Festival Records – Sonic Archaeology

Collecting Australian Pressings of Led Zeppelin 1

From the opening chord and drum kicks of Good Times, Bad Times it is clear that Led Zepplin sound like no band that has come before them. And when How Many More Times reaches its dramatic conclusion almost 45 minutes later, many listeners still say that the self-titled debut LP put together by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham is one of the greatest albums of all time. Of course other records followed throughout the 70s and the group became arguably the biggest band in the world.

In Australia the first Led Zeppelin album has been a popular seller since it was released. As a result there are many different versions that turn up. For collectors it can be difficult to work out whether the copy you have found is an original first pressing or one of those that followed as the audience for the record grew from thousands into millions.

This guide is a hopefully presented in a way that will help both experienced and new collectors work out which version they have in their collection. It covers the significant changes in the way the album was presented in Australia during the 1960s and 70s. It doesn’t claim to be comprehensive in covering all the subtle pressing variations. If you have a copy that doesn’t fit what is described below then please drop me a line. I’m always keen to add to the knowledge presented here. When I started collecting records it was older collectors who helped me work out what was what and I am always grateful to those who share their learnings.

Festival and Warner Pressings of Led Zeppelin

The first important thing to know is that Led Zeppelin was made and distributed in Australia by two different companies at different periods in time. The album was released originally in the U.S on Atlantic Records who, at the time, had an arrangement with Festival Records in Australia. So early pressings were made in Australia by Festival. Then late in 1970 Warner Bros joined forces with Atlantic and began making the records instead. Festival Atlantic pressings have a green label with silver writing, while Warners Atlantic pressings have green and orange labels. These are the two most obvious differences, but there are other which are covered in more detail below.

Australian Release Dates

Led Zeppelin was released in the U.S in January 1969 and the U.K at the end of March 1969. While dates are available online for these countries it is not always easy to find them for Australian releases. So when did the first Australian issue appear?

It was certainly after the mid-January release in the U.S and Australia wouldn’t have been earlier than the UK date so we can reasonably benchmark April as the earliest month. Other clues are available by looking at the Festival catalogue number for the LP (S)AL 933,232 and comparing it with others released around the same time.

The Bee Gees big release for 1969 was Odessa and it carries the cat number SEL 933,241 indicating that it was released either at the same time, or just after Led Zeppelin. Remember that a big distributor like Festival would issue multiple LPs in the same week. Odessa was released on March 30^th in the U.K which suggests that Led Zeppelin and Odessa both had a release in Australia sometime after then.

Moving through other Festival releases from this period brings you to John Braden’s self-titled LP SAML 933,255. A photo of the Festival promo sleeve uploaded to Discogs for this LP shows the album was released on the 30^th June 1969. Given the later catalogue number on this LP it seems safe to say that Led Zeppelin couldn’t have been issued after this date.

So we’re currently looking at a window between April and June 1969. It’s possible that a look at the single from the LP can help further refine the date. Good Times, Bad Times / Communication Breakdown wasn’t a big hit on the national singles chart but it did make the Canberra top 40. Its first appearance there is 23^rd May 1969 (its highest position on the chart was 13 and it hung around for several months). All copies I’ve ever seen of the single, including bullet sticker promos, advertise the LP under the name of the tracks. So the single was used to market the LP which indicates the LP was also available at the same time.

Based on this information it seems reasonable to say that the album first appeared between April and June 1969.

Festival Pressings: 1969 & 1970

Label Variations

Label design for Atlantic LPs released through Festival is consistent throughout much of the late 60s. An LP from 1967 uses the same colour scheme (dark green and silver), layout and fonts as a release from 1968 and the same is true for the first half of 1969.

One significant change occurred at the end of June 1969 when Festival stopped adding logos for the song publisher on their labels. This provides an easy way to identify a first pressing of Led Zeppelin. If the label shows the Jewel Music then your album is a first pressing. The label for the mono issue of the LP also features the Jewel Music stamp.

