London Records of Canada Ltd.

London Records of Canada (1967) Ltd. (London Gramophone Corp of Canada, 1948-67). Canadian subsidiary 1948-54 of the London Gramophone Corp in the USA and 1954-80 of the Decca Record Co Ltd of England. It was restructured in 1967. Under the direction of Fraser C. Jamieson, and with head offices in Montreal, it operated in Canada both as a label and as a distributor. The first Canadian to record for the label (in Europe) was Jacques Labrecque in 1951; that same year London made its first recordings in Canada with the French duo Pierre Roche and Charles Aznavour.

The label's Canadian roster included the country artists Paul Brunelle, Andy DeJarlis, Gaby Haas, Bob King, Willie Lamothe, Marcel Martel, Ti-Blanc Richard, and Scotty Stevenson, the Quebec pop performers Renée Claude, André Gagnon, Offenbach, and René Simard, the Vancouver pop groups Poppy Family and Sweeney Todd, and the jazz pianist Milt Sealey. London also recorded the Band of the Royal Regiment, the Black Watch (R.H.R.) of Canada, and the Central Band of the Canadian Forces. The company's Ace of Diamonds label, an economy line, included recordings - many originally produced as part of the CBC's SM series - by the CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra, Maureen Forrester, Betty-Jean Hagen, Anton Kuerti, Lois Marshall, the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the Orford String Quartet, and Albert Pratz.

As a distributor, London handled in Canada recordings made for the European Decca and London labels by Ellen Ballon, Jules Bruyère, Pierre Duval, Raoul Jobin, George London, Zara Nelsova, Louis Quilico, Joseph Rouleau, Huguette Tourangeau, Jon Vickers, and others. It served for varying periods as the distributor for several independent Canadian labels, among them Aquarius, Attic, Axe (Gary and Dave, Rain, Thundermug), Boot (and Cynda), Gamma, Goldfish (Chilliwack, Terry Jacks, Susan Jacks), Ice (Andy Kim), Kanata (see Gene Lees), Kilmarnock (Galt MacDermot), Melbourne, Moon (Rush), Much (Michel Pagliaro, Sea Dog), Rodeo, and Select. It also handled the Canadian distribution for the Vermont company Philo (whose roster included Philippe Bruneau and Jean Carignan) and for various other foreign labels.

London Records of Canada (1967) Ltd ceased operations as a distributor and label when the parent company, Decca, became part of PolyGram in 1979. London, however, has continued as a European label, with the MSO on its North American roster, and PolyGram Classics as its distributor.

Author Edward B. Moogk

Bibliography

Sherman, David. 'Disc exec: at the top for 30 years,' Montreal Gazette, 22 Sep 1978

'Fraser Jamieson and London Records of Canada: a thirty-year relationship,' RPM, 30 Sep 1978

Links to Other Sites
London Records
A brief history of London Records from the Discogs website.