Never has a record label personified its name as well as Vertigo – a swirling spiralling experience of black and white to augment the progressive sounds from its grooves. Even if you weren’t on anything, it promised to be a mind-blowing exercise. People would gather round the turntable to watch the record spin (Wow!) destroying future valuable collectables with hot ash, gobbets of Instant Whip and puke. Often they would be so involved in watching the label spin that they would forget to put the stylus in the groove, and in the case of some of the records, it was more enjoyable that way. Vertigo launched with ads suggesting you cut out the advert and place it on your turntable, which showed little faith in the music.
It’s no surprise that the full swirly Vertigo design dates from 1969-1973, when records were issued in this giddiness-inducing form. As a subsidiary of Philips it was to continue much longer. It was the Philips specialist progressive label (like Harvest, Deram and Dawn for its competitors).
Paul F. Newman
Vertigo was launched by Olav Wyper, the A&R head of Philips / Fontana UK, and this was Philips deliberately playing catch-up with EMI’s Harvest, which had been launched in June 1969. Vertigo followed in the autumn. As with EMI, there had been grumbling among the more pretentious progressive artists about sharing Fontana and Philips labels (Harry Secombe?) with middle of the road and outright pop material.
Olav Wyper had started with EMI, overseeing the launch of Tamla Motown as a separate label. He then was head-hunted by CBS to manage their UK recording operation … Fleetwood Mac, Georgie Fame, The Trememoes and Marmalade.
Olav Wyper: At CBS, we did a “sampler” called The Rock Machine Turns You On that got everybody’s attention in the UK. Later compilations, using The Rock Machine “brand” and sampler approach, were used to introduce new artists and served as a vehicle to gain new audiences through a combination of good A&R, effective marketing and discounted prices that attracted new listeners. By this time, CBS was seen as the label of more progressive music. I was then being “headhunted” by another record company. The headhunter did not want to disclose who he was working for at first, and when I pressed him (because I wasn’t necessarily looking), he said “Philips.” I couldn’t really take that seriously because Philips had virtually no presence in the rock/folk market and was a giant conglomerate known more for household goods and appliances than contemporary music.
Bill Hart interview, The Vinyl Press 20 March 2015
He became General Manager at Philips. His first success was promoting David Bowie’s Space Oddity into a hit. Then he was responsible for the Vertigo idea.
Olav Wyper: I wanted something that was very visual. You have this large space on a twelve-inch record that really doesn’t do anything. I have always been a very visual person- when I worked in advertising that was one of my strengths. And I wanted the label in the centre of the album to be very visual. One thought I had- make it spell something only after the record is turning at speed – was something we tried to do without success. I was sitting in traffic, it was raining; my car windows were steamy and I wanted to look at something in shop window across the street. I drew an increasingly large circle, like a spiral, in the fog of the auto glass. That was the starting point for “swirl” label that we developed with the input of our in-house art team, Linda Glover and Mike Stanford- the whole point was to draw you in, and combined with the label name I conceived- “Vertigo”- it captured the sense I wanted to create- a sort of hypnotic quality. It was also visually a lot more interesting than the bare typeface of the standard label logo and copy on virtually every other record. I wanted this to function as “art,” and couldn’t have done it without Linda and Mike.
The first band signed was Colosseum.
Olav Wyper: Gerry Bron, who was a manager and booking agent at the time, was producing the new album from Colosseum, Valentyne Suite. And, as the first record (Those Who Are About To Die Salute You) had been on Philips, we met up to discuss things. That’s how they became the first band to sign to the new label. I was a fan of theirs anyway; I loved the band’s jazz-rock approach, and also knew many of the band personally. Through Gerry I also picked up Juicy Lucy, Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann Chapter Three, which was the new, progressive project from Manfred Mann.
The first releases on Vertigo included Juicy Lucy (catalogue # VO1 for Who Do You Love?), Colosseum, Manfred Mann’s Chapter Three, Rod Stewart, Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Patto, Gentle Giant, Nirvana (the 70s British band), Magna Carta and Dr. Strangely Strange. Both the first two albums Valentyne Suite by Colosseum, and the first Juicy Lucy albums charted on release, as did An Old Raincoat Won’t Let You Down by Rod Stewart, which was the fourth.
Olav Wyper: The reason these records sound good is because these bands didn’t need to do much overdubbing. They could all play in the studio as they played “live.” So that’s the reason it sounds less processed and more lifelike. One of the criteria my joint heads of A&R (Mike Everett and Dick Leahy) and I had for signing bands was they had to be able to play their music live. We used top producers. When we mixed, we weren’t using as much compression, and we relied on fewer studio outboard devices –they simply didn’t exist and what was available was pretty basic. The instruments were properly miked and separated by movable baffles; the drums were always recorded in a booth. We oversaw mastering at Philips for the UK releases. The mastering was done in-house at Philips for the UK releases.
Wyper’s major task was persuading the other Philips offices in Europe to get on board the Vertigo project. The Dutch head office was particularly enamoured of using the Philips name rather than a new one, though the German office proved keen, and Germany was the second-biggest European market.
Olav Wyper: Of the first 17 records on Vertigo, 7 charted in the UK and were significant sellers- the Sabbath records were huge sellers, even outside the UK; but our yardstick was 1,500 copies- and we made a profit at that point. Right from the outset, we did much, as a team, to give Philips a new credibility for rock and progressive music. As a matter of marketing, we wanted to sell the public on recognition of the label as a source for good music and aimed to release the Vertigo albums in batches- people thus looked for “what was new” on Vertigo. This meant that we released a lot of albums in a fairly short time. The better-known artists would obviously help sell other new or unknown artists by their association with the label.
The path to Vertigo is illustrated by Black Sabbath and by Magna Carta. Both started out on Fontana for one single (Fontana being a shade cooler than Philips), then as the Philips group moved the focus away from Fontana, Magna Carta were shifted to Mercury for the next single, Mid-Winter, before ending up as Vertigo artists. Black Sabbath went straight to Vertigo. Then the Magna Carta 1977 retrospective double LP was back on the main Philips imprint.
The Vertigo label had three strands in the early years… proto-metal (Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Status Quo, Juicy Lucy), then the musicians’ bands doing musician stuff veering into jazz (Colosseum, Manfred Mann Chapter Three, Nucleus, Keith Tippett), then the prog, folky and plain odd stuff that is so collected: Magna Carta, Ian Matthews, Gentle Giant, Fairfield Parlour, Dr Strangely Strange.
Juicy Lucy
the amount of fruit varies in photos from the sessions
Peter Smith was the cover photographer. The model for the sleeve was burlesque dancer, Zelda Plum. She also posed for an advert for the single. Philips rejected his inner cover art.
Juicy Lucy got the label off to a Top 20 hit with their cover of Who Do You Love (UK #14). It’s a good cover of the Bo Diddley song, but eclipsed by the Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks 1963 version, with one of Robbie Robertson’s greatest guitar solos. They had obviously heard it. The Band reprised it with Ronnie Hawkins at The Last Waltz.
The Juicy Lucy album got to UK #41.
Lie Back and Enjoy it came in October 1970 (UK LP #53) with a single Pretty Woman (UK #44).
The line-up kept changing, and included Paul Williams (ex Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band and John Mayall) who arrived for the second album, Micky Moody (who went on to Whitesnake) and Neil Hubbard (who went on to The Grease Band, Joe Cocker, Kokomo.)
Mick Moody: Juicy Lucy’s Singer Paul Williams had seen me perform in Tramline, Lucas and the Mike Cotton Sound and Zoot Money’s band. He must have been impressed because when Neil Hubbard left Juicy Lucy to join the Grease Band he suggested me to the other guys. They were rehearsing at a house in the countryside so I went and rehearsed with them and got the job. Soon after I joined Juicy Lucy we flew to the United States for a tour which lasted for nearly a month … Lots of touring, especially in Germany, and taking over as lead guitarist when members from the original line-up quit. It was all great experience!
Gerry Bron took them to his label Bronze for the third album.
Colosseum
The first Vertigo album, and it made #15 in the chart too. I saw Colosseum several times. They were a college circuit group of Mayall graduates. Three were old friends from schooldays too. John Hiseman on drums … it later became John Hiseman’s Colosseum. (Graham Bond, John Mayall), Dick Heckstall-Smith on saxes and flute (Blues Inc, Graham Bond, John Mayall), Dave Greenslade on organ (also a major composer, arranger), Tony Reeves on bass (Sounds Orchestral, Davey Graham, John Mayall) and James (Jim) Litherland on guitar and vocal. Jim went on to form Mogul Thrash with John Wetton, the future Average White Band horn section and Mike Rosen from Eclection. It was originally Jim Litherland’s Brotherhood, and John Wetton and Ed Bicknell (drums) arrived together from Splinter. Ed Bicknell is a major Vertigo link as the future manager of Dire Straits.
Daughter of Time was #23 in the album chart. Clem Clempson had replaced Jim Litherland, and Chris Farlowe gave some much-needed ‘oomph’ to the vocals.
They were technically impressive, ‘jazz-rock’ was a fair description at the point where Blood, Sweat &Tears, and Chicago were highly popular, though I felt they were too busy, and lacked decent songs. Like so many Vertigo bands they were highly impressive until the voice and words came in.
Black Sabbath
It’s thought of a prog label, but the Big Riff dominates more of the releases.
Black Sabbath, LP, Vertigo VO6 1970
There is an article on BLACK SABBATH (the first album) under Album Collectability on this site. I’ve extracted some pieces.
Who invented heavy metal? It’s a bit like the first rock ‘n’ roll record, something that can be argued for ever. Certainly, the twin thrust of Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep on Vertigo is a major factor.
Black Sabbath are, and always will remain in the public’s eye, a dark, satanic band, for their music is dark and heavy to the point of being morbid. Yet … they are selling LPs and singles at a fast rate. Paranoid, an LP released last week without the band knowing it, is, as the name suggests, a heavy riff-ridden noise that appeals to the already cauliflowered ears of many a person. Like the satanic mills of yesteryear, Sabbath are churning out heavy material by the yard – in fact by the mile.
Roy Hollingsworth, Melody Maker, 19 September 1970
That is a piece of Melody Maker-ese, of which Chris Welch (failed to trouble the chart makers’ pens) was the chief culprit. … for their music … the already cauliflowered ears of many a person … of yesteryear indeed.
The first album was recorded in one twelve hour session.
Tony Iommi We just went in the studio and did it in a day, we played our live set and that was it. We actually thought a whole day was quite a long time, then off we went the next day to play for £20 in Switzerland.
