What non-Anglophone prog was available in the 1970s outside its home region?

[tribalfusion]

So, here with the obvious exception of the Anglophone countries which generally had much more comprehensive distribution, how much prog from around the world could one find in a well-stocked record store in the 1970s in Europe, Latin America, Australia or Japan for example?

For example, was Italian progressive rock (besides PFM who had international distribution) available in stores outside Italy at the time?

Did records from Magma make their way to Canada or Argentina and into shops? Did Charly Garcia or Spinetta's music make it to Spain?

Was anyone buying the Flower Travellin' Band outside Japan?


When does it become possible to do this sort of thing and know what's being published in other countries? When do people first have access to catalogs to see what is being published elsewhere?

[Mr.Krautman]

VERY FEW I would guess. Even "anglophone" or local less know prog bands had a very poor distribution then and were hard (or impossible) to get in most records shops, even in their own country.
For instance, I remember here (Belgium, Europe) the only italian prog-bands available in shops were PFM (but only after they got an internationall distribution through Manticore) and (if you tried hard) the European (english) version of BANCO s/t (Manticore) and Le Orme. That's all !
We didn't even knew there were other Italian prog bands, unless you had a well-informed friend in Italy fond of this style of music. The very few specialized (import) records shops didn't seemed very motivated by this musical style either and your "special orders" were rarely honoured (IF they ever were !).
Some german bands like Amon Düül II, CAN, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, etc... had a much better International distribution but these were already "big names" back then.
That was the situation in Europe (UK excluded) back then (early/mid 70ies) but I have no idea how it was in the U.S and other non-european countries. London was the only place then where you could find (some of) these more obscure prog records but the choice/availability were also quite limited.

[Top Cat]

I was in my 20's through most of the 70's, and there was an explosion of interest in music from other countries, Asian, European, Middle Eastern, etc.
I think most young people's minds were open to anything that was good. I think certain groups who broke the US market such as the example of PFM opened the door to other groups like Goblin and others.
Bands like Nektar from Germany.
I think for most bands, the ultimate goal was to break the US market, if you did, it was assumed you'd made it. It was primarily the reason PFM sang in English, but it's funny, the Italian lyric versions became highly sought after albums.
Even bands from Australia such as IceHouse, Midnight Oil had a hard time getting airplay.

I think Asian bands had a harder time, and as you mentioned, I don't recall seeing bands from South America being played or sold.

With the British invasion, the UK and parts of Europe seemed to get the most exposure, and availability in record stores in the US.

[tribalfusion]

VERY FEW I would guess. Even "anglophone" or local less know prog bands had a very poor distribution then and were hard (or impossible) to get in most records shops, even in their own country.
For instance, I remember here (Belgium, Europe) the only italian prog-bands available in shops were PFM (but only after they got an internationall distribution through Manticore) and (if you tried hard) the European version of BANCO s/t (Manticore) and Le Orme (English version only). That's all !
We didn't even knew there were other Italian prog bands, unless you had a well-informed friend in Italy fond of this style of music. The very few specialized (import) records shop didn't seemed very motivated by this musical style either and your "special orders" were rarely honoured (IF they ever were !).
Some german bands like Amon Düül II, CAN, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, etc... had a much better International distribution but these were already "big names" back then. That was the situation in Europe (UK excluded) back then (early/mid 70ies) but I have no idea how it was in the U.S and other non-european countries.

Thanks very much for the message. That's more or less how I imagined things to have been at the time. Do you recall when the situation first changed, and you were able to get more of a sense of what was happening elsewhere?

[tribalfusion]

I was in my 20's through most of the 70's, and there was an explosion of interest in music from other countries, Asian, European, Middle Eastern, etc. I think most young people's minds were open to anything that was good. I think certain groups who broke the US market such as the example of PFM opened the door to other groups like Goblin and others. Bands like Nektar from Germany.I think for most bands, the ultimate goal was to break the US market, if you did, it was assumed you'd made it. It was primarily the reason PFM sang in English, but it's funny, the Italian lyric versions became highly sought after albums.
Even bands from Australia such as IceHouse, Midnight Oil had a hard time getting airplay.I think Asian bands had a harder time, and as you mentioned, I don't recall seeing bands from South America being played or sold.With the British invasion, the UK and parts of Europe seemed to get the most exposure, and availability in record stores in the US.

Thanks for the message. There definitely was a significant growth in interest in different music in the 1970s, but I don't know how much of that translated directly into distribution of a lot of music around the world. Do you recall if people thought to look for more music from Italy when PFM reached international status or was it treated as simply an unusual event?

[taliesin]

Going by my (very) faulty memory these were the non English bands that I discovered in Toronto in the 70's and into the 80's -

PFM - English language albums
Banco - the Manticore English album but also Italian language ones (s/t, Darwin, Canto di Primavera, etc)
La Bottega del Arte (light symphonic stuff)
Supersister
Tai Phong
Magma
Pekka Pohjola

A fair amount of krautrock, some other assorted Italian bands and a few Scandinavian - specific names aren't popping into my mind right now.

