HOW VIRGIN RECORDS BECAME OZ RECORDS..... this is my reply to post below having stumbled upon this mention of my old record shop:

You wrote “...probably too many to recall, but two that I do remember: on a regular visit to the late lamented Oz Records in Westgate Road, Newcastle I came across an import copy (wrapped in plastic and with that Proustian smell) of Little Feat's first record. The cover and the inclusion of Roy Estrada inspired me to buy it and it was seldom off the turntable afterwards.Second example: there used to be one of those dual-purpose shops in South Shields (Callers - there's probably been a thread on these shops) that sold furniture and records and I picked up the Roches first - no idea why but it was so good I played it three times back to back. How often does that happen now?”

WOW! Serious nostalgia for me. I haven't heard anyone mention my old record shop in years. Oz Records started life at 87 Westgate Road (telephone Newcastle 21897) as Virgin Records. I had needed a name for my new record shop and chose the name Virgin because in Newcastle there was a mobile discotheque operator who traded as Virgin Mobile Disco and advertised in a local newspaper. It seemed a good name and so I called my new record shop Virgin Records.

At that time, as far as I recall, a young Richard Branson only had one record shop, on a 1st floor somewhere in London. However it was also called Virgin. At the time Richard allegedly was involved with some sort of a scheme with VAT, involving importing records and so I guess he needed a sales outlet.

Virgin Records opened at 87 Westgate Road Newcastle and it was different. Very hippy, coach seats with headphones to listen all day if you liked, a coffee machine, original pop-art all over the walls and friendly staff who knew all about music scene. A terrible illuminated sign outside the shop depicted a girl supposed to be a virgin wrapped around the words VIrgin Records. CRINGE! Necastle had never seen a record shop like this. The city was more used to the real, old-fashioned places like Jeavons, where people went into a booth to preview a record and the staff were all very mature indeed.

One day soon after opening the telephone rang and it was Richard Branson on the line, who was decent enough but very firm and he politely explained that he also had a record shop called Virgin Records in London and that he planned to open VIRGIN shops all over the UK and that he started first and the name was his and he wanted me to change my name. I explained that I had also planned to open a chain of shops (my 2nd store later opened in Scarborough.....bad choice as not much winter trade but I wanted an excuse to go often so that I could visit the Penthouse Club, best live gig club out of London EVER...I saw Queen, Cockney Rebel and Alex Harvey there....owned by terrific guy called Pete Adams). And so I declined to change my name. I'll sue you said Richard, go ahead said I.

Anyhow, next thing I knew, a very serious and pressing High Court writ arrived and I was being taken straight to court, while local "Evening Chronicle" newspaper headlines screamed, "Virgin Firms In Courtroom Battle" in headlines and on placards around the city. I decided to fight as I owned (through my dad....I was under-age to be a director) the only limited company registered in the UK with the words Virgin Records Limited on the company registration certificate and my company also traded as Virgin. I was ready for my first ever legal scrap. I had been about to register Virgin Records (Scarborough) Limited ready for me second store.

I couldn't understand how, given another Newcastle man had been running Virgin Mobile Disco for years and given my Newcastle limited company was registered as Virgin Records, anyone else could have any reason to complain let alone start a serious High Court action. We now know that at the time, Richard was involved in some rather odd dealings with his company, which was not called Virgin Records Ltd but was in fact called Caroline Records Ltd.

At the time, I was 17 years old and still at school (I had started as a concert promoter aged 14) and was about to leave school. I didn't want to read Law at Newcastle University....music beckoned....and so I walked out of Newcastle Royal Grammar School mid-A-levels.

My late father, who had to sign things for me in those days, given I was under-age, knew nothing about the record business..... (I was given a lesson by a family friend, Mr Ivor Saville in who owned a record store in Sunderland. I then opened my store, poaching terrific staff from another Newcastle shop called Disque)...... was stunned at arrival of a writ and having to hire lawyers, poor man. However Richard Branson was in for a surprise. As I explained before, his company was called Caroline Records Limited and this traded as Virgin. My company was called Virgin Records and I had it registered and I owned the name. However I wasn't actually bothered what my shop was called and Richard Branson clearly wanted the VIrgin name. I had no problem with that and so once I realised just how serious he was, I agreed to change the name of the shop and the name of my company and let Richard Branson have sole rights to the VIRGIN name if that was to be so important to him, on condition he paid all the legal costs. That is what happened. I have to this day never lost a court case .....and I have had quite a few since.

