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106-618: Since the separation of Island Records , Motown , Mercury Records, and Def Jam Recordings combining the Island Def Jam Music Group , Mercury Records has been placed under Island Records, although its back catalogue is still owned by the Island Def Jam Music Group (now Island Records). Mercury Records was started in Chicago in 1945 and over several decades, saw great success. The success of Mercury has been attributed to

212-512: A BAFTA Award for best original soundtrack the following year. Yundi's recording of three Beethoven sonatas went platinum in his native China. The label also released Andreas Ottensamer 's debut "Portraits", and the label debut of Brooklyn Rider "A Walking Fire". Milos Karadaglic's "Latino Gold" topped the UK classical charts and entered the pop charts. Banjo soloist and 15-time Grammy Award winner Bela Fleck 's concerto for banjo and orchestra "The Impostor"

318-564: A Losing Game " and Bob Marley's passport application form. The exhibition contained 800 prints showcasing the work for Island of the photographers Adrian Boot, Jean-Paul Goude , Anton Corbijn , Gered Mankowitz , Keith Morris and Brian Cooke, and the London exhibition also featured live performances at the Vinyl Factory Gallery by DJ Shadow and PJ Harvey . Following its 50th anniversary in 2009, Island Records entered its sixth decade on

424-603: A Question & Answer session. There was also a major exhibition at the Vinyl Factory Gallery in Soho, held in an open space beneath the record shop Phonica. The exhibition featured a display of treasured musical artifacts, including the Trabant car from the sleeve of U2 's Achtung Baby , Nick Drake 's guitar, the dress worn by Amy Winehouse at the 2008 Grammy Awards, the handwritten lyric sheet for Winehouse's song " Love Is

530-529: A ballot. 2016 proved a particularly successful year for the label in the UK: over a seven-week period between April and June, four separate Island acts spent at least one week at number one. The albums concerned were PJ Harvey 's The Hope Six Demolition Project , Drake 's Views (which spent two weeks at number one), Ariana Grande 's Dangerous Woman and Catfish & The Bottlemen's The Ride . PJ Harvey 's eighth studio album, 2011's Let England Shake ,

636-399: A bonus CD containing an interview with Wilma Cozart Fine, and a deluxe booklet detailing the history of Mercury Living Presence. The CD set was issued worldwide and was sold by major retailers. A limited-edition six-LP box set was also issued. The CD set brings back into print dozens of titles that had not been available as manufactured CDs since the early 2000s. In 2013, Decca Classics issued

742-695: A distinctive and fresh perspective to classical music. In its first year, artist signings to the label included Icelandic neoclassical composer Olafur Arnalds , New York-based string quartet Brooklyn Rider , Chinese pianist Yundi , and Austrian clarinetist and Berlin Philharmonic soloist Andreas Ottensamer . The label also oversees the recording career of Montenegrin classical guitarist Milos Karadaglic , and has an ongoing partnership with Tori Amos , which dates back to her work with Buhr on her classically inspired Night of Hunters album for Deutsche Grammophon in 2011. Following Buhr's longstanding relationship with

848-487: A division of PolyGram K.K. (now Universal Music Japan ). In 1995, it was relaunched as Mercury Music Entertainment. It later merged with Kitty Records in 2000 and became Kitty MME. Half of it was merged into the Universal J label in 2002, the other half became known as Universal Sigma in 2004. Its artist roster included Seiko Matsuda , Yūji Oda , Delta, ZIGGY, Kinniku Shōjo Tai , and Takashi Sorimachi . After 13 years,

954-572: A featured oboe player in the late 1940s for Mercury). The first record in this new Mercury Olympian Series was Pictures at an Exhibition performed by Rafael Kubelík and the Chicago Symphony . The group that became the best known using this technique was the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra , which, under the leadership of conductor Antal Doráti , made a series of classical albums that were well reviewed and sold briskly, including

1060-532: A label), hence those labels control US rights to these works (in the case of The Who, they had been on US Decca Records and MCA Records in the past, their prebreakup catalogue is now on Geffen Records in North America). Mercury Classics was relaunched in 2012 as an international classical label by UMGI, appointing musicologist and record executive Dr. Alexander Buhr as managing director. The label aims to identify and work with strong creative individuals who bring

1166-642: A major label in England with artists including Roxy Music , King Crimson , Sparks , Traffic , the Wailers , Cat Stevens , Steve Winwood and many others. (In the US, many of their releases were licensed to A&M prior to signing up distribution deals with Capitol and later Atlantic , and also independent distribution.) For Toots and the Maytals , the group that introduced the term " reggae " in song with their 1968 single " Do

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1272-409: A member of Woody Herman 's Second Herd, and then in 1950 formed a duet with Sonny Stitt. The 1950s were a prolific period for Ammons and produced some acclaimed recordings such as The Happy Blues (1956). Musicians who played in his groups, apart from Stitt, included Donald Byrd , Jackie McLean , John Coltrane , Kenny Burrell , Mal Waldron , Art Farmer , and Duke Jordan . His later career

1378-674: A merger with a competitor, consolidated all of its Nashville operations under the Mercury name. Mercury Nashville took over management of all of PolyGram's country back catalog from sister labels such as Polydor (including releases once issued by MGM Records), A&M , and the small country back catalog of Motown Records (Motown released these albums under subsidiary labels). All country artists under contract to other PolyGram labels either moved to Mercury or were dropped altogether. Today, Mercury Nashville continues to be an active imprint under Universal Music Group Nashville, where it continues to manage

