track record

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Track Records
Parent company	Polydor Records
Founded	1967
Founder	Kit Lambert, Chris Stamp
Genre	Rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock, blues-rock
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Location	London
Official website	www.trackrecords.co.uk

Track Records is an English record label founded in London in 1967 by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of hard rock band The Who. Artists whose works originally appeared on the Track label included The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, Arthur Brown, John's Children, Marsha Hunt, The Parliaments, Thunderclap Newman, Fairport Convention (pre-fame), Golden Earring, The Heartbreakers and Shakin' Stevens (pre-fame).

Track have also been involved at one point with John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Two Virgins" album (on the Apple label but stamped with a Track matrix (613012)) when EMI (Apple's distributor) refused to press the record. The Two Virgins album was later released by Apple and distributed in the UK by Transatlantic Records.

The Who's managers, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, had already grappled with the rigid confines of the established record companies, culminating in a court battle to release The Who from an onerous contract with producer Shel Talmy and the Brunswick label. They had already started releasing the Who's records on Robert Stigwood's new independent 'Reaction Records' label until they set up Track Records. Reaction was distributed by Polydor and had also released the first records by Cream. Supposedly Track Records was originally a way of creating a more independent means of releasing The Who's music (ostensibly with complete creative freedom for the band), but Chris Stamp, in a filmed interview, says that at the end of 1966 he and Kit were finally spurred to set up Track in order to get involved with new arrival Jimi Hendrix^[1]. as they couldn't manage or produce him, due to Chas Chandler having got there first. Hendrix' second single 'Purple Haze' released on 17 March 1967 was the very first Track record, originally released on a unique white Track label (black text) (after that all Track labels were black with silver text) and his first LP 'Are You Experienced' was the first Track LP

Track was one of the earliest British independent labels, although Robert Stigwood's Reaction label, had started a year earlier. These labels claim to independence are slightly misleading as there was no independent distribution system in place at the time, and both labels were very much reliant upon support from the major Polydor label, which is illustrated by the text "Polydor Records" appearing underneath the Track logo on the record labels. Polydor's involvement with these two "Independent" labels can be seen as learning process by Polydor who were interested in expanding their base and had little or no experience in the modern sixties Pop/Rock market, their main business being mainly 'Easy listening' orchestra and ballads, à la Bert Kaempfert.

However, for a period of 3 or 4 years in the late 1960s, Track was one of the hippest and least compromising record companies in the UK, though it lacked a roster of real hitmakers and were almost totally reliant on their major stars Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Hendrix's death in September 1970 may have been a great blow to this small company and in 1970 under the title 'Backtrack' they re-released both Hendrix and the Who's first two Track LP's (@ £1.00!) and several budget compilations (@ £0.99!) of mainly Who and Hendrix material (that included most of their singles) at almost giveaway prices, an unusual move. After the posthumous release of the 'The Cry of Love' LP and a couple of re-lease E.P's (the "Voodoo Chile" 3 track stereo EP being Hendrix's only No. 1 UK hit (@ only 2/6 = 15p!) in 1971 Polydor took over Hendrix' catalogue (in the USA it remained with Reprise Records), and in 1973 The Who produced Quadrophenia their last original album with Track . Later in 1974 Track released 'Odds and Sods' a compilation of old out-takes etc., which was their last chart album of Who material released by the label. The Who then jumped ship to Polydor (in the USA they remained with MCA Records). This left Track with just Golden Earring on their roster and another series of old material 'Allsorts' featuring The Who and Jimi Hendrix, amongst others was released. In 1975 Golden Earring left and after that Track only released two more LPs, one by The Heartbreakers and one by Shakin' Stevens' (pre-fame). Track ceased trading in 1978. Kit Lambert died just three years later aged only 45.

The logo and name 'Track Records' were resurrected (twenty years later) in 1999 by Ian Grant former manager of The Stranglers, The Cult and Big Country and used for his record company.

Budget series

Backtrack was a series of budget record releases by Track artists including the Who, Jimi Hendrix, and Arthur Brown. The records did not feature the original cover art. A compilation titled The House That Track Built was also issued.

References

1. ^ The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Live At Monterey DVD

External links

• Track Records