Ammo started out in June 1970 as an independent production / management concern; its name was derived from the trio of songwriters Chris Arnold, Dave Martin and Jeff Morrow, who owned the company. According to 'Record Retailer' of the 6th of June 1970 finance for the new venture was supplied by Sunbury Music, which was also going to provide administration. In February 1972 the trio took a further step by linking with Dick James to set up Ammo-James Music ('Music Week', 19th February 1972). Ammo's productions were licensed to various labels until March 1973, when it became a label in its own right. To judge from a brief inspection of its catalogue it seems to have dealt mainly in straightforward middle-of-the-road Pop, though the Squib single 'Thin Air' is moderately rockish. Unusually - uniquely? - the label always featured either a portrait of the artist (1, 3) or some artwork relevant to them (2), which is a nice touch. Ammo was licensed to EMI, who handled manufacture and distribution; demos had the standard EMI markings or stickers. The company's first release, Joe Brown's 'Hey Mama' (AMO-101; 1973), was a minor hit, but despite a promising start that was about as good as things got. The label expired after little more than a year, and the Ammo production company began licensing its productions to other companies again. Thanks presumably to the relationship with Dick James many of them appeared on DJM, but the records by Guys 'n' Dolls - who turned out to be Ammo's biggest sellers - came out on Magnet. Ammo signed a worldwide agreement with Bus Stop in November 1975 ('MW' 15th November) which led to a good number of its products appearing on that label. See also the Samantha label, which appears to have been a precursor to Ammo.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.