Vertigo Records

Vertigo Records is a British record company. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it's operated by Universal Music Germany and the UK catalogue was folded into Mercury Records, which was absorbed in 2013 by Virgin EMI Records, which returned to the EMI Records name in June 2020.

History

Vertigo was launched by Olav Wyper when he was Creative Director at Phonogram. It was launched as a competitor to labels such as Harvest (a prog subsidiary of EMI) and Deram (Decca). It was the home to bands such as Colosseum, Jade Warrior, Affinity, Ben and other bands from 'the "cutting edge" of the early-'70s British prog-folk-post-psych-early Heavy Metal circuit'. The first Vertigo releases came with a black and white spiral label, which was replaced with Roger Dean's spaceship design in 1973. Vertigo later became the European home to various hard rock bands signed to Mercury in North America, such as Bon Jovi, Rush and Kiss.

Vertigo is a division of Republic Records in the United States and operates as EMI Records in the UK, which in turn is a frontline music group operation of Universal Music UK. Island Records manages Vertigo's North American back catalogue that was once distributed by Mercury. In France, Vertigo France existed as a sub-label of Universal Music France's Barclay Records until 2014, when it was renamed as Island France. In Germany, Vertigo has merged with Capitol Records and is mainly used for German rock artists, and is named Vertigo/Capitol (notable contract exception here is Lewis Capaldi, he comes from UK). The label's legacy artists include Metallica (outside the US and Canada), Razorlight, Rush (Europe) and Dire Straits (except the US). More recent signings include The Rapture, The Killers (UK/Ireland), One Night Only, Amy Macdonald, Noisettes and Thee Unstrung between 2004 and 2005 and Kassidy in 2009. Black Sabbath returned to the label in 2013 (including the US and Canada for the first time via sister label Republic) until their dissolution in 2017 although former sister label Sanctuary Records Group acquired international rights to their back catalogue in the interim (the band were last on Vertigo in 1987).

Vertigo/Capitol (formerly Vertigo Berlin) is today the only active Vertigo label in the Universal Music Group. Artists signed to Vertigo/Capitol are Rammstein, Chvrches, Herbert Grönemeyer, Andreas Bourani, Haim, AnnenMayKantereit, Gzuz, Volbeat or Sportfreunde Stiller. Unheilig's sixth studio album became one of the most successful albums in Germany of all time and sold 2 million albums. The collaboration album Palmen aus Plastik 2 by the rapper Bonez MC and RAF Camora stayed for 58 weeks at the German charts and was the first album to have 8 songs in the top 10 single charts in the release week. Shirin David's debut album Supersize was the first album by a female hip hop artist to chart at #1. Also international artists like Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa, Sigrid or Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi launched their careers on Vertigo.

