Nothing to do with the American Blues and Soul company. The British Excello label was a product of the Excellent Tape Recording company, and it appears to have come and gone in 1971. It received its sole mention in the Trade press in 'Record Retailer' of the 31st of July 1971, which revealed that the popularity of the BBC television series 'Hope & Keen's Crazy House' had resulted in the 'premature emergence' of a new record label, Excello. Excellent had obtained rights to the programme's theme and had released it as a single on the 23rd of that month. According to the article 'RR' believed the owner of the label to be producer / musician Tyrone Patterson. 'Crazy House' b/w 'You Can Go My Way' was credited to Hope & Keen and had a catalogue number of XLO-2; googling reveals no trace of an XLO-1. Manufacture was by Pye. Excello was a distinctive looking label, in a quiet sort of way, and it's a pity it didn't manage a few more releases. Excellent Tape Recording Ltd was also responsible for an equally short-lived Reggae label, Lion (q.v.).
Copyright 2007 Robert Lyons.