Island Records research

This article is part of the Island Records research wiki at offset.skew.org.

Welcome to the Island Records research area for Discogs. If you have information about the Island Records label or its affiliated brands and companies (4th & Broadway, Mango, Antilles, Tuff Gong, etc.), then put what you know here, and hopefully we can sort out the true history of this label and improve the way it is handled in Discogs.

Island information

Information collected so far includes the following:

• An increasingly comprehensive Island Records timeline.
• A gallery of Island Records logo and label designs.
• A dumping ground for Island Records artifacts: images and fine-print details from actual releases, from which we can hopefully spot trends and deduce facts.
• Information about corporations associated with the Island name and brand.
• A gallery of Island Records office buildings.

Perhaps of particular interest to Discogs users are the following:

• An overview of how we handle Island in Discogs.
• A guide to Island Records catalogue numbers, derived mostly from Discogs data.
• A section where we identify Island Records questionable entries currently in Discogs and try to sort out what's going on with them.

It should also be helpful to review the definition of a record label.

Other information sources

Here are some useful, external sources of info on Island:

• The articles on Island Records at Wikipedia was mostly written based on research accumulated here
• Island Records history at the Island UK site — dead link
• independently researched UK record label info was at Gowpen.biz
• Some large acquisitions by record companies, 1983 to 1993 - appendix in a report by the Competition Commisson (UK)
• Sigerson, Barbis Sail Into Top Island Posts - 1989 Variety article that says Blackwell's departure from PolyGram was acrimonious and talks about his replacements — dead link
• Chris Blackwell: From LP to DVD, still living the Island life - interview in Dec 1999 issue of Mix magazine (US)
• Chris Blackwell: Savvy Svengali - lengthy Island and Chris Blackwell career timeline through 2004
• Music Labels across the world - says "In 1975 Blackwell launched Island Records in America with Joe South and War" but this is coming from a recording studio in India...is it reliable?
• A Major Merger Shakes Up the World of Rock - Dec 1998 New York Times article about the PolyGram-Universal merger.
• New Marketing and Promotion Structure at Universal Music Germany - Jan 2003 PR about a pair of mergers within Universal Music Germany's divisions
• Music mogul optimistic - Aug 2005 Blackwell interview
• Label Mergers: bigger 'n' better 'n' rougher 'n' tougher? - transcript of a 2004 "think tank" session involving Marc Marot (former MD, Island Records); requires joining the site
• Misc. discographic details at black-music-collectors.com (these have all moved to new URLs though):
  • Island Records (UK)
  • Island Records (US)
  • 4th & Broadway
  • 4th & Bway
  • Antilles
  • Mango
• U2 discography with lots of scans
• Fairport Convention discography with scans and good details
• This Island label gallery has many label scans
• Island Book: 1962–1977 is a collector's book that provides images of nearly every pre-1978 UK release. Check out the sample pages (PDF)
• Someone has started an Island Records discography at Wikipedia.

People who might be able to give us more info: > Neil Storey (neilstorey@aol.com)has edited the following< You've listed Rob at Coalition... sadly, Rob died during December 2008...

• Rob Partridge former Music Week, Record Mirror and Melody Maker staff-writer was appointed head of press during 1975 and later became a Director of the company until CB sold Island. During the latter years, Rob was also a Director of and ran the company's in-house jazz label, Antilles (signing Courtney Pine among others).

Partridge & Storey (later to become Coalition) was founded the day Margaret Thatcher resigned. Our first staff-member was Gaylene Martin (who'd worked with RP at Antilles) and we began with three clients - none of whom did interviews (that seemed a good blue-print for a pr company). Ultimately, the company's roster grew and evolved in Coalition a couple of years later when David May (as a 3rd Director) joined. Neil Storey left in 1996/7 and DM not long after. Coalition grew into one of the most important multi-media companies and nowadays incorporates both be-spoke PR and a highly succesful Management division (run by Tim Vigon).