Michel
Jarre |
Equinoxe Part
5 |
POLYDOR |
JARRE |
1 |
| 78 |
Cimarons |
Truly |
POLYDOR |
CIMA |
7 |
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY
OF Polydor 2095-000 SERIES 1977-1982 CAN BE FOUND HERE
| 79 |
James Brown |
Papa´S Got A Brand New
Bag |
POLYDOR |
JB |
1 |
