Vertigo Records was established in 1969 as a subsidiary of the Philips Records label in the United Kingdom. Notably spear headed by Olav Wyper and Gerry Bron, Vertigo was created to cater to the emerging progressive rock and heavy metal genres, which were gaining popularity at the time. Speaking on one of the label’s earliest successes, Wyper stated” In November 1969 I went up to Harry’s Blues House in Birmingham with three of my colleagues to see two groups handled by manager/promoter Jim Simpson. We signed one of them, that band was Black Sabbath”

Black Sabbath, whose self-titled debut album, released in winter 1970, is often credited with pioneering heavy metal. Back to back releases in 1970 with the album Paranoid releasing in late summer included hits like "Iron Man" and "War Pigs." This wave of contributed to a flurry of releases including debut albums by Uriah Heep, Rod Stewart and Gentle Giant.

During the early 1970s, Vertigo continued to expand its roster with influential bands like Status Quo, Kraftwerk, Thin Lizzy and singer/songwriter Jim Croce. Status Quo’s breakthrough album “Piledriver” released in 1972, was notably the first produced by the band.

Throughout the decade, Vertigo maintained its position as a respected label in rock with critically acclaimed albums from Graham Parker, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath and Dire Straits but with shifting trends in the musical landscape the label was challenged by punk and new wave uprising. Although the 80’s brought iconic releases from Dio and Bon Jovi, the label never fully regained their shine. With internal personnel reshuffling and management changes, Vertigo eventually became part of the Universal Music Group where it continues to see releases in various parts of the world.

Vertigo Records has had a significant impact on the music industry since its inception in 1969. The label's iconic spiral logo became synonymous with cutting-edge and experimental music. In a 2015 interview with The Vinyl Press, Olav Wyper fondly reflected “ It (Vertigo) remains absolutely special to me; a huge creative satisfaction to launch a label from scratch, with a great team of people. It was rare to get an opportunity to start a label from the ground up with major resources, like those Philips had. As a creative achievement, and despite my working with other great labels and phenomenally talented people in the industry over many decades, Vertigo stands head and shoulders above all the others”