PEEPING TOM



A custom-recording concern, from Coventry.  As is the way with such firms, Peeping Tom's products are difficult to track down.  In addition to the Wilnecote High School Choirs EP pictured above, Google revealed the existence of an album by Andy Bailey, 'Birth Of A Baby' (HRSL-123 / EJS-620; 1978) a single by Derby band Strange Days, 'Saltash' (HRSL-59; 1977) and an EP by Asylum, containing 'Commercial Queen' and two other tracks (HRSL-291 / EJSP-9280; 1979).  The label of the Asylum record was yellow with black printing, and it lacked the white rim.  Numbering for LPs, EPs and singles alike seems to have been in an HRSL-00 series.  The label of the Strange Days single reveals that the record was made by the Horizon Recording Studios, which accounts for the HRSL prefix, while the matrix number of the Andy Bailey and Asylum records indicates that those records at least were made through Ellie Jay (q.v.).  The date of Peeping Tom's operations appears to have been c.1977-c.1979, though with examples of the company's wares being so hard to find it is impossible to be more accurate.  Other HRSL-00 series singles appeared on the actual Horizon label (q.v.) in 1979 and on Iguana in 1984, so presumably the numbering was used for any recording made by the Horizon studios.  Thanks to Michael Cooper for the information about the Strange Days single.

Copyright 2008 Robert Lyons.