1484-560: A modified Westrex mixer. For the original LPs, the mixer directly fed the custom cutting chain. At Fine Recording in New York City, the Westrex cutter head on a Scully lathe was fed by modified McIntosh 200W tube amplifiers with very little feedback in the system. Older mono records were made with a Miller cutter head. The original LP releases of the classical recordings continued through 1968. The Mercury classical-music catalogue (including

1590-444: A musician and publicist/manager, persuaded Mercury to let Patti Page (whom he managed) record a song that had been planned to be done by Vic Damone , "Confess". The budget was too small for them to hire a second singer to provide the "answer" parts to Page, so at Rael's suggestion, she did both voices. Though "overdubbing" had been used occasionally on 78-rpm discs in the 1930s, for Lawrence Tibbett recordings, among others, this became

1696-686: A part of the Mercury Music Group, a division of Universal Music Group, which Group controls the French operations of UMG labels Mercury, Fontana Records, Verve Records, Decca Records, Blue Note Records , Island Records, and Virgin Records, among others. Various other national Universal Music Group companies are known to actively use the Mercury Records trademark as an imprint for their local A&R operations, but no other Universal Music Group companies use

1802-480: A practice that was highlighted at the Island Records 50th anniversary event, at which new artists provided the entertainment. This list is probably incomplete, and some of the dates are uncertain. Gene Ammons Eugene " Jug " Ammons (April 14, 1925 – August 6, 1974), also known as "The Boss", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. The son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons , Gene Ammons

1908-685: A second, 55-CD box set, along with a second six-LP box set. The CD box set included two bonus discs: a new reissue of the 1953 monophonic recording of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" by Dorati with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, and a first-time-on-CD reissue of the premiere recording of John Corigliano 's Piano Concerto, played by Hilde Somer with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Victor Alessandro. On January 4, 2015, Mercury co-founder Irwin Steinberg died at

2014-501: A seven-year sentence at Joliet penitentiary, he signed the largest contract ever offered at that time by Prestige's Bob Weinstock . Ammons had the first of two records released by Leonard Chess on the newly-formed Chess Records label in 1950, titled "My Foolish Heart" (Chess 1425); Muddy Waters was the second record, "Rolling Stone" (Chess 1426). Both records were released simultaneously. Ammons died in Chicago on August 6, 1974, at

2120-482: A significant breakthrough was Yorkshire singer John Newman , who topped the UK charts with his first solo single, " Love Me Again ", and his debut album Tribute . In May 2018, incumbent president David Massey left Island to join Sony Music Entertainment 's relaunch of Arista Records . Darcus Beese , OBE took on the role of president upon Massey's departure. To make the transition, Beese relocated from

2226-416: A strong commitment to Toots and the Maytals, saying: "I've known Toots longer than anybody – much longer than Bob (Bob Marley). Toots is one of the purest human beings I've met in my life, pure almost to a fault." Despite the initial establishment work that Blackwell completed almost single-handedly, Island struggled as a business in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Bob Marley 's 1981 death was detrimental to

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2332-544: A tide of optimism. The years that followed saw fresh success for a number of established acts, including PJ Harvey , Keane , Paul Weller and Bombay Bicycle Club and an exciting wave of new signings. In its largest live production since its 2009 anniversary, the label also staged a concert by The Weeknd and Jack Garratt on Osea Island , a small island in Essex , as part of a bespoke one-day festival for 400 guests, including label staff, media and 200 fans who obtained tickets via

2438-525: A variety of recording styles from classical music to psychedelic rock. Its subsidiaries, though, focused on their own specialized categories of music. From 1947 to 1952, John Hammond was a vice-president of Mercury Records. Mercury, under its EmArcy label, released LPs by many post-swing and bebop artists, including Clifford Brown and Max Roach , Kenny Drew , Dinah Washington , Nat Adderley , Cannonball Adderley , Ernestine Anderson , Sarah Vaughan , Maynard Ferguson , Walter Benton , Herb Geller . In

2544-597: A vibrant new wave of folkish, countrified rock, their debut album, Sigh No More , sold two million, reaching number two in Britain and America. It also won best British album at the BRIT Awards in February 2011. The follow-up, Babel , did even better in 2012, becoming the UK's fastest-selling album of that year, going to number one in Britain and the US and winning album of the year at the 2013 Grammy Awards . Island also secured

2650-467: Is a Jamaican multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group . It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell , Graeme Goodall , and Leslie Kong in Jamaica , and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records , another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on

2756-500: Is a fluid, sometimes dangerous, always exhilarating union of systems and beliefs and the best way of allowing the world to progress is to mix up and place in glorious conflict these various systems and beliefs. In 1983, the film production company formed a partnership with Shep Gordon 's Alive Enterprises to form Island Alive and had success with Kiss of the Spider Woman , Koyaanisqatsi , and Stop Making Sense . The partnership

