Harvest Records

Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969.
History
Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo and Decca's Deram labels, and the independent Island label. Harvest was initially under the direction of Malcolm Jones, and was distributed in North America by EMI's US affiliate, Capitol Records. They were the European licensee for the American label Blue Thumb Records from 1969 to 1971.
In the 1970s, the label primarily released progressive rock recordings by British acts including Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, Kevin Ayers, The Move, Roy Wood, Barclay James Harvest, Be Bop Deluxe and Deep Purple. Most acts on the Harvest roster were British; two notable exceptions were Australian progressive band Spectrum (whose first two LPs were issued on Harvest) and Spectrum's successor Ariel, whose first two LPs also came out on the label. The Danish musician Sebastian had three albums released in Denmark on the Harvest label between 1972 and 1974.
The focus of the label changed slightly as the 1970s drew to a close, with the signing of post-punk groups Wire, Australian band the Saints and the Banned. New wave artist Thomas Dolby released his debut album and fellow new wave act Duran Duran released its first two albums on the label in North America. Australian soft rock band Little River Band and English heavy metal band Iron Maiden's first three albums were also released in the US by the label. Pink Floyd switched to Columbia Records in the US after the release of The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973.
In the United States, Capitol initially treated Harvest as a separate label that they expected big sales from. After only a few issues, they had few sales to show for their effort and consequently only issued a few releases and numbered them within their standard Capitol LP series (mostly using Harvest for Pink Floyd releases). After this initial short-lived series, Capitol passed on most of the UK Harvest artists.
In 1975, a reissue sub-label was launched called Harvest Heritage. This new label largely compiled material that had been previously released on Harvest from 1969 onward. However, Harvest Heritage also reissued music from late 1960s EMI bands that had never recorded for the label, such as the Gods, Love Sculpture and Tomorrow. Heritage also occasionally released new music, such as Four Rock 'n' Roll Legends, a recording of a 1977 concert by rockabilly veterans Charlie Feathers, Buddy Knox, Jack Scott and Warren Smith.
Most of Harvest's European back catalog (including Pink Floyd [see exception below], Deep Purple [pre-1971], Duran Duran, and Iron Maiden) were divested by Universal Music after its takeover of EMI, as part of the Parlophone Label Group. Warner Music Group would buy that part of the catalog in February 2013. Rights to the Australian Harvest recordings, including those from the Saints and Little River Band, were ceded to Universal's EMI Recorded Music Australia imprint.
Pink Floyd Records controls the Pink Floyd catalog which licensed the catalog for manufacture and distribution by Warner Music Group for the UK and European markets and by Sony Music Entertainment for North America and the rest of the world.
Capitol Music Group announced its relaunch of the label on 25 February 2013, with former Warner Bros. Records and Dangerbird Records executive Piero Giramonti at the helm. Giramonti is tasked with running the label as an independent label, with the support of Capitol Music Group and Caroline Distribution for distribution, radio promotion and licensing. As of 2013, the Harvest roster consists of TV on the Radio, Arthur Beatrice, Babes, Death Grips, the Olms, Together Pangea, White Lies and Young & Sick.
On 15 January 2014, it was announced that Morrissey and Charlotte OC had signed to Harvest Records.
Discography
1969
Deep Purple – The Book of Taliesyn
Pete Brown and His Battered Ornaments – A Meal You Can Shake Hands with in the Dark
Panama Limited Jug Band – Panama Limited Jug Band
Shirley and Dolly Collins – Anthems in Eden
Michael Chapman – Rainmaker
Third Ear Band – Alchemy
Edgar Broughton Band – Wasa Wasa
The Battered Ornaments – Mantle-Piece
Deep Purple – Deep Purple
Forest – Forest
Tea & Symphony – An Asylum for the Musically Insane
Bakerloo – Bakerloo
Kevin Ayers – Joy of a Toy
Pink Floyd – Ummagumma
1970
Various Artists – Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air (Sampler)
Michael Chapman – Fully Qualified Survivor
Syd Barrett – The Madcap Laughs
Roy Harper – Flat Baroque and Berserk
Ron Geesin & Roger Waters - Music from The Body
Deep Purple – Concerto for Group and Orchestra