There are copies of the LP with exactly the same label colour, layout and font but without the Jewel Music stamp and I believe these to be from the second pressing run which most likely occurred around July 1969.

1st pressing – Jewel logo/Atlantic top to bottom

At some point in 1969 Festival also changed the direction of the text for Atlantic underneath the catalogue number. Until this time Atlantic reads top to bottom but was changed so that the name reads bottom to top. Typically the top to bottom pressings use the Futura Demi Bold typeface, whereas the bottom to top labels use either News Gothic or Classified News typeface.

In 1969 Festival was using multiple printers to keep up with the demand of its records. A result is different fonts being used across their LPs. This explains how there can be subtle variants in early or first pressings. In the example above you’ll notice two Jewel logo variations. Key differences are the font style used and top/bottom Atlantic variation. Both are very early, if not first, pressings, but the labels were set and printed by different suppliers.

Top to bottom Atlantic/Futura demi bold typeface

A third label variation uses a slimmer font for the band’s name on the label. The font change here is consistent with that used on other LPs released and promoted by Festival in their Free Form series in late 1969/early 1970. This included the Fusion album Border Town and Tons of Sobs by Free which are pictured below beside this variation for comparison.

A fourth variation with slightly different font again was used from mid to late 1970. This one is harder to see if you’re simply comparing labels. The copies I have seen with this variation were housed inside covers that featured the Gold Record Award on the bottom left corner. The album was announced as having achieved Gold sales status in September 1970 so this gives an indication of the timing of these pressings.

Cover Variations

The covers are also a good source of information. The front cover with the iconic Zeppelin image by George Hardie remains basically unchanged across the different pressings with the main exception being the addition of the “Gold Record Award” sticker in the second half of 1970 (as mentioned above). The rare mono copies of the LP also have a red mono sticker which is easily seen in the top left corner under the band’s name.

First pressings were housed in ‘flipback sleeves’. For most of the 1960s Festival LPs were made with ‘flipback sleeves’. These are easily identified by looking at the rear of the sleeve, and particularly at the top and bottom seams. If the front of the sleeve appears to have been flipped over to the back and stuck down then you have a flipback sleeve. Later sleeves are different and the sticking is done inside the sleeve rather than being visible on the outside. Flipback sleeves will also generally have the name of the band, the name of the album, and catalogue numbers printed down the right hand edge of the rear of the sleeve.

Unique to Festival pressings of this LP is the inclusion on the rear sleeve of a biography of the band by June Harris and then individual biographies of the band members. This was only done for Australian and New Zealand markets (both handled by Festival).

Warner Pressings: 1970 Onwards

The Warner company began pressing Atlantic records in the US from August 1^st 1970. This was part of a corporate change among record companies during the time. Kinney National Company, Warner’s parent company, was expanding and securing the partnership with Atlantic was a key deal for them. Part of their expansion included a new Australian operation and Warner quickly worked to set up their own office in Sydney which opened on 1^st October 1970. There was a period where they relied on local manufacturers to produce their records for the Australian market but by November 1972 they began manufacturing their own records with the advent of WEA Records Pty. Ltd (W standing for Warner, E for Elektra, and A for Atlantic – the three big labels that had merged).

Label Variations

Following Warner’s deal with Atlantic there is a significant change in the labels used. The dark green label used by Festival is replaces with the U.S Atlantic label design that is green on top, orange on the bottom, and has a white band through the middle. This colour scheme is basically the same after this. The catalogue number printed on the label is also different. The Festival numbering (S)AL 933,232 is replaced with the U.S catalogue number SD 8216. Essentially what is marketed from now is a locally produced version of the U.S pressing. The other significant difference is the mention of WEA. Copies pressed after Warners take over (Oct 1970) and before WEA is established (Nov 1972) have no text indicating WEA. After November 1972, copies begin to have “manufactured & distributed by WEA Records Pty. Limited.

