Monty wrote:that's what I thought as I've only ever seen the 'Hank Marvin' 1969 solo album on silver box/black label - that 1969 Paul Jones solo album 'Come Into My Music Box' was 'black/silver box' too but in mono & stereo versions, as was Jeff Beck's 'Beck Ola' album, while later 1969 albums were stereo only.
There was another much later Columbia label too - Our local Virgin shop was relocating circa 1988 to larger premises & had a 'clearout' sale to shift stock minus proper covers - CDs & vinyl LPs minus covers were selling for 50 pence each!
I grabbed Beatles, Cat Stevens, & Yes CDs for 50p plus on looking through the 'non sleeve' LPs was surprised to find a stereo 'More Hits - The Shadows' but on a later 'cream' coloured Columbia label with brown lettering and the Columbia title was in the older style of the late fifties - it was a latter day vinyl release being quite thin compared to years ago.
This design must have superceeded the seventies 'silver box' design.
The last occasion on which I am aware that EMI used their right to the (originally, American) Columbia name was with the original (mono-only, jewel-cased) release of the "Cliff" album on CD. It was internationally-numbered CDP 7 48277 2 (with a printed UK-only number of CZ1). Release date for the CD was 1987.
It is possible that EMI used the Columbia imprint for other, later, releases, but I'm not aware of any.
This was about the time that CBS were relinquishing control of their records division to Sony. Perhaps Sony were less inclined to renew the rights of EMI over the Columbia name outside the Americas.
On reflection, the name "Columbia" has obvious American origins, but I can't say that occurred to me back in the days of the green label 45rpm disc. It was something of a surprise, years later, to see a panoramic shot of the Benny Goodman Orchestra circa 1940, playing on a large stage with a huge backdrop of a Columbia 78 rpm record: looking exactly like they used to in the UK, right down to the "Magic Notes" semi-quaver couplet. Of course, Benny's records were released in the UK on the CBS, rather than Columbia, label. OK, I know that the "C" in "CBS" stands for "Columbia", but it still jarred. I had assumed that CBS records were sold under the same imprint in the USA.
But they weren't.