Red Bus/R&B Records (UK) Story and Album Discography

The Red Bus production company was founded in 1970, with principal movers being Eliot Cohen, Barry Murray and Ellis Elias. It was initially described in the British trade as a production company, but a record label ensued following Murray’s departure and replacement by Leslie Grade. The company had a licensing deal with EMI and supplied records on it from several acts, including the baroque pop group Yellowstone and Voice and the glam rock group Geordie, who hit the UK Top 40 with four singles: “Don’t Do That”, “Can You Do It”, “Electric Lady” and “Black Cat Woman”.

In 1980, Red Bus signed a distribution deal with Pye, which was soon to become PRT Records. During this time, it gained a notable development when it launched a spinoff label called R&B, which shared the 1000 LP numbering sequence with Red Bus and which was headed by Morgan Khan. The R&B label was best known for recording a London funk band called Imagination, who accounted for the vast majority of the albums on that label. Imagination placed nine singles in the top-40 on the UK Singles Chart between 1981 and 1984, three of which got into the top five: “Body Talk”, which peaked at №4, “Music and Lights”, which peaked at №5 and “Just an Illusion”, which, in late March of 1982, was kept out of the top spot on the chart only by the Goombay Dance Band’s “Seven Tears” on Epic.

The labels were closed when, amidst a decline in popularity, Imagination left PRT in favour of RCA in 1986.

Photo credit: Discogs

The first Red Bus label, used during 1980, featured a black label with silver print with a chrome-plated Red Bus logo at the top. The second Red Bus label was black with silver print with the Red Bus text in reflective red ink. The R&B label was white with black printing with the big R&B logos in the background and text at the top right which read “It’s got to be about the product.”

This discography only covers the Pye/PRT years of the Red Bus and R&B labels. Selected bits of information in bold are from Both Sides Now Publications’ discography on MCA, which had the US rights to material from Imagination for a brief while.

RBLP 5000 series

RBLP 5001 — Geordie Featuring Brian Johnson — Geordie Featuring Brian Johnson [1980] All Because Of You/Keep On Rockin’/Natural Born Loser/Rockin’ With The Boys/Goin’ Down/Black Cat Woman/Electric Lady//Can You Do It/Don’t Do That/Ain’t It Just Like A Woman/Hope You Like It/Fire Queen/Mercenary Man/Treat Her Like A Lady

BUSLP 1000 series

BUSLP 1001 — Christmas Album — Joe Dolce Music Theatre [1981] Jingle Bell Rock/I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus/This Time Of The Year/Silent Night/Christmas Medley: Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer-Jingle Bells-Frosty The Snowman-Here Comes Santa Claus-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town-Winter Wonderland-The Little Drummer Boy/The Twelve Days Of Christmas/Christmas In Australia/Christmas At Our House/Blue Christmas/Open Up Your Heart

BUSLP 1002 — One Flew Over The Bar — Bob “The Cat” Bevan [1982] First Half//Second Half

BUSLP 1003 — The Missing Years: 1967–1980 — Billy Fury [1983] Wonderous Place/She Loves Somebody/Paper Aeroplanes/Do My Best For You/Spider And The Fly/Silly Boy Blue/Fascinating Candle Flame/Halfway To Paradise//I Saw The Light/Bye-Bye/Hurtin’ Is Loving/One Minute Woman/I Call For My Rose/Let Me Go My Way/It Just Don’t Matter Now/Break My Heart In Two

BUSLP 1004 — Reilly: Ace of Themes — Various Artists [1984] Reilly — Olympic Orchestra/To Serve Them All My Days — Kenyon Emrys-Roberts Orchestra/Bouquet of Barbed Wire — South Bank Orchestra/The Onedin Line — London Symphony Orchestra/The Flame Trees of Thika — Video Symphonic/Agatha — Olympic Orchestra/Jennie — London Symphony Orchestra/Skorpion — Limelight Orchestra/Down the Line — Illusion Orchestra//Cavatina — John Williams/Walk On — New Horizon/Who Pays the Ferryman? — Yannis Markopoulous/Upstairs Downstairs — South Bank Orchestra/Black Beauty — London String Chorale/Tales of the Unexpected — Ron Grainger Orchestra/The Winds of War — Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra/Hollywood — Carl Davis Orchestra/Chi Mai — Ennio Morricone

