The Automatic Record Company was set up by Nick Mobbs in association with WEA U.K., and thus came under the WEA umbrella; its singles shared a K-17000 catalogue series with those of Warner Bros. Automatic received its first mention in 'Music Week' of the 6th of May 1978, which reported that Mobbs, who had previously been in charge of EMI's Harvest label, was to leave his current job as head of A&R at EMI and set up his own label for Warner Bros Inc; he was also going to form a production company. Material would appear on Warner Bros worldwide but on the new and as-yet unnamed label in the UK. By the time 'MW' of the 12th of August came out the company had been given a name and had gained an address, 5 Avery Row, London W1; the first signing was expected 'next month'. 'MW' of the 21st of October kept the ball rolling with a mention that Automatic was intended to be an outlet for 'Contemporary Rock 'n' Roll', but the company doesn't seem to have issued any records until the following year. It troubled the Singles Chart compilers with two records by Zaine Griff, 'Tonight' b/w 'This Could Mean Everything' (K-17547; 1/80), and 'Ashes And Diamonds' b/w 'The Haunt' (K-17610, 5/80), neither of which made it into the Top 50, but it appears to have expired in the second half of 1982, after releasing around fourteen singles and four albums in total. Its final single, 'Nice Girls' b/w 'Time Flys' by Eye To Eye, tickled the Billboard Hot 100 in May of that year, on the Warner Bros label (WBS-50050). In addition to Mobbs, Automatic's other director was Chrissie Vanstone-Walker. The discography below only covers the 1970s.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.