ABSTRACT
British folk-pop label of the 1960s and 1970s, founded in the early 1960s by businessman/entrepreneur Nathan (“Nat”) Joseph. The label was similar to the U.S. Vanguard label (which licensed some Transatlantic recordings for sale in the U.S.) in that it grew significantly during the 1960s folk revival by signing contemporary acts such as the folk-rock-jazz group Pentangle (released in the U.S. by Reprise), the unaccompanied harmony singers the Young Tradition, and guitarists Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. In 1963 Transatlantic entered into a licensing arrangement with Folkways Records to issue its more popular albums in the U.K. on the budget XTRA label; Transatlantic also distributed Folkways’s other releases in the U.K., as well as folk albums from Prestige. Producer Bill Leader oversaw most of Transatlantic’s recordings, often working in Nic Kinsey’s Livingston Studio (located in what was once an old chapel in suburban Barnet). Leader entered into an arrangement with Transatlantic in 1972 to start his own labels, Leader (for older, traditional acts) and Trailer (for young revivalists). Among his signings were singer/guitarists Dick Gaughan and Nic Jones and Irish revival group the Boys of the Lough. In 1977 Joseph sold the company, which was relaunched as Logo/Transatlantic, but it folded by the early 1980s. The back catalog has changed hands several times, until 1996 when it was purchased by Castle Communications, itself now a subsidiary of the Sanctuary Records Group. Various Transatlantic albums have been reissued on CD by Castle.