Pete Brown & Piblokto! – Things May Come and Things May Go but the Art School Dance Goes on Forever
Greatest Show on Earth – Horizons
Barclay James Harvest – Barclay James Harvest
Shirley and Dolly Collins – Love, Death and the Lady
Edgar Broughton Band – Sing Brother Sing
Third Ear Band – Third Ear Band
Pretty Things – Parachute
Quatermass – Quatermass
Kevin Ayers and the Whole World – Shooting at the Moon
Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Rock
Panama Limited – Indian Summer
Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother
Syd Barrett – Barrett
Pete Brown & Piblokto! – Thousands on a Raft
The Greatest Show on Earth – The Going's Easy
Love – Out Here
Forest – Full Circle
Tea & Symphony – Jo Sago A Play on Music
Michael Chapman – Window
Dave Mason – Alone Together
Chris Spedding- Backwood Progression
1971
Various Artists - The Harvest Bag (Special Budget Sampler)
Love – False Start
Barclay James Harvest – Once Again
Roy Harper – Stormcock
The Grease Band – The Grease Band
Edgar Broughton Band – Edgar Broughton Band
East of Eden – East of Eden
The Move - Message from the Country
Deep Purple – Fireball
Barclay James Harvest – Barclay James Harvest & Other Short Stories
Pink Floyd – Meddle
East of Eden – New Leaf
Electric Light Orchestra – The Electric Light Orchestra
Michael Chapman – Wrecked Again
Southern Comfort – Southern Comfort
1972
Babe Ruth - First Base
Janus - Gravedigger
Kevin Ayers – Whatevershebringswesing
Pink Floyd – Obscured by Clouds
Sebastian – Den store flugt
Spontaneous Combustion – Spontaneous Combustion
Edgar Broughton Band – Inside Out
Spontaneous Combustion – Triad
Barclay James Harvest – Baby James Harvest
1973
Kayak – See See the Sun
Roy Wood – Boulders
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
Electric Light Orchestra – ELO 2
Kevin Ayers – Bananamour
Roy Harper – Lifemask
Mark-Almond – Rising
Edgar Broughton Band – Oora
Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother (Quadrophonic release)
Barclay James Harvest – Once Again (Quadrophonic release)
Ariel – A Strange Fantastic Dream
Sadistic Mika Band – Sadistic Mika Band
Sebastian – Over havet under himlen
Corben Simpson – Get Up With The Sun HSD 1030
Wizzard – Wizzard Brew
1974
Babe Ruth – Amar Caballero
Be-Bop Deluxe – Axe Victim
Syd Barrett – Syd Barrett (Double reissue of The Madcap Laughs and Barrett)
Pink Floyd – A Nice Pair (Double reissue of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets)
Roy Harper – Flashes from the Archives of Oblivion
Sadistic Mika Band – Black Ship
Sebastian – Blød lykke
Triumvirat – Illusions on a Double Dimple
Kayak – Kayak II
Wizzard – See My Baby Jive (compilation)
The Move – California Man (compilation)
Electric Light Orchestra – Showdown (compilation)
The Frenchies - Lola Cola
1975
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (Europe only)
Roy Harper – HQ
Be-Bop Deluxe – Futurama
Ariel – Rock 'n' Roll Scars
Edgar Broughton Band – A Bunch of 45s (Harvest Heritage compilation)
Quatermass – Quatermass (Harvest Heritage reissue)
Climax Blues Band – 1969 – 1972 (Harvest Heritage compilation)
Greatest Show on Earth – Greatest Show on Earth (Harvest Heritage compilation)
The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow/Parachute (Harvest Heritage double reissue)
Kevin Ayers – Joy of a Toy/Shooting at the Moon - (Harvest Heritage double reissue)
Maneige – First Album and Les Porches
1976
Kevin Ayers – Odd Ditties (compilation)
Be-Bop Deluxe – Sunburst Finish
Third Ear Band – Experiences
Shirley Collins – Amaranth
Southern Comfort – Distilled
Tomorrow – Tomorrow (reissue)
Little River Band – Little River Band (US and Canada)
The Gods – The Gods
Be-Bop Deluxe – Modern Music
Ashley Hutchings – Son of Morris On
Roy Wood – The Roy Wood Story (Double reissue)
1977
The Albion Dance Band – The Prospect Before Us
Pink Floyd – Animals (Europe only)
Be-Bop Deluxe – Live! In the Air Age
Barclay James Harvest – The Best of Barclay James Harvest
Electric Light Orchestra – The Light Shines On
Deep Purple – Shades of Deep Purple (Reissue)
Little River Band – Diamantina Cocktail (US and Canada only)
Pete Brown & Piblokto!/Battered Ornaments – My Last Band
John Lees – A Major Fancy
Babe Ruth – The Best of Babe Ruth
Various Artists – Harvest Heritage 20 Greats (Sampler album)
Roy Wood – Boulders (Reissue)
The Pretty Things – Singles A's & B's
Soft Machine – Triple Echo
Wire – Pink Flag
1978
The Albion Band – Rise Up Like the Sun
Be-Bop Deluxe – Drastic Plastic
David Gilmour – David Gilmour (Europe only)
Rick Wright – Wet Dream (Europe only)
Jack Scott/Charlie Feathers/Buddy Knox/Warren Smith – Four Rock 'n' Roll Legends Recorded in London
