PolyGram Group Canada Inc

PolyGram Group Canada Inc

PolyGram Group Canada Inc (Polydor Ltd/Ltée 1966-78, PolyGram Inc 1978-90, PolyGram Records of Canada Inc 1990-1). Canadian branch of the international entertainment conglomerate PolyGram International Holding BV, based in the Netherlands with head offices in London. Established in Canada as Polydor Ltd in 1966 PolyGram Records became a division of the PolyGram Group, which was introduced in 1992 and also encompasses Island Records (acquired in 1989), A & M Records (acquired in 1990), and several other PolyGram divisions - distribution, publishing, TV merchandising (PolyTel), video, etc. Head offices, initally in Montreal, were moved to Toronto in 1991, at which time PolyGram maintained a branch office in Montreal, as well as in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. Fred Exon was the first president of Polydor Ltd, succeeded in turn by Evert Garretson in 1970, Tim Harold in 1975, Peter Erdmann in 1981, and Tim Rooney in 1990.

PolyGram Records under its various names in Canada has been devoted largely to the domestic distribution and marketing of labels owned or distributed by the parent company, among them Deutsche Grammophon and Philips (and their respective subsidiary lines), as well as Barclay, ECM, Fontana, Mercury, Polydor, Vertigo, Verve, and many others. With the parent company's purchase of Decca in 1980 London Records of Canada (1967) Ltd was discontinued but the London label was maintained by PolyGram Records.

Canadian artists who have recorded at various points in their careers for these labels include Paul Bley and Kenny Wheeler (ECM), Bootsauce and Lost and Profound (Vertigo), BTO, Sue Medley, Men Without Hats, Aldo Nova, and Rush (Mercury), Robert Charlebois and Claude Léveillée (Barclay), Félix Leclerc (Philips), the MSO (London), and Pat Travers (Polydor). Over the years, several Canadian pop artists and ensembles also have recorded for the Polydor label in Canada and abroad, among them Art Bergmann, the The Bells, Pierre Bertrand, Marie-Michèle Desrosiers, Eight Seconds, Goddo, Joey Gregorash, Monique Leyrac, Maneige, Jacques Michel, Frank Mills, Moxy, Diane Tell, Gino Vannelli, and the Young Saints.