Parlophone is a record label which was founded in Germany prior to World War I by the Carl Lindstrom Company. The "£" trademark is not the British pound sign, it's a German "L" for Lindstrom. During the war, the Transoceanic Trading Company was set up in the Netherlands to look after its overseas assets. In the 1920s, Parlophone had a master leasing arrangement with United States based Okeh Records. In 1927, Columbia Graphophone of the United Kingdom acquired a controlling interest in the Carl Lindstrom Company and thereby in Parlophone. In 1931, Columbia merged with The Gramophone Company to form EMI.

Under EMI, Parlophone was released mainly spoken-word and novelty/comedy label material, such as the comedy recordings of The Goons. That changed in 1962, when Parlophone's young A&R manager George Martin signed a rising new Liverpool pop band, The Beatles, who soon turned Parlophone into it one of the world's most famous and sought-after record labels. The glamour of The Beatles association led to many other pop/rock artists signing to the label, including The Hollies, The Easybeats, The Church, Radiohead, Coldplay, Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, Blur, Jesus Jones and Dubstar.

See also

• List of record labels