“A hip label for groovy people” was how Decca Records subsidiary Deram was announced in Melody Maker on its inception in September 1966. This separated it from the rather fusty image of its parent company, which was formed in 1929 and had an impressive back catalogue of jazz and classical recordings. It was well-known that while they’d signed The Rolling Stones and Marc Bolan (and were soon to sign Bowie), they’d passed on The Beatles and the label’s roster included Val Doonican and Mantovani. With Swinging London in full spate they needed a bigger piece of that action, focusing on a younger market.
Deram was formed by Decca executive Tony Hall and A&R Head Hugh Mendl, the name coming from a trademark they owned for a now-defunct ceramic hi-fi cartridge. Hall stated that Deram was to have “all the enthusiasm of an independent with all the power and promotion behind it of a major company”. To hit their market, Mendl sought out younger people in A&R, so in 1967 they employed a teenage David Hitchcock as ‘Sleeve Co-ordinator’, liaising between A&R and the art studio. Decca were signing “anything and everything” he
