An independent production company, Acrobat was set up by Clive Youle in early 1978 when he left his previous position as managing director of the UK arm of RSO. Its first products were licensed to other companies - the company's logo may be seen on several hits by Dollar, which were issued on the Carrere label - but in 1979 a licensing deal with Arista was struck and Acrobat appeared as a label in its own right. According to Billboard magazine of the 27th of January 1979 the deal was for five years, but the label as such seems not to have lasted into 1980; it may be that the arrangement was ended after Arista was sold to Ariola Eurodisc, in the Autumn of 1979. Like those of its licenser at the time, Acrobat's singles were injection moulded and were manufactured and distributed by Phonodisc. Catalogue numbers were mainly in the BAT-0s, though the first two singles each used a number from Arista's own series. Acrobat appears to have been Rock-orientated. Its best-known artists were arguably Gillan, Joe Brown and ex-Family-frontman Roger Chapman.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.