Started by Richard Branson in the early 1970s as an independent label based in London, UK.

Early releases on the label included the classic progressive rock album Tubular Bells by multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield in 1973, electronic breakthrough album Phaedra by Tangerine Dream and The Faust Tapes and Faust IV by Faust.

Although Virgin was initially one of the key labels of British progressive rock, the 1977 signing of the Sex Pistols, who had already been asked to leave both EMI and A&M, reinvented the label as a new wave outpost. Afterwards they signed groups like Human League, Culture Club and Simple Minds and Genesis recorded various albums for Virgin.

After several false starts licensing its artists to American labels like Epic (Culture Club), Atlantic (Genesis) and A&M (UB40, Human League), Virgin Records opened up its American division, Virgin Records America, in 1987. Virgin Records America's releases were distributed by WEA with arrangement from Atlantic Records until 1992.

Virgin Records was sold by Branson to EMI in 1992 and has since launched several subsidiaries including Realworld Records, blues speciality label Point Blank Records and Hut Records.