Red Nail was a production company and record label formed by Standard Music Publishing (a subsidiary of London Weekend TV) and Essex Music. It was headed by John Blyton, of London Weekend. A licensing deal with B&C was signed in January 1977; B&C was to be responsible for seeing to manufacture, promotion and marketing, while Selecta would handle distribution. The plan was to put out one record at a time and concentrate on it ('Music Week', 8th January). January duly saw the release of the first single on Red Nail, Helen Barnes's 'Eleven Out Of Ten' b/w 'When' (RN-1), with another of the company's productions coming out on the B&C label ('Fun Food Factory' b/w 'Morris' by Nanette Newman, BCS-0004). Before long, however, things started to get complicated. 'MW' of the 7th of May carried the news that London Weekend was about to sign a deal with DJM for a new label, 'Weekend', but it had run into contractual difficulties. The second Helen Barnes single was due to be released on Weekend, and a band that had been lined up for Red Nail had also been moved to the new label. This came as news to B&C, whose manager, Brian Hutch, was reported as knowing nothing about the deal. DJM's legal manager was under the impression that the contract between Red Nail and B&C had been withdrawn, and he said that there would have to be discussions with Red Nail to sort the matter out. A fortnight later 'MW' carried the news that the DJM / Weekend plans had been postponed following confusion over the futures of the artists who were signed to Red Nail, and that the deal would not be signed until Red Nail's contract with B&C had expired. Stephen James, head of DJM, is quoted as saying "It is not company policy to poach artists from other labels." Finally 'MW' of the 11th of June revealed that Red Nail was to stay with B&C; the company had apparently fulfilled its minimum obligations to B&C under the contract, it was not obliged to provide any more, and the old repertoire would stay there. The new Weekend label was therefore free to get under way, and the material which had presumably been placed with B&C to fulfil the contract duly came out on Red Nail; though, with London Weekend having its new label to concentrate upon, how much enthusiasm would have been devoted to the Red Nail releases is open to conjecture. Manufacture of the two Red Nail singles that I have seen in the vinyl was by Saga, B&C's parent company at the time; I would assume that that applied to the others as well. The Jack Flash single pictured above is a Jug-Band-style thing; it sounds like something which Brett Marvin & the Thunderbolts might have put out. It was produced by Pete Gibson, and there was a Pete Gibson in the Thunderbolts....
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.