Untitled Document


1958 to .	45 R 4474 - 1958 to 45 R 4827 - 1961	45 R 4623 - 1960 to 45 R 4932 - 1962	R 4983 - 1963 to R 5200 - 1964
Founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as "Parlophon". Lindstrom initially used the brand name for gramophones before making records. The £ trademark is a German L, for Lindström. On August 8, 1923, the British branch of "Parlophone" (with the "e" added) was established, led by A&R manager Oscar Preuss. Parlophone established a master leasing arrangement with co-owned United States based Okeh Records, making Parlophone a leading jazz label in the UK. In 1927 the Columbia Graphophone Company acquired a controlling interest in the Carl Lindström Company and thereby in Parlophone. In 1931 Columbia merged with the Gramophone Company to form Electric & Musical Industries Ltd (EMI). In 1950, Preuss hired 24-year-old George Martin as his assistant. When Preuss retired in 1955, Martin succeeded him as label manager. The label's fortunes began to rise in 1962, when Martin signed rising new Liverpool band The Beatles. Along with fellow NEMS stablemates Cilla Black, Billy J. Kramer and the Fourmost, and contemporary Mancunian band The Hollies, The Beatles turned Parlophone into one of the world's most famous and prestigious record labels. After Martin left to form the Associated Independent Recording (AIR) Studios in 1965, the Parlophone Company was absorbed into EMI's Gramophone Company unit (renamed EMI Records in 1973) with the Parlophone label maintaining its identity. In Norway, Parlophone was distributed by Iversen & Frogh A/S (later Carl M. Iversen A/S) until 1968. In 1969, EMI's Norwegian subsidiary EMI Norsk A/S was established and Parlophone became one of their labels. From late 1957 to 1961, almost all Norwegian singles came in company sleeves. Later all foreign recordings came in picture sleeves (Danish or Norweigian).