contempo

British soul, funk and disco label owned by John Abbey, founder of Blues and Soul magazine. In 1970, Abbey opened a record shop called Contempo Records, located upstairs at 42 Hanway Street, London, W.1. that specialized in U.S. imports. In January 1973, he began licensing and releasing records via the label also based at the same premises. One of his first projects was recording Oscar Toney Jr. in a cover of Bread’s “Everything I Own,” which was released in the US on ATCO Records in 1974.

In late 1975, John Abbey signed a US distribution agreement with Scepter Records. This lasted until Scepter’s sale in 1976 after which Contempo was distributed in the US by T.K. Productions. The label continued releasing product until mid-1978, with the record shop lasting around a year longer.