Music Week, 2012
Ozzie Osborne: Once we’d finished, we spent a couple of hours double-tracking some of the guitar and vocals, and that was that. Done. We were in the pub in time for last orders. It can’t have taken any longer than twelve hours in total. That’s how albums should be made in my opinion.
I Am Ozzy, 2010
It’s noted for its iconic cover photo, shot on location by ‘Keef’ aka Keith Macmillan, who did the first four Black Sabbath albums, as well as albums for David Bowie and Rod Stewart. He had just done Colosseum’s Valentyne Suit which has a similar colour balance. The model was Louisa Livingstone, on a freezing cold early morning at Mapledurham Watermill in Oxfordshire, now a tourist location sought after by Black Sabbath fans. His assistant wrote the poem on the inside sleeve, which was said to have upset the band as it cemented their Satanist / occult image. Ozzie Osborne can’t remember being upset about it. Why does that not surprise me?
Kris Needs: It might have been the birth of heavy metal, but it also mirrored the grim industrial wastelands, tower blocks and terraces of Birmingham. Black Sabbath marked a point where rock ‘n’ roll hit a new fork in the road, an unholy crossroads where the dark spirit of the blues had fled and left a genre devoid of the ‘roll.’ Instead it homed in on firing up bleak, cranium-crushing power with light and soul replaced by dark reflections, curdled ruminations and underlying sonorous doom, heavy enough to grind any remnants of flower power’s blooms into pulp.
Black Sabbath, Record Collector #450, February 2016
Robert Christgau: Bullshit necromancy, the worst of the counterculture, with drug-impaired reaction time and long solos.
OK, it got to #8 in the UK album chart, and #23 in the USA. Its April 2024 Discogs highest sale price was £1755. Someone must like it.
They followed it with Paranoid which for years (until Brother in Arms) was Vertigo’s best-selling album. It was #1 in the UK Album Chart. The title track was a hit single, and at UK #4 the best-selling Vertigo single of the swirl era.
Paranoid was voted #1 in 2006 by VH1 for 40 Greatest Metal Songs.
Geezer Butler: A lot of the Paranoid album was written around the time of our first album, Black Sabbath. We recorded the whole thing in about 2 or 3 days, live in the studio. The song “Paranoid” was written as an afterthought. We basically needed a 3 minute filler for the album, and Tony (Iommi) came up with the riff. I quickly did the lyrics, and Ozzy (Osborne) reading them as he was singing.
Guitar World, March 2004
Ozzy Osbourne: All the tracks on the (Paranoid) album are a warning against black magic. You get old business tycoons wanting to go with young chicks, so they go along to black magic rituals and get themselves involved, things like that. They’re sick. I believe in black magic but I’ve not tried it and I won’t.
Iron Man – This is about a guy who invented a time machine and he goes through time and finds the world is going to end. Coming back, he turns to iron and people won’t listen to him, they think he’s not real. He goes a bit barmy and decides to get his revenge killing people. He tries to do good but in the end turns into bad.
New Musical Express, 26 September 1970
OK:
Heavy boots of lead
Fill his victims full of dread
Tony Iommi: Our music is simple, basic stuff; the lyrics are plain, laid on a plate and you can’t misunderstand them.
New Musical Express, 24 October 1970
Master of Reality got not only an embossed sleeve in 1971, but the Vertigo inner sleeve and B-side label were switched to black. UK album chart #5
When people rave about Vertigo gatefold sleeves, I assume they only consider the first Black Sabbath album, and ignore the other three.
Vol. 4 was a UK #8 hit album. And then they were off to WWA Records.
Or …
When writing the track Black Sabbath, argues Andrew Cope, Tony Iommi did not fall back on his own past playing in blues covers bands. Rather, “he drew on a unique synthesis of multi-sectional design, unresolved tritones and aeolian riffs.” Sabbath’s employment of downtuned guitars, their angular riffs based on modal forms, use of power chords over standard chords and of pentatonic minor lead scale (similar to a blues scale but one that sounds very different – again it was easier for Iommi to play); their interest in timbres more common to those found in classical music and film scores; and the overall use of space in their songs: these all illustrate how Black Sabbath broke from the past. Cope concentrates on how these innovations invented heavy metal.
J.K. Moores, Electric Wizards A Tapestry of Heavy Metal Music 2021
And there was I thinking it was simple head-banging stuff.
Uriah Heep
… very ‘eavy, … very ‘umble: Uriah Heep LP 6360 006 June 1970
Salisbury: Uriah Heep LP 6360 28 February 1971
Ken Hensley: I recall Gerry Bron walking into a rehearsal at Hanwell Community Centre and announcing the name was changing (from The Spice) to Uriah Heep, apparently as a result of something he’d seen on TV during the 100th Anniversary of Charles Dickens’ death. No one seemed to object so we just kept playing.
Shindig #109, November 2020
Mick Box (Uriah Heep): It isn’t any good for any band’s ego, but in those days people would sometimes buy an album not because of the quality of the band or the music, rather for the label it was on. That’s the case here (with ‘Very ‘Eavy, Very ‘Umble’) … Like Very’Eavy, (with ‘Salisbury’) it was the fact that this had the legendary swirl label that it’s become so collectable.)
Record Collector #514, January 2021
(Both are rated at £400 in mint condition)
Salisbury shows them veering between the ‘proto-metal’ of the first album, and and progressive on Ken Hensley’s title track. It’s 16 minutes long and adds a 24 piece ochestra,
The first two Uriah Heep albums have David Byron, Mick Box and Ken Hensley, but they don’t have Lee Kerslake on drums. He didn’t arrive until The Magician’s Birthday in 1972 which was on the Bronze label. Lee Kerslake was in Bournemouth band The Trackmarks, alternating with The Palmer-James Group (with John Wetton) on Saturdays at Winton Congregational Youth Club. Then he was in The Gods with Ken Hensley and Greg Lake. I remember being there while Lee Kerslake was trying to persuade John Wetton to join either The Gods or Uriah Heep in the bar at Bournemouth Pavilion. He finally managed in 1975 in time for Return to Fantasy.
Manfred Mann Chapter Three / Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
Chapter Three was my first Vertigo purchase … Chapter One was Paul Jones and HMV. Chapter Two was Mike D’Abo and Fontana. Chapter Three was Manfred Mann and Mike Hugg (which is where it all started in 1961), plus bass, drums and a five piece horn section. They were severely hampered by not possessing a quality lead singer. Travelling Lady had the big riff as desired at the time, but the vocals are weedy.
The second album (VO 12) appeared in 1970, then they switched names to Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. Their albums reverted to parent label, Philips After a couple of albums, they were back on Vertigo for Messin’ in 1973 which had Vertigo’s second label design, by Roger Dean.
That has a die cut hole in the centre of the front sleeve, revealing the Earth inside. There’s a vigorous take on the Basement Tapes Get Your Rocks Off and a singalong version of Dr John’s Mardi Gras Day, the best track. Others are unconvincing white boy blues, or like Cloudy Eyes, just a long boring guitar solo that you’ve heard many times before.
By 1974 they were on Bronze, Gerry Bron’s label, and discovering Bruce Springsteen so getting their teeth into some decent songs.
Cressida
Cressida: Cressida 1970
Asylum: Cressida 1971
I’m not going to cover every band or artist on Vertigo, though all the “swirl” albums are listed later. Cressida were one of the first released bands and Olav Wyper was quoted as calling them Vertigo’s best band. The internal issues at Mercury / Philips affected them … Mercury declined to release them in the USA. Their story is a classic one for the more obscure Vertigo artists.
Ian Clark (drums): Ossie Byrne who had been the original producer for the Bee Gees came to audition us. He must have liked what he saw and heard because he signed us up almost immediately. We then went into a small studio to make some demos. Initially there was a lot of talk about us signing for the Elektra which was a very cool label and we would have been the first UK band to sign with them. In the end it never happened, because at that same time Ossie was also in touch with Olav Wyper, and he just signed us with Vertigo, without asking us about it. At this point we had never really heard much of Vertigo and only knew that it was conceived to be the progressive rock division of Philips … Cressida’s music was principally based around melodic songs with strong instrumental sections and a sound heavily underpinned by the Hammond organ and piano. Peter Jennings’ virtuoso Hammond work added a particular dimension to our sound, and Angus Cullen’s voice was not your typical rasping rock voice; it was much more controlled and clean. Later we began to do longer numbers with extended instrumental passages. Some of these were very tightly arranged whilst others offered scope for pure improvisation. … The other significant development with the second album was the use of a full orchestra on several of the tracks. Looking back now, whilst the orchestra undoubtedly added depth and texture to songs like Munich and Lisa, it was perhaps overused somewhat and in retrospect its inclusion on other numbers was less convincing. But I remember the thrill of being in the studio listening to this huge orchestra adding these arrangements to our songs.
They were a college circuit staple band, with excursions to Europe, but never got major gigs.
Ian Clark: (Failing to get live shows was) probably down to our contract. Ossie Byrne just wasn’t a good manager. He did not know how to promote a band with a record deal, and did not get us a professional booking agency. He wanted to do it all himself, so without much ado declared Michael Rosen from the band Eclection to be our booker and tour manager.
(Mike Rosen soon departed to join Mogul Thrash).
Kevin McCarthy (bass): (There was no help from Vertigo) we were barely in direct touch with Olav Wyper, the exchange always went via Ossie on our side and via Wypers assistant Dick Leahy on their end. Of course that was totally in the interest of the management … When it came to music, we had free rein, anyhow, the label had already heard our demos, so they must have known what it would mean having us take over the studio. Basically, those were mostly re-recordings which, thanks to our new keyboard player Peter Jennings, put the songs onto a whole new level.
Rod Stewart
This one’s not down to Vertigo’s acumen. Rod was signed initially to Mercury in the USA, which was in the same Philips Group, so it was Vertigo in the UK. His two Vertigo albums were produced by Lou Reizner who ran Mercury’s European side. Reizner was under orders from the Chicago HQ to muscle in to the British market and sign UK artists. Rod Stewart jumped at the chance to do solo albums … he told Reizner that Decca had told him that his voice was ‘far too rough’ then they added, ‘and so is your image.’