2862-445: Is remembered for his accessible music, steeped in soul and R&B. Born in Chicago , Illinois , Ammons studied music with instructor Walter Dyett at DuSable High School . Ammons began to gain recognition while still at high school when in 1943, at the age of 18, he went on the road with trumpeter King Kolax 's band. In 1944, he joined the band of Billy Eckstine (who bestowed on him the nickname "Jug" when straw hats ordered for

2968-753: The Palm Pictures company and run a chain of boutique hotels in Miami, US and the Caribbean, including the very exclusive Goldeneye , once the Jamaican home of James Bond creator Ian Fleming . Then in May 1998, all of PolyGram and its associated labels were purchased by Seagram which announced its plan to integrate PolyGram with UMG to produce an estimated cost savings, within a couple of years, of between US$ 275 million and $ 300 million annually. Seagram further explained that

3074-463: The Spencer Davis Group to the label (at that time, many Island releases were being distributed by Philips / Fontana ). The group became very popular and Island started their own independent series to spotlight UK rock talent. They signed artists such as John Martyn , Fairport Convention , Free , and greatly influenced the growing FM radio market. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, they were

3180-511: The ZTT label under the Island banner and Blackwell was known to approve excessive spending by the label. Morley recalls in a 2009 book about Island Records: I eventually grew to appreciate how Chris Blackwell, and therefore Island Records, was not about one thing, or one style, or one system, or one way of doing things ... [I began] reflecting how the world functions and reinvents itself precisely because it

3286-476: The 1970s, Mercury released hits by musicians such as The Statler Brothers , Paper Lace , Rod Stewart , Bachman-Turner Overdrive , Cledus Maggard and The Citizen's Band , William Bell , Rush , and Reba McEntire . From late 1974 to early 1983, the company's label design featured a painting of three famous buildings that are located in Chicago: Marina City , John Hancock Center , and One IBM Plaza ,

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3392-572: The Coconuts , Grace Jones , Steel Pulse , Keane , Tom Tom Club , Toots & The Maytals , The Mighty Diamonds , Yusuf Islam/ Cat Stevens , Bombay Bicycle Club , Baaba Maal and U2 . Another Island 50 tribute event was held over four nights at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, with Marianne Faithfull , Grace Jones and Sly & Robbie all appearing, and Chris Blackwell holding

3498-576: The Deutsche Grammophon label, some of Mercury Classics' early core classical recordings were rereleased under the aegis of sister company Deutsche Grammophon . In 2013, Mercury Classics released Olafur Arnalds ' label debut For Now I Am Winter , which entered the US Classical Chart at number one. It was followed by an EP of Arnalds' soundtrack of the ITV crime series Broadchurch , which received

3604-702: The Gang (following the dissolution of De-Lite Records in 1985), the first three albums of the 1979-86 self titled series of the Gap Band (via Total Experience Productions) and Cameo (via distribution of leader Larry Blackmon's label Atlanta Artists Records). And the label released early rapper Kurtis Blow 's hit "The Breaks" (1980) also. Mercury released blues musician Robert Cray. In 1980, Phonogram moved its headquarters from Chicago to New York City. In 1981, Mercury, along with other U.S. PolyGram-owned labels, which included Polydor , RSO Records , and Casablanca , consolidated under

3710-633: The Island-signed Mike Posner having held the number one spot with " I Took a Pill in Ibiza " for four consecutive weeks before being replaced by "One Dance", Island held the top spot in the UK singles chart for 19 consecutive weeks between March and August 2016. To crown a record-breaking year, Drake was named the world's best-selling recording artist of 2016 by international music industry organisation IFPI in February 2017. Canadian singer and songwriter The Weeknd also cemented his position as one of

3816-532: The Living Presence catalogue) is currently managed by Decca Label Group through Philips Records, which reissued the recordings on LP and then CD. In turn, Mercury now manages the pop/rock catalog of Philips Records. In 2012, Decca Classics, the current owner of the Mercury Living Presence label, issued a value-priced 51-CD box that included 50 of the 1990s CD titles (remastered by Wilma Cozart Fine),

3922-444: The Maytals band. First it was Toots and the Maytals, three guys: Toots , Raleigh, and Jerry. ... And then they were signed to Island Records, Chris Blackwell. And we were their recording band. One day we were summoned to Chris' house. And he says, "Alright gentleman, I think it's time. This Toots and the Maytals looks like it's going to be a big thing". By this time he had already signed Bob (Marley). So in his camp, Island Records, there

4028-608: The Mercury Records division of UMG France, the Mercury Studios film division (which absorbed Eagle Rock Entertainment , acquired by UMG in 2014), the classical music label Mercury KX, and catalogue reissues in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, and Brazil, as well. In 2024, Mercury Records became part of Universal Music Group-owned Republic Corps , joining sister labels Republic Records , Island Records ,[Casablanca Records]] and Def Jam Recordings . In 1951, under

4134-410: The Mercury label in the mid-2000s and signed with Mercury for the UK and Interscope Records for the US. However, successful artists such as Tricky and PJ Harvey were impressed by the label and signed on as artists. Tricky explained: "I knew I could get freedom. I knew I could do what I wanted to do.", while Harvey later stated: I came to work with them, sort of fully formed—the way that I looked,

4240-608: The Oklahoma-based three-piece Hanson . Mercury, by having Thin Lizzy, Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Def Leppard, Kiss, the Scorpions, and various other rock acts on their roster, became a premiere label for hard rock music. Most of these bands were on Vertigo Records in Europe (that label specialized in progressive rock and hard rock including subgenres like glam metal ). In late 1998, PolyGram

