Sixpenny Songs

Little Marvel was Woolworth UK's first exclusive record label. Each disc featured the firm's Diamond W motif on its label, and contained a mechanical recording of a hit song or popular standard of the day.

At sixpence (2½p) each, the 5½" and later 6" records were under half the price of rival stores, and proved to be a winner with customers.

We've included links to a selection of the songs on this page, which is part of larger feature about the records sold in the Twenties. You can listen on-line or download a copy for later.

As the rather scratchy sound plays, imagine how it was recorded. Before micropophones and fancy electronics, the band and singer had to perform loudly into a large metal horn. As they did, a machine carved the sound into a wax disc. This was then used as a mould to make up to ten metal disc masters. Each master could be used to stamp out thousands of copies of the finished record!

Worth singing about, a 1923 sixpence, the price of a miniature gramophone record from Woolworth's

Sing a song of sixpence

Woolworth's top price seranaded on their own Little Marvel label

Little Marvel records like this one in a plain greaseproof sleeve sold in increasingly large numbers in Woolworth stores from 1921-28 Little Marvel Gramophone Records like this one were produced for F. W. Woolworth by the Vocallion Gramophone Record Company between 1921 and 1928 F.W. Woolworth sold Little Marvel records in Great Britain and Ireland between 1921 and 1928. The discs were double-sided with a topical track on Side A, for which a halfpenny royalty was paid, indicated by a stamp, and a bought-out title on Side B. Early records were 5½" in diameter, later ones grew to 6" allowing twenty seconds extra playing time.

Like Mimosa they had greaseproof-bag style unprinted sleeves and sold for sixpence. The discs were produced for Woolworths by the British subsidiary of Vocalion, who also sold larger, more expensive records in the UK under their own Brunswick label.