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Vintage Audio (record players, hi-fi etc) Amplifiers, speakers, gramophones and other audio equipment. |
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23rd Oct 2020, 6:32 pm | #1 |
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Old shop frontage - Decade?
Bygone era!
Many manufacturers here on this old shop front uncovered during a recent ‘gentrification’. It looks as if it will be preserved. The shop sold electric fittings as well as records and is advertising fluorescent tubes as well as Bakelite equipment. I certainly hadn’t heard of all of these. How many do folk recognise? Parlophone (yes) MGM (yes) Philips (sic, yes) Oriole (no) Brunswick (no) Decca (yes) Columbia (yes) Capitol (no) London (no) Illegible ... anyone guess ? The shop is in E9. Gentrification woes OT, please.
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Al Last edited by Al (astral highway); 23rd Oct 2020 at 6:41 pm. Reason: Added info |
23rd Oct 2020, 6:35 pm | #2 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
I owned singles on all those labels.
Lawrence. |
23rd Oct 2020, 6:41 pm | #3 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Yes, many of the names are 50s/60s record labels rather than manufacturers. Many radio and TV shops sold records back then.
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23rd Oct 2020, 6:42 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
I'd date it as mid-to-late-1920s.
Don't assume all of the brands listed were actually sold by the retailer - or actually existed! A friend in the US, as part of her Degree thesis, studied branding around the Wall Street Crash *(1929)* and the following couple of years running into the Great Depression: she discovered that many retailers would seek to boost their credibility by _claiming_ to be appointed agents for high-value brands when they actually weren't, and/or they invented fictitious-but-prestigious-sounding brands to the same effect. |
23rd Oct 2020, 6:46 pm | #5 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
You can see that the original tiling on the corner of the shop has been painted with record label names, probably in the 50s. It could have started out as anything - white tiling was often associated with butchers and fishmongers.
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23rd Oct 2020, 6:55 pm | #6 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
It would be when fluorescent lights had gained popularity, RH column:
Electrical Fittings Lighting Shades Fluorescent and Bakelite Equipment. Lawrence Last edited by ms660; 23rd Oct 2020 at 7:01 pm. Reason: additional info |
23rd Oct 2020, 7:00 pm | #7 |
Heptode
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Hi,
Definitely 50s in my book. I don't remember MGM or London before then. Kind regards Dave |
23rd Oct 2020, 7:01 pm | #8 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
That’s interesting, Lawrence! Did you acquire them bit by bit or in one go?
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Al |
23rd Oct 2020, 7:05 pm | #9 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Yes, I noticed the overpainting but was pretty clueless about the date!
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Al |
23rd Oct 2020, 7:10 pm | #10 |
Octode
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
London American Recordings was the label which released US R&R/Motown &c. in Britain.
The original label was mentioned; eg: 'Sh-Boom- The Crew Cuts-originally recorded by Mercury'. This one sticks in my mind, because I had the original Mercury recording as well. |
23rd Oct 2020, 7:14 pm | #11 |
Heptode
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
I have 78's of all those labels. MGM, Philips, Capitol and London were all post WW2.
Capitol was started I think when the first HIFI tape recorders were liberated from Germany, taken to the USA and deveoped by Ampex. Philips sourced their material from American Columbia starting about 1953 ish. I remember Capitol 78's having noticeably better sound quality in the mid 1950's
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23rd Oct 2020, 7:14 pm | #12 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
50s I'd say.
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23rd Oct 2020, 7:36 pm | #13 |
Hexode
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
A quick dig around the internet comes up with these dates for the record labels:-
Capitol (US) 1942 Parlophone 1896 (British Branch 1923) Oriole 1925 Brunswick (US) 1916 Decca 1929 Columbia (US) 1889 London 1947 MGM (US) 1946 Philips 1946 So it has to be 1947 or later. |
23rd Oct 2020, 7:36 pm | #14 | |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Quote:
I've still got all my old singles and all of those labels mentioned...and I still sometimes buy more of them second hand. |
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23rd Oct 2020, 7:47 pm | #15 | |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Quote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiAl3nyIr9Y The bands other Northern dance floor classic was Green Door: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0R7ad41cEU That's it for the links before I digress too much. Lawrence. Last edited by ms660; 23rd Oct 2020 at 7:55 pm. Reason: link added |
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23rd Oct 2020, 8:16 pm | #16 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Hi Al, if the library has a street / business directory you may get a handle on the date that way
Ed |
23rd Oct 2020, 8:21 pm | #17 |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Philips operated in the UK from 1953 and Oriole had disappeared as a label by 1960, so it's in that window.
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23rd Oct 2020, 8:48 pm | #18 | |
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Quote:
As for the shop I would also say the 1950's as a first guess. Lawrence. Last edited by ms660; 23rd Oct 2020 at 8:55 pm. Reason: deleted word |
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23rd Oct 2020, 8:54 pm | #19 | |
Dekatron
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
Quote:
Lawrence. |
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23rd Oct 2020, 10:24 pm | #20 |
Nonode
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Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?
My late Dad's record collection probably has singles released by all off those labels.
I remember he used to have a notebook to record his collection in, which allocated a letter to each label, complete with which parent company owned it. One of his bugbears was nothing released on Cameo Parkway was available on CD for years, until eventually the back catalogue became available. 96 Tears by ? & the Mysterions was probably the best known single caught up in this. Some early Motown singles were released in the UK on $tateside.
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