Threshold Records was a

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 ...

created by the

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

group

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...

. The name of the label came from their 1969

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

On the Threshold of a Dream ''On the Threshold of a Dream'' is the fourth album by The Moody Blues, released in April 1969 on the Deram label. Content The album begins with a poem accompanied by electronic sounds, and these sounds also appear at the close of the album ...

''. The

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

formed this label to allow for artistically packaged gatefold covers for their LP releases, and for releasing band members' solo efforts. Threshold was distributed by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in the UK and by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The first band to be signed up on this label were Westcountry rockers Asgard in 1972 who released two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

from their

, ''In the Realm of Asgard''.

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, encouraged by Mike Pinder, also considered signing with the label in 1970. According to Tony Banks, they recorded a version of "Looking for Someone", a song which later appeared on their second album ''

Trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding ...

'' but shelved it due to a mistake in performance toward the end with no time to redo it; he insists "I can't put out something that has a brown note on it and that's one of the reasons we didn't go with Threshold in the end." Bassist John Lodge produced the band

Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

for the Threshold label. The rock sextet

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

also recorded for Threshold. After 1976, the Moody Blues went back to having their albums manufactured by Decca Records (and later

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

and

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

), but the Threshold company and logo were maintained over the years as a means of selling their

records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

through their own record shop in Cobham,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. There was also a Threshold record shop in Swindon, England in the late 1970s. The Moody Blues' subsequent albums, up to and including 1999's '' Strange Times'', were branded 'in association with Threshold Records'.

Label variations

* White label with blue logo in box with "DISTRIBUTED BY LONDON" at top of label * White label with magenta (singles) or dark purple (albums) logo at top of label * Blue label with multi-colour logo swirling from the inner edge of the label to the outer edge * Black logo at bottom of Polydor labels * Custom labels were also used for some releases, such as The Moody Blues' ''

Long Distance Voyager ''Long Distance Voyager'' is the tenth album by the Moody Blues, first released in May 1981 on the group's Threshold record label. It was the group's first album featuring keyboardist Patrick Moraz (who previously had worked with bands such as ...

'' release. The Threshold Records shop closed its doors to the public in February 2011.

Discography

* THS-1

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...

: ''

To Our Children's Children's Children ''To Our Children's Children's Children'' is the fifth album by the Moody Blues, released in November 1969. " Watching and Waiting" was released as a single to promote the album, but sold poorly. On the other hand, " Gypsy (Of a Strange and Di ...

'' (1969) * THS-2

: ''

'' (1970) * THS-3

: ''

A Question of Balance ''A Question of Balance'' is the sixth album by The Moody Blues, released in 1970. The album was an attempt by the group to strip down their previously lush, psychedelic sound in order to be able to better perform the songs in concert. The albu ...

'' (1970) * THS-4

: ''

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

'' (1970) * THS-5

: '' Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'' (1971) * THS-6

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

: '' In the Realm of Asgard'' (1972) * THS-7

: ''

Seventh Sojourn ''Seventh Sojourn'' is the eighth album by the Moody Blues, released in 1972. Music and lyrics Although the album's lyrics address political concerns, in the 1990 documentary ''The Moody Blues: Legend of a Band'', bassist John Lodge describ ...

'' (1972) * THS-8

: '' You Are the Music...We're Just the Band'' (1972) * THS-9

: '' Ever Sense the Dawn'' (1972) * THS-10

Nicky James Nicky James (2 April 1943 – 8 October 2007), born Michael Clifford Nicholls, was a British musician and songwriter. Biography James was born in Tipton, Staffordshire, England. He attended Park Lane School, and at age sixteen moved to Scunthor ...

: ''

Every Home Should Have One ''Every Home Should Have One'' is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jim Clark and starring Marty Feldman. It was released in the United States in theatres and on home video under the title ''Think Dirty''. The overall concept is in direct ...

'' (1972) * THS-11

: '' The Final Swing'' (1974) * THS-12/13

: ''

This Is The Moody Blues ''This Is The Moody Blues'' is a two LP (later two CDs) compilation album by the Moody Blues, released in late 1974 while the band was on a self-imposed sabbatical. Though all of the songs were previously released on albums (with the exception ...

'' (1974) * THS-14

Justin Hayward David Justin Hayward (born 14 October 1946) is an English musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the rock band the Moody Blues. Hayward became the group's principal lead guitarist and vocalist over the 1967–1974 ...

& John Lodge: '' Blue Jays'' (1975) * THS-15 The

Graeme Edge Graeme Charles Edge (30 March 1941 – 11 November 2021) was an English musician, songwriter and poet, best known as the co-founder and drummer of the English band the Moody Blues. In addition to his work with the Moody Blues, Edge worked as t ...

Band Featuring Adrian Gurvitz: '' Kick Off Your Muddy Boots'' (1975) * THS-16

Ray Thomas Raymond Thomas (29 December 1941 – 4 January 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist, flautist, singer, founding member and composer in the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band's 1967 hit single "Night ...

: '' From Mighty Oaks'' (1975) * THS-17

: '' Hopes, Wishes and Dreams'' (1976) * THS-18

Mike Pinder Michael Thomas Pinder (born 27 December 1941) is an English rock musician, and is a founding member and original keyboard player of the British rock group the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band's ninth album ''O ...

: '' The Promise'' (1976) * THS-19

: '' Thunderthroat'' (1976) * TRL-1-2901

: ''

'' (1981) * TRL-1-2902

: '' The Present'' (1983) * 820155

: '' Voices in the Sky: The Best of The Moody Blues'' (1984)

References

{{Authority control Defunct record labels of the United Kingdom Vanity record labels Progressive rock record labels London Records The Moody Blues

Label variations

Discography

See also

References