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    The British Classical Record Industry, 1945 to 1959: Fidelity and Formats
    The British Classical Record Industry, 1945 to 1959: Fidelity and Formats
    The British Classical Record Industry, 1945 to 1959: Fidelity and Formats
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    The British Classical Record Industry, 1945 to 1959: Fidelity and Formats

    By Mark Jones

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    Improvements made in fidelity during the Second World War and new formats introduced in the post-war period – extended frequency range, microgroove records, pre-recorded tapes and stereo – were the result of a convergence of technological advances, some prompted by wartime research and experience, some based on pre-war path dependencies. Thanks to these innovations, the UK witnessed a particularly ‘British’ (i.e. for the most part understated) Battle of the Speeds during the 1950s; in 1945, shellac 78 rpm records were the standard sound carrier format but, by 1956, all British labels had ceased releasing new classical product on this format in preference to 33⅓ and 45 rpm microgroove vinyl records. The adoption of magnetic tape, meanwhile, made the recording process less cumbersome and fed into the development of stereophonic sound reproduction; monaural pre-recorded tapes were introduced in 1954 and stereophonic tapes in 1955. Stereo vinyl records followed in 1958. Although the focus is on the British record industry, there was a great deal of interaction between the major UK record companies and their US counterparts, with most of the major innovations marketed in America first. Therefore, discussion of the US industry is not only inevitable, but vital to provide context for the changes in the UK market. The Appendices include all tables referenced in the text along with a brief discussion of various then contemporary publications and periodicals provided for buyers of classical records. The book is supported by a website that includes examples of label and sleeve designs, trade advertisements, etc. The book and website are further supported by a discussion forum.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Record Press
    Release dateSep 28, 2020
    ISBN9781909953741
    The British Classical Record Industry, 1945 to 1959: Fidelity and Formats
    Author

    Mark Jones

    Mark Jones (PhD, Leiden Universiteit) serves as the pastor of Faith Vancouver Presbyterian Church (PCA) in British Columbia, Canada. He has authored many books, including Living for God and God Is, and speaks all over the world on Christology and the Christian life. Mark and his wife, Barbara, have four children.

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      The British Classical Record Industry, 1945 to 1959 - Mark Jones

      The British Classical Record Industry, 1945-59: Fidelity and Formats

      Introduction

      Improvements made in fidelity during the Second World War and new formats introduced in the post-war period – extended frequency range, microgroove records, pre-recorded tapes and stereo – were the result of a convergence of technological advances, some prompted by wartime research and experience, some based on pre-war path dependencies.

      Thanks to these innovations, the UK witnessed a particularly ‘British’ (i.e. for the most part understated) Battle of the Speeds during the 1950s; in 1945, shellac 78 rpm records were the standard sound carrier format but, by 1956, all British labels had ceased releasing new classical product on this format in preference to 33⅓ and 45 rpm microgroove vinyl records. The adoption of magnetic tape, meanwhile, made the recording process less cumbersome and fed into the development of stereophonic sound reproduction; monaural pre-recorded tapes were introduced in 1954 and stereophonic tapes in 1955. Stereo vinyl records followed in 1958.

      Although the focus is on the British record industry, there was a great deal of interaction between the major UK record companies and their US counterparts, with most of the major innovations marketed in America first. Therefore, discussion of the US industry is not only inevitable, but vital to provide context for the changes in the UK market. The Appendices comprise a brief discussion of various then contemporary publications and periodicals provided for buyers of classical records. This could usefully be read first to provide context around dates stated in text and tables as well as providing further background to contemporary attitudes.

      Important note for the digital edition: the tables, as included in the paperback version, are not included in this digital edition because of limitations in many reading devices for displaying tables with more than three columns. The tables are instead available amongst the images and other supporting materials online at www.bristol-folk.co.uk (see A blended approach... below) – follow the link on the main page to the support site for this book and you will find the link to the tables there. A direct link is not possible because various symbolic redirects in the deep, dark recesses of the website break it on most eReaders! Not an ideal solution, but the best I can do – bloody technology!

      Indented block quotes also have speech marks added. Although this is not necessarily an example of good grammatical formatting, it does, however, cover the eventuality that some eReaders will not recognise the indent mark-ups. In that circumstance, the speech marks make clear that the text represents quoted material.

      Advised release and review dates

      Unless stated, all advised release dates are taken from The New Records monthly trade publication. For example, ...the first stereophonic reel-to-reel tapes were advised in October 1955... relates to a listing in that month’s edition. Similarly, all reviewed dates relate to the edition of in The Gramophone which the review appeared, again, unless stated. See Date reviewed and date advised – what do they mean? in the Appendices for potential shortcomings of this approach.

