Phono_Disc

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Records

Phono Disc

Records

British Dance Bands

The Phono Disc (sometimes referred to as Sapphire Phono Disc) was announced in the trade press in October 1908. It is a vertical cut grooved disc (hill-and-dale) of 11" diameter produced in France for the British market by Compagnie Internationale Phonétique (CIP) and sold for 4/-. Only French versions of the label have been reported to date, but researcher Frank Andrews says that the first list of 20 records were all British recordings by British artists (see below), though who recorded them is not known. The British agent was Lacroix & Co of Jewin St. London E.C., who also handled other French-manufactred records such as Phoebus and Aspir (all of which are vanishingly scarce!), and dealers in Manchester, Birmingham & London all handled them. However, vertical-cut discs were never very popular in Britian (apart from Pathe), so they probably sold in very small numbers. After a couple of months they disappeared from the trade press, so that may represent their lifespan.

Cat No	Matrix No	Title	Artist
1000		The Gondoliers, selection Patience, selection	The Phono Military Band
1001		Epler's Whiskers, comic march Hobo Moko, Indian march	The Phono Military Band
1002		Gems Of England Erin From Ireland	The Phono Military Band
1003
1004		Queen Of Diamonds Romping Rossie	John Pidoux (banjo)
1005
1006		An Evening Song Sound An Alarm ("Judas Maccabeus")	Wilfrid Virgo
1007		The Midshipmite Sons Of The Motherland	William Warwick
1008
1009
1010		The Wedding Of Sandy MacNab Hey Donald!	Roger Parker
1011		Fol-Ol-The-Diddle-Ol Funniosities	Owen Way
1012		The Cruise Of The "Ancient Lights" The Village Of Toad-In-The-Hole	Owen Way
1013
1014		If The Man In The Moon Were A Coon I Wish I Had A Pal Like You	Pete Brown
1015
1016		The Return March All The Go	John Pidoux (banjo)
1017		Lulli's Gavotte Reverie (Schumann)	M. Cras (violin)
1018		The Sailor's Grave The Death Of Nelson	Wilfrid Virgo
1019
1020		My Old Shako Roched In The Cradle Of The Deep	Tom F. Kinniburgh (bass)