During the mid to late 1960’s, The Rolling Stones and Tom Jones were London Records of Canada’s best sellers. Nearly two decades before that, sales of London albums by Mantovani and his Orchestra were making cash registers across Canada sing. The book, “British Hit Singles and Albums” states that Mantovani was “Britain’s most successful album act before The Beatles” and was “the first act to sell over one million stereo albums.”

London Records of Canada or The London Gramophone Corporation of Canada, as it was called from 1948 until 1967 was launched when the British Decca Company and the American Decca Records split. Since British Decca couldn’t use the Decca name in North America, London Records was created to release records in Canada and the U.S.

London Records was known for their dedication to fidelity. Mono London albums had an FFRR logo (Full Frequency Range Recording) usually in the top right corner. Once stereo started making its mark, the new logo FFSS (Full Frequency Stereophonic Sound) was added.

The first Canadian to record for London Records was Jacques Labrecque, a former Radio Canada tenor who lived in Europe (mainly Paris) for several years and recorded his first album there in 1950. The following year, London Canada made recordings with famed French performers Pierre Roche and Charles Aznavour. In its early years, London released hundreds of French titles.

Andy Dejarlis, a Manitoba fiddler and one of the most popular performers on the Prairies, was one of the early London signed artists. Andy recorded 25 albums for London Records starting in 1959. Another westerner, Gabby Haas, a naturalized Canadian, recorded many accordion albums for London. Gabby was known as ‘Canada’s Mr. Polka’, a title since passed on to Walter Ostanek. Quebec born country singer Paul Brunelle recorded with London from 1961 until 1975.

Like Quality records, London Records distributed smaller U.S. labels, including Dolton Records (The Fleetwoods, The Ventures), Dore/Era Records (The Teddy Bears, early Jan & Dean, Dorsey Burnette, Donnie Brooks, Gogi Grant), Co-ed Records, (The Crests, Adam Wade, The Duprees).

Through U.S. based Liberty and Imperial Records, London Records Canada had sales success with albums and 45 singles from Bobby Vee, David Seville and The Chipmunks, Jackie DeShannon, Johnny Burnette, Jay and The Americans, Julie London, Gene McDaniels, Dick and DeeDee, Sandy Nelson, Fats Domino and Ricky Nelson.

Two years prior to the full ‘British Invasion’ in music in 1964 that launched The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Animals and many more onto North America’s shores, London Records had a number one hit single in Canada with “Telstar” by The Tornados, an English group under the direction of Joe Meek, Britain’s hottest record producer at the time. Once the floodgates opened in 1964, London had Canadian rights to many British hit makers, including The Rolling Stones, The Zombies, and Tom Jones (through its Parrot Records subsidiary).

In the late 1960’s, the company was renamed London Records of Canada (1967) Ltd. and Fraser Jamieson, a Canadian working in London’s New York office was brought in as President.

During this era, successful Canadian artists either signed to, or distributed by London Records included The Poppy Family, The Collectors, Rene Simard, Ginette Reno, Andre Gagnon, Gary and Dave, Andy Kim, Sweeney Todd, Terry Jacks, Susan Jacks. Chilliwack and Michel Pagliaro.

London Records of Canada (1967) Ltd. ceased operations when the British parent company, Decca Records merged with the Polygram Group in 1979, which twenty years later joined the MCA groups of companies and formed Universal Music Group.