RAK
RECORDS

Independent label: Rax Records was a phenomenally successful company, started in 1970 by producer Mickie Most and manager Peter Grant.  Peter Noone, Julie Felix and New World gave Rak early hits, but it was only in the Glam era that the label really got into its stride.  Staff songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman struck an astonishing vein of form in 1972 to 1975, and helped artists such as Mud and Suzi Quatro to make some classic Glam singles; but it was the Soul / Pop / Disco band Hot Chocolate which gave Rak its longest run in the Singles Charts, registering in the Top 75 every year from 1970 to 1982.  Smokie kept the hits coming for the label in the late '70s, and Kim Wilde in the early '80s; it was sold to EMI in 1983.   Rak records were manufactured and distributed by EMI, through a licensing agreement.  The singles appeared in a RAK-100 numbering series; more than three hundred and fifty of them were issued.  The label design remained basically the same throughout; there was a minor change in the perimeter text in October 1973 when the reference to 'The Gramophone Co.' at 8 o'clock was altered to read 'EMI Records' - a similar change took place on most of the EMI group labels.  RAK-159 seems to have been the first single to have the new text, though demo copies have the old text.  There was an occasional series of reissues of old Mickie Most / Rak hits; they appeared from 1972 onwards, on the Rak Replay label, and were numbered in the RR-0s.  Thanks to Robert Lyons For The Info.

         
A FULL DISCOGRAPHY OF RAK Records RAK-000 SERIES 1970-2015 CAN BE FOUND HERE

73	Suzi Quatro	Primitive Love	RAK	PSR	355
73	C.C.S.	Shakin' All Over	RAK	PSR	356
75	Smokey	Pass It Around [ Ep ]	RAK	PSR	375
76	Chris Spedding	Guitar Jamboree	RAK	PSR	396

87	Soho	Mona Lisa Smile	RAK	RAK	501
87	London Gospel Choir	Conversion	RAK	RAK	502
88	Simon Bowman	Homely Girl [ Demo ]	RAK	RAK	503
88	Perfect Stranger	I Don'T Want To Fight	RAK	RAK	504