A Welsh label, with titles and credits almost always in the Welsh language. Wren Records - Recordiau'r Dryw, to give them their Welsh name - were based in Llandybie, Carmarthenshire, and were one of the biggest Welsh labels, along with Qualiton, Welsh Teldisc, Cambrian, and later Sain (q.v. all). According to 'Record Retailer' of the 11th of April 1968, Wren was an affiliate of Christopher Davies Ltd, "The oldest publisher in Wales"; Christopher Davies had previously published Wren Books, and when the venture into vinyl was made the label was given the same name. The article stated that pressing was by Decca and Pye, and that Wren handled its own distribution; at that time the man in charge was Dennis Rees. The company issued records from 1964 till at least 1976; there were more than a hundred and fifty 7" releases alone. Initially the concentration was on EPs and LPs, with the first singles not coming out until 1969; they were numbered in a WSP-2000 series (1, 2), while EPs were numbered in the WRE-1000s.
7" Wrens came in various colours, and they usually had picture sleeves; the design remained the same until the very final release, which underwent changes in the text and came in a unique pink colour (10). There are a couple of collectables on the label, in the form of EPs by singer/songwriter Meic Stevens. The discography below lists the 7" Wren records from the '70s that I have been able to trace so far. The post-1969 Wrens that I have seen in the vinyl have mainly had Pye-style matrix numbers, but in the last year or so of its life the company turned to Lyntone for its pressings; generally a reference to that company appeared at the bottom of the label, and the records gained Lyntone matrix numbers (9).
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.