Threshold Records
Encyclopedia
Threshold Records was a record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 created by The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....

, after their 1969 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 On the Threshold of a Dream
On the Threshold of a Dream
On the Threshold of a Dream is the fourth album by The Moody Blues, released on the Deram label in 1969. It was their last album to be released by the band before they formed their own record label, Threshold, to be distributed by Decca Records....

.

It was a UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 subsidiary of Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

  and a U.S. subsidiary of London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....

. The band formed this label to allow for artistically packaged gatefold covers for their LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 releases, and for releasing band members' solo efforts.
The first band to be signed up on this label were Westcountry rockers Asgard in 1972 who released two singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 from their album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, In the Realm of Asgard.

Bassist John Lodge produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 the band Trapeze
Trapeze (band)
Trapeze were an English rock band formed in March 1969, by vocalist John Jones and guitarist/keyboardist Terry Rowley , with guitarist Mel Galley, singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, and drummer Dave Holland...

 for the Threshold label. The rock sextet Providence
Providence (band)
Providence was a six-piece music group originally from Boise, Idaho, but later based out of Portland, Oregon, USA, circa 1971—1974. The band was made up of six members: Bob Barriatua, electric bass, vocals; Bart Bishop, lead vocals, piano, harpsichord, organ, autoharp; Jim Cockey, violin,...

 also recorded for Threshold. After 1976 the Moody Blues went back to having their albums manufactured by Decca Records (and later PolyGram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...

 and Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...

), but the Threshold company and logo were maintained over the years as a means of selling their records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 through their own record shop in Cobham
Cobham, Surrey
Cobham is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, about south-west of central London and north of Leatherhead. Elmbridge has been acclaimed by the Daily Mail as the best place to live in the UK, and Cobham is a prosperous part of the London commuter belt...

, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

.

The Moody Blues subsequent albums, up to and including 1999's Strange Times
Strange Times (Moody Blues album)
Strange Times is the sixteenth album by the rock band The Moody Blues, released in 1999. By this time it suited the band to release a very airy and generally more minimal-sounding album, with a slower pace. The sound features acoustic guitar, slightly processed electric guitar, light organ,...

, were branded 'in association with Threshold Records'.

Label variations

  • White label with magenta logo at top of label
  • Blue label with multi-colour logo swirling from the inner edge of the label to the outer edge
  • Black logo at bottom of Polydor labels
  • Custom labels were also used for some releases, such as The Moody Blues' Long Distance Voyager
    Long Distance Voyager
    Long Distance Voyager is the tenth album by the British rock band The Moody Blues, first released in May 1981. on the group's Threshold record label...

    release.

The threshold record shop closed its doors to the public in October 2010.
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