Roy Harper – 1970 – 1975
Little River Band – Sleeper Catcher (US and Canada only)
Deep Purple – The Deep Purple Singles A's and B's
Be-Bop Deluxe – The Best of and the Rest of Be-Bop Deluxe
Can – Out of Reach
Barclay James Harvest – The Best of Barclay James Harvest Volume 2
Wire – Chairs Missing
Kate Bush - The Kick Inside (US and Canada only)
Soft Machine - Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris
1979
Morrissey–Mullen – Cape Wrath
Electric Light Orchestra – The Light Shines On Vol 2
Various Artists – The Rare Stuff
The Move – Shines On
Eberhard Schoener – Video Flashback
Pink Floyd – The Wall (Europe only)
Kate Bush - Lionheart (Canada only)
Scorpions – Lovedrive SHSP 4097
Wire – 154
The Monks - Bad Habits (Canada only)
1980
Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden (US and Canada only)
Roy Harper – The Unknown Soldier
Dave Edmunds & Love Sculpture – Singles A's & B's
Deep Purple – Deep Purple in Concert
Scorpions – Animal Magnetism SHSP 4113
Kate Bush - Never for Ever (Canada only)
1981
Be-Bop Deluxe – Singles A's & B's
Bowers-Ducharme – Bowers-Ducharme (Canada only)
Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports (Europe only)
Iron Maiden – Killers (US and Canada only)
Duran Duran – Duran Duran (US and Canada only)
Pink Floyd – A Collection of Great Dance Songs (Europe only)
Barclay James Harvest – The Best of Barclay James Harvest Volume 3
1982
Scorpions – Blackout (the world outside the US and Canada)
Duran Duran – Rio (US and Canada only)
Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast (US and Canada only)
Thomas Dolby - Blinded by Science
Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless
Jon Lord - Before I Forget
1983
Pink Floyd – The Final Cut (Europe only)
1984
David Gilmour – About Face (re-released by EMI in 2006 and again by Parlophone in 2014) (Europe only)
Scorpions - Love at First Sting (the world outside the US and Canada)
Pallas – The Sentinel (outside North America)
Roger Waters – The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking
Zee – Identity
1985
Scorpions - World Wide Live (the world outside the US and Canada)
Nick Mason and Rick Fenn – Profiles (Europe only)
1986
Pallas – The Wedge
1988
Scorpions - Savage Amusement (the world outside the US and Canada)
Syd Barrett – Opel
1989
Jeff Lynne – A Message from the Country 1968-1973
Kevin Ayers – Banana Productions: The Best Of
1990s
1990 – Be-Bop Deluxe – Raiding the Divine Archive
1991 – The Beyond – Crawl
1992 – Scorpions – Still Loving You (the world outside North America)
1994 – Motorpsycho – Timothy's Monster''' (3-album box set)
1999 – Various Artists – Harvest Festival (5-CD book)
1999 – Dark Star – Twenty Twenty Sound2000s
2001 – Syd Barrett – Wouldn't You Miss Me 2005 – Patrick Duff – Luxury Problems 2005 – Amorphous Androgynous – Alice in Ultraland 2005 – The Move – Message from the Country 2005 – Various Artists – Harvest Showdown Electric Light Orchestra/The Move/Roy Wood/Wizzard
2006 – Various Artists – It Wasn't My Idea to Dance - A Harvest Sampler 2006 – Pete Brown – Living Life Backwards – The Best of Pete Brown 2007 – Various Artists – A Breath of Fresh Air – A Harvest Records Anthology / 1969 – 1974 2008 – Kevin Ayers – Songs for Insane Times: Anthology 1969 – 19802011
Be-Bop Deluxe – Futurist Manifesto (2011) 5-CD set, fifth disc comprises previously unreleased material
2012
Remastered and expanded
Death Grips - No Love Deep Web2013
The Olms - "The Olms"
White Lies - Big TV D. A. Wallach - "Glowing" (Music video directed by Wolf Haley)
Beady Eye - BE (North America)
Death Grips - Government Plates2014
Kasabian - 48:13 Morrissey - World Peace Is None Of Your Business
Syd Arthur - Sound Mirror (US & UK Release)
Babes - "Die" (single)
Babes - Untitled EP
Banks - Goddess
TV On The Radio - Seeds
2015
Death Grips - The Powers That B Best Coast - California Nights Wynter Gordon - Five Needle (EP)
The Libertines - Anthems for Doomed Youth (US release)
The Greeting Committee - It's Not All That Bad2016
Death Grips - Bottomless Pit Banks - The Altar2017
Day Wave - The Days We Had2018
Death Grips - Year of the Snitch2019
Banks - III2021
Lauren Auder - 5 Songs For The Dysphoric (EP)
2022
Grace Ives - Janky Star''
References and notes
External links
Harvest Label 1969 - 1980 Harvest Records collectors guide
HarvestRecords.com Harvest Records Official Website
1969 establishments in the United Kingdom
Record labels established in 1969
EMI
British record labels
Progressive rock record labels
Record labels based in California
Re-established companies
Labels distributed by Universal Music Group
Labels distributed by Warner Music Group