RBBLP 1100 series

RBBLP 1101 — The Rainbow Collection — Rainbow, Rod Jane and Freddy [1983] Ride A Cock Horse/One, Two, Three, Four, Five (Once I Caught A Fish Alive)/Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star/Little Tommy Tucker/There Was A Crooked Man/Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary/Cock-a-doodle-do/Girls And Boys Come Out To Play/See-Saw, Margery Daw/Little Jack Horner//The Grand Old Duke Of York/Pray, Open Your Umbrella/Five Little Ducks/Dingle-Dangle Scarecrow/Dingle-Dangle Scarecrow/Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush/The Milkman’s Song/The Honey-Bee Song/The Doggy Song//The Old Scarecrow/Winter And Spring/Underground Animals (The Mole, The Worm And The Rabbit)/Mr Shadow/Whining/The Same Name/Our Friend Jack/Looking At You/I Am The Sun//Boogy, Woogy, Woogy/The Party Song/George’s Sad Song/Happy Birthday/Surprise, Surprise/The Fancy Dress Song/Fun And Games/Let’s Have A Sing-Song/Look For A Rainbow

RBD 1102 — Ace of Themes — New World Philharmonic [1984] Theme From Dynasty/Theme From Terms Of Endearment/The Thornbirds Theme/No Matter What Happens/Hill St. Blues (THEME ‘81)/Up Where We Belong/Bolero//Body Talk/Only He Has The Power To Move Me/Almost Paradise/Memory/The Seduction/Sometimes

RBLP 1000 series

RBLP 1001 — Body Talk — Imagination [09–10–81] (04–82: #20 UK) Body Talk/So Good, So Right/Burnin’ Up//Tell Me Do You Want My Love/Flashback/I’ll Always Love You (But Don’t Look Back)/In And Out Of Love

RBLP 1002 — In The Heat Of The Night — Imagination [03–09–82] (09–82: #7 UK) In The Heat Of The Night/Heart ’N’ Soul/Music And Lights/All Night Loving//Just An Illusion/All I Want To Know/One More Love/Changes

RBLP 1003 — Changing for You — Chi-Lites [1983] UK release of LARC LR-8103. Bad Motor Scooter/Changing For You/Touch Me/Making Love//Bottom’s Up/I Just Wanna Hold You/You Take The Cake/I Love

RBLP 1004 — Scandalous — Imagination [04–11–83] (11–83: #25 UK) New Dimension/State Of Love/Point Of No Return/When I See The Fire//Shoo Be Doo Da Dabba Doobee/Wrong In Love/Looking At Midnight/The Need To Be Free

RBLP 1005 — Backtrackin’ — Jolley & Swain [1984] Autumn Leaves/Walk On/The Amazon (Follow Me)/Backtrackin’//The Journey/Patterns/Soul Street/Lost In The Night

RBLP 1006 — Imagination Gold — Imagination [1983] Flashback/Music & Lights/Body Talk/Changes/Looking At Midnight//Just An Illusion/Burnin’ Up/In And Out Of Love/New Dimension/In The Heat Of The Night

RBLP 1007

RBLP 1008

RBLP 1009 — I Wanna Be Loved By You — Maggie Moore [1985] The Best Is Yet To Come/Imagination/How About You/Skylark/Show Me/Serenade In Blue/Let’s Face The Music And Dance/I Can Dream Can’t I/They Can’t Take That Away From Me/Come Rain Or Shine//I Wanna Be Loved By You/Teach Me Tonight/I Wish I Were In Love Again/It Might As Well Be Spring/If I Were A Bell/When I Fall In Love/Kiss The Boys Goodbye/I’m Old Fashioned/You Do Something To Me/Don’t Get Around Much Anymore

RBLP 1010 — Monsignor Quixote Suite — Anton Garcia Abril and English Chamber Orchestra [1985] Monsignor Quixote/Rocinante/Streets Of Toboso/Twilight In La Mancha/Companeros/Windmills Or Giants?//Let Me Feel Temptation/Dulcinea/Adventurers In The Mind/’In A Certain Village…’/Thoughts Of A Distant Friend

RBLP 1011 — Prospects — Various Artists [1986] Prospects — Made in England/The Heist — Joseph Glasman/Work hard, Play Hard — Joseph Glasman/This is the News — I-Catch-I/Stay Sharp — Made in England/Who Were You Thinking Of? — Valerie Wynter//Today Could Be So Good — Hazel O’Connor/You Gotta Get Up — Colin Chisholm/Listen to Me — Y/My Darlin’ — I-Catch-I/Keep On Lookin’ — Us/Just an Illusion — Imagination

RDBLP 1150 series

RDBLP 1150 — The Wind in the Willows (Soundtrack) — Keith Hopwood and Malcolm Rowe, Conducted by Brian Ibbetson and Performed by Members of Halle Orchestra [1983] The Wind In The Willows Theme — Ralph McTell/On The River/Ducks’ Ditty/The Open Road/Mr Toad-The Motorist/The Wild Wood/Mr Badger//Dulce Domum/The Further Adventures Of Toad/A Hero’s Song/When The Toad Came Home/The Battle/The Wind In The Willows