4346-575: The Platters , Brook Benton , the Diamonds, and Patti Page . In 1961, Philips , a Dutch electronics company and owner of Philips Records , which had lost its distribution deal with Columbia Records outside North America, played a key role in Mercury's future by signing an exchange agreement with the American record company. A year later, Mercury was sold to Consolidated Electronics Industries Corp. (Conelco), which

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4452-587: The PolyGram UK Group for £180 million; he explained in 2009: "It had gotten too big and too corporate for me and I couldn't really handle it." Following the sale, Island was no longer an independent company, but Blackwell was given a position on PolyGram's board and stayed on as CEO of PolyGram's new Island Entertainment division for ten years. PolyGram immediately began reissuing much of the Island back catalogue on compact disc and expanded Island's reach through its global manufacturing and distribution network, but

4558-500: The Reggay ", Chris Blackwell was the one who decided on the line-up of the group before introducing them to an international audience. Blackwell had signed Bob Marley , and now Toots and the Maytals. In November 2016, Jackie Jackson described the formation of the group in a radio interview for Kool 97 FM Jamaica. Accompanied by Paul Douglas and Radcliffe "Dougie" Bryan in studio, Jackson explained: We're all original members of Toots and

4664-469: The UK. In 1994, Island sold the distribution licenses for most of Manga's releases to Siren Entertainment, an independent entertainment company in Australia. Those rights were then given to Madman Entertainment in 1999 when Siren became solely an acquisitions company. The recording roster of Island Records, both past and present, has been and continues to be diverse. The label continues to champion new music,

4770-621: The United Kingdom to Island's offices at Universal Music Group 's New York City building. Beginning in 2024, Island began operating under the Republic Records branding. On 23 July 2020, Universal Music Group and its local subsidiary MCA Music launched Island Records Philippines , the first Southeast Asian branch of the 61-year old label. The Philippines branch is led by former Sony Music Philippines and Sindikato Management executive Enzo Valdez. Island World Communications, under

4876-796: The Youngest English-Albanian Dua Lipa ), his first single for Island, in November 2016. Signed to Island via a licensing deal with independent label PMR, Disclosure were formed by two brothers from Reigate in Surrey , Guy and Howard Lawrence. The duo discovered the joys of nineties house , techno and two-step garage while studying music production at college, and went on to enjoy success with their two Island albums Settle (2013) and Caracal (2015), making extensive use of an array of guest vocalists including Sam Smith , Jamie Woon , Eliza Doolittle , Lorde and Gregory Porter . One of

4982-488: The acquisition would unite a significant international presence with a thriving domestic business, as more than three-quarters of PolyGram's sales were outside the US. In December 1998 and the first three months of 1999, UMG placed three divisions under the management of the Island brand: one in the UK, one in the US, and one in Germany. In each territory, these companies were merged under umbrella groups: However, in 2001, UMG

5088-517: The acts who guested on Settle was AlunaGeorge , a boy-girl duo from London (singer Aluna Francis and musician and producer George Reid), who released their debut album, Body Music , on Island in 2013. Like Disclosure, Jessie Ware signed to Island through a link with independent label PMR . A soulful singer-songwriter from Brixton, Ware was nominated for the 2012 Mercury Music Prize with her smooth debut album, Devotion , and enjoyed further success with 2014's Tough Love . Another Island act to enjoy

5194-538: The age of 49, from bone cancer and pneumonia. He was buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois. Ammons and Von Freeman were the founders of the Chicago school of tenor saxophone. Ammons's style of playing showed influences from Lester Young as well as Ben Webster . These artists had helped develop the sound of the tenor saxophone to higher levels of expressiveness. Ammons, together with Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt, helped integrate their developments with

5300-540: The age of 94. This division of Mercury handled US distribution of most pre-1998 Polydor Records pop/rock releases currently under UMG control. Some exceptions remain, however. Some artists based outside the US did not have their releases on Polydor in North America, signing to various other labels, instead. Some of these bands, such as The Who , did sign to a label that also is now part of the UMG family (or later absorbed by such

5406-458: The band did not fit), playing alongside Charlie Parker and later Dexter Gordon . Performances from this period include "Blowin' the Blues Away," featuring a saxophone duel between Ammons and Gordon. After 1947, when Eckstine became a solo performer, Ammons then led a group, including Miles Davis and Sonny Stitt , that performed at Chicago's Jumptown Club. In 1949, Ammons replaced Stan Getz as

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5512-615: The big successes of Island's sixth decade. Having topped the charts with their five million-selling debut album Hopes and Fears in 2004, they went on to secure five consecutive number-one albums in the UK (a feat bettered only by The Beatles ), with subsequent releases Under the Iron Sea (2006), Perfect Symmetry (2008), Night Train (2010) and Strangeland (2012) all topping the charts. Paul Weller 's relationship with Island dates back to his fourth solo album, 1997's Heavy Soul , and its 2000 follow-up Heliocentric . He returned to

5618-553: The cannon shots, and the bells of the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon at the Riverside Church in Chicago. Besides Mercury's mono and stereo versions of the 1812 , only one other classical album rang up gold-record sales in the 1950s in the U.S. The New York Times music critic Howard Taubman described the Mercury sound on Pictures at an Exhibition as "being in the living presence of

