One of several Soul bootleg labels from the early '70s. Correspondence on the 'Soul Source' site indicates that Magic was one of three labels that had links to Soul record shop / importers / wholesalers Selectadisc, the others being B.J.D. and Green Light. Selectadisc was run by Brian Selby and John Bratton. They had worked in Syd Booth's record shop, in Mansfield, but they opened their own shop, Selectadisc, in Nottingham in 1969. With a lot of rare Soul records being in demand (thanks to exposure in the clubs) but being hard to get, Selectadisc began to make and sell unlicensed pressings of some of them. Three such singles came out on the Magic label in or around 1971, numbered in the MG-5000s. Despite their large centre holes they were pressed in the UK, MG-5001 being cut by Lyntone. According to 'Soul Source' site Selectadisc stocked bootlegs made by other people on labels such as Soul Source, Soul Fox and Soul Galore (q.v. all the above). The company eventually went legitimate, launching its Black Magic label (q.v.) in 1975.
Copyright 2022 Robert Lyons.