I understand that rock snobs have doubts about Rod the Mod, but these arrived much later. I saw him at the Disques A GoGo as lead singer of The Soul Agents, and I saw him with Steampacket. After the first time in the sweaty cellar club with The Soul Agents, I genuinely turned to friends and said ‘this guy is going to be a huge star.’ No, really. Honest! Forget the values of LPs. If I could only have four or five Vertigo albums, they would include the two Rod Stewart LPs and the rest would be by Dire Straits. The ability to focus on and deliver a succinct melodic song was otherwise rare on Vertigo, except for Status Quo.
An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down: Rod Stewart LP VO 4 February 1970 Outer sleeve and inner gatefold
The image of a man in a dirty mac chasing children caused no fuss at the time.
It’s All Over Now was the single (but not on this album), and it was a great version of The Rolling Stones doing Bobby Womack, but given the size of the Stones hit, a bad idea as a single.
Handbags and Gladrags was written in 1967 by Mike D’Abo from Manfred Mann. They recorded it too, though that only emerged a dozen years back. Chris Farlowe recorded it first (and points this out very loudly on live shows) and it was a minor#33 hit. Rod covered it for the album. His version was later a US #42 hit.
Rod Stewart turned up at D’Abo’s house to announce that he wanted to record it, and that it didn’t matter that Farlowe had already done so.
Mike D’Abo: What struck me about him was the confidence and conviction where he could visualize what he wanted. At very short notice, Rod said ‘Let;’s have some guys in with oboes and flutes.’ I had 24 hours in which to get an arrangement together and I booked three oboists, a couple of bassoon players, and four flautists. I then had to work literally through the night with the arranger / copyist who was from classical music and had not worked in pop before.’
Quoted in Rod Stewart: The Biography by Ray Coleman, 1994
Next morning, the classical musicians walked in to record the song and everyone was surprised at Stewart’s physical technique of recording. Instead of sitting or standing in a booth, he walked around among the musicians with hand held microphone, virtually acting out the song to them. This idea was usually the preserve of artists far older and more experienced than Rod, who was only 25 at the time.
Rod Stewart: The Biography by Ray Coleman, 1994
Gasoline Alley: Rod Stewart 5360 500
Gasoline Alley contains Dylan (Only A Hobo), old bandmate Reg Dwight, Country Comfort, Eddie Cochran Cut Across Shorty, The Stones it’s All Over Now. Great covers, and basically backed by The Faces. First rate originals. A classic album. After listening to days of Vertigo releases, the sense of sheer purpose in the singing and backing leaps out.
Rod Stewart: Once I know how the vocals are going to go, I have a good idea of how all the instruments should be played. I have an idea for the sound and the lilt of a song. There’s no hidden mystery in it. I just feel. I was gifted with the feel of music, I’ve got no knowledge of music, or studios whatsoever. I can just about tune a guitar. I can feel it here (in my head) and I can sing the song as it should sound.
Rod Stewart: The Biography by Ray Coleman, 1994
Paul Jones
This is another Vertigo licence deal.
Paul Jones: I very much enjoyed doing Crucifix In A Horseshoe … the deal was with London-American. It was recorded in New York because I was over there in a play on Broadway. The New York Times predicted a massive success for this play, but New York’s residents decided otherwise. And the notice went up after, like, six or seven months, and I had rented an apartment for a whole year. My agent said, ‘Don’t worry, you are making a record for London Records, and this person and that person will get in touch with you and give you instructions. So that was how I started to write with those (Brill Building) guys. I guess London made a deal with Philips, and they thought, ‘Oh, this is a bit off the wall, lets put it on Vertigo.’
Shindig # 134, December 2022
Most likely they made the Manfred Mann connection.
The results are characterised more by the players and production, as opposed to the singer or the songs. A very tidy and oh-so-perfectly presented work that
verges on country-rock, there’s no lick out of place, making it ultimately verge on the bland. Some variety in the backing vocals would have helped combat this, as Jones’ lead is left somewhat exposed throughout. The two exceptions to this are Loudon Wainwright’s Motel Blues and Jones’ own Who Are The Masters, co-written with Rupert Holmes.
Record Collector #382, October 2010, reissue review
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant defines the prog extreme end of Vertigo. The band was based around the three Schulman brothers, Phil, Derek and Ray. They grew out of Simon Dupree and The Big Sound, a soul / mod band who were massively popular on the college / ballroom circuit. They were the same fee level as The Who or The Kinks at the time, without ever having had a hit record. There was no ‘Simon Dupree’ – it was a name snatched out of the air, but it was then applied to Derek, as lead vocalist. Phil played sax and trumpet, and Ray played guitar, violin and trumpet. They had a 1967 hit with Kites. They got fed up with the increasingly pop direction they found themselves on.
Ray Schulman: We knew we couldn’t continue with the musicians we’d had before. We weren’t interested in the other musicians in the band — they couldn’t contribute anything. We had to teach them what to do. It got rather heavy when we could play drums better than the drummer, and even on record we were doing more and more of it with overdubs. It got stupid having a band like (that). The first thing was to get some musicians of a higher standard.
Zig Zag interview, 1975
So Gentle Giant was formed in 1970 adding the classically trained Kerry Minnear on keyboards, Gary Green on guitar and Martin Smith on drums (from the Big Sound in spite of Ray’s comments). Wikipedia:
From the start, Gentle Giant was a particularly flexible band because of the exceptionally broad musical skills of its members. One Gentle Giant album would list a total of forty-six instruments in the musician credits — all of which had been played by group members — and five of the six members sang, enabling the band to write and perform detailed vocal harmony and counterpoint. The band’s approach to songwriting was equally diverse, blending a wide variety of ideas and influences whether they were considered commercial or otherwise.
For starters they put the gatefold around the other way in the first album:
Gentle Giant: Gentle Giant 6360 020
They used the different vocalists to good effect … Minnear’s light voice is on records, but not used in stage shows. You get a nine minute psych epic, Nothing At All, which starts off like Lucy In The Sky but then has a long drum solo, followed by drums with jangling avant-garde jazz piano which totally changes the mood. Then you’re back into gentle CSNY / Byrds harmonies. Cut out the middle bit and you have a nice song. On the plus side, thoughtful musicianship and melody is not a normal Vertigo forte.
The second album continued the sideways gatefold.
Acquiring The Taste: Gentle Giant 6360 041
The album’s liner note says ‘We have abandoned all thoughts of perceived commercialism.’ Indeed they had. It disappeared without trace. Pantagruel’s Nativity combines medieval chanting with loud bass, tinkling xylophone and rock guitar solo and a bit of riffing. You can be too eclectic. The lyric is based on Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel. The book is funnier.
How can I laugh or cry
When my mind is sorely torn?
Badabec had to die
Fair Pantagruel is born
Three Friends: Gentle Giant 6360 070 … a concept album.
Octopus is the album that merits a Stephen Wilson 5.1 blu-ray remix, released in 2015. They also generate expensive box sets. Sadly my original copy is a third press with the spaceship, not the swirl.
I only ever see the first and fourth albums in my many hours in record stores. I am a Simon Dupree and The Big Sound fan, but I never got on with Gentle Giant.
They moved on to WWA then Chrysalis. There is a 1975 compilation of Vertigo tracks, Giant Steps.
Magna Carta
Folk-rock for a change and easily one of the best things on the label. Their first album, Magna Carta, in 1969 was on Mercury. In 1970 Seasons was their initial Vertigo release. It’s one of the more common Vertigo albums. While it only reached a modest UK #55 in the album chart, it must have sold slowly but steadily over a longer period. Rick Wakeman guested on organ (check out Ring of Stones). Later, Danny Thompson and Gerry Conway were a guest rhythm section for Magna Carta recordings.
Chris Simpson: Seasons was a concept album about the changing landscapes on my beloved Yorkshire Dales. I wrote the lyrics on the backs of cornflakes packets that I turned inside-out. After our first, rather DIY album with Brian Shepherd, it was incredible to record where The Beatles had recorded Hey Jude. One day Tony Visconti invited us down to his amazing house in Beckenham. He wanted us to play for a friend of his (David Bowie). When we got there Visconti said, ‘Don’t be disturbed if you see a young girl wandering across the lawn – she’s a ghost and she’s been here for years. So we played Seasons for them, just two acoustic guitars and voices. After we’d finished, David said, ‘That was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard.’
PROG Magazine #138, 6 August 2023
Tony Visconti arranged the first two albums, and also played bass guitar on both. Spike Heatley played double bass.
They devote one side of their new album to a 20-minute folk suite, linked by short poems, tracing the year through its 12 months in song. It is a gently understated acoustic suite, with only slight woodwind and strings augmentation of the group’s guitars, and their feathery, warm harmony remaining hushed throughout … an excellent attempt at creating a unique concept album with some splendid compositions by group member, Chris Simpson, and equally good production by Gus Dudgeon.
Gramophone, November 1970
Did Gramophone listen all the way through? It starts gently but two thirds of the way, the full horn section comes in, and psych guitars too. It is laden with good melodies, but inevitably the short poems pale with repeated listening (though they include the words Around and around all has nearly turned full circle years before we named this site). The careful RP voice sounds twee too. It is beautifully produced. Side two stays extremely catchy right through the five songs.
Songs From Wasties Orchard in 1971 is another that turns up reasonably frequently. The songs were compared to Simon & Garfunkel, certainly stylistically that’s correct. By then Davey Johnstone had joined them, before being recruited by Elton John. As with Status Quo, lower values indicate that people actually bought their records and listened to them. Airport Song was the lead track (originally it was called Heathrow Fogbound.)
In Concert was recorded at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on 4th November 1971. The same year they played The Royal Albert Hall on 23 June with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), with arrangements and orchestration by John Dankworth. John Dankworth had seen them play Seasons at a charity show he and Cleo Laine had set up at Wavedon.
It was a legendary lost tape, but was remastered and released in 2014. It’s astonishing that this was shelved and Amsterdam was used instead. I
Dankworth instantly recognised it as a masterpiece, but saw the potential for a much broader, more involving work that would take it somewhere new and introduce it to a mass audience.
Sleeve note to 2014 CD release
The sleeve says there were contractual arguments with Vertigo who were losing enthusiasm (as happens so often when bands ask for better terms), and that the second album Songs From Wasties Orchard was imminent, and so Vertigo didn’t want to divert attention from it.
Lord of The Ages got a Roger Dean sleeve illustration in 1973. Everything was composed by Chris Simpson.
Chris Simpson: ‘Lord of the Ages’ was originally a poem written for Glen (Stuart) to recite at the end of an album. I demo’d it at a friend’s house who at the time lived next door to John Lennon. I got him to recite the words (my friend that is) and as he did, the tune came to me. I had it done in half an hour. I don’t know where it came from all I know is that it was given to me. It’s power is incredible.
