Blue Beat Records
The original sound of Jamaican R&B and ska, from 1960s London to the digital age.
Blue Beat Records is an English record label that released Jamaican rhythm and blues (R&B) and ska music in the 1960s and later decades. Its reputation led to the use of the word bluebeat as a generic term to describe all styles of early Jamaican pop music, including music by artists not associated with the record label.
- Founded
- 1960
- Founder
- Emil E. Shalit (Melodisc Records)
- Field
- Record label
- Nationality
- English
- Known for
- Releasing Jamaican R&B and ska; popularizing Prince Buster; bluebeat as a generic term
Lore & Background
The Blue Beat label was founded in 1960, in London, as an imprint of Emil E. Shalit's Melodisc Records. Melodisc, which was founded in London in 1947, specialised in releasing calypso and mento and imported American jazz music. The Blue Beat label focused on American-influenced Jamaican blues and R&B, which later evolved into ska, and was launched following the positive response in the United Kingdom to Laurel Aitken's Melodisc release of 'Lonesome Lover'. Shalit put Sigimund 'Siggy' Jackson in charge of the label, and Jackson subsequently chose the name Blue Beat, which he said was an adaptation of 'It sounds like blues and it's got a great beat' or 'Blues Beat', which apparently was a generic term for Jamaican blues music at the time. The first release on the Blue Beat label was 'Boogie Rock' by Laurel Aitken, which was licensed from Dada Tewari's Downbeat label. The Blue Beat label's distinctive blue covers and silver logo first appeared with the label's third release, 'Manny Oh' by Higgs and Wilson. The Blue Beat label reached licensing agreements with the majority of major Jamaican producers and also released many home-produced recordings by Siggy Jackson, featuring English-based artists such as the Marvels. Even some Prince Buster hits, including 'Wash-Wash', were recorded in London, and involved well-known UK musicians such as Georgie Fame. The Blue Beat label released around 400 singles and over a dozen albums between 1960 and 1967. Prince Buster became the Blue Beat label's biggest star, with songs such as 'Al Capone'. Siggy Jackson established a Blue Beat night at the Marquee Club in London, and fashion accessories featuring the Blue Beat label's logo became popular. Many records on the Blue Beat label were played alongside soul music in dance clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester. In addition to appealing greatly to the West Indian community in the UK, the music became associated with the British mods of the early to mid-1960s, as well as the skinheads of the late 1960s. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, records on the Blue Beat label became highly collectable among those who regarded records like Prince Buster's 'Al Capone' as classics.
Reader's Guide
Blue Beat Records is an English record label founded in 1960 as an imprint of Melodisc Records. It released Jamaican R&B and ska, with its first single 'Boogie Rock' by Laurel Aitken licensed from Dada Tewari's Downbeat label. The label issued around 400 singles and over a dozen albums between 1960 and 1967, with Prince Buster as its biggest star. After ceasing new releases in 1967, it was revived in 1972, then again in 1987 by Buster Bloodvessel, and later revived in the 2000s and 2010s by Siggy Jackson and Marcus Upbeat. The label continues independently as of 2020.
Origins and the Birth of a Sound
In 1960, London-based entrepreneur Emil E. Shalit expanded his already established Melodisc Records — a label founded in 1947 that had built its reputation on calypso, mento, and imported American jazz — by launching a new imprint dedicated to the American-influenced blues and R&B coming out of Jamaica. The spark was the unexpectedly warm British reception to Laurel Aitken's "Lonesome Lover," a Melodisc release that proved a hungry audience existed for this particular brand of Caribbean rhythm. Shalit handed day-to-day control to Sigimund "Siggy" Jackson, who coined the name Blue Beat, describing it as a play on the phrase "it sounds like blues and it's got a great beat," and also echoing "Blues Beat," a colloquial descriptor for Jamaican blues music of the era. The label's very first release, "Boogie Rock" by Aitken, was actually licensed from Dada Tewari's Downbeat label, while the now-iconic blue sleeve with its silver logo debuted on the third single, "Manny Oh" by Higgs and Wilson. What began as a niche imprint would soon reshape how Britain heard Jamaican music.
