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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 6:32 pm   #1
Al (astral highway)
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Default 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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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 6:35 pm   #2
ms660
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

I owned singles on all those labels.

Lawrence.
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 6:41 pm   #3
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Default 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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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 6:42 pm   #4
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Default 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.
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 6:46 pm   #5
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Default 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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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 6:55 pm   #6
ms660
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Default 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
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:00 pm   #7
Dave757
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

Hi,

Definitely 50s in my book. I don't remember MGM or London before then.

Kind regards
Dave
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:01 pm   #8
Al (astral highway)
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ms660 View Post
I owned singles on all those labels.
That’s interesting, Lawrence! Did you acquire them bit by bit or in one go?
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:05 pm   #9
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

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Originally Posted by paulsherwin View Post
You can see that the original tiling on the corner of the shop has been painted with record label names, probably in the 50s...
Yes, I noticed the overpainting but was pretty clueless about the date!
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:10 pm   #10
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Default 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.
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:14 pm   #11
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Default 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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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:14 pm   #12
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

50s I'd say.
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:36 pm   #13
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Default 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.
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:36 pm   #14
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

Quote:
Originally Posted by astral highway View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ms660 View Post
I owned singles on all those labels.
That’s interesting, Lawrence! Did you acquire them bit by bit or in one go?
I was going to ask Lawrence what he meant by 'owned' - does that mean he doesn't 'own' them now What happened to them?

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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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 7:47 pm   #15
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

Quote:
Originally Posted by astral highway View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ms660 View Post
I owned singles on all those labels.
That’s interesting, Lawrence! Did you acquire them bit by bit or in one go?
I acquired them bit by bit, me and my friends were the forerunners of the Northern Soul boppers that came about via the Wigan Casino rise to fame, almost all the records I had were by black American artists as that was the "Scene" at the various clubs/dance places up north at that time and also it was the music I liked (and still like) the most, I had a decent collection so me and a friend started a mobile disco in the '60's, at that point the collection grew somewhat, used to acquire imports from America such as those on the Motown, Tamla and Gordy labels, Stax, Atlantic, Action and many more including Sue and Island (British) We had some records by white artists but mainly those that had the soul factor for dancing.....Here's one that used to be popular on the northern dance floors where we used to do the disco, it's by a white band and my copy was on the Island record label.....for any Wynder K Frogg fans...go man go:

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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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 8:16 pm   #16
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Default 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
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 8:21 pm   #17
Ted Kendall
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Default 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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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 8:48 pm   #18
ms660
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Kendall View Post
Philips operated in the UK from 1953 and Oriole had disappeared as a label by 1960, so it's in that window.
The records I had with the Oriole label would have been from the 1960's.

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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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 8:54 pm   #19
ms660
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Default Re: Old shop frontage - Decade?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Techman View Post
I was going to ask Lawrence what he meant by 'owned' - does that mean he doesn't 'own' them now What happened to them?
That's right, I no longer own them, all long gone, I kept some LP's though, Otis Redding, William Bell, Sam & Dave, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard etc.

Lawrence.
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Old 23rd Oct 2020, 10:24 pm   #20
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Default 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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