Psychedelic Baby Magazine 7 July 2011
According to Amazon, Magna Carta have sold eight million albums worldwide and performed in 60 countries. Then again if you combine studio, live and compilations there are more than twenty post-Vertigo albums.
Ian Matthews
Ian Matthews left Fairport Convention, formed Matthews Southern Comfort and made an American-oriented album with ex-Fairports and Fortheringay, with surprise additions from Poli Palmer (about to join Family), Dolly Collins and American folkie-in-Uk, Marc Ellington. They did two more albums, and got a UK #1 single with Woodstock, and yes, it stands up with Joni Mitchell’s original and CSNY. Matthews left Southern Comfort (who kept going).
He then did two solo Vertigo albums, leaning to Americana rather than English folk.
Ian Matthews: It was relatively short lived. Vertigo was still a fledgling label and I stayed with them for less than two years. I remember going into their offices with my manager, to discuss them signing me. In the foyer, they had a huge picture of Rod Stewart and I thought, ‘yeah, if it’s good enough for Rod, it’s good enough for me’
Goldmine, 20 January 2015
The follow up, Tigers Will Survive was Vertigo classic gatefold … the sleeve was portrait not landscape. Itwas mainly original, with covers of American writers Eric Anderson, Richard Farina, Pete Carr, Peter Lewis of Moby Grape, and Spector / Barry / Greenwich for a clap along, a cappella Da Doo Ron Ron. It was very much in the mode of The Bunch folk does pop album. I like it. It was issued as a single, on Vertigo in most countries, but Philips in the UK, with the note ‘From the Vertigo album “Tigers Will Survive.”
Mathews then formed Plainsong, and took the tapes to Vertigo.
Ian Matthews: Their response was, ‘We already have Ian Matthews, we don’t have to sign Plainsong.’ Now, there were four people in Plainsong, so that sort of corporate arrogance really raised my hackles and probably marked the beginning of the end for our relationship. God knows, I was insecure enough in those days, without being told I was their property… no discussion. My managers eventually made a deal with them to release me and I made a third, obligatory album for them, Journeys from Gospel Oak… which they promptly sold on to some British indy label. It was finally released in 1973, right after my first California album, Valley Hi, causing much confusion. I have to say though, for an album recorded and mixed in five days, I thought it was pretty damned good.”
Goldmine, 20 January 2015
Vertigo had passed the album to the Mooncrest label, which was owned by Charisma. Plainsong signed with Elektra.
Dr Strangely Strange
Irish-Acid-Prog-Folk. Dr Strangely Strange were a Dublin band whose first album was on Island and produced by Joe Boyd, then they went to Vertigo.
Their albums were lysergic pageants of waking dreams, summoning an Ireland of wonders, populated with a gallery of eccentrics drawn from history, mythology, fiction and the recesses of their own imaginations – a kind of ‘Ulysses’ in pantaloons.
Electric Eden by Rob Young, 2010
Heavy Petting: Dr Strangely Strange 6360 009 closed
Tim Booth (band member): (Heavy Petting) was partially recorded in a ballroom in Dublin, where the studio was wheeled out by day and put back for the evening’s entertainment.
Tim Goulding (band member): LSD could be categorised as one of the sacraments of the 1960s revolution., and was often a precursor of further exploration using meditation. The lyrics of these songs were extremely visual and related to the skyscraper clarity that acid appeared to furnish. Looking into the heart of a blackberry bush or observing the stubble on the chin of the local sergeant were heady catalysts.
Both quoted in Electric Eden by Rob Young, 2010
You have heard this before.
‘What did the Deadhead say when the acid wore off?’
‘Christ! This band’s shit!’
As well as being matt, the Vertigo die cut fold out sleeves are hard to find in good condition. Heavy Petting was a Roger Dean design. John Peel called it ‘auto-destructive.’
Roger Dean: You had to treat it very gently – you can’t really slide it on a shelf next to other record covers without damaging the flaps – it’s a real pain – though it’s not like Sticky Fingers, which will do damage to other covers!
Tim Booth (bass, vocals, Dr Strangely Strange): We wanted a simple fold-out with lots of pics and Strangely notes and clear typography. I hated the cover from first sight. This piece did not work as a vinyl storage system – the stupid flaps tore off when you slid it into a rack of LPs. This was justified by use of the flaps as props to display the album in shop windows – a self-supporting system – other bands must have been so jealous… It would have been good to meet Roger and discuss concepts, but the Art Director at Vertigo knew best and we were kept apart most cruelly, I think.
Whatever Dr Strangely Strange had contributions from Gary Moore on guitar and Dave Mattacks on drums.
Collectability: They only did the one Vertigo album. ROGER DEAN did the sleeve. Repeat, ROGER DEAN did the sleeve. Unlike his work with Yes and Asia, this is rare.
Nirvana
The REAL Nirvana … Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons … who did two great Island albums in 1967 and 1968, not the Seattle thrash merchants led by Kurt Cobain. Their fourth album saw only Patrick Campbell-Lyons remaining. Local Anaesthetic was Vertigo, then the fifth reverted to the Philips label. This is another Vertigo photographic triumph. It was supposed to be more prog than their ethereal earlier work, and Mel Collins from King Crimson was enlisted, with Jade Warrior backing. Both sides are suites.
Patrick Campbell-Lyons: Local Anaesthetic? In thirteen words… hurt, confused, bad acid, drink, excess and selfishness, lost days, perception, sailing, the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Pyschedelic Baby Magazine. 18 May 2011
Eleusinian Mysteries are sacred religious rites from Ancient Greece. Sounds like the par for Vertigo.
outer gatefold
inner gatefold – ghostly!
Patrick Campbell-Lyons: I can’t take any credit for that (sleeve). It was the concept of a very well known guy who did a lot of covers for Vertigo. He listened to one of the songs on the album and he came up with the concept for the cover. His name was Keith Morris, he became a much sought after pop video director.
Patrick Campbell-Lyons did some A&R work for Vertigo.
Dr Z
Then there’s Dr Z, Three Parts To My Soul, (6360 048) as obscure as you can get with gatefold die cut opening doors on the sleeve. (Three parts – there were three in the band). Executive producer, Patrick Campbell-Lyons of Nirvana. That was all they ever did. The track on every compilation is Evil Woman’s Manly Child. More diabolic lyrics. Is it diabolical? No, but it’s not earth-shattering either. Nice piano from the writer, Keith Keyes, but it’s the only track most have ever heard.
Discogs highest? £3,999 as of May 2024. it will go up. That makes it the most expensive Vertigo swirl album of all. It is the rarest, and I’ve never seen one. It sold around 100 copies according to Vertigo, 80 copies according to other sources. If the pressing run was 1000, it’s likely that 900 went into landfill. Pity, they should have saved the sleeves, which may well have been the most expensive element to produce. The cover design was by a young Barney Bubbles who would go on to greater things.
It was reissued both as semi-bootlegs and an official CD and an Italian vinyl reissue in 2015.
May Blitz
A loud metal trio. Very basic, typical vocal, but a classic example of Vertigo collectability, and a reminder that there’s much more metal than gentle prog in the Vertigo catalogue. It is cleanly recorded with good dynamics, but only the sort of thing dozens of bands were peddling on the college circuit complete with the drum solo that then adds bass guitar then psych guitar. Roundhouse 1970. More than half the bands on the Sunday slot sounded just like this (which is why we’d watch one, and go to Marine Ices then back for the second interesting band). It is down to sleeves and centres very largely:
May Blitz: May Blitz 1970
One review said it had the ‘worst cover in rock history’ but that was then. I love it.
The 2nd of May: May Blitz 1971
Jazz
There wasn’t a lot. Keith Tippett Group. Ian Carr. Nucleus. Ian Carr & Nucleus.
Nucleus were fabulous live and lasted twenty years and a dozen albums. I saw them with Chris Spedding on guitar. Ian Carr led on trumpet. There must be a jazz essay somewhere on trumpet players as band leaders. It’s unbelievable that an album of Miles Davis style jazz got to #46 in the UK charts, but Elastic Rock did in July 1970. This isn’t jazz rock. This is the real deal. It was also released in January 1970, two months before Miles’ Bitches Brew.
Elastic Rock: Nucleus 6360 008
We’ll Talk About It Later: Nucleus 6360 027
Solar Plexus: Ian Carr with Nucleus 6360 039
Solar Plexus is considered the masterpiece, in spite of the sort of sound effects at the start that date it.
Belladonna: Ian Carr 6360 076
While you wouldn’t shout about the early sleeves the 1973-1976 sleeves are wonderful. They’re not swirl label, but with the Roger Dean spaceship label most approach three figures in Rare Record Guide. Roots has a Discogs highest of £129. Labyrinth £125. Under The Sun £86. Snakehips Etc £50. Alley Cat £215 (and would that be the sleeve?) Direct Hits a mere £35.
All Record Collectors regret what they missed. I saw all six of these at £50 each, or £300 the lot, and went home to think about it. All gone the next day.
As ever with jazz, the likelihood of a Nucleus album being in Excellent to Near mint condition is vastly higher than the chance of Status Quo or Thin Lizzy LP being near mint.
Roger Dean
The swirls were replaced with the ‘spaceship’ design in 1973. Roger Dean did many early album designs, and was to go on to corner the market in fantasy art record sleeves with Yes, Asia and many others. In 1982, Rolling Stone readers voted Asia’s debut album sleeve ‘the second greatest of all time’ with Sgt. Pepper as first. Geffen Records hated it. Roger Dean is often credited with designing the Vertigo swirl, but it was designed by Linda Glover (later Linda Nicol) who also designed several Vertigo LP sleeves. The design competes with Apple from the same period as the best-ever label design, though in terms of functionality, i.e. telling you what the title is, the prize has to go to Apple. The Roger Dean story persists, because Dean did design the centre label for a Vertigo double sampler album, Suck It and See in 1973, marking the end of full swirl centre labels.
The label got swamped by the success of Status Quo (about forty charting singles) and revived by the success of Dire Straits. But it’s the swirl label era to 1973 that fascinates, and the gatefold sleeves and designs are so outstanding that I suspect we’re looking at an art interest as much or more than a music interest.
The coverage of Vertigo artists below is selective and leans to the better-selling ones.
Status Quo
There’s a lot of it about. Vertigo’s most prolific band. Whatever You Want is the only LP sleeve I’d go for though. I listened to the album writing this, and while relentless, it is a welcome change from the ‘more pretentious’ side of Vertigo.
