History
The small record label Spectator Records was founded in 1969 by Jørgen
Bornefeldt a former journalist from Danmarks Radio in coorporation with the
jazz musician Carsten Meinert. Meinert recorded two albums on the label. He
only joined the company in the beginning.
The studio was destroyed august 6th 1972 by a major fire. And that was
the end of Spectator Records. From 1969 to the end, the label recorded at
least 23 lp albums and 9 singles/EP's.
The picture shows Henning Kragh Pedersen from
Cinderella
in Spectators studio. The great Danish rock band Gasolin recorded their first single – Silky Sally - on Spectator Records. It was no success and sold only 155 copies. Silky Sally is now one of the most sought after Gasolin singles among collectors and is of course very expensive. The music from Spectator Records is mostly jazz, progressive rock and hippie free style. But they also made strange records for children, education etc. Most records were issued in very small numbers (300-500). Some of the best progressive rock in Northern Europe was recorded here. Quality of vinyl was often poor - even new looking records can have audible problems. Covers and labels are primitive and cheap. On the other hand the creativity could be outstanding - check the Furekaaben cover gallery or the artwork of William Skotte Olsen from Green Grass. Several record from the labels are cult today. A perfect copy of certain records costs a fortune. Master tapes was never found after the fire in 1972. Unofficial reissues and bootlegs are therefore made on the base of the original records. Recordings that never made it to the vinyl got lost in the fire. Both Cinderella and The Copenhagen based band, Lines lyst, had material readdy for lp’s which was never recorded. |