Polygon Records
| Company type | Independent |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music industry |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Founder | Alan A. Freeman, Leslie Clark |
| Defunct | 1955 |
| Fate | Acquired by Nixa Records (Pye Records subsidiary) |
| Headquarters | London , United Kingdom |
| Products | Records |
Polygon Records was an independent British record label that operated between 1950 and 1955.
History
Established in 1949 under the name Polygon Record Company Ltd. by Alan A. Freeman and Leslie Clark, the label was created primarily to manage the distribution of recordings by Leslie's daughter, Petula Clark. The company’s base was located at Grosvenor Place in London's Sloane Square. Polygon organized Clark's inaugural recording session featuring Ron Goodwin and his orchestra, accompanied by the vocal ensemble the Stargazers. Prior to securing distribution within the UK, Polygon’s initial 78rpm singles—including "You Go to My Head" / "Out of a Clear Blue Sky" and a rendition of Teresa Brewer's "Music! Music! Music!" / "Blossoms on the Bough"—were issued in Australia through the Esquire label.
The label’s first UK release featured Louis Prima and his orchestra, while Clark's debut official single on Polygon was "You Are My True Love" / "You're the Sweetest in the Land" in 1950. Her notable commercial success arrived in June 1954 with the track "The Little Shoemaker" (Polygon P1117). Over her tenure with Polygon, Clark recorded more than fifty songs, including collaborations with fellow artist Jimmy Young, who achieved significant success with "Too Young" (P1013) in 1951, preceding the establishment of the UK singles chart in 1952.
Other artists who achieved chart presence on Polygon included Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson, Dorothy Squires, Johnny Brandon, and Anthony Steel accompanied by The Radio Revellers.
In late 1955, Polygon was acquired by Nixa Records, a subsidiary of Pye Records, resulting in the formation of Pye Nixa Records. Nixa subsequently released Clark’s first LP, Petula Clark Sings, utilizing tapes originally recorded for Polygon.
The complete Polygon catalogue of Petula Clark has been reissued on CD, initially as The Polygon Years, Volume One (1950–1952) and Volume Two (1952–1955). Unfortunately, during Polygon's merger with Nixa, destruction of one storage facility led to the loss of numerous master tapes; consequently, only about half of these masters exist beyond their original 78rpm disc formats. Early CD editions suffered from substandard audio quality until improvements were made in 2007 with the release of It Had to Be You – The Complete Early Singles.
Notable artists
- Petula Clark
- Jimmy Young
- Dorothy Squires
- Ray Martin
- Frank Chacksfield
- Robin Richmond
- Dennis Lotis
- Monty Norman
- Ron Goodwin
- Eric Winstone
- Oscar Rabin
- Primo Scala
- Lou Preager
- Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson
- Max Wall
- Eva Bartok
- Geoff Love
- Anthony Steel
- Inia Te Wiata
- Laurie Johnson
- Billy Reid
- Kenny Baker
- Johnny Brandon
- Kathie Kay
- Diane Cilento
See also
- Alan A. Freeman
- List of record labels
- Polygon Records discography