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Embassy Records were "in house" versions, later
to be known as "covers", not always in the same style, of current hits in the U.K. and America, a
practice carried out by all major record labels in the 1950s They were produced and manufactured by Oriole Records
for F.W. Woolworth & Co.Ltd. from late 1954 until 1965, when the Oriole company was sold to C.B.S. The last
recording session took place 26th July 1965.
Does anyone have any snippets of info they are prepared
to share? If anyone has any ideas, there's always the discussion board, or you could always email john at embassyrecords
dot co dot uk
Please sign in to the discussion board with any info. NOW!
SIGN IN TO DISCUSSION BOARD
HERE'S THE
NEWS!!! To coincide with the date of the last Embassy session, 26th
July 1965 A brand new OFFICIAL Embassy C.D. was released on 26th July 2010
This disc has
received airplay, amongst amazing accolades on numerous local radio stations
Some clips of
these can be played from links below
Tuesday, 3rd August, John Adams, webmaster, went to Radio Leicester
to discuss the website and new C.D. on air with morning presenter, Tony Wadsworth and another guest, Danny Reddington,
the record dealer. Tony had a hidden agenda, as a total Beatles freak, even to the extent of playing in a tribute
band, the UpBeatles, he was so knocked out with the disc, to our complete amazement, he phoned Ray and put him on air,
What a great showTony !!!
The UpBeatles, click on pic to learn more
RADIO LEICESTER PART 1
RADIO LEICESTER PART 2
RADIO LEICESTER PART 3
The new C.D. received it's first airplay on 3 Counties Radio,
24th July, when Colin Berry played the Mike Redway/Terry Brandon track, "Nobody I Know"
Click links
by the radio to listen to broadcasts
COLIN BERRY INTRODUCES FIRST AIRING
Mike Redway discusses being a Typhoon Radio Newcastle
Mike BBC Newcastle Part 1
Mike BBC Newcastle Part 2
Click
picture to vist You Tube for track list with sound samples
THE
NEW EMBASSY CD IS NOW INTERNATIONALLY AVAILABLE !
Stuart Ralls reviews the new album
The rumours of Ray Pilgrim & Mike Redway meeting up again after 45 years are indeed true and
the main reason for their coming together was to initiate a legal CD of Embassy recordings! Despite all the "bootlegs"
there have been of Embassy recordings, many of substandard quality, Ray and Mike have over the last few months had
dealings with Sony (CBS) and have with their co-operation just released a 24 track CD of Beatle covers which includes all
Lennon-McCartney tracks, with the exception of "It's for you", that Embassy produced between 1963 - 65. Not
only have they included "Money" and "Twist & Shout" which were not L&M songs but more
significantly the twosome have been back in the studio to record two new bonus tracks, namely "The Long and Winding
Road" and "In My Life" which round the CD off.
It has to be said that the quality of many of the
unofficial CDs leaves a bit to be desired but this set has been lovingly remastered and comes with a fantastic and fully informative
insert, giving info on every individual recording. I have an advance copy already which sounds so fresh and the disc should
be available any day now through the usual outlets e.g. Amazon etc. I have known of this project for months now but have to
keep quiet in case it didn't come into fruition but the wait has been worthwhile and could if successful be the first
of a series.
What it does mean as an official release, is that the performers
will get royalties which will go to former members of The Typhoons & Jaybirds, namely Ray, Mike, Ken Barrie (Les Carle)
and perhaps anyone who could lay claim to the estate of the late Tony Crane (Terry Brandon) So come on you Embassy fans get
buying and help make this venture a success. It's catalogue number is WBCD 2010.
Stuart
Ralls


Chris Rogers has now set up a facebook account
called "covered Embassy records 1954-65" Click the link below to visit
A BIG QUESTION
Embassy records
were essentially cover versions of potential hits, but this one is rather special. Cover or Original?? Adam Faith had the
hit with this song, but it was actually written by Johnny Worth under the pseudonym Les Van Dyke.
The idea behind this website must
have started when I spotted a copy of "Hoots Mon" by Gordon Franks at a car boot fair. Gordon Franks was a well
known name in the 1960's and 70's if you watched the credits at the end of television programmes, it was his orchestra
providing theme tunes and "incidental music"
I considered buying
it as a curiousity, but somehow, I didn't.
The very next week, Brian Matthew mentioned Embassy Records on his "Sounds of the Sixties" show, playing
"Last Night was Made for Love" by Johnny Chester, inferring that this may be a more famous person under an assumed
name. It was certainly a more than acceptable performance. Brian also
stated that quite a few people recorded for Embassy under assumed names, suggesting that one should seek out recordings by
Matt Bryant. "Think about it" were his exact words.
So, I thought about it, considerably more deeply than Brian intended! I couldn't find embassyrecords.co.uk, so I registered it and here we are! That's my perspective, What's yours? Hoping to hear from you.
John Adams. webmaster
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