      A blended approach...

      Previous recorded music history publications from Bristol Folk Publications and The Record Press included as comprehensive a coverage as possible of record sleeves and label designs where record companies allowed use of copyright images. Others, where permission to use images was not given, have to rely on the printed word alone. Although less attractive on the eye, one benefit of the latter approach, is that it lowers costs, resulting in a cheaper book. It also allows books to be manufactured on demand so that natural resources are used only when a copy of the book is bought.

      To make up, to some extent, for having no images, recent discographies listed various websites where sleeves and label designs could be viewed, and suggested that the reader think of it as an exercise in blended learning. An obvious extension was to provide a single website to preclude active online searching on the part of the reader.

      Meanwhile, an experiment was made in expanding on The Saydisc and Village Thing Discography, originally published in 2011. The label owners were supportive in the extreme, allowing full access to the archives and, consequently, the Saydisc book was lavishly illustrated. However, it was known at the outset that the archive was incomplete and that the owners had no idea of what various early catalogue numbers related to; the gaps were caused where the company had provided numerous contract pressings for other labels but had assigned catalogue numbers for in-house administrative reasons. Ongoing research since publication has filled many of the gaps to the extent that the option was to reprint the book or provide online updates and additions. The latter worked well – new information can be added as and when without any need for updating the book.

      A joined-up version of all of the above, then, was the model around which this book was planned. The above had been reactive, whilst the current model is proactive, having been informed by experiment and experience. The book contains the narrative, whilst all illustrative materials, including the tables referenced within the text, are housed online, allowing better resolution than possible in book form – you cannot easily enlarge an image in a book.

      It also means that publication need not be delayed whilst lacking specific illustrations; these can be added online as and when copies appear. It also means that a dialogue with readers can be achieved through linking of social media tools to the website. As a model, then, it is interactive, updateable, cheap and cheerful, and good for the planet, too. For images and updates, see www.bristol-folk.co.uk.

      Thanks to

      Decca’s Gold Series, Columbia’s Blue Series, HMV’s Red Series and Plum Series, and Nixa’s English Series for getting me hooked on original, mono, 1950s LPs. These records were built to last and a testament to their quality (in performance, manufacture and recording) is that many records heard from these labels, some of which are more than ten years older than myself (and in better condition), sound better to my ears than many later, supposedly definitive, recordings. Closer to the source is often better than interpretation.

      Thanks to lockdown for getting me off my arse and into actively researching again. Suddenly, all of those when-I-get-around-to-it projects that had been simmering in the 'Procrastination' section of my mind (uncoincidentally, next to the section labelled ‘Pub crawl’) became viable and attractive proposals. (Next up, just as soon as this book is published, is Blues from the Avon Delta – or how Bristol became a hub in the late 1960s and early 1970s for record labels reissuing classic American blues.)

      Thanks also to BBC Music Magazine and Radio 3 for helping to free me from a previous lifetime of immersion in progressive rock. As I enter the twilight years (i.e. a well-deserved partial retirement devoted almost equally to the three scholarly pursuits of reading, writing and real ale), it is pleasant to have such a wide variety of ‘new’ music on which to hone my listening and imagination skills.

      1945-49: changes behind the scenes

      The UK record industry in the post-war period

      The two main, rival, British record companies at the end of the Second World War (WW2) were Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) and Decca. EMI’s labels were His Master’s Voice (HMV), Columbia, Parlophone, Parlophone-Odeon and Regal Zonophone. The US company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), had recently diversified from films to records and in 1945 EMI contracted to distribute the label in the UK (Barfe, 2004, p. 157); oddly, news of this does not seem to have been reported in The Gramophone that year. Although having classical back catalogue, Parlophone and Parlophone-Odeon were currently popular music-focused, as was Regal Zonophone, on which any classical titles encountered tended to be arrangements for Salvation Army ensembles. Newcomer, MGM, also concentrated on popular music with a focus, not surprisingly, on film soundtracks.

      Decca, as did HMV and Columbia, concentrated equally on classical and popular repertoire and, also, released popular repertoire on the Brunswick label, having bought the American company’s UK counterpart in 1932 (Ibid., p. 129). Capitol, incorporated in the US in 1942 (Ibid., p. 143), became part of the Decca group in late 1948; although focused on popular music at this point, Capitol (and Brunswick) later added a significant proportion of classical repertoire to their portfolios. Having affiliations with these American companies provided Decca with access to this repertoire for the UK market.

      EMI had similar dealings with the two major US record companies, (US) Columbia and RCA Victor, the former handled by (UK) Columbia and the latter by HMV, which shared the Nipper trademark with the American company; for comprehensive background on the convoluted path

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