American, one of the labels run by publisher, arranger, composer, manager and producer Buck Ram. Antler was mentioned in 'Billboard' of the 15th of December 1956 as being a 'new firm'. In its homeland it issued singles up till around 1968 and enjoyed a second wind in the 1980s. It only appeared as a label twice in the UK, when Rock 'n' Roll / Rockabilly specialists Record Mart, of Southend-on-Sea, licensed a couple of late-50s singles by Benny Joy and issued them over here. 'Ittie Bittie Everything' b/w 'Money, Money', originally issued in the USA on the Buck Ram Presents label as A-1107, was given the number YW-18268-2, while 'Crash The Party' b/w 'Little Red Book', originally Antler 4011, was numbered BRS-1006. Both were manufactured in the States, and both appear to have been made through Antler itself. Their labels have the text 'This Release Initiated By Record Mart, England' at three o'clock, which makes it easy to distinguish them from other pressings. I haven't been able to find a release date for the first single but 'Crash The Party' was manufactured by Rainbo and has 'R-4973' in the run-off, which enables it to be dated to 1975-76. Record Mart was also responsible for other American labels making brief appearances here via licensing deals: see Olympic (Rockabilly), Doré, Glee and Yucca. In addition it ran its own label, RM (q.v.).
Copyright 2022 Robert Lyons.