Embassy Records was a British record label that was active from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. The label was known for its series of budget-priced albums that were sold exclusively in Woolworths stores throughout the UK.
The Embassy Records albums were unique in that they featured cover versions of popular songs rather than the original recordings. The albums were recorded by anonymous studio musicians and singers and were designed to offer a cheaper alternative to the more expensive original recordings.
Despite their low budget and lack of originality, the Embassy Records albums were incredibly popular with British music fans. The albums were released in a variety of genres, including rock and roll, pop, and country, and featured covers of songs by artists such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Johnny Cash.
The success of the Embassy Records albums was due in part to their affordability and accessibility. The albums were priced at just six shillings and eight pence, which made them affordable for even the most cash-strapped music fans. And since Woolworths stores were located throughout the country, the albums were widely available to anyone who wanted to buy them.
Although Embassy Records was short-lived, the label’s legacy has endured. The albums have become sought-after collectors’ items, and their covers, which often featured cheesy photos and lurid artwork, have become iconic symbols of British pop culture in the 1950s and 1960s.
Overall, Embassy Records was a unique and influential record label that played an important role in the development of British pop music. Its budget-priced albums and covers of popular songs helped to democratize the music industry and make it accessible to a wider audience, and its legacy continues to be celebrated by music fans and collectors around the world.
Today Embassy Records are highly collectable as icons of a bygone age.
But back in the 1950s and 1960s opinion was strongly divided. Some peope loved them and some people absolutely hated them. The decision to record really good cover versions of the same songs being released on the hit parade, and get them on the shelves at the same time as the originals, but at a much lower price, was a controversial one. Occasionally the Woolworth song outsold – and was considered better – than the real thing. And a few Woolworth artistes switched sides and became stars in there own right