A Reggae label, owned by distributors Mojo and dating from 1978-81. Ballistic was the successor to the Magnum label (q.v.). It came on the scene in early 1978, when Magnum disappeared, and its singles initially had the same 'GUN' prefix. Manufacture and distribution were by Pye, as they had been for Magnum, and there was a reference to Pye on the labels (1). In June 1978 Mojo signed a longterm worldwide deal with United Artists, covering manufacture, marketing and distribution. From that point Ballistic singles shared two numerical series with that of its new partner: earlier issues were in the UP-36000 range, later ones in the BP-300s. There was no major change in the label design at the move from Pye to UA, but the positioning of the credits changed slightly and the UA logo was added (2). 'Music Week' of the 10th of June, which reported the signing, added that the aim was for the release of twelve LPs in the first year, plus 'carefully selected singles', the first of which would be 'Conscious Man' by The Jolly Brothers (UP-36415; 7/78). That single eventually gave Ballistic a Chart entry, nudging the Top 50 after it was reissued in 1979, but the label doesn't appear to have survived for long into 1981. Demo copies during the United Artists era were usually marked with a medium-sized black 'A' and the appropriate text (4) but the occasional demo appeared on the United Artists label with a reference to Ballistic in small print - see the third and fifth scans above. The discography below only covers the 1970s. GUN-103 and GUN-104 were issued on the Sunpower label (q.v.).
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.