Flash Records

While writing and recording The Game, Queen were asked by renowned movie director Dino DeLaurentis to provide the soundtrack for his upcoming sci-fi epic Flash Gordon. The band accepted and promptly began working on both albums simultaneously…

Flash was the DJ and the Furious Five were the best multiple rappers around, moving from the music's low-rent dance origins (it was Flash who began cutting in repeated portions of other records) and party spirit to the "message" approach that took over in the mid 80s, prefigured in "The Message." Much of what came later, started here.

For their debut recording, the Flash Ensemble presents the largely undiscovered works of Hungarian composer Laszlo Lajtha (1892-1963), including the world premiere recording of String Trio No 2, Op 18, from 1932.

Weighing in at 19 tracks, Repertoire's 2005 collection Ayla: The Best of Flash and the Pan is the most generous compilation yet assembled of Harry Vanda and George Young's impish post-Easybeats new wave creation, Flash and the Pan. Not only is it four tracks longer than the previous best F&P comp, 1994's plainly titled Collection, but it's more carefully assembled too, boasting good liner notes from Chris Welch and eye-catching comic book artwork. If F&P didn't have any other song as immediate or memorable as "Hey St. Peter," their gloriously ridiculous new wave novelty, they did have a number of good oddities and robotic new wave pop before sinking into coldly slick anthemic pop at the end of the decade.

The first new Flash album in 40 years finds original members, Ray Bennett and Colin Carter, picking up where they left off, after three critically acclaimed studio albums and a Top 40 hit, Small Beginnings, with this new set of progressive melodic tunes! Flash was originally formed in 1971 by Peter Banks, first Yes guitar player, and Colin Carter, who was the singer of the first Camel line up, before they started to record. Ray Bennett joined them and Flash was born. They released 3 albums between 1972 and 1973 and then disbanded around 1974.

The best-known alter ego of the Harry Vanda/George Young songwriting team (the creative force behind the Easybeats), Flash and the Pan began simply as a between-production project in 1976. By 1979, the project had turned out a novelty hit with the single "Hey St. Peter." A second single, "Down Among the Dead," also became a hit throughout Australia and Europe, inspiring the release of the album Flash and the Pan. American radio began playing import copies which led to a deal with Epic Records. The album would soon reach the Top 100 in the U.S. despite the lack of a supporting tour.

1982's The Message has a good claim to being the greatest rap album of the old school years. It was the first politically radical rap album of its era exploring the various inequalities of 1980s America. No rap act at that point had channelled the mood and struggles of the streets onto record. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five became the first to address the reality of inner city life in New York's boroughs. Tracks such as the renowned "The Message" certified them as one of the most influential groups in hip-hop's history. This Expanded Edition of their classic album now includes additional bonus such as "The Message II", "New York New York", the instrumental of the "Message" plus "The Adventure Of Grandmaster Himself", a cut up of various classic breaks that only appeared 20 years after the original recording. Also included are new extended sleeve notes and brand new photos.