Dindisc

Dindisc (also written as DinDisc) was a British record label that operated as a semi-independent imprint of Virgin Records. It released new material from mid-1979 until early 1982. Though the label is now defunct, its catalogue numbers and name still appear on CD reissues released through Virgin. The imprint was founded and run by Carol Wilson, who had previously discovered Sting and signed him to Virgin’s music publishing division.

Wilson later explained that Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) were a natural fit for DinDisc because they balanced a serious, artistic side with commercial pop appeal—a duality she saw in other early signings such as Martha and the Muffins and the Monochrome Set. Many of the label’s record sleeves were designed by in-house designer Peter Saville. Saville had started at Factory Records, but came to Wilson's attention when she signed Factory band OMD; she had been particularly interested by Saville's thermographic paper sleeve for the Factory release of "Electricity".

Saville delivered the artwork for the Dindisc release of "Electricity" and asked Wilson if Dindisc needed an art director. Together with Ben Kelly, Saville won a Designers and Art Directors Award for their work on OMD’s album Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The label’s first release (catalogue number DIN-1) was “Where’s the Boy for Me” by the Rezillos, issued in September 1979.

DinDisc’s most notable chart successes included Martha and the Muffins’ “Echo Beach” (UK No. 5 in 1980) and several early OMD singles—“Enola Gay,” “Souvenir,” “Joan of Arc,” and “Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)”—all of which reached the UK top 10 in 1980 and 1981. The label ceased operations after the release of Hot Gossip’s “I Don’t Depend on You” (DIN-39) in February 1982, following Wilson’s failure to secure a shareholding. The OMD single “Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)” had the final catalogue number (DIN-40), but was actually released a few weeks earlier, in January 1982. After DinDisc dissolved, Saville and Brett Wickens founded their own design studio, Peter Saville Associates.