Associated with Sonet, therefore manufactured, marketed and distributed by Pye in the '70s. Stone's discography suggests that it may have been Sonet's outlet for novelty items. Its singles shared a SON-2000 numerical series with those of its parent company. There were only five of them in our decade, all from 1977-78, but there were sporadic releases afterwards, one in each of the years 1983, 1989 and 1990. Stone enjoyed a very reasonable success rate, considering how few singles it put out, three of its offerings registering in the Charts and two of those making the Top 5. A three-track maxi-single called 'I Remember Elvis Presley' by Danny Mirror (SON-2121; 1977) was the label's first release and its first success, riding to the No.4 spot on a wave of public emotion after Presley's death. Roughly a year later Gidea Park's 'Beach Boy Gold' b/w Lady Be Good' (SON-2162; 1978) sank when first released, but it managed a respectable No.11 placing when it was reissued in 1981. Stone's other success came in the form of its 1989 reissue of Andy Stewart's 1960 hit 'Donald, Where's Your Troosers?' b/w 'A Scottish Soldier' (SON-2353), which equalled the achievement of the Danny Mirror record - 'Danny Mirror', incidentally, was actually Dutch producer Eddy Ouwens. One basic label design, a simple one, served throughout Stone's lifetime, though it came in blue and in several different shades of fawn or cream.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.