5724-415: The company. Philips and German electronics giant Siemens reorganized their joint-ventured record operations, Grammophon-Philips Group, home of Deutsche Grammophon , Philips Records, and Polydor to become PolyGram in 1972. That year, PolyGram bought Mercury from NAPC. Mercury's corporate name was changed to Phonogram Inc. to match a related company in the UK that operated the Mercury label there. During

5830-513: The country back catalog that once belonged to PolyGram (MCA Nashville manages what Universal had already owned at the time of the PolyGram merger). In 1958, Mercury switched its distribution in the UK from Pye to EMI, and in 1964 to Philips. Mercury operated as an imprint in the UK under Phonogram, a division of Dutch electronics company Philips from the mid-1960s until 1998, when Phonogram was bought by Universal Music. In March 2013, its artist roster

5936-434: The direction of recording engineer C. Robert (Bob) Fine and recording director David Hall , Mercury Records initiated a recording technique using a single microphone to record symphony orchestras. Fine had for several years used a single microphone for Mercury small-ensemble classical recordings produced by John Hammond and later Mitch Miller (indeed, Miller, using his full name of Mitchell Miller, made several recordings as

6042-459: The emerging "vernacular" of the bebop movement, and the chromaticism and rhythmic variety of Charlie Parker is evident in his playing. While adept at the technical aspects of bebop, in particular its love of harmonic substitutions, Ammons stayed in touch with the commercial blues and R&B of his day. For example, in 1950 the saxophonist's recording of " My Foolish Heart " made Billboard Magazine's black pop charts. The soul jazz movement of

6148-479: The first BBC Music Awards in 2014 and were crowned British Breakthrough Act at the BRIT Awards in 2016 (an award voted for by Radio 1 listeners). Their second album, 2016's The Ride , was a UK number one. Island was also responsible for securing major British breakthroughs for two of the 21st century's biggest international superstars in Drake and The Weeknd . The success of Toronto hip-hop artist Drake came after

6254-483: The first documented example of "overdubbing" using tape. The company released an enormous number of recordings under the Mercury label, as well as its subsidiaries ( Blue Rock Records , Cumberland Records, EmArcy Records , Smash Records , and Wing Records , later via Fontana Records and Limelight Records after being absorbed by Philips). In addition, they leased and purchased material by independent labels and redistributed them. Under their own label, Mercury released

6360-513: The first-ever complete recordings of Tchaikovsky 's ballets Swan Lake , The Sleeping Beauty , and The Nutcracker . Dorati's 1954 one-microphone monaural recording (Mercury MG 50054) and 1958 three-microphone stereo rerecording (Mercury MG 50054) of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture included dramatic overdub recordings of 1812-era artillery and the bells of the Yale University Carillon . A stereo release in 1960 featured new recordings of

6466-553: The iTunes top 10 in more than 20 countries. Influential classical music website Alto Riot named Mercury Classics its Label of the Year 2013. In 2016, Mercury Classics became Mercury KX and changed its focus to post-classical music Mercury's Nashville unit dates back to 1957, when Mercury formed a joint venture with Starday Records specifically for releasing artists performing country music. Mercury bought out Starday's half in 1958. In 1997, PolyGram, looking to cut costs in anticipation of

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6572-464: The label announced it was stopping the production of CD and vinyl singles, and would only release them physically as "rare exceptions". In 2012, signings on Mercury included Pixie Lott , Arcade Fire , Amy Macdonald , Noah and the Whale , Chase & Status , Jake Bugg , and Bo Bruce . In July, Mercury announced that Mike Smith was joining as president of its music division. In March 2013, Mercury UK

6678-570: The label as a key marketing differentiator, nor do they operate frontline divisions based on the Mercury label. The Mercury label was first launched in Japan in 1952, by Taihei Onkyo . The company's name was later changed to Nippon Mercury in 1953, however, the Mercury label started to be handled by King Records in 1957, and later by Nippon Victor . It was relaunched in 1970 by Nippon Victor and Matsushita Corporation , as Nippon Phonogram. It operated several Phonogram labels in Japan. In 1993, it became

6784-412: The label had worked patiently to build his profile over a number of years, culminating in the success of his fourth album Views and its attendant singles in 2016. " One Dance ", Drake's first number one single in the UK, had 1.95 million sales to become Britain's biggest-selling single of 2016. The single's 15-week run at number one equalled the mark for the second longest in UK chart history. With

6890-490: The label in 2008 and began an outstanding trilogy of releases that contained some of his strongest solo work 22 Dreams (2008), the Mercury Music Prize -nominated Wake Up The Nation (2010) and Sonik Kicks (2012). North London quartet Bombay Bicycle Club also released four albums on Island, with each one signalling a change of direction: the indie-rock of 2009's I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose paved

6996-580: The label was relatively unfocused in the 1990s. Between 1992 and 1995, Island had a sub-label called the Island Red Label , which focused on independent artists. Blackwell eventually ended his association with the company in 1997, as the corporate life hindered the independent ethos of his personal life. "I never really had a job until I sold Island to PolyGram in 1989. It had gotten too corporate," he commented afterwards. After Blackwell left, PolyGram closed Island's film business. Blackwell left to found