Francis Rossi: After four dud albums and countless flop singles, I don’t think we had to fight very hard with Pye to get us out of our deal with them. They still insisted on getting a small cut from the first handful of records we made without them, but that was standard practice. (What wasn’t standard was the slavishly minute royalty rate we had from them.) Where (our manager) Colin (Johnson) really scored, however, was in the label he took us to next: a new, more ‘progressive’ subsidiary of the giant Philips record company called Vertigo, which we eventually signed to in the summer of 1972. Vertigo already had such acts as Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep and Gentle Giant, so it felt different from Pye straight away. These people actually appeared to get it. Brian Shepard was the A&R guy at Vertigo who actually signed us. A former roadie with the group Magna Carta, Brian was to become a tremendous driving force behind the scenes for us over the next ten years.
XS All Areas: Francis Rossi & Rick Parfitt, 2004
Francis Rossi: (Brian Shephard) came to see us play a couple of times before he signed us. I remember the night that clinched it was a gig we did in New Cross. He was desperate to get us on his label after that … Brian was never one of those people who’d put in his two penneth for the sake of it. He wouldn’t say ‘Oh, this needs a remix, just to flex his muscles. He’s say straight off whether he thought it was crap or great.
Just For The Record: Francis Rossi & Rick Parfitt, 1993
The first album was self-produced and recorded more or less live in the studio.
Francis Rossi: The first track the new record company jumped on was ‘Paper Plane’. Vertigo liked Paper Plane so much we agreed to let them make it the first single – then looked on astonished as over the next few weeks it soared into the Top Ten. It was January 1973, and suddenly for the first time in five years we were on Radio One and Top of The Pops Again … the subsequent album, Piledriver, went Top Five … best of all the album that it pressaged, Hello!, went to number one.
XS All Areas: Francis Rossi & Rick Parfitt, 2004
These guys were fully aware of their image. They’d seen the long-haired head bangers at gigs and went for the same look, setting it up on the Piledriver sleeve, following it live and making it almost a logo on other sleeves.
Francis Rossi: Because of our image as no frills rock band, all our hits were perceived the same way: unpretentious rock ‘n’ roll for the long-haired denim clad masses. Fair comment, and I’m happy to stand by that. Personally, however, I saw records like’Down Down’ or ‘Whatever You Want’ as essentially pop songs done in the rock mode. Catchy tunes done four to the bar.
XS All Areas: Francis Rossi & Rick Parfitt, 2004
Rossi describes how they decided to abandon ‘image’ and dress like the audience, then goes on to say that you couldn’t buy pre-aged faded denim in those days, so they’d stop people in the street and buy their well-worn denim gear.
They had just one Vertigo swirl, several Roger Dean, a few “yellow” and several custom centre designs.
This is the third Vertigo centre design:
You have to love a band that called their 28th studio album In Search of The Fourth Chord. Because they sold so well, none of their albums are in the value league of the “Vertigo swirl” albums.
Aphrodite’s Child
A Greek group who were resident at the Athens Hilton. Then they decided to try their luck further afield with Philips / Mercury and moved to Paris. Fortunately Lou Reizner, the head of Mercury’s European operations, changed their name from The Papathanassiou Set to Aphrodite’s Child, and they were hooked up with Philips / Mercury France initially, then with Philips / Mercury Netherlands. Their line up was Vangelis Papathanassiou (keyboards), Loukas Sideras (drums, vocal) and Demis Roussos (bass, vocal). They did well across Europe, with Rain and Tears, though less so in the UK. The first two albums were Philips in Europe. Vangelis then met film director Costas Ferris who had an idea for a concept album based on The Book of Revelations. It was to be set in a circus tent with the Apocalypse outside. The title was the number of the beast: 666.
It was mainly instrumental, and eclectic with psych, metal, musique concrete, funk, and spoken voice. Demis Roussos was sidelined, playing bass and adding wailing background vocal. Sideras did most vocals. Actors were brought in to narrate.
In summer 1971, Vangelis proudly presented Mercury with the finished 666. The label was aghast to find a sprawling weird double album that opened with a chant of “We’ve got the system / To fuck the system,” featured what they saw as occult imagery, and included actress Irene Pappas having “an intimate moment.” They shelved 666 … Eventually relenting, Mercury passed 666 on to sister label Vertigo for release in August 1972.
Martin Ruddock “The Three Horsemen”, Shindig #134, December 2022
Vangelis did another Vertigo album, Earth, in 1973 under his full name. Then he worked with Jon Anderson of Yes, as Jon and Vangelis, released on Polydor. They had three Top Thirty LPs and two Top Ten singles. Mainly though he became the king of soundtracks.
The article indicates how mixed Mercury / Philips were. Vangelis went on to Polydor, alternating with RCA, then choosing to release on Deutsche Grammophon. Demis Roussos went on to Philips. It was all one umbrella company.
Jackson Heights
Lee Jackson was the bass guitarist and lead singer with The Nice, along with David O’List on guitar and Brian Davison on drums. I saw them a few times. Yes, I have seen a Hammond L-100 skewered with a Bowie knife by Keith Emerson. The first Jackson Heights album, King Progress, was Charisma in the UK, Mercury in the USA. Then that band broke up, and he formed a new one and there were three Vertigo LPs before Jackson formed Refugee.
Ragamuffin’s Fool: Jackson Heights 1972
They had a penchant for gatefolds with the left side of the photo on the rear.
The Fifth Avenue Bus: Jackson Heights, 1972
Bump ‘n’ Grind: Jackson Heights 1973
Bump ‘n’ Grind was the big production, with Keith Emerson assisting along with Michael Giles and Ian Wallace (ex-King Crimson) and Ian Paice (Deep Purple). There was a 20 piece orchestra. As will happen, the subsequent live tour sounded somewhat lacking.
Graham Bond
Some of my greatest 60s gigs were The Graham Bond Organization with Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, John McLaughlin and Dick Heckstall-Smith. The original band appear in the 1964 cult crap film Gonks Go Beat (link to my review).
Gonks Go Beat 1964. It makes more sense than Holy Magick.
I treasure mid-60s Graham Bond.
I saw them again in 1970, promoting the Vertigo album Holy Magick. Tracks included Quabalistic Cross, The Holy Words – Iao Sabeo, Aquarius Mantra (In Egyptian), The Pentagram Ritual. Black Sabbath? Innocent lads unaware of people taking it seriously as this lot did. It’s hard to say whether the worst band I ever saw was Principal Edwards Magic Theatre or Graham Bond’s Magick (as they were billed when I saw them). The thing is Magick had people like Graham Bond and Victor Brox who were actual professional musicians. Not that you’d have known. Inept, stoned, staggering about. Then again so were most of the audience. Utter shite.
Discogs highest? £171. Yet again, with Vertigo value has an inverse proportion to quality.
The Spencer Davis Group
Not THE Spencer Davis Group, not even the post Steve and Muff Winwood group, which died when Eddie Hardin and Pete York left to form Hardin & York, but the later revived one with the return of Eddie Hardin, Pete York and Ray Fenwick plus Charlie McCracken. Spencer Davis and Pete York were the sole survivors of the original. They did two albums in 1973 and 1974.
Gluggo: The Spencer Davis Group, 1973
Robert Christgau: Davis has been putting out moderately enjoyable records for as long as I’ve kept track. This is a little less folky, worth investigating for non-charismatic, professional rock and roll.
Chistgau’s Guide to Albums of the 70s
Living In A Back Street: The Spencer Davis Group 1974
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
The Alex Harvey Soul Band were one of the great 60s R&B bands. After it disbanded, Alex Harvey took the guitar job in the original UK production of Hair where he was to stay for nearly four years, playing guitar on stage, perched on the back of an old truck. His 1972 return to a touring and recording band was The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (or SAHB), starting with Framed. They became one of the most popular bands on the circuit. I’d say hard rock, with a pre-Kiss, pre-Dylan white face make-up on Alex (he had been in a theatre show after all) but they suffer the indignity of being cast as ‘Glam’ on Discogs.
The SAHB had a hit with a roaring version of Delilah, though Alex’s take on Next! may be the most memorable. The Fourplay album is credited to ‘SAHB (Without Alex).’ He had left. SAHB Stories from 1976 and the final SAHB album, Rock Drill were on the Mountain label in the UK, though Vertigo elsewhere in Europe.
For 1975’s Live, some versions have the then defunct swirl label.
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy were the third most successful Vertigo band (after Status Quo and Dire Straits) with ten Top Ten albums. Phil Lynott s songwriter, lead vocalist and bass guitarist is legendary. When they started out, signs with ‘No blacks, No Irish. No hippies’ could be seen on cards advertising flats to let in London. Lynott said ‘That’s me fucked three times.’ The band name came from Tin Lizzie, in the Dandy kids’ comic, which was based on the Ford Model T, or Tin Lizzie. In an Irish accent, ‘Thin’ would be’Tin.’ When Lynott was told of Henry Ford’s statement on the Model T, ‘Any colour you want as long as it’s black’ it confirmed his liking for the name.
Red phonogram sleeve is post 1978, so a repress
Their first hit single was Whiskey In The Jar (UK #6) on Decca in 1973 (note the Irish spelling, WHISKEY not WHISKY, as they were liable to point out)
Phil Lynott: I was conscious that the media saw that we didn’t follow up Whiskey In The Jar. And we didn’t in terms of record sales. The only place we seemed to be happening was on the street. But, you know, that’s Thin Lizzy summed up for you. Like an album and three singles after Whiskey…, man, you’d get people mentioning Whiskey… in interviews – and I’d go “Oh Jeezuz”. That was how far behind the press got on the band. They really lost contact. They were all going on about ‘the Irish traditional thing’. Bad photographs went out. We were generally misrepresented. You know, all the things that I’m worrying about now happened to us the wrong way. And that’s where we got the loser tag. And then when we broke up – well, not many bands break up three times. And still come out on top … I’m the mouthpiece of the band. You take a band that’s made up of arms, legs, bodies… I happen to be the piece that talks. And does all that area of it, you know? I’m also very easy to recognise; the darkie in the middle jumping around with the guitar, you know. Dat boy’s got riddim! Knowharramean?
1976 interview by Chris Salewicz, republished in Classic Rock, 5 January 2016
There was indeed a gap, then it was followed by eighteen Vertigo chart hits between 1976 and 1991. The Top Ten hits were The Boys Are Back In Town (#8), Waiting For An Alibi (#9) and Killer On The Loose (#10). From 1977’s Don’t Believe A Word (UK #12) they received the custom catalogue numbers, starting with LIZZY1.