Cover Variations

As with the label design, the cover design also shifts to emulate the U.S pressings from Oct 1970 onwards. Most noticeable is the band photo (taken by Chris Dreja) on the rear of the sleeve instead of the band biography. The word ‘Stereo’ shifts from the top left corner to the top right corner for Warner pressings. Under the text on the bottom right of the rear sleeve you will find ‘manufactured and distributed under license’ which is standard on all sleeves produced by Warners in Australia during this period. From November 1972 onwards copies will have ‘manufactured and distributed by WEA Records Pty. Limited’ instead.

Festival pressing with ‘Stereo’ top left

Summary – A Quick Visual Guide

First Australian Pressing (mid 1969): Dark green and silver Atlantic Label, catalogue number of SAL 933,232, mono number AL 933,232 also printed in top right corner of rear sleeve, Jewel publishing stamp above big Atlantic, flipback Festival sleeve, small Atlantic below catalogue number on label runs top to bottom.

First Australian Mono Pressing (mid 1969): Dark green and silver Atlantic Label, catalogue number of AL 933,232 on record label, mono & stereo numbers printed in top right corner of rear sleeve, Jewel publishing stamp above Atlantic, flipback Festival sleeve. Red mono sticker under Atlantic on front cover, small Atlantic below catalogue number on label runs top to bottom. NOTE – Unfortunately I only have a cover image of the mono copy at present. If you can help with label shot I would really appreciate it.

Second Australian Pressing (middle of 1969): Dark green and silver Atlantic Label, catalogue number of SAL 933,232 on record label, mono & stereo numbers printed in top right corner of rear sleeve, flipback Festival sleeve, small Atlantic below catalogue number on label runs top to bottom.

Third Australian Pressing (late 1969): Dark green and silver Atlantic Label, different slimmer font used for Led Zeppelin, catalogue number of SAL 933,232 on record label, mono & stereo numbers printed in top right corner of rear sleeve, non-flipback Festival sleeve, small Atlantic below catalogue number on label runs bottom to top.

Fourth Australian Pressing (Aug/Sept 1970): Dark green and silver Atlantic Label, different slimmer font used for Led Zeppelin, catalogue number of SAL 933,232 on record label, mono & stereo numbers printed in top right corner of rear sleeve, non-flipback Festival sleeve, small Atlantic below catalogue number on label runs bottom to top, Gold Sales Award sticker on front sleeve.

Fifth Australian Pressing (Oct 1970 – Nov 1972): Green, orange and white labels, US catalogue number used – SD 8216, labels do not mention WEA, photos of band members on rear sleeve, ‘manufactured and distributed under license’ on rear sleeve bottom right side text, Stereo moves from top left corner to top right corner on front cover.

Sixth Australian Pressing (Nov 1972 onwards): Green, orange and white labels, US catalogue number used – SD 8216, labels says “manufactured & distributed by WEA Records Pty. Limited., photos of band members on rear sleeve.

Thanks

My thanks to fellow collectors Gary O’Donnell, David Abbott, Jaesen Jones and Jeremy (@flipbackrecords79) for your information, photos, and all round help with pulling this together.

It’s probably worth mentioning again that this is far from comprehensive in terms of all the different variations released in Australia over the last 50 years. If the copy in your collection is Australian and differs in some way from those presented here then please get in touch. I’d love to improve this wherever possible.

If you want to read more about LPs pressed by either Festival Records or Warner Bros Records in Australia then you can find label guides to both here at Sonic Archaeology.

Finally, if you found this useful then please consider sharing with your friends and sign up for email alerts (back at the top of this page) whenever something new is published.

A Guide To Festival LPs from 1952 to the 1980s

Most Australian collections will have an album made by Festival Records somewhere in amongst it. For more than 40 years the label was at the cutting edge of musical styles and technological innovation. It released some of the first rock ‘n roll records as well as some of the first stereo and microgroove recordings. This story attempts to map out a brief history of the Long Play albums (LPs) it released between 1952 and the 1980s. Apart from a few relevant departures during the early days, its focus is predominantly on Festival itself, rather than the many other labels that parent company Festival Records Pty Ltd also distributed over the years. Festival issued and then reissued many of its titles over the decades. This post looks at the changes in label design in the hope that it can help collectors identify which period their Festival albums were pressed in.