For Japanese bands there weren't many - Kitaro, Osamu, maybe a couple of others

[Mr.Krautman]

To get a good (international) distribution for a prog band then was no different than for any rock/pop bands: you needed to get a big HIT on the international level. For instance, a small obscure dutch band like FOCUS became suddenly big with "Hocus Pocus" and their records readily available all around the world.
Legendary Italian bands like Museo Rosenbach, Balletto Di Bronzo, Metamorfosi, Arti & Mestieri, etc... never had a "hit" and were nearly unknow in their own native country. No wonder their records weren't available out of Italy where they were already hard to find in local records shops back in the 70ies.
The situation started to change and improve in the mid-80ies with the development of rare (international) rock/pop records collecting hobby (listings, catalogs, mailorder shops, fairs, etc...) but for most of these defunct bands this posthumous recognition came way too late...

[Steve F.]

For example, was Italian progressive rock (besides PFM who had international distribution) available in stores outside Italy at the time?

Absolutely.

I saw many Italian releases in (good) shops in the 70s. Many were imported and distributed by the Peters company.

Area, Arti e Mestieri, Picchio dal Pozzo, Celeste, Goblin, etc etc etc

[markwoll]

I bought a lot of imports in the 70's from the base px as well as local record stores. A lot of it was instrumental, but most had english lyrics.
A couple of French acts ( like Dashiell Hedayatt ) who had known to me names on their records.

[Mr.Krautman]

I bought a lot of imports in the 70's from the base px as well as local record stores. A lot of it was instrumental, but most had english lyrics.
A couple of French acts ( like Dashiell Hedayatt ) who had known to me names on their records.

I remember well the difficulties I had locating a copy of Dashiell Hedayat's "Obsolete" record in the 70ies (in Belgium, Europe), no records shops had (or heard about) it but since it was (highly) recommended to me
by a hardcore GONG-freak, I hung on...
I finally found it in an old record shop filed in the "Avant-Garde" section (fortunately I was also interested by "concrete" music then). Still have this original pressing (on Shandar I think).

[moecurlythanu]

So, here with the obvious exception of the Anglophone countries which generally had much more comprehensive distribution, how much prog from around the world could one find in a well-stocked record store in the 1970s in Europe, Latin America, Australia or Japan for example?

For example, was Italian progressive rock (besides PFM who had international distribution) available in stores outside Italy at the time?

Did records from Magma make their way to Canada or Argentina and into shops? Did Charly Garcia or Spinetta's music make it to Spain?

Was anyone buying the Flower Travellin' Band outside Japan?


When does it become possible to do this sort of thing and know what's being published in other countries? When do people first have access to catalogs to see what is being published elsewhere?

Paging Ed.

[Shadow]

Absolutely.

I saw many Italian releases in (good) shops in the 70s. Many were imported and distributed by the Peters company.

Area, Arti e Mestieri, Picchio dal Pozzo, Celeste, Goblin, etc etc etc

I still have all of them, probably first pressings. Dave from Record and Tape Collectors would bring in all kinds of imports. I remember the round Jem sticker on the sleeves. People drool when I mention all the imports that I have. I actually have a stack of imports 45's.

[Mr.Krautman]

I still have all of them, probably first pressings. Dave from Record and Tape Collectors would bring in all kinds of imports. I remember the round Jem sticker on the sleeves. People drool when I mention all the imports that I have. I actually have a stack of imports 45's.

How lucky you were...

But the fact these records were available only at a few rare specialized import shops or mailorder catalogs (in a gigantic country like the U.S.A) is not my definition of "availability" or distribution. In Europe there were almost no such sources.

The extreme scaricity today (and related outrageously high prices on the collector's market) of many obscure 70ies italian prog records is a good indication that these were pressed in very small quantities and not intended for international (worldwide) distribution.

Back then I was in touch with a friend in Rome, he was a prog-rock fan and could tell you the story of bands like Genesis, Gentle Giant or VDGG down to the smallest details for hours, he was kind of an expert... when I mentioned italian bands like Museo Rosenbach or Balletto Di Bronzo he said he has never heard any of these and these bands were "unknow" in Italy ! None of the records shops he was familiar with in Rome had these records in stock, nor could they order them. For all practical purposes they were non-existent... in ITALY !

[Mister Triscuits]

But the fact these records were available only at a few rare specialized import shops or mailorder catalogs (in a gigantic country like the U.S.A) is not my definition of "availability" or distribution.

All the big record stores like Tower or Wherehouse had import sections. The stock would be largely British releases, but there would also be records from Italy, Germany, and France.

[Mr.Krautman]

All the big record stores like Tower or Wherehouse had import sections. The stock would be largely British releases, but there would also be records from Italy, Germany, and France.

The biggest records shops here in Europe had an "import" dept. too but only for "U.S pressings" (same records with a different cover and/or supposed to be technically superior sounding), mostly mainstream (anglophone) rock and jazz. Sometimes you could get some (very expensive) japanese imports too.

Try to get Museo Rosenbach, Metamorfosi or Alusa Fallax ? GOOD LUCK !

... and I highly doubt these were readily available at all U.S "big record stores import sections".

[thedunno]

Of course Dutchies Focus sold a lot of records wirldwide.

