The company's roots started in west London in 1967 when Chris Wright and Terry Ellis formed the Ellis-Wright Agency.
It was formed to manage and book the bands Ten Years After, Clouds and Jethro Tull, as well as other blues groups.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the label had hits with rock groups such as Jethro Tull, Ten Years After, Procol Harum, etc; Racing Cars had a hit with "They Shoot Horses Don't They" and Brian Protheroe with "Pinball".
She was eventually promoted to Senior Vice President and General Manager,[1] working out of the Los Angeles office and signing punk acts including Generation X and Blondie, Jack Lee, and signed some songs by Joey Alkes and Chris Fradkin, Huey Lewis And The News, Billy Idol, Eric Troyer, Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo (a rock guitarist and songwriter who eventually married Pat), Simon Climie, Leo Sayer and Rory Gallagher.
After buying out Terry Ellis in 1985, Chris Wright sold Chrysalis Records to EMI in 1991.