Lamborghini's softer sounds
11/11/2017
For many classic car enthusiasts, the roar of a Lamborghini Countach is the most beautiful music. In fact, the sports car manufacturer was even involved in the music business for a while. In 1982, the then Lambo boss Patrick Mimran founded a label under the name "Lamborghini Records".
The story sounds too good to be true: At the age of 24 (!), Patrick Mimran (pictured left) bought the Lamborghini company together with his brother Jean Claude. He did so for a pittance, i.e. around three million dollars. The company was gradually nurtured back to health until the brothers sold it to Chrysler in 1987 - although the national circle was later closed due to the takeover of Chrysler by the Fiat Group.
The musically inclined Mimran, who now works as a visual artist and musician and lives in French-speaking Switzerland, launched the "Lamborghini Records" label as an offshoot of the company. Until 1985, the record company was busy releasing records in all styles.
Among others, singles by Todd Rundgren, Samantha Fox and the album "Bay of Kings" by Steve Hackett (Genesis member, among others) were released.
Numerous electro records were also released. One of these is "Novels from the Moon" by the band Axxess. An anachronistic work: contrary to the trend at the time, the record was recorded with analog synthesizers in 1983.
Today, the record is a sought-after rarity. The German pressing has already been sold on the Internet for EUR 75 / CHF 90. Here is an excerpt:
In August 1985, Billboard magazine announced the end of the label. Mimran had too many projects on the go with Lamborghini to adequately manage the record company.
It was a shame that he had missed out on releasing the sound of a Countach on vinyl. This would have allowed the average consumer to listen to the 12-cylinder symphony in the back, which would probably have brought the label good sales ...
