Play It Again

Play It Again was a British independent record label formed in Droitwich, Worcestershire, in November 1989 by Geoff Leonard, Gareth Bramley and Pete Walker. The label grew out of Leonard's interest in composer John Barry and an attempt to promote a book about Barry's musical career. Leonard, Bramley and Walker had researched Barry's early work and discovered that EMI, which had controlled much of the relevant catalogue, was not planning to reissue it. EMI was nevertheless willing to discuss licensing, creating the opportunity for a small specialist label focused on historically important but commercially under-served recordings. Play It Again's first release was a compact disc pairing Barry's film score for Beat Girl, his first film-scoring assignment from 1960, with Stringbeat, an early stereo studio album. Released in September 1990, the disc was digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studios so that both albums could fit on one CD. Its extensive booklet combined biographical notes with rare photographs, establishing an editorial and presentation style that became characteristic of the label. Rather than treating reissues as simple catalogue products, Play It Again presented them as researched archival editions. The label initially concentrated on John Barry material from the early 1960s. The Ember Years – Volume One brought together music from the television special Elizabeth Taylor in London and the film Four in the Morning. The Ember Years – Volume Two paired Barry's music from Zulu with Annie Ross's jazz album A Handful of Songs. These releases documented Barry's work during his period with Ember Records and also connected his production and arranging activities with recordings by other performers. Play It Again later broadened its scope beyond Barry. The A to Z of British TV Themes From the 60s & 70s assembled thirty signature themes from British television, with particular attention to programmes produced by ITC. The success of that compilation led to three further volumes and a separate collection devoted to The Ron Grainer Years. Another notable project, Born Free – The Don Black Songbook, collected twenty-two songs co-written by lyricist Don Black and offered a survey of his songwriting career. The label continued to combine established names with unusual or hard-to-find recordings. The Ember Years – Volume Three included work by Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, recordings by Annie Ross, early material by Mike d'Abo's group A Band of Angels, a track associated with actor Philip Lowrie, and the BBC-banned satirical recording Christine by Miss X. Its final documented release was John Barry – The Hits & the Misses, a double album covering Barry's early Abbey Road period and his work as an EMI musical director between 1960 and 1964. The set contained fifty tracks and a substantial booklet featuring commentary, photographs and reproduced record sleeves. Play It Again has not released material since 1998, and its current operating status is not clearly documented.

Play It Again emerged from a research and publishing interest in the early career of film composer John Barry. Geoff Leonard had compiled a book about Barry with fellow enthusiasts Gareth Bramley and Pete Walker. While investigating possible ways to publicize the book, Leonard considered issuing Barry recordings on compact disc. EMI, which had been Barry's record company during the relevant period, did not intend to reissue the material itself but was prepared to discuss licensing. That arrangement led to the creation of Play It Again in Droitwich, Worcestershire, in November 1989. The label's debut, released in September 1990, combined Beat Girl, Barry's first film score from 1960, with Stringbeat, a comparatively rare early stereo album. The two programmes were digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studios and presented on a single CD. The release also introduced the label's distinctive archival approach: a substantial booklet containing historical commentary, composer information and rare photographs. This emphasis on documentation and presentation helped distinguish Play It Again from budget-oriented catalogue reissue operations. Its next projects explored Barry's years with Ember Records between 1963 and 1965. The Ember Years – Volume One paired music from the television special Elizabeth Taylor in London with the score for Four in the Morning. Volume Two combined the Zulu material with Annie Ross's A Handful of Songs, a jazz recording involving conductor Johnnie Spence and engineer Eric Tomlinson, with Barry credited as producer. These releases positioned the label as both a John Barry archive and a broader source of historically significant recordings connected with British popular culture. Play It Again subsequently widened its catalogue to British television music. The A to Z of British TV Themes From the 60s & 70s collected thirty programme signatures, especially themes from ITC productions. Its popularity produced three sequel volumes, followed by a compilation covering The Ron Grainer Years. The company also released Born Free – The Don Black Songbook, a twenty-two-track collection devoted to songs co-written by lyricist Don Black. This programme showed that the label's interest extended beyond instrumental scores to the careers of prominent British songwriters. The third Ember Years volume presented a deliberately varied selection. Alongside a substantial group of recordings by Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, it included work by Annie Ross, an early recording by Mike d'Abo's band A Band of Angels, a track associated with former Coronation Street actor Philip Lowrie and the BBC-banned satirical recording Christine by Miss X. The label's final documented release was John Barry – The Hits & the Misses, a fifty-track double album tracing Barry's early Abbey Road activity and his work as an EMI musical director between 1960 and 1964. Its sixteen-page booklet continued the company's practice of combining commentary, photographs and reproduced sleeve artwork. No material has been released by Play It Again since 1998, and publicly available information does not establish whether the imprint remains formally active.

• 1998

  Final documented release

  [1]Play It Again (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  John Barry – The Hits & the Misses is issued as a double album; no later releases are documented.

• 1990

  Debut CD is released

  [1]Play It Again (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  Beat Girl/Stringbeat becomes the label's first release and establishes its archival packaging style.

• 1989

  Play It Again is established

  [1]Play It Again (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  Geoff Leonard, Gareth Bramley and Pete Walker form the label in Droitwich, Worcestershire, after pursuing licensing opportunities for early John Barry recordings.

• The Ember Years series develops

  [1]Play It Again (record label)en.wikipedia.org

  Three volumes document material connected with John Barry's Ember Records period and related artists.

A specialist British archival label focused on carefully researched reissues and compilations, particularly from film, television and popular music history of the 1960s and 1970s.

• Film-score and studio-album reissue · 1990

  Beat Girl/Stringbeat

  The label's debut compact disc pairs John Barry's 1960 film score Beat Girl with Stringbeat, an early stereo studio recording. The programmes were digitally remastered at Abbey Road Studios and accompanied by an extensively researched booklet with notes on Barry and rare photographs.

• Archival compilation series

  The Ember Years

  This three-volume series explores recordings associated with John Barry's period at Ember Records and related performers. It includes music from television and film, Annie Ross's jazz work, and recordings by artists such as Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, presenting the material in a historical catalogue context.

• Television-theme compilation series

  The A to Z of British TV Themes

  The series collects British television signature tunes from the 1960s and 1970s. The original compilation was followed by three additional volumes, while a related edition focused specifically on themes associated with composer Ron Grainer.

• Songwriter anthology

  Born Free – The Don Black Songbook

  This twenty-two-song anthology surveys the career of lyricist and songwriter Don Black through songs he co-wrote. It is one of the label's principal projects outside the John Barry and television-theme catalogues.

• Retrospective double album · 1998

  John Barry – The Hits & the Misses

  The final documented Play It Again release is a fifty-track double album covering Barry's early Abbey Road work and his activities as an EMI musical director between 1960 and 1964. Its packaging includes extensive notes, an appreciation from BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Brian Matthew, photographs and reproduced record sleeves.

1. 1Play It Again (record label)en.wikipedia.org