Off The Record

Today, I’m posting the second label gallery for this month, and it’s part 1 of Festival records label gallery (I have a few more to add,  but I’m including these in part 2)

I have LP’s and singles of Festival until about 1985 (when the company changed it’s logo.  I don’t know if they released records with their new logo after 1985 and by late December 1992 when they ceased vinyl manufacture)

the first label is one of the earliest labels they used for the company (I have one record from the early years (1952), but I didn’t have time to include prior to me going on holidays, but I’ll locate the label and include it in part 2)

the next label comes from the 1960’s.  I have also seen this label in another colour combo (light blue and silver for an EP.  This version of the label I’ll show in part 2)

in the 1970’s Festival modified it’s logo and the following design appeared.

Incidentally the characters naned on this label are more puppet characters than real people.  this recording is the puppet cast of childrens show “Shirl’s Neighbourhood” singing the show’s theme

Below is an (extended) version of the show’s theme featuring cast members of other Seven Network shows including “Cop Shop”, and an appearance by 1960’s childrens host ”Happy” Hammond  (He’s the one in the one in the checkered jacket and hat.  the only cast member not on this video clip is the show’s host, the late Graeme “Shirl the Curl” Strachan)

One of Australia’s “Big Six”, Festival was for a little over five decades, one of Australia’s most successful record companies.

While the company was a major distributor of many overseas labels, the label’s philosophy was in promoting local Australian talent (amongst them, Col Joye, Little Patti, Johnny O’Keefe, Lucky Starr, and many, many others)

Back then, the company was originally a division of real estate conglomerate L. J. Hooker.  In 1961, the company was purchased by Nationwide News (now, News Corp)

Through the early years, it was the Australian representative of (American) Decca (throughout the 1950’s and into the early 60’s), Top Rank (Rank Records, U.K. early 1960’s) and Atlantic (early 1960’s) amongst others

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, it represented such labels as A&M and Arista (1978 until the purchase of the company by BMG).

Festival’s local releases were initially released under their own label, and subsidiaries Interfusion and Infinity.

In 1972, Festival signed a distribution contract with Mushroom Records.  Festival would distribute their product (Mushroom’s roster of talent included Skyhooks, Split Enz, Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons, Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes and many others)

In the early 90’s, Festival had purchased independent record label Larrikin Entertainment, and in 1998, Mushroom Records and Festival merged to become the Festival Mushroom Record group.

In 2002, Festival/Mushroom celebrated their 50th anniversary, but for the company, this was the beginning of the end.

Rather than have a huge factory/warehouse at it’s Sydney H.Q., FMR signed a distribution deal with Warner Music, which led to Warner’s purchase of the company in 2004 after Festival/Mushroom went bankrupt.

Today, both Festival and Mushroom are both divisional labels of Warner.

(for a more detailed history of Festival Records, I recommend you purchase the following book: “Spinning Around: The Festival Records Story”) (sadly now out of print, so you may have to look for this at a second-hand book store.)