A mixed sort of label, set up in 1972 by broadcaster / writer Charlie Gillett and Gordon Nelki as 'Oval Music'. Oval's first mention in 'Music Week' came in the issue of the 21st of October of that year: it stated that the new label was intended for reissues and that it would concentrate on American material that had been previously unavailable in the UK. The article added that Gillett was currently in the USA and that he intended to negotiate a distribution deal when he returned. The deal failed to materialize at the time, and Gillett and Nelki's company concentrated on management for a while, looking after Ian Dury's band Kilburn & The High Roads. According to Oval's website it was after negotiations to sign the band to Virgin broke down that that company showed interest in the album of Cajun material that Gillett had compiled in the USA. 'MW' of the 31st of August 1974 reported that a distribution agreement had been reached between the two concerns, and the album and a split single taken from it featuring Johnnie Allan's 'Promised Land' and 'Betty And Dupree' by Shelton Dunaway (OVAL-1001: 12/74) duly appeared. The initial intention of making Oval a vehicle for reissues was partially abandoned, and records in a variety of styles followed, including several Reggae singles. Numbering continued in the OVAL-1000s. Virgin remained responsible for distributing Oval product, at first via Island and EMI, then, in 1976, through Anchor and CBS.
After the release of its twelfth single, in August 1976, Oval seems to have taken a break from issuing records. It next appeared in early 1978 when it combined forces with Stiff to release a couple of old Oval 'A' sides back to back as a single on the 'Ovalstiff' label (q.v.). Late that same year it forged another partnership, this time with A&M; an album and a handful of singles were issued on the 'A&M / Oval' label (q.v.), using A&M catalogue numbers, over the course of next ten months or so. In the autumn of 1979 'MW' broke the news that the Oval label was to be revived, this time as an independent. A three-track single by Reluctant Stereotypes and a Various Artists LP called 'The Honky Tonk Demos' were to be the first fruits of the new arrangement. Catalogue numbers picked up where they had left off, the singles starting with OVAL-1013, but distribution was now by Spartan. Oval saw the decade out with that company handling its records; then in May 1980 Pinnacle took over distribution.
Several different label designs were used by Oval during the '70s and '80s. The first single had a light blue label (1); the second had a similar appearance but with a large dark-blue oval around the perimeter and another small dark-blue oval on the right hand side (2) - that scan appears by courtesy of Sporidium of the 45cat site. The orange design (3) came into use with OVAL-1003 and lasted until OVAL-1012 and the end of Oval's first phase. Labels throughout this period credit Virgin with distribution; manufacture was presumably by EMI until the start of 1976 and CBS from then until the break - those were the companies which pressed Virgin's singles at those times. The revival in 1979 saw a new halved design being used, in pink and green for 1013 and 1014 (4), and in pink and yellow for 1015 and 1016 (5); 1015 was pressed by Lyntone. Oval Music is still very much in business today. The discography below only covers the 1970s. Thanks to John Timmis for the fourth scan.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.