7102-527: The label was revitalized under its new name, Mercury Tokyo , under the Universal Music Group and Brands (UMG and Brands) division of Universal Music Japan. K-pop group Monsta X is the first artist or group signed under the newly relaunched label. As of 2022, the label, currently operating under UMJ's EMI Records division, has added K-pop groups Drippin , Golden Child , Loona , and STAYC on its roster. Island Records Island Records

7208-411: The label's creative core. These festivities centred around a week-long run of shows at Shepherd's Bush Empire and Bush Hall in London. The concerts featured performances tracing the label's history from its reggae and jazz roots to the modern era. Among the artists who appeared were Sly & Robbie , Ernest Ranglin , Paul Weller , The Compass Point All Stars, The I Threes , Aswad , Kid Creole &

7314-525: The label, especially after its having engineered Marley's international breakthrough only a few years earlier, while Irish rock band U2 , which had signed to Island in March 1980, was growing in popularity, but had not yet reached the international superstar status that was to come. In 1981, Blackwell also used the label to finance a new film production and distribution company, producing the film Countryman . In 1982, Paul Morley and producer Trevor Horn started

7420-410: The late 1950s, Mercury released jazz recordings of multiple artists, including Max Roach, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young , Dizzy Gillespie , and Buddy Rich. During the 1960s albums were released by artists including Gene Ammons , Quincy Jones , Buddy Rich , Cannonball Adderley , Dinah Washington , Max Roach , Paul Bley and Jimmy Smith. During the 1950s, Mercury released hits of musicians such as

7526-549: The latter which was Mercury's headquarters during that period, having moved from its long-time address at 35 East Wacker Drive . Mercury released soul musicians such as the Dells and Marvin Sease. From the 1970s through the early 1980s, Mercury released albums of funk musicians such as Ohio Players , the Bar-Kays , Con Funk Shun , and Hamilton Bohannon . Mercury released albums by Kool &

7632-478: The leadership of Blackwell and Andy Frain, created Manga Entertainment Ltd, the anime and live action Japanese film division of Island in 1991. In that year, Laurence Guinness, the Senior VP at Island World Communications bought the distribution license for Akira from ICA Projects in London, and the distribution of what was the label's first release is considered a crucial milestone in the establishment of anime in

7738-527: The local Jamaican sound systems proved to be overwhelmingly successful. The label was based at a now demolished basement in Kilburn , London Borough of Brent , in a property that was used by Sonny Roberts 's Planetone label and whose landlord was Lee Gopthal who would later create Trojan Records . The vast majority of the artists who had signed to Blackwell's fledgling label while he was in Jamaica agreed to allow

7844-411: The mid-1960s, often using the combination of tenor saxophone and Hammond B3 electric organ , counts him as a founder. With a thicker, warmer tone than Stitt or Gordon, Ammons could at will exploit a vast range of textures on the instrument, vocalizing it in ways that anticipated later artists such as Stanley Turrentine , Houston Person , and even Archie Shepp . Ammons showed little interest, however, in

7950-565: The mid-1980s, achieved some success marketing alternative hip hop and dance-pop music with artists such as Eric B. and Rakim and the Stereo MCs . Mango ( Chaka Demus and Pliers ) was another Island dance-oriented subsidiary, while it was singer Robert Palmer who achieved worldwide success with the rock song " Addicted to Love " in 1986. African musicians such as King Sunny Adé and Angélique Kidjo were also championed by Blackwell. In July 1989, Blackwell sold Island Records and Island Music to

8056-473: The musical entrepreneur to release their music in the UK. While in England, Blackwell travelled throughout the city carrying his stock with him and sold to record stores in the city. He did not provide any copies to radio stations, as they would not play any of the Island music; the music was also not reviewed by the press. Meanwhile, Goodall left to start the Doctor Bird record label in 1965. Blackwell signed

8162-602: The new name PolyGram Records, Inc. (now UMG Recordings ). Under PolyGram, Mercury absorbed the artists and catalogue of Casablanca Records (also home to the 20th Century Records back catalogue), which consisted of hard rockers Kiss and disco stars Donna Summer and the Village People , and primarily became a rock/pop/new wave label with Van Morrison , Thin Lizzy , All About Eve , Julian Cope , Scorpions , Rush , John Cougar Mellencamp , Big Country , Tears for Fears , Bon Jovi , Cinderella , and Def Leppard as well as

8268-532: The newly created Def Soul Records. Mercury's former country unit became Mercury Nashville Records . However, Mercury Records was relaunched in 2007 as a label under The Island Def Jam Music Group, appointing record executive David Massey as the President and CEO of the new venture. The label was defunct in 2015. On April 11, 2022, Republic Records announced that they had acquired Mercury Records, and it will continue as their imprint. The Mercury name also survives on

8374-631: The opening act for The Who for about two weeks. In 1969, Island Records acquired a deconsecrated 17th century church building at 8-10 Basing Street, in the Ladbroke Grove area of Notting Hill in West London . The building was refurbished to create the Island Studios recording studio, while also serving as the new location for Island Records' offices. The first Toots and the Maytals album released and distributed by Chris Blackwell's Island Records