[LASERCD]

The biggest records shops here in Europe had an "import" dept. too but only for "U.S pressings" (same records with a different cover and/or supposed to be technically superior sounding), mostly mainstream (anglophone) rock and jazz. Sometimes you could get some (very expensive) japanese imports too.

Try to get Museo Rosenbach, Metamorfosi or Alusa Fallax ? GOOD LUCK !

... and I highly doubt these were readily available at all U.S "big record stores import sections".

You shouldn’t post in the absence of knowledge.

In the 70s and 80s there were many distributors importing music from around the world. They would supply not just mom and pop stores but also small retail chains as well as large department stores.

As Steve mentioned, Peters International imported primarily Greek and Italian product to local ethnic shops. German News in Manhattan supplied stores across the country with German music. I was in their warehouse in the 80s. If you bought something on the Brain or Teldec label it probably came from them. JEM Records was of course the most famous import distributor in the 70s and into the 80s. They supplied stores big and small across the country. I remember buying my Arti & Mestieri and Pulsar albums at Korvettes - they were a chain of department stores whose music department had a significant import section. A lot of their product was sourced by JEM or Peters. That place was a goldmine. In the 80s you had Greenworld Records importing bands from all over the world like Far East Family Band and Triana.

Everyone has their stories about where they bought these prog bands - whether it was at Korvettes, or Peaches, or Tower Records, Strawberries, etc. The era of import music catalogs and specialist shops ran concurrent with this, mostly supplied by one of the distros mentioned above.

When Peters International was going out of business they would fill shopping carts with albums and put them on the sidewalk selling albums for $1. I know people who got their copy of Museo Rosenbach for a buck there.

The music wasn’t on every street corner but if you looked it was readily available here.

[Munster]

Not much available in southern Africa. In what was then Rhodesia, and is now Zimbabwe, there were virtually no imported records. But records, for 99.99999 percent of the population, were a long way down the pecking order of life’s necessities, as even petrol was hard to get then because of international sanctions (and I didn’t find it that much fun being in the 0.00001 percent). South Africa, bigger and wealthier, had a few records shops that sold prog imports, perhaps one or two stores in each major city. But the imports were mainly from the UK – Vertigo, Virgin and EMI's Harvest being the main labels I remember. There was a huge store in Johannesburg (Hillbrow Records) that I am sure would have sold Italian and German imports, perhaps Magma, but I wasn’t buying them at that time.

My most unexpected find was a new copy of Tasavallan Presidentti’s Milky Way Moses in a bargain bin in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea how it got there; it’s a perfect mystery…

[Rarebird]

Found a lot of German prog in The Netherlands, and Eela Craig from Austria. I think I even found a Nektar album in some store that also sold some records in my hometown.

And I found some Swedish things in the early 80s. Even something from Stadion, much to the suprise of the former singer, who later had some stuff from that group on YouTube.

[Mister Triscuits]

Everyone has their stories about where they bought these prog bands - whether it was at Korvettes, or Peaches, or Tower Records, Strawberries, etc. The era of import music catalogs and specialist shops ran concurrent with this, mostly supplied by one of the distros mentioned above.

One of my local Licorice Pizza stores in San Diego helpfully provided mimeographed flyers describing the obscure prog and krautrock bands found in their import section--the staff were big fans.

[interbellum]

Found a lot of German prog in The Netherlands, and Eela Craig from Austria. I think I even found a Nektar album in some store that also sold some records in my hometown.

And I found some Swedish things in the early 80s. Even something from Stadion, much to the suprise of the former singer, who later had some stuff from that group on YouTube.

Eastern European bands (in those days from behind the Iron Curtain), like Fermata, SBB, ect., were also available in The Netherlands through imports.

[Rarebird]

Eastern European bands (in those days from behind the Iron Curtain), like Fermata, SBB, ect., were also available in The Netherlands through imports.

I think Theo Stokkink once had a radio-show about those Eastern European bands.

[Mister Triscuits]

As Steve mentioned, Peters International imported primarily Greek and Italian product to local ethnic shops.

Peters International also started its own Cosmos imprint for releasing European music in the US, including albums by Osanna, Le Orme, Secret Oyster, Socrates, Zao, etc.

[smcfee]

Some stuff would get Canadian pressings.

French prog presumably to sell in Quebec. Stuff like Ange but even something obscure like Pentacle (which was produced by one of the Ange guys, so maybe that's why).

Some Italian stuff too, like the two Il Volo albums, got Canadian pressings.

Since you mention them, Flower Travellin' Band "Satori" had a Canadian pressing (and an 8-Track release according to Discogs ?!).

I'm sure there is a lot I don't know about, as my knowledge is generally stuff I have found in bins after the fact.

[LASERCD]

Peters International also started its own Cosmos imprint for releasing European music in the US, including albums by Osanna, Le Orme, Secret Oyster, Socrates, Zao, etc.

Yup. Those pressings were pretty terrible but they did give those bands exposure.

After Peters International folded, Chris Peters and his son set up a new company in Long Island City that I visited once. They focused on the Greek market exclusively. Besides importing music from Greece they had a travel agency for Greek tours. Nice people. They are probably still in business.