A Reggae label, run by North London record-shop owners Rita and Benny King. The Kings had been responsible for several Reggae labels during the 1960s, including R&B, Giant, Jolly and Ska Beat, along with the Pop label King, but none of them survived past 1969. Hillcrest operated in 1971-72, and issued some seven singles, all of which are collectable nowadays - Smithy's 'Witchfinder' b/w 'Deserted' (HCT-3; 1972) particularly so. There were also a couple of late singles which didn't make it past the 'white label promo' stage. Catalogue numbers were in the HCT-0s, and Orlake was responsible for at least some of the pressings.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.