Afrodisc was one of three labels brought into being by producer Akie Deen, from Sierra Leone; the others were Rokel and Sabanoh Sounds (q.v. both). All three were intended to promote West African music around London. Afrodisc first saw the light of day in 1974. Its singles were numbered in an AD-1000 series, and initially its labels came in an all-over zebra-stripes design (1). 'Music Week' of the 6th of December 1975 says that Afrodisc records were being handled by Creole at that point. ADs 1004 and 1005, from 1976, came in injection-moulded form (2); according to 'Music Master' they were manufactured by Phonodisc and distributed by Jama. A re-pressing of AD-1001 can be found in that form. By the time AD-1006 was issued paper labels had returned, though the original design had changed somewhat, perhaps for greater legibility, and the print was brown on creamy white (3). AD-1008 kept that design but switched back to black-on-white colouring (4). AD-1004 can also be found with paper labels in the new style, but they have silver printing on black labels. Of the three paper-labelled singles that I have been able to examine in the vinyl the early one had an Orlake-style matrix number in the run-off but atypical narrow dinking perforations (1), while the later two pressed by Pye. Afrodisc issued records sporadically from 1974-79 but the final single appeared in 1977.
(Recordiversity - Vintage African Music; http://members.lycos.co.uk/dubcitizen)
Copyright 2008 Robert Lyons.