Something of a mystery, this one. LBA issued at least four singles in 1978-79, but unlike most small independents of that era it didn't deal in Punk Rock. Instead it seems to have been a straightforward Disco Pop sort of label, to judge by sound of Mandy Ann Hughes's, 'One Stop Baby' (LBA-101; 1978) and John Davis's, 'Speedway Rider' (LBA-104; 1979). 'One Stop Baby ' has a big production for a small label; the producers went to the expense of hiring an orchestra. With Mandy Ann making records and Ann and Brian producing them, LBA seems to have been a Hughes Family affair, initially at least: 102 and 103 were other Mandy Ann singles. The 'B' and 'A' in the company's name could easily stand for 'Brian' and 'Ann', which leaves one wondering where the 'L' came from. 'Label of Brian and Ann' perhaps? Or was there another Hughes, with the initial 'L'? A couple of the 1980s singles have the production company as 'Limelight Productions', which would fit with the 'light rays' on the label.... Whatever the origins of its name LBA records are generally not often met with, though the first appears to have shifted a decnt number of copies. Marketing was through President at the start, with Lugton and / or other members of the BIRD group handling distribution; by the time of the fourth single LBA was doing both of those jobs itself (2). Another batch of LBA singles appeared in 1984-85, by which time the label design had changed.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.