A Reggae label, owned by EMI and supplied with material through a production deal by Bruce White's and Tony Cousins's 'Creole Music' publishing company. Rhino boasted several major artists, including Desmond Dekker and Dave Barker, but it only managed to get one single into the Charts during the two years of its existence (1972-74). That hit was Bruce Ruffin's 'Mad About You' (RNO-101) - which Ruffin reportedly disliked because of its silly vocal effects. A lot of the other singles appear to have had a similar commercial / Pop Reggae slant. Numbering was in an RNO-100 series; it reached RNO-131, but 130 and 131 only exist as test pressings - thanks to Peter Wieland for letting me know of the existence of RNO-131, Casper's 'Do You Believe In Miracles' b/w 'See You At 5.00', and for supplying the scan (4). The label design remained unchanged throughout, apart from a tweak in the perimieter text: in October 1973 the reference to 'The Gramophone Co.' at 10 o'clock (1) was altered to refer to 'EMI Records' (2). A similar change took place on most of the other labels in the EMI group at or around that time. Manufacture and distribution were of course by EMI. The label was revived briefly by Creole in 1987.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.