Album discography

1969 VO 1 Colosseum – Valentyne Suite VO 2 Juicy Lucy – Juicy Lucy VO 3 Manfred Mann Chapter Three – Manfred Mann Chapter Three 1970 VO 4 Rod Stewart – An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down VO 5 Ancient Grease – Woman and Children First VO 6 Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath VO 7 Cressida – Cressida 6360 001 Fairfield Parlour – From Home to Home 6360 002 Gracious! – Gracious! 6360 003 Magna Carta – Seasons 6360 004 Affinity – Affinity 6360 005 Bob Downes – Electric City 6360 006 Uriah Heep – ...Very 'Eavy ...Very 'Umble 6360 007 May Blitz – May Blitz 6360 008 Nucleus – Elastic Rock 6360 009 Dr. Strangely Strange – Heavy Petting 6360 010 Jimmy Campbell – Half Baked 6360 011 Black Sabbath – Paranoid 6360 012 Manfred Mann Chapter Three – Volume 2 6360 013 Clear Blue Sky – Clear Blue Sky 6360 014 Juicy Lucy – Lie Back and Enjoy It 6360 015 Warhorse – Warhorse 6360 016 Patto – Patto 6360 017 Colosseum – Daughter of Time 6360 018 Beggars Opera – Act One 6360 019 Legend – Legend (Red Boot) 6360 020 Gentle Giant – Gentle Giant 6360 021 Graham Bond – Holy Magick 6360 023 Gravy Train – Gravy Train 6360 500 Rod Stewart – Gasoline Alley 6360 600 Lucifer's Friend - Lucifer's Friend 6360 601 Frumpy – All Will be Changed 6657 001 V/A – Vertigo Annual 1970; Double 6830 032 V/A – Vertigo Sampler July 1970 1971 6325 250 Thomas F Browne – Wednesday's Child 6342 010 Lighthouse – One Fine Morning 6342 011 Lighthouse – Thoughts of Moving on 6360 024 Keith Tippett – Dedicated to You, But You Weren't Listening 6360 025 Cressida – Asylum 6360 026 Still Life – Still Life 6360 027 Nucleus - We'll Talk About It Later 6360 028 Uriah Heep – Salisbury 6360 029 Catapilla – Catapilla 6360 030 Assagai – Assagai 6360 031 Nirvana – Local Anaesthetic 6360 032 Patto – Hold Your Fire 6360 033 Jade Warrior – Jade Warrior 6360 034 Ian Matthews – If You Saw Thro' My Eyes 6360 035 Manfred Mann Chapter Three – Manfred Mann Chapter Three (catalog number of Argentinian release) 6360 036 Juicy Lucy – Juicy Lucy (catalog number of Argentinian release) 6360 037 May Blitz – Second of May 6360 038 Daddy Longlegs – Oakdown Farm 6360 039 Ian Carr – Solar Plexus 6360 040 Magna Carta – Songs from the Wasties Orchard 6360 041 Gentle Giant – Acquiring the Taste 6360 042 Graham Bond – We Put Our Magick on You 6360 043 Tudor Lodge – Tudor Lodge 6360 044 (original catalog number of Dave Kelly's self-titled album, which was eventually released on Mercury) 6360 045 V/A – Heads Together, First Round 6360 046 Ramases – Space Hymns 6360 047 Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (catalog number of Brazilian release) 6360 048 Dr. Z – Three Parts to My Soul 6360 049 Freedom – Through the Years 6360 050 Black Sabbath – Master of Reality 6360 051 Gravy Train – (A Ballad of) A Peaceful Man 6360 052 Ben – Ben 6360 053 Mike Absalom – Mike Absalom 6360 054 Beggars Opera – Waters of Change 6360 058 (original catalog number of Assagai's Zimbabwe, which was eventually released on Philips) 6360 060 Linda Hoyle – Pieces of Me 6360 062 Jade Warrior – Released 1972 6333 500/501 Aphrodite's Child – 666 6333 502 Aphrodite's Child – Break [Abbreviated single disc version of 666] [Brazil] 6357 007 Buffalo – Dead Forever... 6360 055 John Dummer – Blue 6360 056 Ian Matthews – Tigers Will Survive 6360 057 (unknown) 6360 059 Paul Jones – Crucifix in a Horse Shoe 6360 061 V/A – Superheavy Vol. 1 (label sampler released only in Peru) 6360 063 Legend – Moonshine 6360 064 Hokus Poke – Earth Harmony 6360 065 Ian Matthews - If You Saw Thru My Eyes German Reissue 6360 066 Warhorse – Red Sea 6360 067 Jackson Heights – 5th Avenue Bus 6360 068 Magna Carta – In Concert 6360 069 Gordon – Gordon 6360 070 Gentle Giant – Three Friends 6360 071 Black Sabbath – Vol 4 6360 072 Freedom – Is More Than a Word 6360 073 Beggars Opera – Pathfinder 6360 074 Catapilla – Changes 6360 075 (unknown) 6360 076 Ian Carr – Belladonna 6360 077 Jackson Heights – Ragamuffin's Fool 6360 078 V/A – Superheavy Vol. 2 (label sampler released only in Peru) 6360 079 Jade Warrior – Last Autumn's Dream 6360 080 Gentle Giant – Octopus 6360 081 Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Framed 6360 082 Status Quo – Piledriver 6360 602 Lucifer's Friend – Where the Groupies Killed the Blues 6360 603 Jackson Heights – 5th Avenue Bus [German release] 6360 604 Frumpy – By the Way 6360 605 Kravetz – Kravetz 6360 606 Brave New World – Impressions on Reading Aldous Huxley 6360 607 Agitation Free – Malesch 6360 608 Odin – Odin 6360 610 Tiger B. Smith – Tiger Rock 6360 700 Jim Croce – You Don't Mess Around with Jim 6360 800 The Fabulous Rhinestones – the Fabulous Rhinestones 6360 850 Pantheon – Orion 6641 055 Peter Michael Hamel – Hamel 6641 066 The Vertigo Trip; Double (Australia) 6641 077 Kraftwerk – Kraftwerk 6673 001 Aphrodite's Child – 666 6830 067 V/A – New Vertigo Popular Material FX 8602 Miki Curtis – The First Ear [Japan] FX 8603 Flied Egg – Dr. Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine [Japan] FX 8605 Pico – ABC First FX 8606 Flied Egg – Goodbye FX 8607 Gypsy Blood – Gypsy Blood FX 8698 Katsumi Kahashi – Paris 2 1973 20X-4 Kiyoshi Hasegawa – Custom 20 6317 750 Aunt Mary – Janus 6325 251 Alan Stivell – Chemins de Terre 6325 252 Third World War – Third World War II 6357 101 Buffalo – Volcanic Rock 6360 083 John Dummer – Oobleedooblee Jubilee 6360 086 Jade Warrior - Eclipse Not released at the time 6360 087 Manfred Mann's Earth Band – Messin' 6360 088 The Spencer Davis Group – Gluggo 6360 089 Black Sabbath - 70's Pop Sound Spain 6360 090 Beggars Opera – Get Your Dog off Me 6360 091 Ian Carr with Nucleus – Labyrinth 6360 092 Jackson Heights – Bump 'n' Grind 6360 093 Magna Carta – Lord of the Ages 6360 094 Jade Warrior - 70's Pop Sound Spain 6360 095 Magna Carta - 70's Pop Sound Spain 6360 097 Decameron – Say Hello to the Band 6360 098 Status Quo – Hello! 6360 100 Ian Carr's Nucleus – Roots 6360 102 Spencer Davis Group - Gluggo German Issue 6360 103 The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Next 6360 104 The Crickets – Remnants 6360 609 Atlantis – Atlantis 6360 611 Lucifer's Friend – I'm Just a Rock 'n' Roll Singer 6360 612 Between – And the Waters Opened 6360 613 Peter Michael Hamel – The Voice of Silence 6360 614 Atlantis – It's Getting Better 6360 615 Agitation Free – 2nd 6360 616 Kraftwerk – Ralf and Florian 6360 701 Jim Croce – Life and Times 6360 702 Jim Croce – I Got a Name 6360 900 Lindsay Marks – Lindsay Marks 6360 901 Shona Laing – Whispering Afraid 6366 100 Gentle Giant – In a Glass House 6366 101For most countries outside the UK. UK release on WWA. Black Sabbath – Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath 6414 851 Mantis – Turn Onto Music [New Zealand] 6499 693 Vangelis – Earth 6499 729 Magma – Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh [France] 6499 737 Nazareth – Loud 'n' Proud [France] 6499 738 Zao – Z=7L 6641 016 V/A - The Vertigo Trip (Australian Release Double Album) FX 8609 Kiyoshi Hasegawa – In Concert FX 8610 Captain Hiro and the Space Band – Lost or Found 1974 6303 103 Nazareth – Loud 'n' Proud [Germany] 6321 127 Van der Graaf Generator – The Aerosol Grey Machine [Netherlands] 6325 750 Magma – Kohntarkosz 6326 975 Freeway 75 – Boozed 6357 102 Buffalo – Only Want You for Your Body 6360 105 The Spencer Davis Group – Living in a Back Street 6360 106 Status Quo – Quo [Europe] 6360 107 Janne Schaffer – The Chinese 6360 110 Nucleus – Under the Sun 6360 112 The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – The Impossible Dream 6360 114 Brown's Home Brew – Together 6360 116 Thin Lizzy – Nightlife 6360 118 Janne Schaffer – Jan Schaffer's Second LP 6360 510 Van der Graaf Generator – The Aerosol Grey Machine [Italy] 6360 617 Tea – Tea 6360 618 Lucifer's Friend – Banquet 6360 619 Between – Dharana 6360 620 Kraftwerk – Autobahn 6360 621 Atlantis – Ooh Baby 6360 622 Hardin & York with Charlie McCracken – Hardin & York with Charlie McCracken 6360 625 The Chris Hinze Combination – Sister Slick 6360 852 Trace – Trace 6360 902 Dragon – Universal Radio 6366 104 The Groundhogs – Solid 6370 111 Greenslade – Spyglass Guest 6370 112 Chris Jagger – The Adventures of Valentine Vox the Ventriloquist 6370 401 Nazareth – Rampant 9102 001 Status Quo – Quo [UK] 9103 001 Gentle Giant – The Power and the Glory [France] 9103 200 Nazareth – Rampant [France] 9103 201 Baker Gurvitz Army – Baker Gurvitz Army

1975 6360 115 Ramases – Glass Top Coffin 6360 117 Status Quo – On the Level 6360 119 Nucleus – Snakehips Etcetera 6360 121 Thin Lizzy – Fighting 6360 122 The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Live 6360 123 Streetwalkers – Downtown Flyers 6360 124 Nucleus – Alleycat 6360 126 City Boy – City Boy 6360 131 John Stevens' Away – John Stevens' Away 6360 623 Toto Blanke – Spider's Dance 6360 624 Virgo – Virgo