UK Records was launched in 1972 by Jonathan King

Jonathan King

Jonathan King is an English singer, songwriter, impresario and record producer. He is also the author of three novels, Bible Two and The Booker Prize Winner , and Beware the Monkey Man , and an autobiography, 65 My Life So Far .King first came to prominence as an...

 to distribute his own releases and some other artists. The abbreviation UK stands for "United King". The label was distributed at first by 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, after 1976, by 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:...

 (which bought out Decca in 1980). It was one of the most successful labels in the United Kingdom

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...

 for several years, having three singles in the top 5 on several occasions. But apart from 10cc

10cc

10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...

 and the King produced Original London Stage Soundtrack of The Rocky Horror Show

The Rocky Horror Show

The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...

, album success eluded them.

Besides King himself, UK also released records by artists such as Lobo

Lobo (musician)

Roland Kent LaVoie, better known by the stage name Lobo , is an American singer-songwriter who was successful in the early 1970s, scoring several U.S...

, 10cc

10cc

10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...

, The First Class

The First Class

The First Class was a British pop music studio-based group, put together by songwriter and record producer John Carter.-Career:The First Class was the studio creation of the British singer-songwriter John Carter and singers Tony Burrows and Chas Mills as an outlet for material Carter wrote with his...

, Kevin Johnson

Kevin Johnson (singer)

Kevin Stephen Johnson is an Australian singer-songwriter, most active in the 1970s, and is best known for his 1973 song "Rock and Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life", which peaked at #4 on the Australian singles charts...

, and Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs

Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs

Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs was an English novelty band, that issued a few recordings in the early 1970s. The band name was especially created for Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts to promote the hit single "Seaside Shuffle"; band members being Jona Lewie ; Keef Trouble ; Graham Hine ; John...

. King closed the label in the late 1970s, but he retained ownership and regularly re-issued much of its catalogue.

A new record label by the name of UK Records started in 2010 by UK based producer Charlie James Perry (Charlie P), centres on releasing original uk hip-hop, urban, drum and bass, dubstep and alternative rock music.