Durium was a short-lived record label in the United Kingdom run by Durium Products (GB) Ltd in the 1930s. Its presses were located in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

, near

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Its products and marketing were derived from the American record company Durium Products, Inc., producer of the

Hit of the Week Hit of the Week was an American record label founded in 1930 that sold low-priced records made of Durium instead of the usual shellac. History Around 1930, several types of thin, flexible records made of various plastic formulations were introduc ...

record label. Durium Products sold its single-sided paper

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

s from around

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

to 1933 whereas the UK firm operated only from 1932 to 1933. Their records were also exported to other European countries, including Sweden and Denmark (see illustration). Using the fast-setting new material

Durium Durium is a highly durable synthetic resin developed in 1929. It was used in phonograph records, as well as in the casting process for metallic type and in the aeronautics industry. Origin It is a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin, the result of ...

, the label's production costs were much lower than for the shellac discs of the time. Hit of the Week discs sold for just one shilling and enjoyed great popularity.

Bibliography

* Russell, Tony. (2004).
Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921-1942
'. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, ,
Durium entry, page 31

Bibliography

See also