Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label.
The name has also been revived as independent label distibutor Fontana Distribution.
Fontana's U.S. counterpart label was started in 1964 and distributed by Mercury Records. Among the hitmak...
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Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label.
The name has also been revived as independent label distibutor Fontana Distribution.
Fontana's U.S. counterpart label was started in 1964 and distributed by Mercury Records. Among the hitmakers were: Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders, The Troggs, The New Vaudeville Band and Steam, all of whom had #1 hits on the label. Other successful Fontana artists included The Silkie, Nana Mouskouri and the duo of Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg. Mercury discontinued this label (and one other subsidiary, Smash Records) in 1970.
Fontana's British division was the UK licensee for Motown Records (in 1961), Vanguard Records (until 1967), Mainstream Records and ESP-Disk. As with Philips, labels were blue for singles, black for EPs and LPs.
In the UK...
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