Charly Records

Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material.[1]

Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, Fania, Treasure Isle, Beverley's, Soul City and Giorgio Gomelsky Productions and distributing albums from artists such as Small Faces, Funkadelic, The Yardbirds, Bob Marley & The Wailers, and 13th Floor Elevators.[2]

History

Charly Records was founded in France in 1974 by Jean-Luc Young,[3] who had been a promoter of teen concerts but moved to the UK in 1975.[1] In 1977 Charly started a jazz subsidiary, Affinity Records.[4]

Charly Records began as the UK reissue label for Chess in the mid-1970s. Charly was originally known mainly for American-originated jazz and other modern oddities, such as the Bollock Brothers, but it is now mainly an album-oriented "retro" label. The Charly R&B imprint became another important sub-label, focusing on vintage blues and soul releases and themed compilations.[5] Its most obvious rivals are Rhino and See for Miles (a label that Charly distributed in the 1980s).

When the label began issuing CDs in the mid-1980s, they were typically of poor-to-fair quality with a lot of surface noise.[6]

In Europe, Charly is distributed by Snapper Records, while licensing is through LicenseMusic.com. Charly is one of several labels currently controlled by Snapper Music.[7]

The label produces Americana, blues, funk, gospel, jazz, Latin, popular, rap, reggae, r&b, rock, rockabilly, soul, and ska.[3]

Roster

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Charly Records - CDs and Vinyl at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. ^ "About us". Charly Records Store. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 458. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  4. ^ "Affinity Discography". Discogs.com. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Charly R&B Discography". Discogs. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Charly Album Discography, Part 1 (Original issues, 1975-1977)". www.bsnpubs.com. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
  7. ^ Jones, Rhian (10 May 2018). "Snapper Music bought out by managing director Frederick Jude". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
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