The Emerald story is convoluted and is closely associated with it's founder, Belfast promotor Mervyn Solomon. It was launched in 1965.

Emerald had bases in Belfast and Dublin and in London was distributed by Vogue Records. Emerald Gem had the same base in Belfast and was distributed in London by Vogue records. Eventually Decca bought out Emerald and Vogue.

Emerald operated in London during the 1960s. Its releases bore the MLD/SLD prefix.

Emerald Gem largely specialized in showbands, but also released a number of traditional and folk items, as well as plenty of MoR material and Loyalist albums. Its releases bore the GEM/GEM prefixes.

The standout releases for readers of this webpage will probably be those of The Coterie and Rory Gallagher, but some of the showband releases may contain interesting material.