World Record Club
The label was taken over by EMI in 1965 but continued to be used as a sub-label for mail order, covering a wide range of musical genres, and distributing in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
These were sold at lower prices than usual (21s 6d, equivalent to £1.07+1⁄2) and distributed in cheap wrappers (originally logo-printed Fablothene, and then card covers with stickers naming the selection).
Membership was encouraged by such methods as using sleeve designs contributed by members[4] and as these improved they obtained photographic services of Erich Auerbach.
[7] Griffith made recordings of Colin Davis, Leon Goossens, Arthur Bliss, Reginald Jacques, Imogen Holst, the Melos Ensemble and Aeolian Quartet.
[8] WRC had the distinction of producing Colin Davis' first recording, conducting the Sinfonia of London in performances of Mozart's Symphonies 29 and 39 (TZ 130).
Important solo records of Sviatoslav Richter, Jorge Bolet and Shura Cherkassky were produced, and classical singers were not neglected.
The 'Treasures' terminology was soon dropped, so that the title 'World Record Club' became the main label feature, written on ribbons wrapped about a globe.
A number of 7+1⁄2 ips half track stereo tapes were also released under the WRC label, in plain white boxes with a historical sculpture in orange on the front.
[citation needed] About the start of 1959, a series devoted mainly to chamber music was created, under a new logo with an eagle in a circle, with 'R.M.C.'
The labels were attractively printed in light blue, showing a classical scene of two musicians wearing togas beside a stone column or altar, with the text details overprinted in red.
The pressings and presentation of this series was always good, usually with sleeve-notes by Malcolm Rayment, Stephen Dodgson or Peter Gammond[16] (now author of numerous musical books).
From about 1965, when World Record Club was bought by EMI, the label lost its characteristic green or red design and acquired a completely new look, minimalist, with blocks of grey.
The advent of digital recording in the 1980s, and the wane of the 1970s Art Deco revival, turned attention away from the Retrospect series, the sleeves of which were deliberately given some 'Deco' styling.
Others were The Basic Library series and All-time Best Sellers (which enabled new members to fill gaps in their collections), The Living Bible narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier, and 24 Great Plays of Shakespeare.
For this they used the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the New South Wales State Conservatorium Choir, conducted by Sir Bernard Heinze.
These prices were made possible by the policy of pre-ordering – the club had only sufficient records pressed to cover the orders received, and so there was no overstock nor wastage.
The WRC set up its own artistic studio at its offices at 330 Flinders Lane, Melbourne, and the sleeves are still regarded as a high point in Australian graphic design of the 1960s.
They occasionally won awards, although some subscribers preferred more traditional record covers, and made their opinions known in the 'Viewpoint' page of the Club magazine.
Readers' technical queries about music reproduction were dealt with by Eric Cleburne in a regular column, "Sound Advice".
Mr Blanks, chief executive officer John Day and director of repertoire Alex Berry were responsible for which records were selected for release, and many Australians owe their enduring love of classical music to the astute recommendations of these three gentlemen.
Recordings of outstanding technical quality, as from the catalogue of Everest, were also released, if their artistic merit justified their inclusion in the programme.
The WRC operated in New Zealand between 1960 and the mid-1970s and provided a valuable service to music lovers in provincial towns, which lacked the record shops and selections available to collectors in the main centres.
The Club took full-page advertisements in the New Zealand Listener magazine offering a choice of any three LPs for ten shillings to new members.
The magazine featured a classical music column "The Golden Road" by World Record Club editor-in-chief Harvey Blanks.
