UPC
The UPC label - the initials stood for 'Universal
Programmes Corporation' - received its first mention in 'Record Retailer' in the
issue of the 6th of December 1969, which stated
that producer Eddie Tre-Vett's new label was planned to make its debut in
mid January 1970; John Pantry and Mike Claydon of IBC Studios (q.v.) were directors
of the company. IBC had been making acetates and customer recordings for more
than a decade, but UPC was to be a commercial venture, a proper record
company. 'RR' of the 10th of January
said that UPC was run by Tre-Vett and IBC, and that it had signed
a worldwide distribution deal with CBS - in the event CBS also handled
manufacture. The UK part of the distribution deal was confirmed in 'RR' of the
24th of January, and the first single appeared on the 13th of February, slightly later
than had originally been anticipated. UPC went on to issue thirteen singles in ten
months; none of them made any great impression, though one of them may be of interest to
enthusiasts of the 'Carry On...' films: Barbara Windsor's 'When I Was A Child'
b/w 'What A Right Carry On' (UPC-101; 1970).
Eddie Tre-Vett (or 'Trevett') left the company
in November ('RR', 21st November 1970), and UPC appears to have run out of steam after his
departure. Billboard magazine of the 28th of November 1970 reported that Liz Gardener, who had been with UPC since
its beginning, was to be the new label manager, and director George Clouston
was to be responsible for the label's activities. Sadly neither of them can have been
in their new posts all that long, as the final UPC single came out in December that same year. One label design
served throughout, and there was a colourful company sleeve. Universal Programmes Corporation had started out
before World War II as a division of the International Broadcasting Company (later IBC), and
until the time of the new label's launch IBC had used
'UPC' as the prefix for its custom recordings.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.