RDBLP 1151 — Two Stories From the Wind in the Willows — Michael Hordern, Etc. [1984] Mole’s Cousin/The Weasels’ Trap

Etc.:

BUSST 1200 — Over the Brooklyn Bridge (Soundtrack) — Pino Donaggio Featuring Imagination [1984] Over The Brooklyn Bridge/Changes/Streets Of Manhattan/Honey Cake/Which Way To Go?/Alby’s Blues//In The Heat Of The Night/Uncle Benjamin/Brooklyn To Broadway/Problems Problems For Alby/I’d Like To Hold You Through The Night/Son Of The Godfather/On Seventh Avenue/Over A Bridge

RBDUB 1 — Night Dubbing — Imagination [06–05–83] (05–83: #9) Flashback/Just An Illusion/Music & Lights/So Good, So Right//Body Talk/Heart ’n’ Soul/Changes/Burnin’ Up

RDD 1 — Double Deckers: 20 Great Dance Tracks — Various Artists [1982] Just An Illusion — Imagination/Never Let You Go (Vocal) — Savanna/Just A Little Bit — Carroll Thompson/The Love You’ve Been Fakin’ (Vocal) — Index/Ease Your Mind — Touchdown//Jingo — Candido/Feels Like I’m In Love — Kelly Marie/Love Is Gonna Be On Your Side (Vocal) — Firefly/Do It (Till Your Satisfied) — B.T. Express/Lock It Up — Leprechaun//Take Your Time (Vocal) — Roy Hamilton/Nice And Slow — Jesse Green/I Like Plastic — Marsha Raven/I Can’t Turn Away — Savanna/Puerto Rico (Remix) — Decoupage//I Like (What You’re Doing To Me) (Vocal) — Young & Company/You Don’t Like My Music — K.I.D./Nice And Soft (Vocal) — Wish/It’s Just A Groove (Vocal) — Glen Adams Affair/Dancin And Prancin — Candido

RBMP 8471 — Lemon Popsicle 6: Up Your Anchor (Soundtrack) — Various Artists [1985] Sea Cruise — Frankie Ford/Baby You Got What It Takes — Brook Benton/Surf City — Jan & Dean/Because They’re Young — Duane Eddy/Green Onions — Dave “Baby” Cortez/For Your Love — Yardbirds/Forty Miles Of Bad Road — Duane Eddy/Peppermint Twist — Joey Dee And The Starlighters//Bama Lama Bama Lou — Little Richard/It’s Just A Matter Of Time- Brook Benton/Great Balls Of Fire — Jerry Lee Lewis/Slow Twisting — Chubby Checker/Mashed Potato Time — Dee Dee Sharp/Hippy Hippy Shake — The Swinging Blue Jeans/Why Don’t They Understand — George Hamilton IV/Shout — Joey Dee & The Starliters

RBMP 8472 — Lifeforce (Soundtrack) — Henry Mancini [1985] Life Force Theme/Spacewalk (Discovery Pt.1)/Into The Alien Craft (Pt.2)/Exploration (Pt.3)/Sleeping Vampires (Pt.4)/Evil Visitations//Carson’s Story/Girl In The Raincoat/Web Of Destiny Pt.1/Web Of Destiny Pt.2/Web Of Destiny Pt.3

RBMD 8571–32 Rockin’ Great Tracks: Baby Love — Various Artists [1985] Take Good Care of My Baby — Bobby Vee/Summertime Blues — Eddie Cochran/Teen Beat — Sandy Nelson/You Send Me — Sam Cooke/Sweet Little Sixteen — Chuck Berry/Dream Lover — Bobby Darin/Rescue Me — Fontella Bass/The Locomotion — Little Eva//Multiplication — Bobby DarinPretty Little Angel Eyes — Curtis Lee/Speedy Gonzales — Pat Boone/The Wanderer — Dion/The Girl Can’t Help It — Little Richard/Raunchy — Bill Justis/Twilight Time — The Platters/Who Put The Bomp In The Bomp Bomp Bomp — Barry Mann//Rhythm Of The Rain — The Cascades/Only Sixteen — Sam Cooke/Silence is Golden — The Tremeloes/Rhythm Of The Rain — Brian Hyland/Tiger — Fabian/End Of The World — Skeeter Davis/Bend Me Shape Me — Amen Corner/Wipe Out — The Surfaris//Maybelline — Chuck Berry/Sixteen Candles — The Crests/Splish Splash — Bobby Darin/He’s So Fine — The Chiffons/Keep a Knockin’ — Little Richard/Crazy Love — Paul Anka/Apache — The Cherokees/What A Wonderful World — Sam Cooke

Back to Pye Records Story