An offshoot of Douglas Gray's 'Scottish Records'. According to 'Music Week' of 10th of August, Road had been launched by Gray, of the Park Film Studio, Kirkintilloch, and was intended primarily as a vehicle for hit-making group Middle Of The Road, whose 'Music, Music' LP had been due out the previous Tuesday. Distribution in Scotland was to be by Clyde Factors and Record Enterprises, but arrangements for the rest of the UK had yet to be settled. Manufacture was to be handled by 'various companies in London'. 'Billboard' of the 24th of August 1974 added that Middle Of The Road's contract with RCA had ended and that their new label on the continent, Ariola, currently hadn't a British outlet. The article stated that 'Music, Music' had been launched in Glasgow on the 6th of August, and confirmed the distribution arrangements north of the border. By 1975 the band had moved on, their next UK record coming out on DJM.
Road continued on for a while, putting out a couple more records, both of them in 7" form. Mary Campbell's 'Sheltered In The Arms Of God' b/w 'Christ For You And Me' (RR7-1; 1975) was the first. Both sides were Christian, and were quite catchy - the 'A' was Country Pop flavoured, while the 'B' had very faint Glam overtones. The second 7", an EP by Gloo, also came out in 1975. It offered versions of 'Sing Me An Old Fashioned Song', 'Feelings', 'By The Time I Get To Phoenix' and 'I'm Waiting For You', and had a catalogue number of RR7-2. The style of the matrix number of the Campbell single, '7+1+A', is indicative of an Orlake pressing, as is the 'smooth outer ring, rough interior' appearance of the label itself, while the overall appearance of the label suggests that it was made through Craighall Studios, Edinburgh - see 'TD (Craighall Studios)' and 'Mayfair'.
Copyright 2010 Robert Lyons.