DESCRIPTION:
Broadcast was introduced by Vocalion in July 1927, less than a year after the company had started using Marconi's electrical recording system. It was an 8" disc selling at 1/3 (6.2p). By reducing the groove depth and pitch and taking it nearer the centre of the record, Broadcast managed to play for the same time as a standard 10" record, earning the name "the long playing record". It caused ructions in the industry at the time as it was the cheapest full-length record available, undercutting all other makes for price. The recording quality was good, and the surfaces smooth, but with a tendency to wear and the sound quality deteriorated towards the centre of the record, generally accompanied by an annoying whistling on one side of the groove. (This can generally be eliminated by using a switch to allow playing of one or other of the groove walls.) The dance music was provided by Harry Bidgood's studio musicians, under a variety of differing pseudonyms, though, later on, some genuine bands recorded for the label, such as Victor Vorzanger, The Original Havana Band, Ciro's Club Orch, Bertini, Percival Mackey, and Hal Swain. Nearly all the matrices were English, though a few were German. The size increased to 9" in June 1931, before being discontinued at the start of 1933. Catalogue numbers started at 100, reaching 725 before the change in size. They didn't quite make it to 1000; the highest I know of to date is 984 (reported to me by Matthew Duncan). In addition, there was an X-1 series of just 6 issues. The label was re-introduced briefly in the 1930s by their then owner, Crystalate, with a 1000-series catalogue.

In Australia, there was also an 8" Broadcast record, the label being identical to the British one, except with "Made in Australia" either side of the spindle-hole instead of "Made in England". The Australian issues were a mixture of the British masters and some locally-recorded items. The catalogue was also a mixture of the usual 3-digit numbers as used on British issues, and a BA- series (Broadcast Australia?). They sold for 2/-.

For more information please see:
http://www.mgthomas.co.uk/DanceBands/Labels/LabelPages/Broadcast.htm