Premier
The company was founded in 1922 as the Premier Drum Company by London drummer Albert Della Porta and drum builder George Smith. At first, the company produced drum kits for wholesalers, who then would sell them as their own, but Premier soon began producing drums under its own name.
Premier also began producing symphonic percussion, marching percussion, and cymbals in addition to drum kits. Premier was originally located in central London (where the current Footes Music Store is now) and moved to purpose built premises in Acton in the 1930s. When WW2 broke out, Premier was engaged in the manufacture of gun sights for tanks and aircraft, but the factory was bombed out in 1940 and the company was relocated to a new Leicester facility shortly thereafter.
The company enjoyed great success during the Beat Boom of the 1960s not only in the UK, but worldwide, and won the Queen's Award to Industry in 1966. During the 1970s, Premier invested heavily in a new, purpose built factory to meet demand for their products, but in 1983, the Della-Porta family resigned from the board and the company's name was changed to Premier Percussion in 1984 following a management buyout.
In October 1987, Premier was merged with Yamaha, which owned the Leicester factory until 1992. During this period, Limited was appended to the company name. In 1992, Tony Doughty, who originally arranged the Yamaha merger, took over the company. In February 1995, Premier was sold to the Verity Group of Companies before yet another buyout by a British consortium a few years later.