US label.
Label Code: LC 3455 / LC 03455
GVL-registered label name is [b]Jet[/b] only; also abbreviated to Jet (14) for company roles. For unofficial releases, see Jet Records (2).
The label was launched in September 1974 by ex-Warner Bros. manager Des Brown, who cared for the US market, and Don Arden who remained in the UK.
The first single released was the newly signed Lynsey De Paul on 4 October 1974, with "321454" soon becoming the first hit. The single was distributed by Polydor, but this was a one off deal in the beginning.
In the UK, Jet Records were distributed first by Island Records in 1974 to 1975, then by Polydor Records from 1975 to 1976, then by United Artists Records from 1976 to 1978. In the US, a small Jet logo started appearing on the United Artists label in 1975 for releases by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and its co-founder Roy Wood's solo work. The Jet label was first used in the US for Jeff Lynne's solo single "74856" in the summer of 1977, and subsequently for the ELO album of the same year "21680".
After Jet's UK distribution moved to United Artists (UA) in 1976, UA were distributing Jet Records in most countries of the world. This changed after US copies of ELO's "21680" album that were deemed defective, began appearing at discounted prices in record shops in the US and Canada, affecting the album's sales. Jet sued UA and abruptly switched their worldwide distribution to CBS Records early in 1978.
Original parent label: United Artists Records.