Imagination was a recording and publishing company headed by Stephen Bankler-Jukes, who had previously been with RCA and Atlantic among other companies. It received a moderately big write-up in 'Music Week' of the 25th of February 1978, which offered the information that Fred Parsons, one of the co-founders of B&C (q.v.), was to act as general manager for the label, and that it also had an American office, in California, which had Brendan O'Regan in charge. The article stated that the company was intended to work as a co-operative, based around a nucleus of fifteen well-known group musicians working under the aegis of a subsidiary company, 'Imaginative Musicians'. It had acquired an interest in a London recording studio which was due to open in March, and a debut LP was expected that same month. Imagination worked out of premises at 1-2 Berners Street, London W1, and the reason for its existence was to provide an outlet for what a quote from Bankler-Jukes described as "A vast number of unheard groups in America and Britain ... which business insistence and marketability have left out in the cold." Pressing and distribution arrangements were under discussion.
March came and went without the debut LP appearing, and it was not until its issue of the 13th of May that 'MW' carried any more news about Imagination. That article was able to state that Iain Whitmore, formerly with Starry Eyed And Laughing, was recording an album for the company, 'The Angel Changes Shape', and would also appear on an introductory sampler, 'Imagination One'. Three more months passed; then in August there was action. 'MW' of the 5th revealed that publishing arm Imagination Music had signed a three-year deal with RAK music for management of its catalogue; and then a week later 'MW' of the 12th was able to declare that Imagination had signed a short-term pressing and distribution deal with Anchor Records (q.v.). A single by Iain Whitmore was due for release in the middle of the month, with the 'Imagination One' LP, now given a catalogue number of IMAG-331, to follow in September.
Whitmore's single 'All You Got To Do' b/w 'When It Comes To Love' (MAGIC-1; 8/78) duly appeared. Sadly, despite all the anticipation, it turned out to be Imagination's only release. The 'Imagination One' LP was mentioned on one of its labels but never saw the light of day; a similar fate befell Whitmore's solo album, which according to the 'starryeyedandlaughing.com' site was 'lost in the production company's bankruptcy'. Manufacture and distribution of the single were by CBS, as they were for the other Anchor family labels at that time; some copies, presumably promotional ones, had a small black 'A' under the spindle hole (2) - thanks to Nicholas Hough for that scan. Whitmore made a couple more singles in the early '80s with Bankler-Jukes as producer: 'Little Miss Understood' b/w 'It's A Crying Shame' (Peach River, PRIVY-500; 1980), and 'Would You Like To Leave' b/w 'You Left The Water Running' (RCA, RCA-63; 1981). He also recorded a second album, 'War Cries', with him, in 1982, but that too fell victim to financial problems; it remained unissued until the advent of the internet and the download era.
Copyright 2009 Robert Lyons.