The Boys Are Back In Town was from Jailbreak, their true breakthrough album.
Waiting For An Alibi: Thin Lizzy, 45 single LIZZY 003, 1979
Early pressings have an insert cartoon:
You need this to get to the Disogs highest price of £19 plus. My copy never had it.
In 1982 we got the Vertigo solo album from Phil Lynott.
You can judge a band’s popularity by its blu-rays and box sets. Thin Lizzy’s Live and Dangerous 8 x CD box set from 2023 goes for £399 on Amazon.
Graham Parker
The pub rock scene was really the domain of Stiff and Chiswick, but early on Dave Robinson as manager got Graham Parker & The Rumour a place on Vertigo.
Lights went off in Robinson’s head when he heard Parker’s songs, and shortly after recording some demos, began to ease Brinsley Schwarz and Andrews, along with a young rhythm section comprised of Andrew Bodnar on bass and Steve Goulding on drums, into place behind Parker. Together with Martin Belmont, the former guitarist of Ducks Deluxe, yet another alleged pub rock band that had also called it quits, they began rehearsing that summer. Before they had played a note together however, Parker had secured a major record deal with Phonogram records after Robinson got a tape of a Parker demo to Charlie Gillett who hosted an eclectic Radio London show named Honky Tonk. As soon as the song had had its airing, Nigel Grainge from Phonogram called Gillett insisting he wanted to sign Parker right away.
Graham Parker website
Nick Lowe produced their first album. In common with other Vertigo bands, the label was Mercury for the US and Canada, but Vertigo for the UK, the rest of Europe, Japan, Australasia, South Africa. Parker’s site says he was dissatisfied with Mercury’s lack of interest (he must have been hoping for US success), so shifted to Arista. He can’t have much to complain about Vertigo in the UK. Heat Treatment only got to #52 in the album chart, Then Stick It To Me was #19, Parkerilla was #14, Squeezing Out Sparks was #18.
Parkerilla was recorded live at Bournemouth Winter Gardens and Manchester. The cover was by Stiff’s Barney Bubbles.
The Pink Parker was issued in Match 1977 as a 33 rpm EP which got to #24 in the singles chart. Piunk was just coming in, so Pink was a shift on ‘punk.’
It was an early example of a multi-format release on coloured vinyl too-the pink vinyl version is 45 rpm, though it has the same four tracks. Both releases have the catalogue number PARK 001. That would be confusing in the days of amazon purchases but in those days you went into a shop, picked it up and looked.
Clover
Unavailable: Clover March 1977 6360 145
Love on The Wire: Clover 1977 6360 155
They were an anomaly. An American band from San Francisco who moved and recorded their third and fourth albums in Monmouth in Wales. They were signed by Vertigo, and included Huey Lewis (of Huey Lewis & The News) and toured with both Thin Lizzy and Graham Parker and The Rumour. They started out with the single Chicken Funk in 1966. They were produced by Mutt Lange. Unavilable had a Baney Bubbles sleeve design and illustration.
Dire Straits
Dire Straits: 1978 first LP, 9102 021
Back then, friend wrote about a recent band he’d seen in London in the most fulsome terms. ‘You have to find out about them … Sultans of Swing is the best thing I’ve heard in years.’
Then I saw the first article. Managed by Ed Bicknell. It all fell into place. Ed Bicknell was a marvellous Social Secretary in the late 60s, booking Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Martin Carthy, John Renbourn, Family, The Who, The Kinks, Blossom Toes, a young Joe Cocker, a younger Mick Ronson in The Rats. Entertainment, the newspaper and drama (I was president of the drama society) shared a Gestetner machine at Hull University students’ union. If ever anyone was going to discover the next best thing, my money would be on Ed. And he did.
John Illsley: Bringing Ed on board was one of the best decisions we ever made. He was to perform wonders for us.
My Life in Dire Straits: John Illsley, 2021
The first album was possibly an equal favourite for me. In 1979, Communique followed.
Communique was thought to be a slight dip, quickly recovered when they released Making Movies in 1980.
It contained two major songs, Romeo & Juliet and Tunnel of Love. It was produced by Jimmy Iovine in New York. Dave Knopfler left the band while they were making it, and his guitar contributions were replaced by Mark. Roy Bittan from the E-Street Band played keyboards.
Making Movies is the record on which Mark Knopfler comes out from behind his influences and Dire Straits come out from behind Mark Knopfler. The combination of the star’s lyrical script, his intense vocal performances and the band’s cutting-edge rock & roll soundtrack is breathtaking—everything the first two albums should have been but weren’t. If Making Movies really were a film, it might win a flock of Academy Awards
David Fricke, Rolling Stone 5 December 2012
By Love Over Gold in 1982, they could do no wrong. It was also recorded in New York, with Mark Knopfler producing. Private Investigations joined the ‘very best of’ short list for live shows.
ExtenDancePlay in 1983 was a 33 rpm EP, featuring Twisting By The Pool.
1984 brought the live double album Alchemy- Dire Straits Live.
It all came together. Dire Straits and the launch of CD. I was buying CDs wherever possible from late 1982, and Dire Straits was well-represented as Vertigo’s owner, Philips, was the co-creator with Sony of the format. Brothers In Arms is where CD jumped from ‘specialist’ to ‘mainstream.’
“For compact dickheads only, concluded the man from NME in 1985, greeting the release of Dire Straits fifth studio recording. Other reviews were equally dismissive, irritation hardening into dislike, and eventually prejudice with each copy sold. This would not have been so bad if ‘Brothers in Arms’ hadn’t sold 20,000,000 copies worldwide to date, became the biggest-selling UK LP of all time, outstripping The Beatles and sustaining a level of success seemingly calculated to gnaw away at the critical wisdom.
Mark Knopfler, a former journalist himself, says, ‘I don’t do anything so some little ‘O’ Level hippy who thinks he knows what the deal is can write about it. They are so desperately determined to be seen as trendy, happening, windswept and interesting people. I do what I do to please myself. To me it’s all very obvious.’
David Hepworth, The Q Sleevenotes: 5 star albums – Brothers in Arms.
It got harsh reviews all round in the UK. Then it entered the charts at #1 on 25 May 1985. The 110 date tour was seen by two million people in twenty-five countries. it was the first CD to sell one million copies in the UK. It was recorded in Montserrat, and digitally on a Sony 24 track machine, so it was ‘DDD.’ It was their first all digital recording.
Incidentally, in 2024 it rates as 8th Best Selling Uk Album of all-time, not first, with lifetime sales approaching five million in the UK alone. 30 million worldwide.
The Brothers in Arms tour led to adverts for CD players linked to it. Brothers in Arms was one of the CDs every hi-fi shop used to sell hardware. On the tour, the band members were presented with CD players by Philips at every venue. They ended up with a truck full. Therefore, for me, CD is the default format.
Dire Straits in the album charts:
The significant figure is the number of weeks in the chart. They sold steadily over years rather than an instant flash hit. Making Movies was in the chart for five years. Brothers in Arms just under five years. Love Over Gold four years.
| date | title | position | no of weeks |
| July 1978 | Dire Straits | 5 | 132 |
| June 1979 | Communique | 5 | 32 |
| October 1980 | Making Movies | 4 | 251 |
| October 1982 | Love Over Gold | 1 | 200 |
| March 1984 | Alchemy- Dire Straits Live (2 LP) | 3 | 163 |
| May 1985 | Brothers in Arms | 1 | 228 |
| October 1988 | Money For Nothing (compilation) | 1 | 64 |
| September 1991 | On Every Street | 1 | 35 |
| May 1993 | On The Night (live) | 4 | 7 |
| October 1998 | Sultans of Swing – The Very Best of Dire Straits | 6 | 21 + |
Money For Nothing: Dire Straits, 1985 single DSTR10
The Notting Hillbillies
The Notting Hillbillies was formed by Mark Knopfler with Guy Fletcher from Dire Straits, and old friends Steve Phillips and Brendan Croker. Dire Straits manager Ed Bicknell played drums. Their album Missing … Presumed Having A Good Time was a #2 UK hit in 1990.
Def Leppard
Def Leppard continue the Vertigo hard rock link. They had three albums 1980 to 1983 on Vertigo, though their major success era is later and on their own Bludgeon Riffola label. They have sold 100 million albums worldwide in their career. They fit well with the American hard rock Vertigo was going for in the eighties.
On Through The Night: 1980 UK album chart #15
High ‘n’ Dry: 1981 UK album chart #26
Pyromania: 1983 UK album chart #18 … but a US #2 album.
1987’s Hysteria was the big one, #1 in UK, USA, Canada, Australia. That’s Bludgeon Riffola / Phonogram in Europe, but Mercury USA.
Vertigo North American rock bands 1984-1989
Phonogram then started issuing American stadium / hard rock acts on Vertigo, bringing in Bon Jovi, Kiss and Rush. The albums were all Vertigo until 1989 – 1990 when they were Mercury. Kiss had a one-off ‘Fontana’ one in among them. In the second half of the 1980s, Vertigo had a major hard rock chart appeal. This sort of stadium rock is not my sort of thing. It’s also very much Vertigo acting as a European distributor rather than a label initiating material. I doubt any of these thought of themselves as Vertigo artistes.
| date | artist | title | UK LP chart |
| October 1983 | Kiss | Lick It Up | 7 |
| April 1984 | Rush | Grace Under Pressure | 5 |
| April 1984 | Bon Jovi | Bon Jovi | 71 |
| October 1984 | Kiss | Animalize | 7 |
| November 1984 | Rush | Power Windows | 9 |
| May 1985 | Bon Jovi | 7800° Fahrenheit | 28 |
| October 1985 | Kiss | Asylum | 12 |
| September 1986 | Bon Jovi | Slippery When Wet | 6 |
| November 1987 | Kiss | Crazy Nights | 4 |
| November 1987 | Rush | Hold Your Fire | 10 |
| October 1988 | Bon Jovi | New Jersey | 1 |
| December 1988 | Kiss | Smashes, Thrashes & Hits | 62 |
| January 1989 | Rush | A Show of Hands | 12 |
| October 1990 | Rush | Chronicles (3 LPs) | 42 |
| August 1990 | Jon Bon Jovi | Blaze of Glory / Young Guns II | 2 |
| July 1995 | Bon Jovi | These Days | 1 |
Bon Jovi
Mercury in the USA, Vertigo in the UK for four albums. Then they reverted to Mercury everywhere.
