The label of Warren Studios, in Hendon. Warren specialised in custom recordings, which means that its products are both varied and difficult to trace. It issued at least one collectable Punk / New Wave single, 'Leonard Cheshire', by the Oscillators (WAR SEP-465; 11/79). The company, which offered a 'tape to record' service as well as the usual recording facilities, appears to have started making records in the mid '50s: the Zemel Choral Society LP 'At Conway Hall', for which I have not been able to find a catalogue number, dates from 1957. It continued to produce records into at least the early '80s and used two label designs: one with a curly logo into the early '70s (1, 2), the other with the label name in a hemispherical 'box' (3, 4, 5). As can be seen, they came in a variety of different colours, including some which aren't shown here.
One set of numbers was used by LPs, EPs and singles alike, but prefixes differed. LPs had a 'WAR LP' or 'WAR SLP' prefix, depending on whether they were mono or stereo, while EPs and singles seem to have shared the same 'WAR EP' or 'WAR SEP' prefix. The earliest example for which I have a number was WAR/EP-117, which dated from 1963; this suggests that numbering may have begun at WAR LP-001. Incidentally, WAR LP-252 is reported to have been a 7", which is at odds with its prefix. Warren products have proved to be highly Google-resistant; the only examples that I have been able to find are listed below - there are shamefully few, so any additions would be welcome. See also Avnei Hakotel. Thanks to Sam Mauger for the information about the Stanford Folk record, and for the scan of the blue label; Nicholas Hough supplied the black label scan.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.