Microgroove LPs in the 1950s

Festival Records appeared in late 1952 at just the right time. Microgroove Long Play records were seen a big part of the bright future for the record industry in Australia but there were a few issues that needed to be sorted out. To combat inflation, the Menzies government had introduced tough import restrictions which had made it difficult to source new records which were usually shipped from the U.K. On top of that, if you did find them, there was a significant sales tax. That said, at that time some 8 million records were being sold annually in Australia. If local production could be done then it seemed the best way to make records easier to find at a good price.

In May 1952 the Sunday Herald reported that E.M.I Australia had announced it would be producing and distributing the new technology “from November 1^st, or as soon afterwards as is practicable.” It went on to say that Sydney dealers had said this development was the most important in the trade for many years.

A week later, the Sydney Morning Herald predicted that record buyers would soon be facing a Microgroove “war” with multiple companies looking at entering the burgeoning market. The same story highlighted the potential difficulties for collectors, with three speeds on offer 78rpm, 45rpm and 33rpm, but limited record players available offering the two slower speeds.

When treasurer Arthur Fadden handed down the 1952 budget in August there was good news – one of the big announcements was a drop in sales tax from 33 1/3% to 20%. Things were improving.

In his end of year wrap in December 1952, music critic Selwyn Speight observed that for record collectors, the year had been the most difficult and frustrating since the war, particularly for fans of classical music. However, looking forward to 1953 he said “the year’s outlook seems almost too good to be true”. His optimism was born of the fact that five companies would now be pressing LPs in Australia. Joining E.M.I would be Philips, the Australian Record Company, Radio Corporation, and Festival Records.

Festival’s First Release: Meet Mr Callaghan

The first recordings released by Festival were a single 78rpm disc on the Manhattan label featuring the song Meet Mr Callaghan played by Les Welch and his Orchestra. They hit the stores on 6^th November 1952. Testament to the crowded market that Festival was entering is the fact that four versions of the same song were released on the same day. The B side featured Pamela Jopson, a vocalist Welch had met at a party, singing When I Fall In Love.

As a marketing ploy, even though it was the first release, the catalogue number printed on the label was FM-1019 to suggest there were other Festival releases out there. And indeed it wasn’t long before there were.

Several other single 78rpm sides from Welch were released in the coming weeks. By Christmas 1952 Meet Mr Callaghan had reportedly sold 10,000 copies and Festival was on its way.

Westminster Records

While Meet Mr Callaghan played to the pop market, Festival’s other debut offering was for the burgeoning classical market. On 9^th November 1952 Festival announced that its had secured the rights to press titles from the highly regarded Westminster label. A 3-LP set of Puccini’s Tosca – Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera (WAL-302) began appearing in stores from December 1^st 1952. Keen to promote this aspect of their operations, in the lead up to Christmas it was possible to go into David Jones in Sydney to listen to public performances of the record being played.

The First Manhattan/Festival Long Play Microgroove Records

Following these initial debut releases Festival quickly began marketing its first 10” Microgroove LPs. The earliest of these are Ken Neville’s Tales of the Dreamtime Vol 1 (FM-3) and Vol 2 (FM-4) which are first mentioned as upcoming release on 6^th November 1952 and then as a new release on 8^th January 1953. These dramatized stories of Australian animals with orchestral accompaniment were recorded in a church in Sydney in 1952. The project was instigated by an American named Walter Hayum who intended to release the sides in his home country. However, Festival became involved and they arranged for an Australian release as well.

The next release is the fantastic Tempos de Barrelhouse – Les Welch (FM-6) which is the first Festival/Manhattan LP devoted purely to music.

