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 prod ...

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 and ...

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 c ...

. 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''. The band 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. 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 Decca's president. ...

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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

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

, 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 Trespass to chattels is a tort whereby the infringing party has intentionally (or, in Australia, negligently) interfered with ...

'' 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 Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

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 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 ...

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, r ...

through their own record shop in

Cobham Cobham may refer to: Geography Towns or districts * Cobham, Kent, England * Cobham, Surrey, England * Cobham, South Australia, a former town in Australia * Cobham, Albemarle County, Virginia, United States * Cobham, Surry County, Virginia, U ...

, Surrey. 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'' 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 c ...

: ''

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 Dis ...

'' (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 IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Indepe ...

'' (1972) * THS-7

: '' Seventh Sojourn'' (1972) * THS-8

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

: ''

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 ''The Final Swing'' is a compilation album by English hard rock band Trapeze. Released in 1974 by Threshold Records, it features tracks from the band's first three albums, ''Trapeze'', ''Medusa'' and '' You Are the Music...We're Just the Band'', a ...

'' (1974) * THS-12/13

: '' This Is The Moody Blues'' (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 " Nigh ...

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

: ''

Hopes, Wishes and Dreams ''Hopes, Wishes and Dreams'' is the second and final solo album by Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues in conjunction with Nicky James and the orchestral arrangements of Terry James, released under The Moody Blues own Threshold Label as THS17 in June ...

'' (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

: '' Long Distance Voyager'' (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