[78-L] Angel records in Canada

[David Lennick]

Beecham was an odd exception for a while, since he was actually under contract 
to US Columbia. Once the split occurred, he had to be recorded by Philips to 
satisfy the US demand, till he was able to go back to EMI in late 1955. That 
Peer Gynt album dates from 1957.

Boy those dowel spines are a nuisance today..if they haven't broken off, they 
do pretty soon. And those oversized albums (London was guilty of those as well) 
that get crushed on normal size shelves..

Once again, Angel was the US issue label for English Columbia (and French 
Columbia) beginning in 1953. RCA was still affiliated with HMV into 1957. EMI 
bought Capitol that same year and Capitol began issuing classical albums from 
that source as well as pressing Angels. RCA struck up a deal with English Decca 
(around 1958?) and did a lot of co-productions but had no other way to get its 
product into Europe. Capitol albums and singles had previously been pressed by 
Decca in England. Somewhere in there, though, Capitol gained access to EMI 
recordings well before 1957, because there are lots of Ron Goodwin and Ray 
Martin singles and albums, Johnny Dankworth's amusing "Experiments with Mice" 
in 1956, and more.

dl

On 8/27/2010 11:30 PM, DAVID BURNHAM wrote:
> I well remember the introduction of Angel LPs in Canada.  My first experience
> was in 1954 or 1955 with a recording of Peer Gynt conducted by Beecham.  These
> records, with the wooden rod in the spine, were pressed in England and sounded
> magnificent.  I cannot think of any example of an Angel LP which wasn't the
> equivalent of an HMV recording in England.  The story we got at the time was
> that HMV had to use the Angel trade mark in America because they had severed
> relations with Victor who owned the Nipper trademark.  Sometimes I saw an
> English HMV labeled recording with an Odeon sticker over the HMV trademark.
>
> Saying all of that, I don't remember how English Columbias were released in
> Canada - since Columbia and HMV were the same company in England, perhaps they
> were also released on Angel here, however, for some reason I remember Columbia
> and Philips being linked.  I also remember an imported English pressed CBS
> label.
>
> db