The liner notes claim “progressing with the ever-changing and improving field of recording technique, Les again makes Australian musical history with this release on MANHATTAN Long Playing Microgroove – being the first Australian artist to be presented on Microgroove throughout Australasia.”

Certainly this is the first Microgroove LP release for Les Welch. While it was possibly the first, if not one of the first few LPs released by Festival, the bigger claim seems to be either a very careful choice of words or creative copywriting. Cyril Stephens and his Spotlight label in Victoria had already produced microgroove LPs featuring Australian artists with the earliest example being Bruce Clarke and his Samballeros – Evergreen Rhythm (S.V.1) which had been available since at least August 1952. Spotlight only had distribution in selected cities (Melbourne and Sydney so far as I know) so Festival’s claim that it’s the first available in Australasia would be true if there were evidence that Festival had distribution agreements in New Zealand or other Pacific countries at this time. I haven’t found any to date.

Another possible explanation, though a little wild, is that by using a capital M when saying this is the first “presented on Microgroove throughout Australasia” they are not referring to the technology, but to Microgroove Australia Pty Ltd, the small record pressing company that had been merged with Caspar Precision Engineering to form Festival only three or four months earlier.

Whatever the truth might be there is no doubt that at this time in Festival’s life it needed to create a buzz with potential customers and radio broadcasters, and this kind of story makes for a great talking/selling point.

More microgroove LP titles appeared on Manhattan throughout 1953. The label varies with some showing the city skyline design while others used a simpler green and gold combination.

The label continued into 1954 however most of their releases in that year were 78rpm Extended Play (EP) discs, an innovation of Festival engineer Robert Iredale announced in August 1953. Interestingly at the same time as Festival/Manhattan began marketing their Extended Play technology, German company Radio-Telefunken went public with a similar concept that they called Augmented Play.

1953: Classical LPs and the First Appearance of the Festival Label

The Festival label is best known for its success in the pop market, however its earliest releases were classical LPs. Given the nature of the market in 1953 this should be no surprise. Microgroove LP technology made it possible to hear entire pieces on a single disc for the first time. The companies’ initial strategy seems to have been to release popular recordings on the Manhattan label and classical LPs on Festival. The Westminster agreement meant Festival pressed the LPs but continued using the Westminster label. Festival was active in the early months adding other catalogues to its books and announced agreements with Remington (Dec 1952), Vox (May 1953), and Regent (June 1953).

The first records to display Festival labels were licensed from Remington and they were Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite – Viennese Symphonic Society Symphony Orchestra (CFR-25) and Rossini’s William Tell & Barber of Seville – Austrian Symphony (CFR-26).

In its first year of operation Festival/Manhattan released roughly 170 records and 80 of those were microgroove LPs. Of those 80, two thirds were classical records with an increasing number of jazz and light popular sides becoming more common later on as Festival added other labels like Record Corporation of America to its roster.

1953 – 1954: Introducing the Black and Gold Lyre Label

The first significant change to the Festival label design seems to have happened in mid to late 1953. The new label is black and gold. Festival is written in black on top of a gold band that surrounds a black centre. At what would be 6 o’clock on the gold band is a lyre. Gold text on top of the black centre gives the recording information.

One of the earliest examples (by catalogue number) I have seen is Errol Garner – Playing Piano Solos Vol 4 (CFR10-111). I mention by catalogue number because this ad for Errol Garner on Festival from December 1953 doesn’t mention Volume 4 which one might expect if it were also available.

Another early example is Rose Murphy – The Chi Chi Girl (CFR10-136) which was one of the first releases Festival made after announcing its partnership with the Record Corporation of America in September 1953. This was reviewed as a release on October 3^rd 1953 which confirms that this label was in use as of that date.

Festival used this label design until at least April 1954 when Frankie Laine – Presents (CFR10-263) hit the shelves as a new release.

