Oriole Records (UK)

Oriole Records

Company type	Record label
Industry	Music
Founded	1925
Founder	Levy Company
Defunct	1965
Fate	Acquired by CBS (American Columbia Records) in 1964; rebranded as CBS Records in 1965
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom
Products	Records, music albums
Parent	Levy Company (until 1964), CBS (from 1964)

Oriole Records was a British record label established in 1925 by the Levy Company, a London-based enterprise that also operated a gramophone record subsidiary known as Levaphone Records.

History

The Levy family initially opened a record shop at 19 High Street, Whitechapel, which also retailed bicycles and sewing machines; this shop later relocated to 139 High Street. Oriole specialised in recording popular music within England and, during May and June of 1927, released masters licensed from the American Vocalion Records. The original label ceased operations in 1935.

From 1931, Jacques Levy oversaw record production at the West End studios located in Rosslyn House, 94-98 Regent Street, London. The company remained at this site until 1937 before moving to premises that had formerly been an art gallery at 73 New Bond Street. The chief audio engineers during this period were Ted Sibbick and Bill Johnson. In 1949, Oriole Records Ltd separated its recording activities from its label operations. The label's offices moved to 104 New Bond Street, London, while production shifted to a factory in Aston Clinton near Aylesbury, where Norman Angier and Leslie Gouldstone from MD-1 worked alongside others. From around 1938 or 1939 until his death in 1971, David Morris Levy resided nearby at Flat 98, Clarence Gate Gardens close to Baker Street, also maintaining a home in Birchington, Kent.

David Morris Levy, the owner, revived the Oriole label in 1950 with his brother Jacques (unrelated to the Roulette Records founder of the same name). Up until 1955, Oriole held exclusive rights to distribute releases from the American Mercury label within the UK. Artists under this arrangement included Frankie Laine, Vic Damone, and Patti Page. Initially issued under the Oriole name, these records were later released on Mercury labels.

First hits

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Oriole achieved several domestic hit singles. Notable successes included the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group’s rendition of "Freight Train" featuring Nancy Whiskey on vocals; Maureen Evans’ "Like I Do," which utilized the melody of Amilcare Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours—also famously adapted by Allan Sherman for "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh"—and became Oriole's most successful record; as well as Russ Hamilton’s "We Will Make Love," which peaked at number two on the UK singles chart. The B-side of Hamilton’s single, "Rainbow," reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 through Kapp Records.

Another notable hit was Clinton Ford’s 1962 cover of George Formby’s "Fanlight Fanny," accompanied by the George Chisholm All Stars. Ford contributed new lyrics with permission for this version. This track marked Ford’s third entry into the UK charts and his highest-charting single, reaching number 22 in March 1962 and remaining on the chart for ten weeks.

Oriole also found success licensing recordings from European labels, including Domenico Modugno’s original "Volare" and instrumental performances by the Swedish group The Spotnicks. In the 1960s, several Joe Meek-produced tracks were licensed by Oriole featuring artists such as The Dowlands, Alan Klein, and Screaming Lord Sutch. Additionally, the label distributed various American hits from Columbia Records within the UK market.

On the long-playing record front, Oriole scored a major triumph in 1954 with the original cast album of Salad Days, a hit West End musical that set new box office records.

Embassy Records

Oriole was also known for producing cover versions of contemporary hit songs, which it issued under its Embassy imprint, available exclusively through Woolworths outlets. This catalogue featured budget-friendly renditions of popular British chart-toppers, with the initial release dating back to November 1954. Among these was a cover of "Blue Suede Shoes" performed by Don Arden (father of Sharon Osbourne), who endeavored to emulate the style of Elvis Presley. Subsequently, Embassy released cover tracks featuring Reg Dwight, who would later gain fame as Elton John.

Tamla Motown on Oriole American

Under the direction of A&R manager John Schroeder, Oriole became the first UK label—following sporadic releases on London and Fontana—to regularly license recordings from the US-based Tamla and Motown catalogues. Despite this pioneering effort, none of these records achieved chart success at the time. It was only several years later, through EMI's Stateside label, that the Detroit-originated company began securing hits in the UK market. Nevertheless, multiple Oriole-issued singles have since gained considerable acclaim, including "Do You Love Me" by the Contours, "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" by the Miracles, and "Fingertips" by Little Stevie Wonder. Oriole released nineteen Motown singles under its black-and-white Oriole American label, alongside seven albums on the standard black-and-yellow Oriole label. Known internationally as Tamla Motown, these releases are now considered some of the label’s rarest offerings.

Takeover by US Columbia

Oriole operated two record pressing plants, one located in Aston Clinton and another in Colnbrook. The company remained independent until 21 September 1964, when it was acquired by CBS, the parent company of American Columbia Records, which sought to establish its own production facilities within the UK. This acquisition ended Philips' distribution of the CBS label and initiated the gradual discontinuation of the Oriole brand, which was officially rebranded as CBS Records in 1965. Initially, David Morris Levy continued as managing director but parted ways with CBS in 1967.

David Morris Levy’s sons—John Jacob, a practicing lawyer at Nicholas Morris in London, and Edward Frederick, head of Chelsea Music Publishing in London—remained involved within the music industry.

Currently, the Oriole catalogue is managed by Sony Music, CBS's successor following Japanese conglomerate Sony’s acquisition of CBS Records in 1988 and its subsequent renaming to Columbia Records in 1991. Reissues from Oriole’s original releases are distributed through Columbia Records UK.

See also

• Lists of record labels