Probe Goldies 45 was, as its name suggests, a part of Probe Records which was primarily dedicated to reissues of singles, and in the main its product consisted of some of the better-selling records from the catalogue of parent company ABC/Dunhill. There were exceptions: 'Music Week' of the 15th of April 1972, commenting on the label's launch, reported that it would also be used to 'give new exposure' to R&B hits from the USA which had not charted in the UK; which explains some of the more obscure (to British eyes) items in the discography below. The article said that after the first batch of five double 'A' sided singles the intention was that there would be two releases a month. As was the case with Probe itself, Probe Goldies 45 was handled by EMI. Catalogue numbers were in the GFF-100s; they reached GFF-125 but a couple seem not to have been used. The only change in the label design was a minor one: in August 1973 a reference to 'The Gramophone Co.' at 10 o'clock (1) was altered to refer to 'EMI Records' (2). Most of the EMI group labels underwent a similar tweak at or about the same time, Probe included. The main Probe label was discontinued in the summer of 1974, when it was replaced by the new ABC label; Probe Goldies 45 also bit the dust, but there hadn't been any releases in the series since the previous September. Three Probe Goldies 45 singles received straight reissues on ABC over the next few years, GFF-101 as ABC-4042 (3/75), GFF-107 as ABC-4123 (6/76), and GFF-124 as ABC-4131 (9/76), while several of its other tracks were reissued with different partners.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.