British Decca Values
this page first published by John Wright, 3 Dec 1997
last update 14 Mar 2005
vintage@jabw.demon.co.uk
Note: values quoted are typical prices paid at a record fair stall where the stall-holder knows the demand for music and records.
A commonly found record label in a 78rpm collection, Decca sold millions of records. Many favourite
dance bands made their best records on Decca. The first British Decca records for popular music appeared in 1929. The expensive red label M- series, featuring Ambrose and his Orchestra,
are very hard to find, the less expensive blue F- series featuring studio bands are more common, and the F- series soon included the top bands of Jack Hylton, Roy Fox and Lew Stone, and the voice of Al Bowlly.
A lot of jazz, American and British, is to be found on the 1930's Decca records.
For example:
| Cat. No. | Band or Artiste | Issue Date | Typical Value | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-70 | Ambrose and his orch | 1929 | £10.00 | scarce hot dance titles |
| F-1611 | Rhythm Maniacs | 1930 | £2.00 | medley of hot dance music |
| F-2246 | Palm Beach Hawaiians | 1931 | £5.00 | not a real Hawaiian band! but a Len Fillis group with vocals by Al Bowlly |
| F-2323 | Spike Hughes and his Orchestra | 1931 | £6.00 | British jazz titles titles |
| F-2440 | Blue Lyres | 1931 | £3.00 | good dance titles, actually the Ambrose Orchestra |
| F-2834 | Roy Fox and his band at the Monseigneur Restaurant | 1932 | £4.00 | very popular band with collectors, these titles feature Al Bowlly and Nat Gonella |
| F-3030 | Jack Hylton and his Orchestra | 1932 | £1.00 | popular dance band but these titles are of little interest |
| F-3079 | George Formby | 1932 | £4.00 | one of the more interesting Formby records has a jazz accompaniment(Hylton band) |
| F-5158 | Lew Stone and his band at the Monseigneur Restaurant | 1934 | £4.00 | very popular band with collectors, these titles feature Al Bowlly |
| F-5322 | Nat Gonella and his Trumpet | 1934 | £4.00 | good British jazz titles |
| F-5375 | Ambrose and his Orchestra | 1935 | £4.00 | excellent hot dance titles on this record |
| F-5883 | Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti | (1931) re-issued 1936 | £4.00 | excellent American jazz duo |
| F-5922 | Ambrose and his Orchestra | 1936 | £1.00 | pleasant dance titles |
| F-7100 | Quintet of the Hot Club of France | 1939 | £4.00 | popular jazz group with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelly |
| F-7267 | Ambrose and his Orchestra | 1939 | £2.00 | WW2 songs |
These records are only examples of what kind of values are put on some of Decca's popular vocal and dance records. There will be some records by the same artistes worth more or less,
depends on the quality of the music and on how many copies of the records were sold.
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