PONTIN'S CROCODILE CLUB
RECORDS

 Independent label: A label belonging to the holiday camp company.  Pontins seems to have released just the two record, 'Thumbs Up - Book Early' by Frankie Woods. Its catalogue number, SRTS/78/CUS-139 shows that it was made in 1978 by custom recording concern SRT. Apparently 'Thumbs Up - Book Early' was an advertising slogan used by Pontin's at the time. Pontin's put out at least one other single, 'The Crocodile Song' by Captain Croc (SRTS/83/CUS-1845), which came out in 1983 on the Pontin's Crocodile Club label. Pontins is a British holiday business which was originally founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. It specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays with regular entertainment on offer. Accommodation is usually in the form of chalets. The company once grew to be a major operator of seaside holiday accommodation, but has now shrunk considerably. Fred Pontin opened the first holiday camp in 1946 on the site of a former US World War II army base at Brean Sands in Somerset, gradually expanding his empire to 30 sites at one point. In 1978 the company was sold to Coral in a UK £56 million deal. In 1980, Coral (including Pontins) was taken over by Bass Brewing who later disposed of the Pontinental side of the business. In 1987, Pontins was sold to a management buyout team led by Trevor Hemmings, whose construction firm had originally built the holiday centre at Southport. It was sold yet again in 1989, this time to Scottish & Newcastle. Over the next ten years the company closed or sold a number of sites. In a three-year programme in the mid-1990s, the remaining camps were modernised. In 2000 the company, which now owned only eight camps, was sold back to Hemmings. In 2008, the company was sold to Ocean Parcs for £46million. Wall Park holiday centre was not included in the sale, and, in January 2009, Pontin's announced the closure of its Hemsby holiday centre. Pontin's Blackpool in Squires Gate closed in October 2009 leaving five parks still trading under the Pontin's brand. Distributed By Pontin's Holidays.

   

83

Captain Croc

Crocodile Song

PONTIN'S CROCODILE CLUB

SRTS83CUS1845