Then Jon Bon Jovi’s soundtrack Blaze of Glory / Young Guns II was a UK #2 album in 1990. The spaceship centre was revived. Both Bon Jovi and Kiss used it on some albums.
Kiss
Kiss moved from Casablanca to Mercury, where they resided 1984 to 1989. Europe was Vertigo, America was Mercury.
Rush
Mercury from 1977 to 1984, then the Canadian hard rockers joined Bon Jovi and Kiss on Vertigo. Their albums were Mercury in the USA, Anthem in Canada. This was a band into design.
The Vertigo albums
The varied and elaborate gatefold, album sleeves, many designed by Roger Dean, are what make Vertigo an extremely collectable album label, ranking with Harvest and pink label Island among the top three collected prog labels. Because Vertigo’s gatefold sleeves went for soft non-laminated card, they were more subject to wear, tear and scuffing than laminated sleeves, which means excellent to mint ones are rare, pushing values higher. The LP inner sleeve (with poly liner) should be intact too, adding to the effect. The photographic sleeves were often by Marcus Keef.
Gerry Bron’s artists formed a significant proportion of the initial Vertigo roster, and the label was poorer when he went out on his own with Bronze Records, distributed by Island. Bron’s artists were Colosseum, Manfred Mann, and Uriah Heep. Bron also gave them the link to Roger Dean. There was something doom laden about the early list … just look at the song titles for 1970 to 1971. Evil Woman … Paranoid … Lady in Black … Life After Death … Time for The Leaving.
Many of the obscure albums sold in tiny quantities, and featured in 99p cut out bins of the early 70s. Now the rarer the LP was, the more it’s worth, so the crap, sorry uncommercial, stuff on Vertigo is often worth more than the better stuff. This rule works for all the prog labels. You just don’t see Vertigo albums in the secondhand racks. They’re either in private collections or hanging on the record store wall, with many of them commanding three figure price tags. Even better selling albums, such as the the early Black Sabbath command high values in the correct pressings with posters and inserts intact.
Jade Warrior: Jade Warrior
Vertigo is a prize example of the growing trend in the late 60s towards one-sided labels; that is where the titles of both A and B sides, and all other pertinent information, was only written on the B side. As with other labels, the A side was given over totally to either a picture of the artist …(such as T.Rex)… or some other eye-grabbing design. 45s of this type were usually one-offs, conceived specifically for just one record – like an accompanying picture sleeve.
Vertigo were unusual in that the same one-sided motif was standard on all their early singles. A high proportion of Philips / Phonogram group singles at that time had their centres knocked out before leaving the factory, and the thin three-pronged spider is Philips factory issue. With most labels it was a pity. With Vertigo’s centre design it was a tragedy. Old singles have tatty sleeves. Vertigo are always tattier than average. Whether this was poor paper quality or the dazed state of the owners, we don’t know. With most labels, you’ll eventually see a clean, well-looked after example. Very rarely with Vertigo.
When Philips changed its name to Phonogram, several major bands were relocated on Vertigo, including Dire Straits, Status Quo and Thin Lizzy. So from the mid-70s on, there were many Vertigo hits, unfortunately without the great initial design.
The Vertigo Swirl LPs
As these LPs are so valuable, let’s clear up an issue. Early Vertigo fill Side A with the swirls. When you look in a price guide, this is NOT what “big swirl” means. Big Swirl refers to the B-side design. The Big Swirl is earlier and fills the top half above the spindle hole. VERTIGO comes below. The Small Swirl design has VERTIGO above the spindle. This becomes crucial with albums around the time when the designs changed. For example, Rod Stewart’s Gasoline Alley is rated at £100 with a big swirl and textured sleeve, which is the first pressing. It only rates at £45 on a second pressing with smooth sleeve and small swirl.
Manfred Mann’s Chapter Three, VO 3 1969. B-side. This is a “big swirl” design. VERTIGO at the bottom.
Gasoline Alley: Rod Stewart 1970. B-side. The “small swirl” design means a 2nd pressing for this disc. VERTIGO under the swirl.
(Checking where the VERTIGO is printed is easier than assessing the size of the swirl from memory).
You can go further, and at these prices collectors will. Within the big swirl, early first pressings have A Philips Product below the VERTIGO logo. 2nd pressings dropped it.
Left: 1st pressing ‘A Philips Record’. Right: 2nd or later pressing
Rare Record Collector Com’s Vertigo page has pictures of every angle of the sleeves and centres.
There is an article on BLACK SABBATH (the first album) under Album Collectability on this site. It shows the price increases from 2008 to 2024.
Values are FIRST pressings (Big Swirl where it exists)and Rare Record Guide 2024 lists mint values including any inserts or posters. It is very precise. For example, Aphrodite’s Child 666 rates at £1000 with that catalogue number as a double LP. Change the catalogue number and it drops to £60. Drop the swirl and it’s £15.
On the other hand, there are a lot of round numbers … £200 or £300 or £400 which indicates ‘plucked from the air’ rather than based on sales. It’s also two years old. You would not expect Discogs ‘highest’ sales to be mint, so they should be less. There are still some wide differences, but broadly, more are similar.
The gatefold sleeves add to the value, but even more fold-out die cut sleeves.
Look at the table of values. The price has to be related to the die cut sleeve which added a very large sum to production costs. How many of those survived without tears or damage?
There are missing catalogue numbers in the list. Some Vertigo numbers were assigned, but never released. These included albums by Paul Jones and by Dave Kelly. VO5 Ancient Grease was released, but switched to the Mercury label. A few Vertigo catalogue numbers in this sequence were also put on Argentinian, Brazilian and Peruvian releases never available in Europe.
It’s not only about money, but … This chart took half a day and my goodness it was boring, but I listened to the 3 CD Vertigo compilation throughout. A lot of that was even more boring. I had planned to list Rare Record Guide 2006 as well. I gave up.
| # | artist | title | RRG 2024 (publish 2022) | Discogs high April 2024 |
| VO1 | Colosseum | Valentyne Suite | £175 | £140 |
| VO2 | Juicy Lucy | Juicy Lucy | £200 | £255 |
| VO3 | Manfred Mann Chapter 3 | Chapter Three | £175 | £212 |
| VO4 | Rod Stewart | An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down | £125 | £75 |
| VO6 | Black Sabbath | Black Sabbath | £500 | £1755 |
| VO7 | Cressida | Cressida | £1000 | £790 |
| 6360 001 | Fairfield Parlour | From Home to Home | £400 | £400 |
| 6360 002 | Gracious! | Gracious! | £500 | £748 |
| 6360 003 | Magna Carta | Seasons | £120 | £51 |
| 6360 004 | Affinity | Affinity | £700 | £638 |
| 6360 005 | Bob Downes Open Music | Electric City | £300 | £275 |
| 6360 006 | Uriah Heep | Very ‘Eavy … Very ‘Umble | £400 | £255 |
| 6360 007 | May Blitz | May Blitz | £400 | £510 |
| 6360 008 | Nucleus | Elastic Rock | £200 | £290 |
| 6360 009 | Dr Strangely Strange | Heavy Petting | £600 | £825 |
| 6360 010 | Jimmy Campbell | Half Baked | £150 | £225 |
| 6360 011 | Black Sabbath | Paranoid | £350 | £735 |
| 6360 012 | Manfred Mann Chapter 3 | Volume 2 | £175 | £143 |
| 6360 013 | Clear Blue Sky | Journey To The Inside of The Sun | £500 | £520 |
| 6360 014 | Juicy Lucy | Lie Back and Enjoy It | £200 | £160 |
| 6360 015 | Warhorse | Warhorse | £300 | £325 |
| 6360 016 | Patto | Patto | £400 | £395 |
| 6360 017 | Colosseum | Daughter of Time | £200 | £175 |
| 6360 018 | Beggars Opera | Act One | £200 | £255 |
| 6360 019 | Legend | Legend | £300 | £340 |
| 6360 020 | Gentle Giant | Gentle Giant | £400 | £402 |
| 6360 021 | Graham Bond | Holy Magick | £150 | £170 |
| 6360 023 | Gravy Train | Gravy Train | £40 | £468 |
| 6360 024 | Keith Tippett Group | Dedicated To You but you weren’t listening | £175 | £325 |
| 6360 025 | Cressida | Asylum | £1000 | £950 |
| 6360 026 | Still Life | Still Life | £750 | £680 |
| 6360 027 | Nucleus | We’ll Talk About It Later | £200 | £160 |
| 6360 028 | Uriah Heep | Salisbury | £400 | £284 |
| 6360 029 | Catapilla | Catapilla | £600 | £685 |
| 6360 030 | Assagai | Assagai | £150 | £301 |
| 6360 031 | Nirvana | Local Anaesthetic | £300 | £382 |
| 6360 032 | Patto | Hold Your Fire | £600 | £703 |
| 6360 033 | Jade Warrior | Jade Warrior | £200 | £425 |
| 6360 034 | Ian Matthews | If You Saw Thro’ My eyes | £150 | £77 |
| 6360 037 | May Blitz | The 2nd of May | £450 | £512 |
| 6360 038 | Daddy Longlegs | Oakdown Farm | £250 | £172 |
| 6360 039 | Ian Carr | Solar Plexus | £250 | £302 |
| 6360 040 | Magna Carta | Songs From Wasties Orchard | £150 | £75 |
| 6360 041 | Gentle Giant | Acquiring The Taste | £300 | £289 |
| 6360 042 | Graham Bond | We Put Our Magick On You | £150 | £172 |
| 6360 043 | Tudor Lodge | Tudor Lodge | £1750 | £1300 |
| 6360 045 | Various Artists | Heads Together First Round | £18 | £80 |
| 6360 046 | Ramases | Space Hymns | £350 | £350 |
| 6360 048 | Dr. Z | Three Parts To My Soul | £2000 | £4000 |
| 6360 049 | Freedom | Through The Years | £300 | £225 |
| 6360 050 | Black Sabbath | Master of Reality | £500 | £550 |
| 6360 051 | Gravy Train | (A Ballad of) A Peaceful Man | £900 | £1120 |
| 6360 052 | Ben | Ben | £1500 | £1000 |
| 6360 053 | Mike Absalom | Mike Absalom | £400 | £350 |
| 6360 054 | Beggars Opera | Waters of Change | £300 | £210 |
| 6360 055 | The John Dummer Band | Blue | £600 | £535 |
| 6360 056 | Ian Matthews | Tigers Will Survive | £150 | £50 |
| 6360 058 | Assagai | Zimbabwe (Philips, test press is Vertigo) | £120 | £172 |
| 6360 059 | Paul Jones | Crucifix In A Horse Shoe | £150 | £120 |
| 6360 060 | Linda Hoyle | Pieces of Me | £1000 | £1040 |
| 6360 062 | Jade Warrior | Released | £500 | £517 |
| 6360 063 | Legend | Moonshine | £400 | £603 |
| 6360 064 | Hokus Poke | Earth Harmony | £450 | £695 |
| 6360 066 | Warhorse | Red Sea | £400 | £250 |
| 6360 067 | Jackson Heights | The 5th Avenue Bus | £250 | £256 |
| 6360 500 | Rod Stewart | Gasoline Alley | £100 | £83 |
| 6657 001 | Various Artists | Vertigo Annual | £30 | £90 |
| 6325 250 | Thomas F. Browne | Wednesday’s Child | £400 | £435 |
| 6342 010 | Lighthouse | One Fine Morning | £150 | £350 |
| 6342 011 | Lighthouse | Thoughts of Moving On | £100 | £430 |
| 6360 068 | Magna Carta | In Concert (vertical a/w) | £18 | £36 |
| 6360 069 | Gordon | Gordon (not in RRG 2024) | – | £851 |
| 6360 070 | Gentle Giant | Three friends | £250 | £204 |
| 6360 071 | Black Sabbath | Vol. 4 | £250 | £283 |
| 6360 072 | Freedom | Is More Than A Word | £400 | £455 |
| 6360 073 | Beggars Opera | Pathfinder | £300 | £270 |
| 6360 074 | Catapilla | Changes | £1500 | £1787 |
| 6360 076 | Ian Carr | Belladonna | £250 | £345 |
| 6360 077 | Jackson Heights | Ragamuffin’s Fool | £250 | £168 |
| 6360 079 | Jade Warrior | Last Autumn’s Dream | £175 | £250 |
| 6360 080 | Gentle Giant | Octopus | £200 | £239 |
| 6360081 | Sensational Alex Harvey Band | Framed | £200 | £220 |
| 6360 082 | Status Quo | Piledriver | £30 | £20 |
| 6360 083 | John Dummer | Oobleedooblee Jubilee | £250 | £198 |
| 6673 001 | Aphrodite’s Child | 666 (with this catalogue #) | £1000 | £950 |
| 6360 700 | Jim Croce | You Don’t Mess Around With Jim | £40 | £59 |
| 6360 701 | Jim Croce | Life and Times | £200 | £24 |
| 6441 077 | Kraftwerk | Kraftwerk | £400 | £343 |
| 6360 609 | Atlantis | Atlantis | £40 | £98 |
Vertigo singles
A: Eli’s Coming: Linda Hoyle and Affinity 1970
B: It’s All Over Now, Rod Stewart 1970
C: Life After Death: Paul Jones 1971?
