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| Red Vinyl in the 1950s |
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| 23rd Dec 2016, 2:17 PM | #1 REPORT | |
 | Fokeman I used to have a good memory but now I can't re Member since May 2011 5096 Points Moderator | Does anyone know why and how a glut of red vinyl hit the U.S. market in the late 1950s? Labels such as Library Of Congress, Stinson and other small, cash-strapped labels suddenly put everything out on Red, transparent vinyl. It can only have been because it was offered onto the market cheaply - more cheaply than the commonly used black vinyl and thus more profitable. None of these labels were frivolous enough to have chosen red vinyl for marketing purposes. I'd be very grateful if anyone can provide a satisfactory explanation for this bizarre phenomenon and its source. Edited by fokeman on 23rd Dec 2016, 4:20 PM |
| 23rd Dec 2016, 2:36 PM | #2 REPORT | |
 | TopPopper Member since Mar 2013 2612 Points | I wonder if it's anything to do with this phenomenon? Alternative materials seem to exist, which are cheaper. |
| 23rd Dec 2016, 4:19 PM | #3 REPORT | |
| Fokeman I used to have a good memory but now I can't re Member since May 2011 5096 Points Moderator | Thanks for your input, TopPopper, but no, absolutely nothing to do with Pye or black vinyl appearing red. This was VERY clearly (!) bright red and transparent and also very early as regards the use of vinyl other than black. It must have some economic or marketplace explanation such as a government order which was cancelled or something like that? |
| 25th Dec 2016, 10:15 AM | #4 REPORT | |
 | Abborocks57 Member since Sep 2016 622 Points | I read somewhere that 'coloured' vinyl was more common than 'black' vinyl in the early days of vinyl making... (Gramophone record, on Wikipedia) |
| 25th Dec 2016, 1:09 PM | #5 REPORT | |
 | Focus B Member since Aug 2013 292 Points | Some '60s Japanese pressings were ruby red in colour. I have the Beatles "Bad Boy" EP in this colour for example. |
| 30th Dec 2016, 7:30 PM | #6 REPORT | |
 | xiphophilos Member since Dec 2013 3351 Points Moderator | Apparently, expense was not the reason since red vinyl was slightly more expensive to make than black. Red (or blue or green or yellow) records looked different enough, though, to create curiosity and make them stand out from their competitors. The marketing edge the red color gave their records may have persuaded even budget labels like Tops to choose red vinyl. More info here: http://www.rarerecords.net/record-info/colored-vinyl-records/ |
| 30th Dec 2016, 9:12 PM | #7 REPORT | |
| Fokeman I used to have a good memory but now I can't re Member since May 2011 5096 Points Moderator | Thanks for all the input, but we're not at the answer yet. There was definitely something specific about the USA in the (probably) early 1960s and a sudden availability of a particular colour of transparent red vinyl that was used by several different labels such as the Library Of Congress & Stinson, not known for their marketing edge. |
| 9th Jan 2017, 10:18 AM | #8 REPORT | |
| vocalion red Member since Apr 2016 327 Points | I would have to agree that it had to be a marketing ploy to boost sales, and to provide the public with something distinguished from the usual black vinyl. |
| 28th Jan 2017, 4:49 PM | #9 REPORT | |
| TopPopper Member since Mar 2013 2612 Points | Just watched a Youtube vid of some Japanese Beatles records - almost all, from 1963 on, are on this dark red, translucent vinyl. I hadn't realised this before. Anyway it reminded me of this thread. Whatever motivated Toshiba-EMI to use it was probably a factor in the USA records too. |
| 3rd Feb 2017, 8:22 PM | #10 REPORT | |
| xiphophilos Member since Dec 2013 3351 Points Moderator | Of related interest, here's a brief history of blue shellac on the Royal Blue Columbia records (1932-1935): http://historysdumpster.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-columbia-royal-blue-record.html Edited by xiphophilos on 3rd Feb 2017, 8:27 PM |
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