8480-598: The orchestra" and Mercury eventually began releasing their classical recordings under the 'Living Presence' series' name. The recordings were produced by Mercury vice president Wilma Cozart , who later married Bob Fine. Cozart took over recording director duties in 1953 and also produced the CD reissues of more than half of the Mercury Living Presence catalog in the 1990s. By the late 1950s, the Mercury Living Presence crew included session musical supervisors Harold Lawrence and Clair van Ausdall and associate engineer Robert Eberenz. Besides

8586-435: The pop market with names such as Frankie Laine , Vic Damone , Tony Fontane , and Patti Page . In 1946, Mercury hired Eddie Gaedel , an American with dwarfism, most notable for participating in a Major League Baseball game, to portray the "Mercury Man", complete with a winged hat similar to its logo, to promote Mercury recordings. Some early Mercury recordings featured a caricature of him as their logo. In 1947, Jack Rael,

8692-415: The progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France (known as Vertigo France until 2014). Current key people include Island US president Darcus Beese , and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels. Island Records

8798-629: The recordings with the Chicago and Minneapolis orchestras, Mercury also recorded Howard Hanson with the Eastman Rochester Orchestra, Frederick Fennell with the Eastman Wind Ensemble , and Paul Paray with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra . In late 1955, Mercury began using three omnidirectional microphones to make stereo recordings on three-track tape. The technique was an expansion on the mono process—center

8904-495: The release of Yundi's new album Emperor/Fantasy , including Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto with Berlin Philharmonic and Daniel Harding, Mercury Classics held the top two spots on the UK classical chart. In May 2014, the label released Tori Amos' 14th studio album Unrepentant Geraldines . The album entered the US Billboard top 200 at number seven, charted in UK (number 13), Netherlands (number 10), and Germany (number 15), and hit

9010-514: The signing of English indie rock band Florence and the Machine whose debut studio album Lungs (2009) sold four million copies, and spent over 12 months on the UK Albums Chart before being crowned British Album Of The Year at the 2010 BRIT Awards ceremony. Lungs was followed by the studio albums Ceremonials (2011), and How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015). Keane were another of

9116-403: The three-track tapes or magnetic film, with a 3-2 mix occurring in the mastering room. The same technique—and restored vintage equipment of the same type—was used during the CD reissues. Specifically, three-track tapes were recorded on Ampex 300-3 (½-in, three-track) machines at 15 in/sec. The 35-mm magnetic film recordings were made on three-track Westrex film recorders. The 3-2 mixdown was done on

9222-504: The use of alternative marketing techniques to promote records. The conventional method of record promotion used by major labels such as RCA Victor , Decca Records , and Capitol Records was dependent on radio airplay, but Mercury Records co-founder Irving Green decided to promote new records using jukeboxes instead. By lowering promotion costs, Mercury was able to compete with the more established record labels, and thus became an established record label itself. Mercury Record Corporation

9328-516: The way for 2010's folkier Flaws , the modern rock of 2011's A Different Kind Of Fix and the broad-based invention of 2014's So Long, See You Tomorrow . Having built a loyal live following, Catfish & The Bottlemen signed to Island in 2014. After reaching platinum sales status in the UK with their Top Ten debut album, The Balcony , the Welsh rock band won the BBC Introducing Award at

9434-453: The way that I sounded: that was already there. And I felt, like, that they just supported where that was going to go. The label celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009. In 2009, Island Records marked the 50th anniversary of its foundation in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell with a series of live concerts and an exhibition under the Island 50 banner. The events were a celebration of the street-cool, independent outlook and striking visual imagery at

9540-513: The world's leading recording artists, with the 2016 success of his third album Starboy . Its success was the culmination of a strategy that had seen Island build his UK profile over a four-year period that dated from his 2013 studio album Kiss Land . Island's commitment to further nurturing the careers of global superstars was reiterated in June 2016 with the signing of Sean Paul . The Jamaican singer, rapper and songwriter released " No Lie " (featuring

9646-566: Was Funky Kingston . The Maytals had recently added a full-time backing band that included drummer Paul Douglas and bassist Jackie Jackson, and Chris Blackwell joined the group in the studio as a co-producer for the album. Music critic Lester Bangs described the album in Stereo Review as "perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released." As Blackwell says, "The Maytals were unlike anything else ... sensational, raw and dynamic." Blackwell had

9752-551: Was Toots and the Maytals], the late Bob Marley; we were talking about reggae is going international now. We kept on meeting and he (Blackwell) decided that the backing band that back all of the songs, the recording band, should be the Maytals band. So everything came under Toots and the Maytals. So we became Maytals also. And then we hit the road in 1975 ... we were the opening act for the Eagles , Linda Ronstadt , and Jackson Browne . We were

9858-703: Was absorbed into Virgin EMI by Universal Music. Virgin EMI was rebranded as EMI Records in June 2020. Launched in 1955 exclusively as a full-service local (Australian) A&R operation. Mercury Records first known Australian artist was Keith Potger in 1968, but the label was put into hibernation in 1999 in favour of the Universal label until 2007–2013. Some successful Australian artists on Mercury included: INXS , Kamahl , Bullamakanka , Darren Hayes , Carl Riseley, The Preatures , Tiddas , Dragon, Teen Queens , Melissa Tkautz and Karise Eden . In France, Mercury Records operates as