(Answer: A)
Most of these early 70s Vertigo artists had their eyes firmly fixed on the LP chart, so early vertigo-inducing singles are rare too. This is the era when Philips / Phonogram decided to have large hole 45 centres across Europe and provide free spiders for the UK.
Juicy Lucy’s version of Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love? was the first 45 rpm release (Vertigo V1), followed by Rod Stewart’s version of It’s All Over Now (VS2).
The two most common swirl singles in the secondhand racks are the two Top Twenty singles: Paranoid by Black Sabbath (UK #4), and Who Do You Love? By Juicy Lucy (UK#14).
St Louis: Warhorse 1970, in pristine condition, both sides, VERTIGO name shifted up below logo
By 1973 the injection-moulded silver centre label had been introduced on 45s, but the swirly white and black sleeve continued to be used for a year.
Silver injected centre, but closed centre
Then Phonogram decided to use one generic group sleeve for all its labels (unless they had picture sleeves).
Roll Over Lay Down: Status Quo May 1975 Silver plastic centre (UK #9)
Accident Prone: Status Quo November 1978 (UK #36) QUO 2 push-out centre
From Again and Again in November 1978 (QUO 1), Status Quo got the personalized number plates … QUO catalogue numbers. These run up to at least QUO 36 / QUOCD 36, Restless in 1994.
Mainly Status Quo had picture sleeves:
Rockin’ All Over The World: Status Quo October 1977
Whatever You Want: Status Quo September 1979
Rollin’ Home: Status Quo May 1986 (QUO 18)
Delilah: Sensational Alex Harvey Band 1975 closed plastic centre
Jailbreak: Thin Lizzy 1976 closed centre
Both were in generic Phonogram sleeves. By 1978, picture sleeves were the norm.
C’est le rock ‘n’ roll (Walk Like A Man): Plastic Bertrand 1978
Waiting For An Alibi: Thin Lizzy 1979
Neon Knights: Black Sabbath 1980
Private Investigations: Dire Straits 1982 with DSTR personalized catalogue number (#1)
Ol’ Rag Blues: Status Quo 1983 Special Quo centre QUO catalogue number
Status Quo and Dire Straits are the most common later Vertigo 45s.
Brothers in Arms: Dire Straits 1985 DTSR 11 Phonogram
Forever (remix): KISS 1989 KISS 11 Polygram
Ironically, Dire Straits were used by Philips to spearhead the switch to CDs, especially with Brothers in Arms which is where the format, less than three years old, really took off.
Selected Status Quo only- as they had forty-odd Vertigo hit singles
| Juicy Lucy | Who Do You Love? | 1970 | 14 |
| Rod Stewart | It’s All Over Now | 1970 | – |
| Black Sabbath | Evil Woman | 1970 | – |
| Black Sabbath | Paranoid | 1970 | 4 |
| Juicy Lucy | Pretty Woman | 1970 | – |
| Linda Hoyle with Affinity | Eli’s Coming | 1970 | – |
| Uriah Heep | Lady in Black | 1971 | – |
| Paul Jones | Life After Death | 1971 | – |
| Magna Carta | Time for The Leaving | 1971 | – |
| Jackson Heights | Maureen | 1972 | – |
| Status Quo | Paper Plane | 1973 | 8 |
| Manfred Mann Chapter Three | Joybringer | 1973 | 9 |
| Status Quo | Caroline | 1973 | 5 |
| Status Quo | Break The Rules | 1974 | 8 |
| Status Quo | Down Down | 1974 | 1 |
| Kraftwerk | Autobahn | 1975 | 11 |
| Sensational Alex Harvey Band | Delilah | 1975 | 7 |
| Status Quo | Roll Over Lay Down | 1975 | 9 |
| Streetwalkers | Raingame | 1975 | – |
| Thin Lizzy | The Boys Are Back in Town | 1976 | 8 |
| Thin Lizzy | Jailbreak | 1976 | 31 |
| Status Quo | Rockin’ All Over The World | 1977 | 3 |
| Graham Parker & The Rumour | The Pink Parker (EP) | 1977 | 24 |
| Thin Lizzy | Don’t Believe A Word | 1977 | 12 |
| Thin Lizzy | Dancin’ in The Moonlight | 1977 | 14 |
| Black Sabbath | Never Say Die | 1978 | 21 |
| Thin Lizzy | Rosalie- Cowgirl’s Song | 1978 | 20 |
| Black Sabbath | Hard Road | 1978 | 33 |
| Graham Parker & The Rumour | Hey Lord, Don’t Ask Me Questions | 1978 | 32 |
| Thin Lizzy | Waiting For An Alibi | 1979 | 9 |
| Dire Straits | Sultans of Swing | 1979 | 8 |
| Status Quo | Whatever You Want | 1979 | 4 |
| Thin Lizzy | Killer On The Loose | 1980 | 10 |
| Status Quo | What You’re Proposing | 1980 | 2 |
| Thin Lizzy | Chinatown | 1980 | 20 |
| Black Sabbath | Neon Knights | 1980 | 22 |
| Black Sabbath | Paranoid (reissue) | 1980 | 14 |
| Black Sabbath | Die Young | 1980 | 41 |
| Dire Straits | Romeo and Juliet | 1981 | 8 |
| Thin Lizzy | Killers Live (EP) | 1981 | 19 |
| Phil Lynott | Yellow Pearl | 1981 | 14 |
| Dire Straits | Private Investigations | 1982 | 2 |
| Def Leppard | Rock of Ages | 1983 | 41 |
| KISS | Lick It Up | 1983 | 33 |
| Mark Knopfler | Going Home (Local Hero) | 1983 | 56 |
| Dire Straits | Money For Nothing | 1985 | 4 |
| Dio | Rock & Roll Children | 1985 | 26 |
| Rush | The Big Money | 1985 | 46 |
| Dire Straits | Walk of Life | 1986 | 2 |
| Status Quo | In The Army Now | 1986 | 2 |
| KISS | Crazy Crazy Nights | 1987 | 4 |
| Status Quo | The Anniversary Waltz | 1990 | 2 |
| Scorpions | Wind of Change | 1991 | 2 |
| Electric Boys | Mary in the Mystery World | 1992 | – |
| Rolf Harris | Stairway To Heaven | 1993 | 7 |
That 1993 Vertigo hit is now embarrassing:
Designs revisited
By 1991, the original design reappeared with the swirly Side A and the information on side B. These were all in picture sleeves.
Mary in the Mystery World: Electric Boys 1992 A side revives original design, in p/s
B-side, Why Don’t We Do It In The Road: Electric Boys 1992
Samplers
Circa 1970, you knew a label by its budget sampler LPs, displaying their wares.
This is emblazoned on the inner sleeve. IT was International Times the arch-hippy magazine:
The Vertigo Annual 1970: 2 LP set for 49/11d (Forty nine shillings and eleven pence. i.e. £2.50) Released January 1971
It has the full swirl label and inner sleeves and a Discogs median value of £25. However, Discogs highest is £90, not bad for a budget release which sold in large quantities, unlike most of the LPs sampled on it.
Compare the selection of tracks with the CD retrospective thirty-five years later. Quite a consensus.
The sampler Suck It & See appeared in 1973 as a double album. Later post-swirl signings are on the four sides … Spencer Davis Group, Jackson Heights, more Ian Matthews, John Dummer, Jim Croce, Kraftwerk.
Then as the label became identified with Metal, the sampler a decade later was HEAVY 1.
Vertigo ended up as a subsidiary of Mercury within the Universal Music Group.
CD retrospective: Time Machine: A Vertigo Retrospective 3 CD set (Vertigo, 2005)
It was as they said, the hairy blokes label. Players and listeners.
Around and Around 