Charisma Records

Charisma
Parent company	Universal Music Group
Founded	1969 (1969)
Founder	Tony Stratton-Smith
Defunct	1986 (1986)
Distributor(s)	Capitol Music Group
Genre	Progressive rock, comedy
Country of origin	England

The Famous Charisma Label (Charisma for short) was a British record label founded in 1969 by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith. He had previously acted as manager for rock bands such as The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator. Gail Colson was label manager and joint managing director.

The label's most successful acts were Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Julian Lennon, and Monty Python. The initial release was the album The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other by Van der Graaf Generator. Stratton-Smith was unable to find a company to release the album, so he became determined to release it himself.

Charisma's first UK label was a distinctive "pink scroll" design. Its second logo (used beginning in 1972) of Sir John Tenniel's drawing of the Mad Hatter (sometimes combined with a montage of other images from Alice in Wonderland) made the label instantly recognizable. Much of the early distinctive artwork used by the label was created by Paul Whitehead.

The label also released material by The Nice, Lindisfarne ^[1] and Alan Hull, Hawkwind, The Alan Parsons Project, Clifford T. Ward, String Driven Thing, Jack The Lad, Audience, Vivian Stanshall, Brand X, Sir John Betjeman, Malcolm McLaren and Afraid of Mice. 1970s solo albums of Peter Hammill, Tony Banks and Steve Hackett were also on Charisma.

Gail Colson left Charisma in the late 1970s to form her own management company, Gailforce.

In 1983, Charisma Records was acquired by Virgin Records and continued to operate until 1986, when Virgin absorbed the label following its purchase by EMI. A new version of Charisma, with no connection to the original label other than the name, operated between 1990 and 1992, with a street-oriented and independently distributed subsidiary called Cardiac Records. Some Charisma Records recordings were re-issued on the EMI label. In the UK, the label was revived by EMI's Angel Records in 2007.

With the EMI purchase by Universal Music Group, Charisma returned to Virgin Records.

Distribution

Charisma was initially manufactured and distributed in the United Kingdom as an offshoot of B&C Records, sharing the B&C catalogue series for both singles and albums, but it later absorbed that label. During the mid- and late 1970s Charisma's European distribution was handled by Phonogram Inc.

In the United States and Canada, Charisma recordings were initially licensed to other labels. These included ABC Records, along with subsidiaries, Impulse, Probe and Dunhill. Artists included Van der Graaf Generator and Genesis. Elektra Records in the USA released records by Charisma artists Atomic Rooster, Audience, Lindisfarne and Jack the Lad.

In 1971 Charisma entered into a distribution agreement with Buddah Records and began to release albums on the Charisma label in the USA. These included Pawn Hearts by Van der Graaf Generator and Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot and Genesis Live by Genesis. Atlantic Records also later released Charisma recordings in the United States from 1973 to 1974 including many Genesis titles.

In 1973 Atlantic stopped distributing Charisma in America; as a result, in the USA Charisma's bands signed to various labels such as Mercury Records (Van der Graaf Generator) and Arista Records (Monty Python). Genesis records were released in the USA under Atlantic's subsidiary label Atco Records from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, Charisma signed a new distribution deal in the UK with Polydor that lasted until 1980. In Canada, many Charisma releases were distributed by GRT and PolyGram Canada.^[2]

Between 1980 and 1982, Charisma operated a subsidiary called Pre Records, who were devoted to new wave and reggae acts. Pre's roster included Scars, Prince Far I, Delta 5, Gregory Isaacs, The Monochrome Set and Congo Ashanti Roy, amongst others. Pre also licensed albums by The Residents and Tuxedomoon from the American label Ralph Records. In Europe, Pre's releases were issued on the Charisma label.^[3][4]

Collectable "pink scroll" label design

Most Charisma artists were relatively unknown early on, so original pressings have become quite rare and sought after by collectors. The "pink scroll" label was first used in the UK from 1969 until mid-1972.^[5] This was replaced by the Mad Hatter label, designed by Paul Whitehead. In the USA, the pink scroll labels were used in late 1973 and early 1974 on releases distributed by Buddah.^[5] Releases distributed by Atlantic Records used a variation of the Mad Hatter design.

Notable releases

See also

• List of record labels

References

External links

• The Famous Charisma Discography - Book with foreword by Michal Palin
• Collectors Website - Contains discography
• Tony Stratton-Smith and The Marquee Club
• Colin Richardson was International Manager for Charisma between 1972 and 1976
• Current Charisma label from Angel Music Group UK
• Charisma Labelography
• Charisma discography at Discogs