Regal Zonophone Records

Regal Zonophone Records is a British record label formed in 1932, through a merger of the Regal Records and Zonophone Records labels. This followed the merger of those labels' respective parent companies - the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company - to form EMI.

Originally Regal Zonophone handled American releases from Okeh Records, Victor Records and Columbia Records, as well as offering home-grown recordings by artists such as Gracie Fields and George Formby. The label is also well known for its releases of Salvation Army (particularly brass band) music.

In the 1950s the Australian division of Regal Zonophone played an important role in the emerging Australian country music genre, signing several emerging country stars including Slim Dusty, Smoky Dawson, Reg Lindsay and Chad Morgan. Slim Dusty's 1957 Regal Zonophone hit "A Pub With No Beer" became the biggest-selling Australia recording ever released up to that time.

Regal Zonophone was revived in the 1960s and continued well into the early 1970s, with successful producers Denny Cordell and Tony Visconti both having production companies releasing records through the label. During this period the label had both album and single success with artists such as The Move, Joe Cocker, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Procol Harum. During the mid '70s many of these production deals ended and, despite a few sporadic releases by Blue Mink, Geordie and Dave Edmunds, eventually EMI ceased to use the imprint as a major pop label. Many of the label's artists moved to Fly Records or to the EMI imprint.

Regal Zonophone was revived at the end of the 1990s as a reissue label curated by the UK band Saint Etienne. This incarnation of the label is no longer active, as EMI has relaunched Regal Records and Zonophone Records as separate imprints.

Trivia

* Regal Zonophone is one of the few record labels commemorated in song, namely "Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)" from the album "Shine On Brightly" by Regal Zonophone artists Procol Harum, and mentioned in "Repetition" by The Fall.
* Regal Zonophone originally released Thrillington in 1977.

See also

* List of record labels
* [http://www.collectable-records.ru/groups/collect_labels/regal_zonophone/index.htm Regal Zonophone Records - art label design & artists at www.collectable-records.ru]