By Tony Locantro In Victorian and Edwardian times, there was a great vogue for female singers with deep, contralto voices, who drew huge audiences to concerts of arias from operas and oratorios as well as popular ballads. Clara Butt (1872–1936) was one of the most famous and was under exclusive contract to The Gramophone CompanyContinue reading “CLARA BUTT (1872–1936)”
Category Archives: HISTORY OF RECORDED MUSIC
The bass-baritone Peter Dawson (1882–1961)
By Tony Locantro Courtesy of © EMI Group Archive Trust The bass-baritone Peter Dawson (1882–1961) came to the UK from his native Australia to study singing in 1903. His lessons with Sir Charles Santley stood him in good stead for a career that lasted almost 60 years and encompassed every kind of music, from the oratorios ofContinue reading “The bass-baritone Peter Dawson (1882–1961)”
Captain Scott’s Desert Island Discs. A flavour of what were the happening sounds in Antarctica 100 years ago
This article was written by Jasper Rees and published on theartsdesk 11 April 2012 The gramophone on which Scott and his men listened to music hall and opera at the bottom of the world Centenaries are sizeable business in 2012. It just so happens that the Olympics are coming to the United Kingdom for theContinue reading “Captain Scott’s Desert Island Discs. A flavour of what were the happening sounds in Antarctica 100 years ago”
Marshall, Jim 1923 to 2012
This obituary was written by Adam Sweeting and printed in the Guardian on 6 April 2012 Jim Marshall in 2000. Almost everybody who rocked over 40 years used his equipment. Photograph: Robert Knight/Redferns When Jim Marshall, who has died aged 88 of cancer, opened a music store in 1960, his customers included some of rock’n’roll’s mostContinue reading “Marshall, Jim 1923 to 2012”
The tenor Edward Lloyd (1845–1927)
By Tony Locantro The tenor Edward Lloyd (1845–1927) had a distinguished career for some 30 years as a leading oratorio and concert singer and was considered by some to be the foremost tenor exponent of that genre during the last quarter of the 19th century. He retired in December 1900, a few months afterContinue reading “The tenor Edward Lloyd (1845–1927)”
Mr Locantro knows his onions, from Berliner’s to HMV!
By Tony Locantro When The Gramophone Company first started to operate in the UK, the discs were 7-inches in diameter and carried the title: ‘E. BERLINER’S GRAMOPHONE’. This was soon replaced by the drawing of a recording Angel, and the Angel remained in use for about ten years. Playing time on the 7-inch discs wasContinue reading “Mr Locantro knows his onions, from Berliner’s to HMV!”
HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 5
Today we publish the fifth and final in our series of extracts from this fine new book, with kind permission from its creators Christopher Proudfoot and Brian Oakley. While the gramophone horn was a wonderful piece of design and construction and served its purpose well during the early years, when it came to portability itContinue reading “HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 5”
Anyone Who Had A Heart…..
Watch our friends from the Vinyl Factory in Hayes press a special limited edition record of Cilla Black’s Anyone Who Had A Heart on “The One Show” Friday 16th March Cilla Black and Paul McGann join Chris Evans and Alex Jones on the One Show sofa.
HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 3
As interest in the gramophone increased, so did the ingenuity of the Gramophone Company’s technicians. Outside the limits of most people’s finances, these machines were still largely owned by the wealthy, so how to bring all this wonderful recorded music to the mass public? The early machines and discs were incapable of fillingContinue reading “HIS MASTER’S GRAMOPHONE, part 3”
The Hound’s finally back home…
and a little worse for wear following the success of the “The Artist” at the 84th Annual Awards ceremony……otherwise known as the Oscars a special congratulations to fellow canine Uggie…Sir we raise our paw to you!!
Sound Of The Hound 