Love 'em or
loathe 'em?

Today Embassy Records are highly collectable as icons of a bygone age.

But back in the 1950s and 1960s opinion was strongly divided. Some peope loved them and some people absolutely hated them. The decision to record really good cover versions of the same songs being released on the hit parade, and get them on the shelves at the same time as the originals, but at a much lower price, was a controversial one. Occasionally the Woolworth song outsold - and was considered better - than the real thing. And a few Woolworth artistes switched sides and became stars in their own right.

You can read the whole story, and listen to some of the songs, right here in the Woolworths Museum.

Embassy Records WB210:

Beryl Templeman 'Lay Down Your Arms'

Embassy Records WB210: Beryl Templeman 'Lay Down Your Arms (and Surrender to Me)'

Play another song on the Embassy Jukebox

If you prefer (or if your browser can't handle HTML5 audio), you are welcome to download the song to play it later. Pick your preferred format from the list below by right clicking it and then choosing 'save target as..':