Marmalade Records
| Company type | Independent record label |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1966 |
| Founder | Giorgio Gomelsky |
| Defunct | 1969 |
| Fate | Closed due to financial challenges |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Products | Records, music albums, singles |
Marmalade Records was a British independent record label with a brief existence, distributed by Polydor. Established in 1966 by Georgian pop impresario and former manager of the Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds, Giorgio Gomelsky, the label issued recordings from artists such as Julie Driscoll alongside Brian Auger and The Trinity, who achieved a UK Top 5 hit in 1968 with "This Wheel's on Fire". The roster also included The Blossom Toes, early works by future 10cc members Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme, as well as the debut solo album of John McLaughlin. The initial release from Marmalade, dating back to August 1966, was the provocative single "We Love The Pirate Stations" performed by five musicians adopting the name The Roaring 60's—primarily members of the Ivy League who later gained recognition as The Flower Pot Men. Although it received considerable airplay on pirate radio, the single did not achieve commercial success.
Financial challenges led to the label's closure in 1969.
Aftermath
Julie Driscoll revisited "This Wheel's on Fire"—this time without Brian Auger—as the closing theme for the BBC television series Absolutely Fabulous during its run from 1990 to 1996, collaborating with Adrian Edmondson, spouse of the show's creator Jennifer Saunders.
Following his management of French progressive rock group Magma, Gomelsky relocated to New York City in the mid-1970s and co-established Utopia Records, which aimed to continue Marmalade’s pioneering spirit. He produced Magma’s live album Live/Hhaï (1975). Utopia, formed alongside Kevin Eggers and reportedly funded by RCA’s president Ken Glancy, eventually faltered after Eggers took full control. From Utopia’s demise arose Tomato Records, which acquired its back catalogue and reissued Live/Hhaï in 1978. Gomelsky’s production on this album has been re-released multiple times internationally across various labels up until 2009.
Singles
- The Roaring 60's – "We Love The Pirates" / "I'm Leaving Town" (1966, Marmalade 598001)
- Blossom Toes – "What on Earth" / "Mrs. Murphy's Budgerigar" / "Look at Me I'm You" (Oct 1967, Marmalade 598002)
- Brian Auger & The Trinity – "Red Beans And Rice" / "Part 2" (1967, Marmalade 598003)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity – "Save Me" / "Part 2" (1967, Marmalade 598004)
- Chris Barber's Band – "Cat Call" / "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (1967, Marmalade 598005)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity – "This Wheel's on Fire" / "A Kind of Love-In" (No. 5 UK, Apr 1968, Marmalade 598006)
- Kevin Westlake & Gary Farr – "Everyday" / "Green" (1968, Marmalade 598007)
- Blossom Toes – "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (Bob Dylan) b/w "Love Is" (Mar 1968, Marmalade 598009)
- Gordon Jackson – "Me Am My Zoo" / "A Day at the Cottage" (1968, Marmalade 598010)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity – "Road to Cairo" / "Shadows of You" (1968, Marmalade 598011)
- Blossom Toes – "Postcard" / "Everybody's Leaving Me Now" (Oct 1968, Marmalade 598012)
- Chris Barber & His Jazzband – "Battersea Rain Dance" / "Sleepy John" (1969, Marmalade 598013)
- Blossom Toes – "Peace Loving Man" / "Above My Hobby Horses Head" (Apr 1969, Marmalade 598014)
- Brian Auger & The Trinity – "What You Gonna Do?" / "Bumpin' On Sunset" (1969, Marmalade 598015)
- Keith Meehan – "Darkness of My Life" / "Hooker Street" (1969, Marmalade 598016)
- Gary Farr – "Hey Daddy" / "The Vicar & The Pope" (1969, Marmalade 598017)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity – "Take Me to The Water" / "Indian Rope Man" (1969, Marmalade 598018)
- Frabjoy And Runcible Spoon – "I'm Beside Myself" / "Animal Song" (1969, Marmalade 598019)
- Ottilie Patterson – "Bitterness of Death" / "Spring Song" (1969, Marmalade 598020)
- Gordon Jackson – "Song For Freedom" / "Sing To Me Woman" (1969, Marmalade 598021)
- Blossom Toes – "New Day" / "Love Bomb" (Oct 1969, Marmalade 598022)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity – Indian Rope Man / I've Gotta Go Now (1969, Marmalade 598023)
Albums
- Blossom Toes – We Are Ever So Clean (October 1967, Marmalade 607001 mono / 608001 stereo)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity – Open (1967, Marmalade 608002)
- Brian Auger – Definitely What (1968, Marmalade 608003)
- Sonny Boy Williamson – Don't Send Me No Flowers (1968, Marmalade 608004)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity – Streetnoise (Double LP 1968, Marmalade 608005/6)
- John McLaughlin – Extrapolation (1969, Marmalade 608007)
- Chris Barber – Battersea Rain Dance (1969, Marmalade 608009)
- Blossom Toes – If Only for a Moment (July 1969, Marmalade 608010)
- Ottilie Patterson – 3000 Years With Ottilie (July 1969, Marmalade 608011)
- Gordon Jackson – Thinking Back (July 1969, Marmalade 608012)
- Gary Farr – Take Something With You (1969, Marmalade 608013)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity – Streetnoise Volume 1 (1969, Marmalade 608014)
- Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity – Streetnoise Volume 2 (1969, Marmalade 608015)
- Various Artists – 100° Proof (Marmalade sampler 643314)