1954 – 1956: Black and Yellow Lyre Label

By June 1954 Festival had changed the colouring of the label. Instead of black and gold the labels were now black and yellow. One of the earliest examples is Hazel Scott – Piano Solos (CFR10-349). This release is significant because it was part of the original batch of records offered by Festival in June following an agreement to release recordings from the Decca, Coral and Brunswick labels in the U.S. This same arrangement allowed Festival to release the revolutionary 7” of Bill Haley’s Rock Around The Clock a year later which established the label as a leader in the emerging rock n roll market.

The design was used until the end of 1955. One of the last LPs to use it was Gina Lollobrigida presents Music By Minucci (C10-801) which appears to have been released very early in 1956.

1956 – 1959: Black and Yellow Festival Banner

Early in 1956 Festival again changed its label design. This time it retained the black and yellow colour scheme but consolidated Festival into a banner that covered the top half of the label so it could be read more easily.

Probably the first LP release to show the new label was Guys & Dolls Broadway Original Cast Album – Vivian Blaine & Sam Levene (FGL-12-806). Festival used this design for all their LPs for the next 3 years. In 1959 they moved to the blue conductor label for releases by international artists but kept using this design for local acts until the end of 1962.

One of the last examples of for international artists is Carmen McRae – Carmen For Cool Ones (FL-7059), released in the first half of 1959. One of the last Australian artist albums to use the design was Col Joye & The Joy Boys – Joyride (FL-30,692) in 1962.

It is worth noting here the changing catalogue number system used by Festival. Between 1952 and early 1958 releases on Festival and Manhattan followed the same numbering sequence whether the release was an LP, EP or 7” single, it simply put a 12 or 10, EP or 45 before the number to indicate the format. One of the final releases using this system is Bobby Helms – My Special Angel (SP45-1668) which hit the charts on 25^th January 1958. At this point Festival began separate numbering conventions for the different formats. 10” albums carried the FM prefix and begin at 6001, while 12” albums display the FL prefix and start at 7001. The first Festival 12” to use the new system is Andres Segovia – Guitar (FL-7001) which was out by June 1958. This continued until early 1961 when it changed to the FL 30,000 system which was used until the 70s.

1959 – 1963: Stereo LPs & The Blue Conductor Label

Stereophonic sound wasn’t new in 1959 but it had not been a focus for the record industry. News of “a cinema of the future combining television with three-dimensional films and ‘three dimensional sound’” was reported from the UK in May 1951, with the 3D sound being provided by 24 loudspeakers positioned behind the screen, in the roof and at the rear of the cinema. Australian audiences got a taste in 1953 when 20^th Century Fox showed off stereophonic sound as part of its innovative cinemascope medium for motion picture presentation in Perth. But it remained something promoted by the movie industry until 1958 when stereo listening in the home became an option. Some touted it as a way for radio to compete with television. Canberra’s first public demonstration of stereophonic sound was organised in December 1958 to showcase the possibilities. By March 1959 the Australian Woman’s Weekly was featuring “Sound Advice About Stereo” for those wondering what the fuss was all about. Always looking for innovation, Festival was quick to get its own stereo LPs onto the market with Adventures In Stereo (FST-1001) being advertised alongside Kriesler’s “3 in One” Stereo-Gram as early as June 1959.

The stereo LPs carried their own unique numbering system with the prefix FST which continued until 1961. One of the first musical releases in the FST series was Victor Young – Michael Todd’s Around The World In 80 Days (FST-1003).

The label shows the new blue/conductor design. The label is a deep blue and the word Festival is now presented in cursive writing. A conductor appears just behind the F.

The conductor had been part of the Festival branding on their covers from as early as 1953, but this is the first time they used it as part of the label design.

The blue conductor label was also introduced for the FL series at this time with one of the earliest examples I’ve seen being Sammy Davis Jr – At New York Town Hall (FL-7087) which was released in the first half of 1959. It was used by Festival until early 1963 with Patsy Cline – Sentimentally Yours (FL-30,932) being one of the last examples. During this period I’m aware of examples of the label being other colours (like green) but it is usually dark blue.

