See also EMI UK.
Former EMI Records Ltd. CD factory at Penny Lane, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK.
CD manufacturing officially started on May 15, 1986 and lasted until May 2002 (when the plant was closed down).
The plant originally started life in 1981 as a manufacturer of VHD videodiscs but was converted to CD manufacturing plant.
Interesting fact: The very first CDs and the very last CDs pressed were Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon. The final batch was used for a special employee-only run commemorating the plant's closure: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon.
Identifying EMI Swindon on CDs:
Most of the time, "EMI Swindon" appears in the matrix itself. In these cases, the glass master was made at EMI Swindon. When the location is not in the matrix, the following will help:
The matrix is split in the mirror band into two sections. The first part of matrix area will include a matrix block of numbers, usually six digits long followed by a space. Recordings that were mastered in-house at Abbey Road Studios may include the letters "AR" at this point. It is followed by the remaining numbers of the matrix. The second part of matrix area (or machine-stamped area) will include a set of stamped digits separated by colons (e.g.: ":1:1:16"). Unlike at EMI Uden, there is no country code suffix; while EMI Uden suffixed their matrices with "NL".
Some CDs will have "EMI Swindon" in the matrix but the machine stamped information will have an "NL" suffix which means that the glass master was made at Swindon, but the CD was pressed at EMI Uden. Also the IFPI originally assigned the mould SID code "IFPI 15##" to EMI Uden (e.g.: "IFPI 1525"). The inclusion of this code on a CD also means the CD was pressed at EMI Uden, not Swindon. The IFPI originally assigned the mould SID code "IFPI 14##" to EMI Swindon (e.g.: "IFPI 1442"). The inclusion of this code on a CD usually means the CD was pressed at EMI Swindon.
The following SID codes were assigned by the IFPI to EMI Swindon:
Mastering SID codes: IFPI L041, IFPI L042
Mould SID codes: IFPI 14## (All four digit mould SID codes beginning with "14").
This plant operated from the inception of the SID code program until the plant closed in 2002. Therefore identifying this plant by SID codes alone should not be problematic.
Nevertheless, some CDs pressed after 2002 by EMI Uden and then Mediamotion, including new releases, can still feature these 14## codes. It is possible but pending confirmation that some equipments and the associated codes were transferred to Uden and in turn to Mediamotion. Please do not credit Swindon for such items with confirmed post 2002 release dates.
CDs pressed from 2000 on may have "EMI UK" printed in the matrix in stead of "EMI Swindon". If this is the case, please use EMI UK.
