Trojan Records

Last updated

Trojan Records
Parent company Sanctuary Records Group (BMG Rights Management)
Founded1968
Founder Lee Gopthal
Distributor(s) Universal Music Group [1] (physical)
BMG Rights Management (digital)
Genre
Country of origin United Kingdom
Official website trojanrecords.com

Trojan Records is a British record label founded by Jamaican Duke Reid in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica. The truck had "Duke Reid - The Trojan King of Sounds" painted on the sides, and the music played by Reid became known as the Trojan Sound.

Contents

The label had almost 30 hit singles in the UK Singles Chart between 1969 and 1976. [2]

History

Trojan Records was founded in 1968 when Lee Gopthal, who operated the Musicland record retail chain and owned Beat & Commercial Records, pooled his Jamaican music interests with those of Chris Blackwell’s Island Records. [2] Until 1975, they were based at a warehouse in Neasden Lane, Willesden, London. [3]

Trojan was instrumental in introducing reggae to a global audience and, by 1970, had secured a series of major UK chart hits. Successful Trojan artists from this period include Judge Dread, Tony Tribe, Lee "Scratch" Perry's Upsetters, Bob and Marcia, Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff, the Harry J All Stars, The Maytals, The Melodians, Nicky Thomas and Dave and Ansel Collins.

The bulk of the company’s successes came via licences for Jamaican music supplied by producers such as Duke Reid, Harry Johnson and Leslie Kong. [2] While the company’s focus was firmly on the sale of 7” singles, it also launched a series of popular, budget-priced compilations such as Tighten Up, Club Reggae and Reggae Chartbusters. [2]

In 1972, Chris Blackwell decided to withdraw Island Records interests in Trojan. [2] By this time, the company was trying to broaden the appeal of reggae by re-mastering and overdubbing string arrangements on the original recordings. [2] While the move initially paid dividends, the costs involved began to take their toll on the company's finances. In 1975, the company was liquidated and its assets acquired by Marcel Rodd's Saga Records, which had previously largely focused on releasing budget LPs. [2]

In 1985, record collector and accountant Colin Newman purchased Trojan Records. [2] Over the years that ensued, the company mainly concentrated on re-releasing much of its back catalogue, issuing numerous ska, rocksteady and reggae recordings. [2] Among their most popular releases were the Trojan Box Set series, each featuring 50 songs on a three-CD (or vinyl record) set in a "clamshell" box. In addition, Trojan licensed reggae classics for a number of TV commercial campaigns, most notably for TDK, Adidas and the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship.

The Sanctuary Records Group purchased Trojan Records in 2001 and continued to focus on the label's back catalogue, under the general management of Laurence Cane-Honeysett. In 2002, Trojan's new owners acquired former UK rival record company, Creole Records, previously owned by Bruce White and Gary Himmelfarb's US-based RAS Records. In August 2007, Universal Music Group (UMG) had acquired 90% of Sanctuary Records after announcing in June a share offer that valued Sanctuary at $US87.68 million. [4] In 2013, UMG sold their entire Sanctuary back catalogue including Trojan to BMG, as part of a divestment programme that was a mandatory condition set by EU regulators when UMG acquired EMI in 2012. [5]

In 2018, the company celebrated 50 years in the business. [6]

Influence on skinheads

Trojan skinheads, influenced by traditional 1960s skinhead culture, are named after Trojan Records, to stress the influence of black Jamaican music and the rude boy style to the skinhead subculture. This designation emphasizes differences from the punk rock-influenced Oi! skinheads of the 1980s. The logo of Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) is based on the Trojan Records logo, although the Corinthian helmet is reversed to face the opposite direction. It was designed by Roddy Moreno of antifascist Oi! band The Oppressed. "I reversed the Trojan helmet because SHARP, in the plume, looked better that way."[ clarification needed ]

Collectable records

Over the years; as demand for many rare records has increased, a number of Trojan releases have become collectors items. For example, a 1969 single by The Slickers entitled "Run Fattie" sold for more than £300 in 2015. [7] Other collectable records on Trojan that have sold for £200 or more include "Night Of Love" by Ansel Collins, [8] "Wiggle Waggle" by The Wanderers, [9] and "Hang 'Em High" by Richard Ace. [10]

Labels licensed to Trojan

Related Research Articles

Arthur "Duke" Reid CD was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner.

Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish reggae, including harmony groups such as the Techniques, the Paragons, the Heptones and the Gaylads; soulful singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, Ken Boothe and Phyllis Dillon; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Lynn Taitt and Tommy McCook. The term rocksteady comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rude boy</span> Jamaican street subculture since 1960s

Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms rude boy and rude girl, among other variations like rudeboy and rudebwoy, being used to describe fans of two-tone and ska. This revival of the subculture and term was partially the result of Jamaican immigration to the UK and the so-called "Windrush" generation. The use of these terms moved into the more contemporary ska punk movement as well. In the UK and especially Jamaica, the terms rude boy and rude girl are used in a way similar to gangsta, yardie, or badman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alton Ellis</span> Jamaican singer-songwriter

Alton Nehemiah Ellis was a Jamaican singer-songwriter. One of the innovators of rocksteady, he was given the informal title "Godfather of Rocksteady". In 2006, he was inducted into the International Reggae And World Music Awards Hall Of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Kong</span> Jamaican producer (1933—1971)

Leslie Kong was a Jamaican reggae producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurel Aitken</span> Cuban-Jamaican musician (1927–2005)

Lorenzo "Laurel" Aitken was a Cuban-Jamaican singer and one of the pioneers of ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Ska".

Laurence Cane-Honeysett is a British musician, producer and music journalist specialising in Jamaican music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ethiopians</span> Jamaican music group

The Ethiopians were one of Jamaica's best-loved harmony groups during the late ska, rocksteady and early reggae periods. Responsible for a significant number of hits between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group was also one of the first Jamaican acts to perform widely in Britain.

Clancy Eccles was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early reggae works, he brought a political dimension to this music. His house band was known as The Dynamites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trojan skinhead</span> Cultural identity in the UK

Trojan skinheads are individuals who identify with the original British skinhead subculture of the middle 1960s, when ska, rocksteady, reggae, and soul music were popular, and there was a heavy emphasis on mod-influenced clothing styles. Named after the record label Trojan Records, these skinheads identify with the subculture's Jamaican rude boy and British working class roots.

Derrick Morgan OD is a Jamaican musical artist who was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. He worked with Desmond Dekker, Bob Marley, and Jimmy Cliff in the rhythm and blues and ska genres, and he also performed rocksteady and skinhead reggae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slim Smith</span> Jamaican singer

Slim Smith was a ska, rocksteady and reggae singer. In their book Reggae: The Rough Guide (1997), Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton described Smith as "the greatest vocalist to emerge in the rocksteady era".

Phyllis Dillon was a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae singer who recorded for Duke Reid's lucrative Treasure Isle record label in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Pioneers are a Jamaican reggae, soul and rocksteady vocal trio, whose main period of success was in the 1960s. The trio has had different line-ups, and still occasionally performs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dandy Livingstone</span> Musical artist

Dandy Livingstone is a British-Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae musician and record producer, best known for his 1972 hit, "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and for his song, "Rudy, A Message to You", which was later a cover hit for The Specials. "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 78 in Australia. In the early 1960s, Livingstone recorded some of the bestselling UK-produced ska singles of the era.

Horatious Adolphus "Pat" Kelly was a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae singer, whose career began in the mid-1960s. He recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the vocal group the Techniques.

Owen Gray, also known as Owen Grey, is a Jamaican musician. His work spans the R&B, ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras of Jamaican music, and he has been credited as Jamaica's first home-grown singing star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudy Mills</span> Reggae musician

Rudolph "Rudy" Methaian Mills is a reggae musician known for his releases during the rock steady era in the 1960s. He was discovered by producer Derrick Harriott who released his hit song "A Long Story". Versions of the song were later used by other artists including Bongo Herman & Bingy Bunny sampling it in an instrumental rendition.

Carnival Records was an English-based record label run by Australian businessman Alan Crawford. It released mainly reggae and ska recordings from 1963 to 1965. Artists who have had releases on the label include The African Messengers, Errol Dixon, Mike Elliott, Oscar James, Dandy Livingstone, Sugar 'N' Dandy, Sunny and the Hi-Jumpers and The Wes Minster Five

Anthony Mossop, known professionally as Tony Tribe and Tony Kingston, was a Jamaican vocalist. He charted at No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart with a reggae version of Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine", becoming Trojan Records's first UK chart entry, and inspired UB40's version, which charted at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100. He also performed at the 1969 Caribbean Reggae Festival. He then moved to Canada and released several singles there including "I Am the Preacher", which charted at No. 65 on the RPM charts, and then an album.

References

  1. "BMG forms alliance with Universal Music Group; plans to move physical distribution to UMG's Commercial Services division". musicbusinessworldwide.com. 19 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2535. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
  3. [ dead link ]
  4. UMG Seals Sanctuary Buyout Deal - Billboard Website - Article by Lars Brandle (2 August 2007). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  5. Chris Morris, "BMG Buys Sanctuary Records Catalog", Variety, 15 February 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  6. "Trojan marches on at 50". Jamaica Observer . Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  7. "The Slickers RUN FATTIE vinyl 7" single 1969 TR-7718 Trojan Records TR-7718 - auction details". Popsike.com.
  8. "" NIGHT OF LOVE. " ansel collins. TROJAN RECORDS 7in 1969. - auction details". Popsike.com.
  9. "" WIGGLE WAGGLE. " the wandereres. TROJAN RECORDS 7in 1969. - auction details". Popsike.com.
  10. "Reggaae 45 Richard ACE - Hang 'em high (UK Trojan Records EX) - auction details". Popsike.com.

Further reading