Also of note from this period is the short series of four LPs that were issued at the “fourth speed” of 16 2/3 rpm. Each were spoken word dramatical performances. Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman was the last of the run and came out mid 1960.

As mentioned above, the Festival catalogue number system changed again in 1961. From here all LPs whether stereo or mono are released using the same 30,000 numbering with the prefix indicating whether stereo (SFL) or mono (FL). Stereo LPs also have a 9 at the beginning of the number. Festival use this same numbering system for all their LP from this date too so it is not just Festival albums that carry this numbering but also all the labels that Festival had the Australian rights to release. At this time they included Coral, Command, Brunswick and Ampar.

1963 – 1970: Blue/Silver Festival

In the first half of 1963 Festival began issuing its LPs with a new label design. This time it retained the cursive presentation of the word Festival but moved it down so it sat in the middle of the label. The colour scheme became blue and silver.

The SDS All Stars – Electone Fortissimo In Movie Themes (SFL-930,942), issued in the first half of 1963, provides perhaps the earliest look at the change. This label stayed in place, with occasional variations, until 1970. One of the last examples I know of is Barry Crocker – Both Sides Now (SLF-934,076). By the late 1960s Festival were releasing most of their material on the many labels they had either started (like Infinity) or acquired the rights to manufacture (like Atlantic, A&M or Stax). Only a handful of local acts were still releasing regularly on the Festival label itself.

1966/67: Blue/White Festival

One notable short period of variation is when the label used the blue and white version during late 1966 and early 1967. This design replicated the one being used for Festival 7” during the mid 60s.

The earliest seems to be Robie Porter – Robie Porter Sings (FL-32,041) and one of the last is Nicola Filardi – Presenting The Tenor Voice Of Nicola Filardi (SFL 932,115). Most copies I have seen are mono pressings. The Folkswingers – Raga Rock (FL 32,054) was reviewed as a new release in January 1967.

There are examples of LPs that had been issued earlier that were reissued during this short period on the blue/white label. One is this album, Ancient Voices of Papua New Guinea (FL-30,976), which seems to have been first released in 1963.

1971: Green/Silver Festival Variation

A second variation is the green/silver label which appears to have ben used by Festival in 1971 before their final label change.

For a period in 1971 Festival used a green and silver label variation. There don’t seem to have been many new releases using this design, but an example is Lionel Rose – Jackson’s Track (SFL-934,166).

It was around long enough for reissues of older material though, and an example of that is Sven Libaek and his Orchestra – Australian Suite (SFL-933,151) which it seems likely was issued in 1971 as well.

1971 – 1980s: The Final Festival Label

Festival introduced what would be their final LP label design sometime in 1971. the colour scheme remained blue and silver though the blue is a lighter colour than the 1960s version. The word festival was also given a new font and raised above the spindle hole.

One of the first LPs released on this label was Barry Crocker – In London (SFL-934,335). This design was used with little change throughout the 70s and at least the first half of the 1980s.

Festival References

The focus of this work has been a chronological history of Festival/Manhattan since its inception in 1952. Much more detailed histories of the label are available and I would encourage anyone with an interest in Festival to check out the following: Michael de Looper’s extensive discography for Festival, Australian music website Milesago has a great history available, Discogs has a useful and expanding listing of Festival LPs, another really useful discography is available on the globaldog website. Big Boppa in the U.K have a great listing that charts the evolution of Festival 7″ labels. The Powerhouse Museum did a great exhibition of Festival to mark their 50th Anniversary in 2002 and curator Peter Cox produced a wonderful history of the label which is called Spinning Around: The Festival Records Story. It is well worth reading. I also need to acknowledge the amazing Trove Database of the National Library of Australia which is an incredible resource and was instrumental in researching this topic.

As I mentioned at the beginning this piece is an attempt to frame the evolution of the different variations of the Festival label so that it might be possible to date them more accurately. I’ve used records from my collection or those listed on online databases to inform my research. If you have discs that you think will help fill in gaps or make this more accurate please drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you.