A Reggae label, a successor to Byron Lee's 'Dynamic' label (q.v.). Dragon was handled initially by Island Records (1) but in August 1973 it signed a licensing deal with Mooncrest and thus joined the B&C/Mooncrest/Trojan group; only variations in the writing at the bottom of the label indicate the changes. From c.DRA-1013 to DRA-1026 the Island credit was overprinted with a Mooncrest one (2), while from DRA-1027 onwards a B&C credit appeared. The striking company sleeve is said to date from the Island period. The basic label design remained unchanged throughout, one minor difference being that the artist credits migrated to the top of the label for DRA-1008 (2). Presumably this was on grounds of their length; perhaps the even longer credit on DRA-1002, which had been put in the usual place at 9 o'clock, had highlighted a problem. During the two years of its existence (1973-75) the company released more than thirty singles. The labels themseves credit Mooncrest and latterly B&C with manufacture, but as the company had no facilities of its own it must have been a case of getting the pressings done rather than doing them. Both Island and Trojan frequently turned to EMI and Orlake for manufacture: EMI pressings have comparatively small dinking perforations and smooth label surfaces (1, 2, 3), while Orlake perforations are bigger and the inner surfaces of the labels are rougher (4). Demos from the Island period had a comparatively tall and slender 'A' on them (5), while those from the Mooncrest / B&C years had a fatter, squatter 'A' (6) - they also had the 'A' side on both sides, which was the standard Mooncrest / B&C policy at the time. Some had 'Promotion copy not for sale' and the release date on them. A licensing agreement with Polydor led to a certain amount of Dynamic Sounds material being released through that company: the first two Dragon singles were reissued on Polydor in early 1974. Presumably that material had not been covered by the agreement with Mooncrest.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.