9964-529: Was an affiliate of Philips under its U.S. Trust division; in 1963, Mercury switched British distribution from EMI to Philips. In 1962, Mercury began marketing a line of phonographs made by Philips bearing the Mercury brand name. In July 1967, Mercury Records became the first U.S. record label to release cassette music tapes ( Musicassettes ). In 1969, Mercury changed its corporate name to Mercury Record Productions Inc., while its parent Conelco became North American Philips Corp. (NAPC) after Philips bought control of

10070-408: Was bought by Seagram , which then absorbed the company into its Universal Music Group unit. Under the reorganization, Mercury Records was closed and folded into the newly formed The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG). Mercury's pop roster was predominantly taken over by Island Records , while its hip-hop acts found a new home at Def Jam Recordings , and some of Mercury's R&B acts were moved to

10176-405: Was dissolved in 1985. In August 1987, the company was not able to pay US$ 5 million that it owed to U2 in royalties for The Joshua Tree album, as it had diverted the funds to finance several unsuccessful films. U2 responded by negotiating a deal whereby they received a stake in the label that was estimated to be around 10 per cent. The label's 4th & Broadway division, operating since

10282-539: Was formed in Chicago in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams , Ray Greenberg, and Arthur Talmadge . The company was a major force in R&;B , doo wop , soul music , pop doo wop, pop soul, blues , pop, rock and roll , jazz and classical music . Early in the label's history, Mercury opened two pressing plants, one in Chicago and the other in St. Louis, Missouri . By hiring two promoters, Tiny Hill and Jimmy Hilliard, they penetrated

10388-570: Was founded in Jamaica on 4 July 1959 by Chris Blackwell , Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong , and financed by Stanley Borden from RKO . Its name was inspired by the Harry Belafonte song " Island in the Sun ". Blackwell explained in 2009: "I loved music so much, I just wanted to get into it, or be as close to it as I could." Blackwell's first album was Lance Hayward at the Half Moon Hotel , which

10494-403: Was interrupted by two prison sentences for narcotics possession, the first from 1958 to 1960, the second from 1962 to 1969. He recorded as a leader for Mercury (1947–1949), Aristocrat (1948–1950), Chess (1950–1951), Prestige (1950–1952), Decca (1952), and United (1952–1953). For the rest of his career, he was affiliated with Prestige. After his release from prison in 1969, having served

10600-432: Was merged with French company Vivendi S.A. to create Vivendi Universal S.A.; but the music company remains under the name Universal Music Group (UMG). In the US, Island became a predominantly pop/rock label, as their urban artists were assigned to either Def Jam or Def Soul, a new Island/Def Jam R&B imprint. Following the takeover of Island by UMG, flagship band U2 were dissatisfied after chief Jason Iley moved to

10706-612: Was moved to Virgin EMI in a restructuring of Universal's UK labels. In 2005, Jason Iley was appointed the new managing director of Mercury. He joined the company from Island Records, where he was general manager. In July 2005, Iley appointed Paul Adam to senior artist and repertoire (A&R) director of the label; the two had previously worked together at Island Records. In October 2006, U2 decided to leave Island Records and moved to Mercury Records, reportedly to rejoin Iley, with whom they had worked previously at Island Records. In March 2011,

10812-500: Was one of the key records of Island's sixth decade. Made in a cliff-top church in Dorset , it won the 2011 Mercury Music Prize , making Harvey the only artist to land the prestigious award twice (she had prevailed ten years previously with Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea ). Mumford & Sons , who grew out of a series of jam sessions in London in 2007, signed a licensing deal with Island in 2009. Heralded as standard bearers for

10918-535: Was only interested in building long-term careers at that stage in time, rather than short-term projects. Suzette Newman has been a close colleague of Chris Blackwell's since working together in the early days of Island Records, and while there she ran the Mango world music label. Suzette Newman and Chris Salewicz were the editors for the book The Story of Island Records: Keep On Running . Blackwell relocated to England in May 1962 to garner greater levels of attention after

11024-406: Was recorded in late 1959. Tom Hayes, the label's sales manager between 1965 and 1967, referred to the early period of the label in the UK as "organized chaos". The 1964 hit, " My Boy Lollipop ", sung by Jamaican singer Millie Small (1947–2020), was the label's first success in the UK and led to a world tour that also involved Blackwell. Blackwell explained in a 50th anniversary documentary that he

11130-542: Was released in the fall. In 2014, Mercury Classics released "Aranjuez", Milos Karadaglic's recording of iconic guitar concertos by Joaquin Rodrigo, featuring Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The album topped the iTunes Classical charts in more than 10 countries and the classical charts in the US, UK, France, New Zealand, and Denmark, where it peaked in the pop charts at number 17. With

11236-690: Was still paramount. Once the center, single microphone was set, the sides were set to provide the depth and width heard in the stereo recordings. The center microphone still fed the mono LP releases, which accompanied stereo LPs well into the 1960s. From 1961, Mercury enhanced the three-microphone stereo technique by using 35-mm magnetic film instead of half-inch tape for recording. The greater emulsion thickness, track width, and speed (90 ft/min or 18 in/sec) of 35-mm magnetic film increased prevention of tape layer print-through and gained in addition extended frequency range and transient response. The Mercury 'Living Presence' stereo records were mastered directly from

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