A Reggae label; part of the Trojan group. Smash started off mainly as a vehicle for Bunny Lee productions. During the four years of its existence (1970-73) it put out more than 30 singles, which were numbered in an SMA-2300 catalogue series - a few of the numbers were not used. The multicoloured label design was used for all the singles except SMA-2339, which had a plain red label, presumably as a cost-cutting measure (2) - thanks to Robert Bowes for that scan. The text 'Made in England' appeared on records from the 7th of May 1971 onwards, starting with SMA-2323, but it was dropped after SMA-2327. Manufacture of Trojan's records was generally by Orlake at during that period, with EMI handling the potential big sellers; it seems likely that Smashes were all Orlake products. If you have some yourself, look for the plus signs separating the parts of the matrix numbers on the run-off. In addition the 'narrow smooth outer rim and rough inner surface' appearance of the labels, which can be seen on the scans above, is often found on Orlake singles. Distribution was by Trojan themselves.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.