An independent company based in High Wycomb, PVK took its name from the initials of its owner, Peter Vernon-Kell. Vernon-Kell was one of the people behind Sol-Doon Records (q.v.); that company seems to have expired in early 1977, while PVK started up in late 1976. For a few months the two labels were stablemates, their manufacture and distribution being handled by Pye, but in the Spring of 1977 PVK moved to President (q.v.). According to 'Music Master', distribution at this time was by Lugton and H. R. Taylor; Billboard magazine of the 4th of March 1978 said that President would 'continue to distribute' PVK records, so presumably the other companies served the clients whom President didn't deal with directly. Only a month after the Billboard article 'Music Week' of the 27th of May broke the news that PVK had signed a four-year licensing deal with WEA. For some reason, however, the licensing arrangement seems to have lasted for a mere six months rather than four years: 'MW' of the 25th of November reported that PVK had switched to Creole for marketing and distribution. A later issue of 'MW', that of the 5th of May 1979, described the agreement with Creole as a licensing one. As was the case with Creole's own labels, additional distribution was provided by CBS ('MW', 7th April 1979). PVK stayed with Creole until March 1981, when Spartan took over distribution. Releases were sporadic after 1982, and the company appears to have released its last singles in October 1985. PVK offered a wide range of music and had several artists on its books who had enjoyed Chart success, individually or as members of bands - Gordon Giltrap, Peter Green, Herb Reed, White Plains, and Freddie Starr - but none of its releases ever cracked the Singles Charts.
Two basic label designs were used in the 1970s: a cream-and-brown one during the Pye and President periods, and a green-shading-to-yellow one during the WEA and Creole years. The two singles which were handled by Pye had a credit to that company at the bottom of the label and a black 'A' at 10 o'clock (1), both of which disappeared after the move to President (2). Singles from the WEA era had 'A Warner Communications Company' and the WEA logo in the perimeter text at around 3 o'clock (3); after the move to Creole these were replaced by a reference to that company and by its logo, at 2 o'clock (4). Two more changes of label design took place in the 1980s. Copies of PVK-001 with plain white labels exist; these may perhaps be demos but there's no text on them saying as much. Demo copies were only given any kind of special marking during PVK's time with President: they received a small black 'A' at 4 o'clock or 8 o'clock, but no added text (5). Catalogue numbers were initially in a PVK-000 series. At the time of the move to WEA the prefix changed to PV, while the numerical sequence continued but lost the first zero, giving PV-00. The first company sleeve belongs to the WEA period (6), the second to the Creole (7). The discography below only covers the '70s.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.