Fanfare Records was a British

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 ...

that was founded by Iain Burton (dancer in The Young Generation, manager of

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

and co-founder of

Hot Gossip Hot Gossip (1974–86) were a British dance troupe who made television appearances and in 1978 backed Sarah Brightman on her single "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper". Formation Arlene Phillips moved to London to learn and teach developin ...

) and

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

(which made Cowell's first break in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

). Burton and Cowell worked together at Fanfare Records for eight years. The label was most successful during the 1980s. The label's biggest success came with

Sinitta Sinitta Malone (born 19 October 1963), known mononymously as Sinitta, is an American-born British singer, actress and television personality. She initially found commercial success in the mid-1980s with the single "So Macho" and had several ot ...

History

In the 1980s, the company launched, and the first release was "Don't Beat Around The Bush" by

in 1984. This was after the departure of

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, ...

, and the new incarnation of the band which included Sinitta, prior to her recording solo with Fanfare. The next release was "I Believe in Dreams" by Jackie Rawe, an artist previously part of the band

Shakatak Shakatak is an English jazz-funk band founded in 1980 by Nigel Wright and former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts. Following an initial white label release 'Steppin', the band's name was derived from a record store in Soho, London Record Shack. I ...

. The song did not reach the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Sinitta's first solo release for Fanfare was "Cruising", but it also failed to chart. However, in 1986, Sinitta's hit "

So Macho "So Macho" is a song by American-British singer Sinitta. The song was released in 1985 as her self-titled début album's second single. Song information Sinitta was both Simon Cowell's and Fanfare Records' first signing. Cowell had contacted rec ...

" became a success for the label, with the single spending twenty eight weeks in the UK Singles Chart, and finally peaking at No. 2. It went on to become the year's tenth biggest selling single. The follow-up was less successful, and "Feels Like the First Time" flopped at No. 45. The following year, however, Sinitta teamed up with

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

who wrote and produced her hits "Toy Boy" (No. 4), "G.T.O" (No. 15), "Cross My Broken Heart" (No. 6) and "I Don't Believe in Miracles" (No. 22). In December 1987, Fanfare Records issued its first

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 ...

, Sinitta's debut ''Sinitta!'', which gained a BPI Gold award, and peaked at No. 34 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. Other releases on the label included a brief

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

revival with her recording of "Be Soft With Me Tonight", remixed by Stock Aitken Waterman which did not chart, the group Mystic issued "Ritmo De La Roche", whilst Rondò Veneziano failed to chart with "Venice In Peril". Fanfare Records signed the pop-duo

Yell! Yell! was a British pop duo who had a hit single in 1990 with a cover of "Instant Replay". Overview Yell! consisted of singers Daniel James and Paul Varney. In 1989, they both met manager Jeff Chegwin and decided to form the group. They w ...

(Paul Varney and Daniel James) in 1989. The group was created by pop manager Jeff Chegwin and scored a No. 10 hit with their

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Dan Hartman Daniel Earl Hartman (December 8, 1950 – March 22, 1994) was an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Among songs he wrote and recorded were " Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits ...

's "

Instant Replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live. The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had j ...

". Sinitta's hits gradually dried up for the label, with her last Top 10 hit "Right Back Where We Started From" reaching No. 4 in June 1989. The follow ups were less successful, although her cover of Robert Knight's "Love on a Mountain Top" made No. 20. Sinitta's second album ''Wicked!'' reached No. 52. Fanfare Records licensed from

PWL Records Pete Waterman Entertainment (PWE) is the production company one-time pop and dance record label owned by British pop mogul Pete Waterman. The label, originally PWL (Pete Waterman Limited), is most famous for being the home of hit record prod ...

two compilation releases, ''

The Hit Factory Volume 2 ''The Hit Factory Volume 2'' is a compilation album released in November 1988 by Fanfare Records and PWL Records. It was an album featuring hits produced by British production trio Stock Aitken Waterman who were at their peak at the time of the alb ...

'' and ''The Hit Factory Volume 3''. Both volumes sold well with Volume 2 achieving a BPI

Platinum disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

, and Volume 3 going

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

after reaching No. 3 in the UK Compilation Albums Chart. Fanfare released another compilation in association with ''

Just Seventeen ''Just Seventeen'', often referred to as ''J-17'', was a fortnightly magazine aimed at teenage girls, published by Emap from October 1983 to April 2004. A special preview edition was given away free with sister magazine ''Smash Hits'' on 13 Octob ...

'' magazine in 1989, called ''Just Seventeen Heartbeats'' which made No. 3. In 1992 the Fanfare back catalogue and signed artistes were sold to

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

Fanfares Distributor , where Cowell also followed eventually forming his own label, S Records.

References

{{Authority control British record labels Record labels established in 1985 Record labels disestablished in 1990 Pop record labels British companies established in 1985

History

See also

References