Polydor Records is a British record label that is under Universal Music Group.
It currently operates as a front-line label under the Interscope Geffen A&M label, which
distributes Polydor's releases in the United States.
In turn, Polydor distributes Interscope releases in the United Kingdom.
Its artists have included Cheryl Cole and Girls Aloud, Ellie Goulding, Duffy, Snow Patrol,
Elton John, The 1975 and US artists Lana Del Rey and Azealia Banks.
Company history Beginnings
Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft.
Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of
the Gramophone Company having severed their ties during World War I. Deutsche Grammophon
claimed the rights to the His Master's Voice trademark for Germany, where HMV recordings
were released under the Electrola trademark.
In turn, Deutsche Grammophon records exported out of Germany were released on the Polydor
label.
Polydor became a popular music label in 1946 while Deutsche Grammophon became a classical
music label.
The German rights to the His Master's Voice trademark was sold by Deutsche Grammophon
to the Electrola Records unit of EMI in 1949.
Polydor remained Deutsche Grammophon's export label, including classical music, in France
and the Spanish-speaking world for the remainder of the long-playing era, as a result of language
and cultural concerns.
In the early 1960s orchestra leader Bert Kaempfert signed unknowns Tony Sheridan and the Beat
Brothers — who would later become famous as The Beatles — to Polydor.
Popular German entertainers such as James Last, Bert Kaempfert, Kurt Edelhagen, Caterina
Valente and the Kessler Twins appeared on the Polydor label, as well as many French,
Spanish and Latin-American figures.
Polydor opened a United States branch in 1969, but did not become a real presence in the
United States record industry until its purchase of the recording contract and back catalog
of R&B superstar James Brown in 1971 and its absorption of the MGM Records label by parent
company PolyGram in 1972.
In 1970, Polydor acquired the Hong Kong-based Diamond Records, which was owned and founded
by the local Portuguese merchant Ren da Silva in the late 1950s.
PolyGram
In 1972, Polydor merged with giant Philips-owned Phonogram Records to create PolyGram in the
United States.
The Polydor label continued to run as a subsidiary label under the new company.
The name PolyGram is a portmanteau of Polydor and PhonoGram.
Throughout the 1970s, Polydor became a major rock label, and also championed disco, being
home to such platinum-selling disco acts as the Bee Gees and Gloria Gaynor.
Into the 1980s, Polydor continued to do respectable business, in spite of becoming increasingly
overshadowed by its PolyGram sister label Mercury Records.
Polydor took over management of British Decca's pop catalog.
A&R manager Frank Neilson was able to score a major top ten hit in March 1981 for the
label with "Do The Hucklebuck" by Coast to Coast as well as signing Ian Dury and Billy
Fury to the company.
In 1984, the company name was parodied in the rockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap,
where "Polymer Records" was the band's record company.
By the early 1990s, Polydor had begun to underperform.
PolyGram subsequently trimmed most of Polydor's staff and roster, and shifted it to operate
under the umbrella of PolyGram Label Group, a newly constructed "super label" specifically
designed to oversee the operations of PolyGram's lesser performing imprints, which included
Island Records, London Records, Atlas Records and Verve Records at the time.
In 1994, as Island Records recovered from its sales slump, PolyGram dissolved most of
PLG into it.
Meanwhile, Polydor Records and Atlas Records merged, briefly called "Polydor/Atlas," and
began operating through A&M Records, another PolyGram subsidiary.
In 1995, Polydor/Atlas became simply Polydor Records again.
Twilight years in the United States Over the next few years, Polydor tried to
keep itself afloat with new artist signings, new releases, and reissues, while still becoming
more and more dormant.
In 1998, PolyGram was purchased by Seagram and absorbed into its Universal Music Group.
During the consolidation of these two music giants, Polydor's United States operations
were dismantled into Interscope-Geffen-A&M, while its overseas branch remained intact,
with its records continuing to be distributed domestically through Interscope and A&M.
Today, in America, the Polydor Records name and logo is mostly used on reissues of older
material from its 1960s and 1970s heyday.
However, starting in the 2010s, Interscope Records has been signing acts such as Azealia
Banks and Lana Del Rey jointly to Polydor and its logo has been seen on both releases.
Polydor Nashville Record producer Harold Shedd founded Polydor's
Nashville, Tennessee division in 1994, which specialized in country music.
Among the acts signed to Polydor Nashville were 4 Runner, The Moffatts, Chely Wright,
Mark Luna, Clinton Gregory, Amie Comeaux, along with Toby Keith and Davis Daniel, who
transferred from Mercury Nashville in 1994.
The Nashville division was renamed A&M Nashville in March 1996 and closed in September of the
same year, as PolyGram consolidated all its Nashville operations under the Mercury name.
Polydor UK In the early 1970s, the main source of income
for the label was probably the enormously successful UK band Slade.
At the time, between the 1970s and 1980s, the Polydor/PolyGram Senior VP was Jerry Jaffe,
who also signed acts such as Motorhead, Dexy's Midnight Runners, and Bon Jovi.
Later, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the label was also home to The Who and The
Jam, and successful British glam rock act Sweet signed on in 1977.
Though Polydor's American branch is nearly inactive, in the United Kingdom Polydor remains
one of the strongest labels in the country — with artists such as Esmée Denters, Take
That, Girls Aloud, N-Dubz, La Roux, Cheryl Cole, Nicola Roberts, Duffy, Klaxons, Delphic,
Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Saturdays, James Morrison, Kaiser Chiefs, Boyzone, Alphabeat,
The Courteeners, S Club 7, S Club 8, Rachel Stevens, Ellie Goulding and Lawson.
Polydor also has a strong indie roster through the Fiction imprint with acts such as Ian
Brown, Bright Eyes, Elbow, White Lies, The Maccabees, Kate Nash, Snow Patrol, Filthy
Dukes, and Crystal Castles.
It also acts as the UK label for American-based acts under Interscope-Geffen-A&M like Eminem,
Queens Of The Stone Age, Limp Bizkit, Timbaland, The All-American Rejects, Yeah Yeah Yeahs,
The Black Eyed Peas, Weezer, Marilyn Manson, Pussycat Dolls, Janet Jackson, Snoop Dogg,
Gwen Stefani, Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Hollywood Undead, Sheryl Crow, Dr.
Dre, Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga, Fergie, Ester Dean and Nelly Furtado.
In Spring 2006, Polydor launched Fascination Records, a music label dedicated to pop music.
Both Girls Aloud and Sophie Ellis-Bextor transferred to the new label and created groups such as
The Saturdays and Girls Can't Catch.
Several teen pop acts from US label Hollywood Records, such as the Jonas Brothers, Miley
Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez & the Scene were also signed to Fascination.
In 2008, A&M Records UK was founded as an imprint of Polydor UK.
The same year Polydor obtained distribution of The Rolling Stones' back catalogue as well
as new releases.
See also Polydor Records artists
References
External links Polydor.co.uk UK site
Polydor.de German site Polydor at discogs.com
Polydor A&R team contact list