The Gramophone Co. Ltd

The latest book is complete! Harvest UK Vinyl Discography, Vol.1

Posted by r3c0rdc0113ct0r on June 14, 2018
Posted in: Deep Purple, EMI, Harvest, Pretty Things, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. Leave a comment

Harvest book cover

My latest book on rare and collectable UK vinyl is complete! This one has been a long time in the making. Due to there being around 88 UK releases on the collectable “Gramophone Co. Ltd” label style, it has been necessary to publish this label’s discography in two volumes – otherwise the book would have been huge (!) and massively expensive too! (Don’t forget, all my books are printed in FULL COLOUR throughout, these are not simple black and white ‘listings’ type books).

harvest spread 1 harvest spread 2

As with my previous books, I’ve gone into extensive detail on the stories behind each album and band and included all known UK 1st pressing and reissue variants (where possible) and included contemporary news clippings, articles and reviews too – so you get to read what the opinions were of reviewers when the album and single was released.

harvest spread 3 harvest spread 4

Volume 1 includes the first 44 albums and related singles. Volume 2 to follow later in 2018.

harvest spread 5 harvest spread 6

I’ll be posting links to the online retailers very shortly…so watch this space!

Harvest singles updates

Posted by r3c0rdc0113ct0r on December 6, 2013
Posted in: Harvest, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’ve added a whole new section on Harvest singles, featuring the text “THE GRAMOPHONE CO. LTD” around the label rim, to tie in with the albums section. There’s a whole lot of weird and wonderful along with the standard examples you’d expect such as Deep Purple, Edgar Broughton Band, Wizzard, ELO and Roy Wood.

There are just over 70 singles released up to and including Wizzard’s “Angel Fingers” (HAR 5076) in July 1973 before the wording changed on the labels to “EMI RECORDS LTD”. There’s a few more to add yet to the list, but here’s a broad selection to browse through for now!

HAR-5001-Edgar-Broughton-Band HAR-5002-Michael-Chapman-demo HAR-5005-Tea-&-Symphony-demo HAR-5006-Deep-Purple HAR-5008-Pete-Brown-Piblokto-demo HAR-5012-Greatest-Show-On-Earth HAR-5017-Dave-Mason-demo HAR-5019-Southwind-DEMO HAR-5020-Deep-Purple HAR-5021-Edgar-Broughton HAR-5022-Panama-Limited-demo HAR-5023-Pete-Brown-demo HAR-5027-Kevin-Ayres-demo HAR-5028-Pete-Brown-Piblokto HAR-5029-Climax-Chicago-demo HAR-5032-Edgar-Broughton HAR-5033-Deep-Purple HAR-5035-Southern-Comfort HAR-5038-The-Move HAR-5039-Southern-Comfort HAR-5040-Edgar-Broughton-Band HAR-5042-Kevin-Ayres-demo HAR-5043-The-Move HAR-5045-Deep-Purple-Fireball HAR-5046-Spontaneous-Combustion-Lonely-Singer HAR-5047-Southern-Comfort HAR-5050-The-Move HAR-5051-Barclay-James-Harvest HAR-5052-Grease-band HAR-5053-ELO HAR-5054-Southern-Comfort-demo HAR-5055-East-Of-Eden-DEMO HAR-5062-Wizzard HAR-5063-ELO HAR-5066-Spontaneous-Combustion-Sabre-Dance HAR-5068-Barclay-James-Harvest HAR-5069-Jan-Akkerman HAR-5070-Wizzard HAR-5071-Kevin-Ayers HAR-5072-Babe-Ruth HAR-5074-Roy-Wood HAR-5076-Wizzard

Updates and additions to Probe, CBS, pink Island, Decca, Reprise and HMV…

Posted by r3c0rdc0113ct0r on August 13, 2013
Posted in: CBS, Decca, HMV, Island, Probe, Reprise, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

…including Manfred Mann, Jethro Tull, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Ian Hunter:

