Planet Records (16)

Important Australian independent label formed by Bob Crawford (aka Robert "King" Crawford) and Marcus Herman - sound engineer and technician. It existed from 1951 to 1961. The label began when Bob Crawford borrowed 90 Australian pounds from his Aunt Ethel (a needlework designer in the Block Arcade, Melbourne) while still in his teens and was registered on 14th March 1951. Initially the label was established to release some 78rpm records while Bob Crawford was lead singer/crooner with Alan Rhodes & The Jump Men. The label folded in about 1961 caused by (i) debts from a scam artist masquerading as a band manager and (ii) an ill-fated "merger" with a company called "Telefil (Aust.) Co. Pty. Ltd." (headed by Philip Opas Q.C.) - which turned out to be nothing but a debt-laden shell and resulted in the deliberate erasing of all Planet master tapes (by the firm secretary Mrs. Kinnon who bulk erased them to then sell on as blank re-usable tape). Much of the artwork was also lost at this time. A complete history of the label can be found in a series of four articles by Chris Haymes (d. November 2015) in the magazine "Big Beat Of The '50s" published by ARRAS - The Australian Rock'N'Roll Appreciation Society, cited as follows: The Planet Records Story - Part 1: Issue #130, September 2013. The Planet Records Story - Part 2: Issue #131, December 2013. The Planet Records Story - Part 3: Issue #132, March 2014. The Planet Records Story - Part 4: Issue #133, June 2014. The following were never issued: 7" 45rpm singles ... PX 008 PX 017 to 020 PX 029 7" 45rpm EPs ... PZ 018 was never issued but was erroneously printed on the jacket to My Favourite Songs From Salad Days (see listing) PZ 027 & 028 10" 33rpm LP's ... PL 013 (Lighting Ronson [aka Lee Gallagher ] ... subsequently issued as 12" LP PP 004) PL 016 to 019 PL 022 12" 33rpm LP's ... PP 006 (Bob Crawford - "Australian Suite") PP 019 PP 022 & 023 PP 026 to 029 78rpm ... PL No.2 ("Frenesi" / "Planet Be Bop Boogie" [instrumental]) with King Crawford on vocals on and the Alan Rhodes Quintette Marcus Herman went on to form Crest Record Co while Bob Crawford went on to form Talent City.