Being a long-haired music-mad youth (don't know how I ever got away with that at Newcastle RGS) and budding hippie who used to hang out at my late friend Derek's head-shop in Newcastle's Handyside arcade, and needing a new name for the shop after my deal with Richard Branson, I kinda liked the name OZ but I didn't fancy another court-case and there was a London-based underground magazine called OZ. So I called them up, made an appointment and met up with a terrific guy called Felix Dennis who was founder of OZ Magazine and one of today's most respected magazine publishers. He gave me written permission to name my record stores OZ RECORDS and we used to sell Oz magazine merchandise/T-shirts etc for them. This was before the Oz obscenity trial (Rupert Bear anyone??) which saw Felix Dennis imprisoned.....an outrageous sentence.

OZ Records was fun.The store had its' business ups and downs, some of my school-friends used to work part-time and we always had beautiful girls working there too. Through owning the store I really learned a lot about how the record business worked and met many interesting people. Oz Records closed down after I had had enough of retailing and decided running shops was not for me.

And so I started managing a band. Before I had secured a recording contract for the band, the telephone rang. And I kid you not.....it was Richard Branson again, calling from his house-boat in Little Venice, London. Very pleasant indeed on the telephone....he has heard Lindisfarne have reformed, that I'm their manager, that I've already got them in the studio recording an album with (the late, great) Gus Dudgeon and that I have yet to sign a record deal. Could VIrgin Records hear the tapes please? I was happy to oblige but in the end I signed the band to Phonogram (and to Atlantic in the USA). Phonogram were a great company in those days and such terrific people.....Ken Maliphant, Sandie Miekle (now Jackson), Roger Bain, Rick Blaskey and Liz Jacka who was a lovely promotiions girl who lived near Bristol.

Lindisfarne enjoyed instant chart success later in the year (with special help given by Liz and Rick) on both sides of the Atlantic with "Run For Home" and "Back and Fourth" and toured with Chris Rea supporting. This was in 1978. Then in 1979 I was flying to New York to meet Atlantic people, in economy as usual, and found myself sitting right next to Richard Branson, also in economy......he always flew economy in those days.....and we chatted throughout the journey together with a georgous single girl we were both trying to pull. Next time I met Richard Branson was at Charisma Records' founder Tony Stratton-Smith's memorial service at St Martin's In The Field. He was sitting near me. On the way out of the church I greeted him...."Hi Richard, we met on a flight to New York".....he looked at me, smiled and said...."Oh, you were on the inaugral flight'? He had recently launched his airline as well as buying Charisma. "No Richard, I'm the guy who used to own a limited company in Newcastle called Virgin Records and who gave you the sole rights to incorporate the name. We sat in economy together on a flight to NYC and both tried to pull the same girl on a flight to New York."

You just couldn't make this stuff up. Since then life has never been boring but I would hate to be in a band trying to make it these days. What with X-factor et al it's worse than the disco era. Sorry for rambling.....I've never told this story before and I thought it might be of interest. And as for Richard, what a guy! These days I fly First Class but I make an exception when I fly Virgin (as I often do), who don't have a First Class cabin (Virgin Upper Class is equivalent to and almost the identical price as B.A.'s Business Class) as Virgin Atlantic customer service is so exceptionally good...in fact it's about 100% better than British Airways. I once bought my wife a car from Virgin Cars about 10 years ago. I sometimes buy wine from Virgin Wines. I occasionally find myself on Virgin Trains.....and I gave Richard the all-clear to trade as Virgin Records Limited when I agreed to change the name of my limited company. It has been amazing watching his journey. I wonder what would have happened if we had gone to trial over the name?

Postcript...added November 20th 2011. My first ever mortgage was with the Northern Rock. Now Virgin have bought that too. What would Richard have done if he had lost the rights to the name VIRGIN? Would his airline; wine merchants and bank be called Caroline? THat was the name of his company at the time....Caroline Records Limited.