HMV-CLP1731-Manfred-Mann-label SPB-1053-Thelma-Houston-label Reprise-K44153-Fleetwood-Mac-label S-80710-Ian-Hunter-label Decca-SKL5025-Rolling-Stones-label ILPS-9103-Jethro-Tull-stand-up-label1

More Harvest updates: Pink Floyd, Chris Spedding, Spontaneous Combustion and many more…

Posted by r3c0rdc0113ct0r on February 3, 2013
Posted in: Harvest, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. Leave a comment

Trying to get the last batch of Harvest releases uploaded, so here’s a few more to whet your appetite:

SHSP-4023-front Q4SHVL-788-front SHSP-4022-front SHSP-4021-front SHSP-4020-front SHSP-4019-front SHSP-4017-front SHVL-801-front

Harvest updates featuring Pink Floyd, Jan Akkerman and Climax Chicago…

Posted by r3c0rdc0113ct0r on January 31, 2013
Posted in: Harvest, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. Leave a comment

Here’s a few more additions and updates to the Harvest label, all featuring “The Gramophone Co. Ltd” around the label:

Q4SHVL-781-front  SHSP-4026-front  SHSP-4024-front

The Beatles “Help!” label variations…PMC 1255 Mono on Parlophone…

Posted by r3c0rdc0113ct0r on January 5, 2013
Posted in: Beatles, Parlophone, Sold In The UK Subject To Resale Price Conditions, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. 1 Comment

Here are two examples of ‘original’ Mono copies of The Beatles “Help!” album, both with correct wording and even the exact same matrix stampers (XEX 549-2), yet the style of the lettering is different…the one on the left has wording in a serif typeface, whilst the right hand copy has a sans serif typeface. The only other discernible difference is that the left hand copy has a KT stamped code around the spindle whilst the right hand copy has MT stamped…

PMC1255-mono-label-side-1a  PMC1255-mono-label-side-1b

Note the differences in positioning of all the silver wording and also the size of the catalogue number – the left hand copy has a larger PMC 1255 compared to the right hand copy.

The perimeter text on the left is lighter in weight than the bolder text on the right.

“THE BEATLES” appears above the publishing credit on the left hand label, whilst the right hand label has this below the publishing credit.

PMC1255-mono-label-side-2a  PMC1255-mono-label-side-2b

Any comments or suggestions on the above would be appreciated…

Both labels display:

THE GRAMOPHONE CO. LTD at the start of the perimeter wording

SOLD IN U.K. SUBJECT TO RESALE PRICE CONDITIONS, SEE PRICE LISTS

MADE IN Gt. BRITAIN

Matrices (left first then right):

X E X   5 4 9 – 2     H  A      4  C
X E X   5 5 0 – 2     L  A       7

X E X   5 4 9 – 2     G  O  A      7
X E X   5 5 0 – 2     G  L  G       1  5

Rare Harvest sampler/demonstration record added…

Posted by r3c0rdc0113ct0r on September 25, 2012
Posted in: Deep Purple, Harvest, The Gramophone Co. Ltd. Leave a comment

Many thanks to Steve Moore for emailing in with great pics of his rare copy of the “Harvest Sampler Of The Initial Four June Releases” from 1969. This is believed to be a DJ promo only release to help ‘launch’ the newly formed Harvest label. It promotes the first 4 albums on Harvest from Deep Purple, Michael Chapman, Shirley & Dolly Collins and Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments.

 

Steve wondered why SHVL753 had been omitted from the sample record and I can advise him that it is my belief that Panama Limited Jug Band’s album was not released until around September/October of 1969 (despite it having the third catalogue number in the sequence between Pete Brown’s SHVL752 and the Collinses’ SHVL754), thereby not being ready in time to be included on the sampler…

It’s a definite rarity, rumoured to be limited to a production run of 100 copies, and thanks once again to Steve for supplying the images and showing an interest in the site! Rest of Harvest section to be updated in next few weeks!