A Reggae label; part of the Trojan group from 1969 to 1974. Upsetter issued around one hundred singles, in a US-300 series, and was dedicated to Lee Perry productions. As Perry's reputation has grown, Upsetter records have become more collectable - particularly the pre-Island Bob Marley issues. Upsetter scored one Chart hit, reaching the No. 5 position with its first single, the Upsetters', 'Return of Django' (US-301) in 1969. That single was pressed by several different companies in response to the demand; the example shown (1), with its large spindle hole and sharp bevel, was made by Phonodisc. Pressings of the other records seem to have been generally done by Orlake, who manufactured a lot of Trojan's less commercial material. Clues to an Orlake pressing are the 'smooth outer circle, rough inner' appearance of the label, as seen in the second scan, and the use of '+' signs to separate the component parts of the matrix numbers on the run-off. One label design lasted throughout the Trojan era. The text 'Made in England' appeared on records intermittently from June 1971 onwards, starting with US-366; USes 371, 372 and 374 to 382 lack it, for some reason. Fay Music (q.v.) issued a couple of Lee-Perry-produced 7" singles on Upsetter in Britain after the Trojan era, using a different label design and a UP-100 numerical series (3). Thanks to Sam Mauger for the scan of that label, and to Mark Griffiths for additional information about it.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.