Pye Records
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Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artist was Petula Clark, who recorded for the label from 1957 through 1971.
The Pye Company originally sold televisions and radios. It entered the record business when it bought Nixa Records in 1953. In 1955, Pye acquired Polygon Records, a label that had been established by Clark's father to control distribution of her recordings, and merged it with Nixa Records to form Pye Nixa Records. In 1959, the name was changed to Pye Records and ATV acquired 50% of the label. ATV bought the other half of the business in 1966. Two subsidiaries were created during the sixties: Pye Golden Guinea Records and Piccadilly Records. In 1970 it launched a less mainstream label for folk, jazz, blues and progressive acts, Dawn Records, the most successful Dawn act being Mungo Jerry.
When the rights to the name Pye expired in 1980, the label changed its name to PRT Records. Its back catalogue was later acquired by Castle Communications.
In 1958 Pye International Records was started. The company distributed many American labels, including Chess Records, A&M Records, Kama Sutra Records, Buddah Records, and King Records in the UK.
The company entered the budget-priced record market in the 60s with Marble Arch re-issuing Pye material.
Notable artists on Pye Records
- Petula Clark (1957-1971)—In addition to dozens of singles, her output for Pye included seventeen albums.
- Donovan (1965-1971)
- Sandie Shaw (1964-1972)
- The Kinks (1964-1971)
- The Searchers (1963-1967)
- The Honeycombs (1964-1965)
- The Ivy League (1965-1966)
- David Bowie (1965-1966)
- Status Quo (1968-1971)
- Mungo Jerry (1970-1974)
- Brotherhood of Man (1976-1978)