Reaction Records was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, run by music executive

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream (band), Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions ...

in 1966 and 1967. Although Reaction released only three albums, one EP and eighteen singles in its brief existence, its roster included two of the most popular British bands of the time,

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

and

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

. The label's first single, The Who's " Substitute", was released several times with different B-sides due to the band's legal dispute with their former

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Shel Talmy Sheldon Talmy (born August 11, 1937) is an American record producer, songwriter and arranger, best known for his work in the UK in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks and many others. Talmy arranged and produced hits such as "You Really Got Me" ...

. This experience could be seen as one of the deciding factor in the Who's manager's

Kit Lambert Christopher Sebastian "Kit" Lambert (11 May 1935 – 7 April 1981) was a British record producer, record label owner and the manager of The Who. Biography Early life Kit Lambert was born on 11 May 1935, the son of composer Constant Lamb ...

and Chris Stamp deciding to form their own

Track Records Track Record (a.k.a. Track Records) was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most succe ...

label which was also distributed by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. Polydor's involvement with these two labels (as well as

Giorgio Gomelsky Giorgio Sergio Alessando Gomelsky (28 February 1934 – 13 January 2016) was a filmmaker, impresario, music manager, songwriter (as Oscar Rasputin) and record producer. He was born in Georgia, grew up in Switzerland, and later lived in the Unit ...

Marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamo ...

label) can be seen as a learning process by Polydor who were interested in expanding their base and had little or no experience in the 1960s pop/

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

market; at the time, most of their business was done in the

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

genre, as exemplified by

Bert Kaempfert Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the mus ...

. Stigwood operated the

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

label in the 1970s and 1980s. As with Reaction, RSO was distributed through

Discography

Albums

# Cream: ''

Fresh Cream ''Fresh Cream'' is the debut studio album by the British rock band Cream. The album was released in the UK on 9 December 1966, as the first LP on the Reaction Records label, owned by producer Robert Stigwood. The UK album was released in both ...

'' (Reaction 593 001 mono/594 001 stereo) # The Who: ''

A Quick One ''A Quick One'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. A version of the album with an altered track listing was released under the name ''Happy Jack'' on Decca Records in April 1967 in the Unit ...

'' (Reaction 593 002 mono, no UK stereo) # Cream: ''

Disraeli Gears ''Disraeli Gears'' is the second studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in November 1967 and reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Search "Cream" in ''Name of Artist'', and No. 1 on the Swedish and Finnish charts. The alb ...

'' (Reaction 593 003 mono/594 003 stereo)

Singles

# The Who: " Substitute" / "Circles" / "Instant Party" (Reaction 591 001) Released 4 March 1966 #* The Who: "Substitute" / The Who Orchestra: "Waltz for a Pig" (Reaction 591 001) Re-released 14 March 1966 # Paul Dean: "She Can Build A Mountain" / "A Day Gone By" (Reaction 591 002) #

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

: "Club Of Lights" / "Waking Up" (Reaction 591 003) # The Who: " I'm a Boy" / "In the City" (Reaction 591 004) # Birds Birds: "Say Those Magic Words" / "Daddy Daddy" (Reaction 591 005) #

: "Join My Gang" / "A Day Gone By" (Reaction 591 006) # Cream: "

Wrapping Paper Gift wrapping is the act of enclosing a gift in some sort of material. Wrapping paper is a kind of paper designed for gift wrapping. An alternative to gift wrapping is using a gift box or bag. A wrapped or boxed gift may be held closed with ribb ...

" / "Cat's Squirrel" (Reaction 591 007)http://www.ginger-baker.com/ look under Section ''Singles'' # Lloyd Banks: "We'll Meet Again" / "Look Out Girl" (Reaction 591 008) # The Maze: "Hello Stranger" / "Telephone" (Reaction 591 009) # The Who: " Happy Jack" / "I've Been Away" (Reaction 591 010) # Cream: "

I Feel Free "I Feel Free" is a song first recorded by the British rock band Cream. The lyrics were written by Pete Brown, with the music by Jack Bruce. The song showcases the band's musical diversity, effectively combining blues rock with psychedelic pop. ...

" / "N.S.U." (Reaction 591 011) #

: "Over The Wall We Go" / "Every Day of My Life" (Reaction 591 012) # West Point Supernatural: "Time Will Tell" / "Night Train" (Reaction 591 013) (produced and written by Howard Conder) #

Billy J. Kramer William Howard Ashton (born 19 August 1943), known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney composition ...

& the Dakotas: "Chinese Girl" / "Town Of Tuxley Toymaker" (Reaction 591 014) # Cream: "

Strange Brew ''Strange Brew'' (also known as ''The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew'') is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular '' SCTV'' characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, portrayed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served ...

" / "

Tales of Brave Ulysses "Tales of Brave Ulysses" is a song recorded in 1967 by British group Cream. It was released as the B-side to the "Strange Brew" single in June 1967. In November, the song was included on Cream's second album, ''Disraeli Gears''. The song featu ...

" (Reaction 591 015) #

: "Holiday" / "Give Her All She Wants" (Reaction 591 016) # The Sands: "Mrs Gillespie's Refrigerator" / "Listen To The Sky" (Reaction 591 017) #

Marion Montgomery Marion Montgomery (November 17, 1934 – July 22, 2002)

: "Love Makes Two People Swing" / "Monday Thru Sunday" (Reaction 591 018)

EP

# The Who: "

Ready Steady Who Ready Steady Who is the first 7" EP by The Who, released on 11 November 1966, about a month prior to their album ''A Quick One''. The title refers to a ''Ready Steady Go!'' TV special the band had recently appeared in, but the EP contains diff ...

" (Reaction 592 001)

References

{{Authority control British record labels Record labels established in 1966 Record labels disestablished in 1967 Rock record labels

Discography

Albums

Singles

EP

See also

References