- Pama Records
Pama records was a
United Kingdom record label active during the 1960s and 1970s. Initially focused onsoul music , it became one of the major outlets forreggae in the UK.History
The label was set up by the Palmer Brothers - Harry, Jeff, and Carl - initially as a soul label, but later concentrating on
Jamaica n music, releasingrocksteady singles from 1967.http://www.studiowon.com/pama/index.htm] Much of the label's output was licenced from Jamaican producers such asClancy Eccles ,Alton Ellis ,Bunny Lee , andLee "Scratch" Perry , although they also released music by local talents such asJunior English andDelroy Washington .Derrick Morgan became one of Pama's biggest stars, having a UK chart hit with "Moon Hop". Pama's biggest hit came withMax Romeo 's "Wet Dream", which reached #10 in the UK singles chart (despite lack of airplay, in part due to its risqué lyric), and sold over 250,000 copies.The rivalry between Pama and their main UK reggae competitor,
Trojan Records , was clear, with Trojan's "Tighten Up" series of compilations and Pama's similarly-titled "Straighten Up" series going head to head. The rivalry had been fuelled by Bunny Lee's earlier licencing of Derrick Morgan's "Seven Letters" to both Pama and Trojan.Pama introduced a number of subsidiary labels, often associated with individual producers, including Pama Supreme, Supreme, Crab, Bullet, Gas, Nu Beat/New Beat (
Laurel Aitken ), Success (Rupie Edwards ), Camel, Escort, Unity (Bunny Lee), and Punch (Lee "Scratch" Perry).Larkin, Colin:"The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", 1998, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9]In addition to the many reggae releases, the label also released few non-reggae albums, including "Butlins Red Coat Review", and an album commemorating the investiture of
The Prince of Wales .The Pama label lasted until the mid-1970s, at which point Carl Palmer was the driving force, and concentrated on establishing a UK distribution network for reggae, later resurfacing as
Jet Star , one of the largest distributors of reggae music.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
