Junk Box Jury

Taken from the LP ‘Bell’s Hot Shots’ | (Music For Pleasure MFP 50322) 1975

Mention the name Bell to any pop fan of the seventies and it immediately brings to mind an endless list of hits which symbolised everything that was new and good in pop music between 1972 and 1976.

Apart from Tamla Motown, Bell without doubt created one of the strongest label identities ever held by a singles label.

The Company was formed as a fully independent label on 1st January 1972. Hits came immediately with the popular MOR sound of Dawn and The Partridge Family, who at that time had a highly successful TV series.

David Cassidy emerged from The Partridge Family to be a solo star in his own right and the first really big teenybopper idol for many years. In April 1972 Gary Glitter released his classic Rock N’ Roll Part 1 which took nearly 5 months to reach the Top 50.

When it did, he became the first of the Glitter rock stars of the ’70s and went on to have 12 consecutive top ten records. Later, The Glitter Band, originally Gary’s backing group, released a record of their own which immediately went to the top of the charts.

Hello | “Tell Him” | (Music For Pleasure)

In 1973, Dick Leahy, the then head of Bell Records, decided that he needed to break 3 big acts each year to build up the company to the size he wanted.

He chose for that year 3 acts, all of whom had been around before, but all of whom he believed had new and much greater potential.

Those acts were Barry Blue, The Drifters and The Bay City Rollers. Barry Blue, after months in the ‘breakers’ finally had a smash with “Dancin’ (On A Saturday Night)” and then a string of hits including “Hot Shot”.

The Drifters had been out of the charts for 6 years but were re-broken with the classic “Like Sister and Brother” and The Bay City Rollers, after being together for 5 years and virtually on the point of breaking up, came through with “Remember”.

As we all know, the Rollers went on to storm Europe, Canada, the U.S. and even Japan. They are without doubt one of the biggest acts since The Beatles.

Bell Records win awards

In 1973, Bell won the award as the top singles label, having notched up sales in excess of 6 million, They kept this award for the following two years and still only had a staff of just over 20 at the end of 1975.

In 1974, Showaddywaddy crashed into the charts followed by The Pearls and, later in the year, Hello, with “Tell Him”. Hello still only average 20 years old and have been tipped in many circles to be one of Britain’s biggest bands of the future.

On this album are 12 of the biggest hits on the Bell label. They have become classics in their own right and make this album an essential part of any record collection. (Iain McNay)

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cost of record: £2
from: charity shop