A classic from the vinyl era – Gerry & The Pacemakers with You’ll Never Walk Alone
Have you ever wondered when the vinyl era started in the UK? The hound has come across some very exciting records from the EMI Archives relating to the start of vinyl. Here are the very first vinyl 45’s to be pressed by EMI.
Valse Triste and Berceuse by Leopold Stokowski and his symphony orchestra, were the very first 45 singles vinyl issue on the famous red His Master’s Voice label R-100 series in November 1952.
In the same year The Philharmonia Orchestra Conducted By Nicolai Malko was also released by His Master’s voice records as one of the first 45rpm vinyl singles.
The first 45 pop vinyl record was Eddie Fisher with “that’s the chance you take” and I’m yours” released on a 45rpm vinyl single.
Use these links to find out more about 45 vinyl singles: www.45cat.com
Sound Of The Hound 
Great photos – it’s wonderful to see these first issues in shining pristine condition – and I never knew these early 45’s had large centres. Sadly the first one doesn’t enlarge.
I may be wrong but I think they were made with the small centre which, after lots of use, could become elongated and make the play back a bit off. The centre was removable leaving large centres for the ‘Juke Box’. You could get inserts to replace this and I still have a couple of ex-juke box records with them in. These inserts are still available on eBay under ‘Record Centre Inserts’
Wonderful, evocative images! Glad to find the link to 45cat too, as I have some US 45rpm discs which I think may pre-date any UK releases. Will be looking them up later!
Cannot believe you make no reference to the fact you helped to launch the recording career of the biggest and best recording artist ever- ELVIS PRESLEY, Indeed you had his first hit Heartbreak Hotel and his first number one All Shook Up.
You also released three smash albums on the HMV labels plus two Extended Play releases (EPs)
Come on EMI, don’t hide your light
The discs themselves aren’t visible but it appears that they are all pressed in black vinyl. Did EMI follow RCA Victor with any color-coded record categories? That is, red vinyl for classical, yellow for children’s, and black for everything else; RCA Victor started with 7 colors but found it industrially complicated in cleaning plastic extruders for each record pressing.