An independent label from Torquay, operative from 1969-c.75. Ra was owned by Tony Waldron, and appears to have been the main outlet for tracks recorded at his West Of England Sound (q.v.) studio. Catalogue numbers suggest that it issued around thirty 7" records. Singles were numbered in the 5000s, EPs in the RA EP-7000s, though RA-5002 was an EP. There were also around thirty albums, including one by actor Harry H. Corbett, 'Only Authorised Employees To Break Bottles' (RALP-6029; 1974). Records by the Faraway Folk are moderately collectable, and the single by Frozen Tear (which has a gold-coloured label in the same design as the example shown above) commands high prices, but the majority of releases seem to have been by local amateur or semi-professional artists. Presumably the gold-coloured company sleeve should go with the Frozen Tear single, but as I haven't got one I've left it empty - thanks to Barry Adcock for the picture of that sleeve. The label design remained the same throughout, except for some minor changes, such as in the perimeter credits and the position of the year of issue. The rather stylish '45' at 2 o'clock became a plainer '45 R.P.M. Stereo in 1973; that scan appears by courtesy of John Timmis. A short-lived 'Dance Along Series' had white labels instead of yellow ones and ran to two EPs, RA-4016 and RA-4017; I've given it its own page (q.v.). The discography below contains several gaps, and is also light on dates of issue. A site dedicated to the label can be found here.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.