A short-lived label devoted to 'Funky' and 'Rhythm & Blues' material, according to the Press release for the Freddie Scott single pictured above, 'The Great If' b/w 'Deep In The Night' (UP-1; 9/72). That single was one of only two to appear on Upfront, the other being 'Lean On Me' b/w 'Please Come Home' by Root & Jenny Jackson (UP-2). Both were issued in 1972, and both seem to have been in a Soul vein. The Jackson's single had previously been released on Milton Samuels's, 'Beacon' label in 1969 (BEA-110), and Beacon had an 'Up Front' subsidiary in 1969-70; add to that the fact that the man in charge of Upfront, Colin Edwards, produced singles on Beacon, and a 'Beacon/Up Front/Upfront' link looks highly likely. Beacon seems to have been dormant for much of 1972; was Upfront a temporary replacement for it, a revival and re-branding of Up Front? Be that as it may. Numbering of Upfront singles was in the UP-0s, as opposed to the UPF-0s of Up Front, and promo copies were marked with a medium-sized black 'A' (2). Neither of the singles is all that commonly found. The Original Cast album of 'Inner City', from which both of the Freddie Scott sides were taken, had come out on RCA in 1971, which complicates the picture still further. Pressing of the Scott single appears to have been by British Homophone.
Address in 1972: 98, Seymour Place, London W1.
Copyright 2008 Robert Lyons.