The Golden Years and a Cultural Phenomenon
Between 1960 and 1967, Blue Beat released roughly four hundred singles and over a dozen albums, securing licensing deals with most of Jamaica's major producers while also cutting its own recordings in London. Siggy Jackson's house sessions featured English-based acts like the Marvels, and even Prince Buster's "Wash-Wash" was recorded in the UK with session players such as Georgie Fame. By the mid-1960s, Prince Buster had become the label's flagship star, with "Al Capone" an anthem. The cultural footprint stretched far beyond the record shop: Jackson ran a Blue Beat night at London's Marquee Club, fashion accessories bearing the silver logo became a street staple, and DJs at Manchester's Twisted Wheel spun Blue Beat discs alongside soul records. The music found devoted audiences among the West Indian community, the mod subculture, and later the skinhead scene. As ska's tempo relaxed into rocksteady around 1966, Melodisc spun off a sub-label called Fab, and Blue Beat ceased new releases after 1967, though its back catalogue kept selling for years. Jackson departed for EMI, where he launched Columbia Blue Beat, and a brief 1972 revival saw John Holt singles and Prince Buster reissues reach a new generation of collectors.
The 2-Tone Bridge and the 1980s Revival
In 1987, the Blue Beat name was resurrected in a very different context. Buster Bloodvessel, the frontman of the 2 Tone ska revival band Bad Manners, teamed up with producer Ivan Healy Purvis to launch a brand-new record label operating under the licensed Blue Beat name and logo. The operation was run from a reclaimed riverboat christened "The Bloodvessel," moored in Bloodvessel's own backyard in Spring Hill — a far cry from the polished London offices of the 1960s. Between 1987 and 1990, this incarnation of the label put out several records, most notably the Bad Manners album "Return of The Ugly." The single "Skaville UK" became the last Blue Beat release to register a measurable impact on the UK charts, peaking at number 87 in 1989. Though brief, this chapter kept the Blue Beat brand alive in the public imagination during the height of the ska revival, linking the label's 1960s legacy directly to the new generation of British ska-punk bands that had grown up on Prince Buster and the original catalogue.
A Living Legacy: The 21st Century and Beyond
In 2004, Siggy Jackson was approached by Marcus Upbeat, band leader of No.1 Station, with a proposal to breathe new life into the Blue Beat name. Together they pressed a series of 7-inch singles styled after the label's 1960s output, including six No.1 Station records featuring veteran trumpet player Eddie "Tan-Tan" Thornton and guest vocalists such as The Marvels. Jackson also reissued material from his own back catalogue, a single by ska revival band Intensified, a track by the Pyramids, two Laurel Aitken numbers, and a Mopeds single — all as limited-edition vinyl. After Jackson retired from the music industry in 2008, Upbeat acquired the label and registered Blue Beat Records Ltd in 2011, releasing another new 7-inch single before embracing digital distribution through iTunes and other online outlets. A further reboot came in 2019 with the re-release of No.1 Station's "She's So Sweet" on vinyl, a new website cataloguing six decades of releases, and a reported deal with Tipp Investments to take a stake in the company. As Blue Beat reaches sixty years, it continues to operate independently, and the word "bluebeat" itself became a generic term for all early Jamaican pop music.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Blue Beat Records and who started it?
Blue Beat Records is an English record label launched in London in 1960 as a dedicated imprint of Emil E. Shalit's existing Melodisc Records. It was created to give Shalit a focused brand through which to market Jamaican R&B and ska to British audiences.
What does the word "bluebeat" actually refer to?
Although the term originated from the label's own name, it gradually became a generic label for early Jamaican pop music in the 1960s. In practice, people use "bluebeat" to describe ska and rocksteady tracks even when the performing artist had no direct ties to Blue Beat Records.
Which artist is Blue Beat Records most closely associated with?
The label is most strongly linked to Prince Buster, whose high-energy ska and R&B recordings became signature releases on the Blue Beat catalogue. His work on the label helped define the sound that UK listeners associated with early Jamaican pop.
What kind of music did Blue Beat Records put out?
Blue Beat specialised in Jamaican rhythm and blues and ska, releasing those styles throughout the 1960s and into later decades. It was one of the first UK labels to systematically import and promote that particular slice of Caribbean pop.
Why is Blue Beat Records considered important in reggae history?
By being among the earliest UK labels to champion Jamaican R&B and ska, Blue Beat shaped how British audiences first encountered and categorised early Caribbean pop. Its cultural footprint was so broad that the label's name effectively became a genre synonym in its own right.
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