Sir Richard Branson

[Antigen]

Richard Branson

Virgin Records' first release was Oldfield's Tubular Bells, which was a best-seller and British LP chart topper. The album was released by Virgin after no other company dared to release the unconventional record.[citation needed] The company signed controversial bands such as the Sex Pistols, which other companies were reluctant to sign. It also won praise for exposing the public to obscure avant-garde music such as the krautrock bands Faust and Can. Virgin Records also introduced Culture Club to the music world. In the early 1980s, Virgin purchased the gay nightclub Heaven.

To keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold the Virgin label to EMI in 1992, a more conservative company which previously had rescinded a contract with the Sex Pistols. Branson is said to have wept when the sale was completed since the record business had been the genesis of the Virgin Empire.[citation needed] He later formed V2 Records to re-enter the music business.