A Reggae label. Big Shot began life in late 1968 as a subsidiary of Island Records, and appears to have become part of the recently-formed Trojan group in the summer of the following year. It just about lasted until 1975, though 1974 was a quiet year with only four releases. In total it issued around 130 singles, and it enjoyed unexpected chart successes in 1972-3 with several Judge Dread records. Numbering started at BI-501, and one basic label design served throughout, though a change of the colour scheme from yellow and orange (1) to plain orange (3) happened with BI-611; because of re-pressings at least one older single, Judge Dread's 'Big Six' b/w 'One Armed Bandit' (BI-608; 8/72), may be found with either type of label. The text 'Made in England' appeared on records from the 23rd of April 1971 onwards, starting with BI-575, and 'Marketed by B&C Records Ltd.' joined it in October 1974, with BI-627 (4). Some potentially popular singles can be found as specially-pressed promo copies with the 'A' side on both sides; they are marked with a medium-sized black 'A' and they have the release date on them (5). Only BI-622 seems to have had a 'standard issue with overprints' promo. Manufacture seems to have been generally by Orlake, as it was for most of Trojan's products at the time, but some singles were pressed by EMI: they can be distinguished by their smooth surfaces and comparatively narrow dinking perforations (2, 5). The discography below only covers the 1970s.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.