VFM label cassettes - a hint of more undiscovered sets

Last week, a cassette appeared on Ebay which I'd not seen before (thanks to Ian Byrne for the heads up). I'll show some scans first, then take a look at what it might be...

 

As you can see, this cassette goes by the name, "Hit Parade '77 vol. 6" - and it's that "vol. 6" part which makes you wonder... were there others issued as well? I did some digging around, and basically drew a blank. The VFM label is featured on Discogs as a minor budget outlet, but none of the other cassettes are of soundalike chart hits like this one (not that the listing is anywhere near complete).

Checking through the tracks on this one reveals something else - all ten were hits in August/September 1977, so this is more of a topical selection than a yearly retrospective. Like the other budget series, it has a snapshot of the charts at a particular point in time. So, volume 6 of a regular series, running through 1977 then?

Maybe not. One important note in the packaging is the date of issue - given as 1978. So if this is a selective collection, my hunch was that it was issued the following year as part of a box-set. The other volumes presumably covered different parts of 1977... and yet even this theory doesn't quite add up - look at the cover. It shows a price point of 99p - so it was probably on sale individually.

Strange that absolutely no info seems to exist about this! Let me do my bit to get VFM and "Hit Parade '77" on the map, with this blog post, and here, a track from the album - a version of Bob Marley's "Waiting In Vain":

Finding this tape set something off in the back of my mind. It looked strangely familiar but I couldn't place it. The cover art reminded me vaguely of the "Smash Tracks" tapes from Artisty, but it's clearly not a part of that set. A dig through my pile of unknowns, oddities and mystery tapes resulted in my finding another cassette from VFM - one I'd cast aside as unidentifiable, but which now sits alongside the above.

This one is "Hit Parade 79 vol. 1". The artwork is different yet similar (see the starburst lines around the edges):

Not having had a clue about this one before, I hadn't attached any significance to the "vol. 1" designation, but now of course it looks like part of a second set (or should we say, third, considering 1978 came between them).

The tracks on this cassette were mostly hits in March/April 1979, although a couple are a bit older. At the point these were released, Coombe Music had cornered the UK covers market, supplying recordings to both of the main series in production at the time - "Parade of Pops" and "Top of the Pops". The dozen tracks on this cassette are Coombe recordings, and many of them can therefore be heard on those albums as well (mostly, Parade of Pops volume 8, and Top of the Pops volume 72).

Again, that "vol. 1" nags at me. There are probably more - and as this covers an early part of 1979 - say, the first quarter - there's every chance that further volumes extend through the rest of that year. Were they released sequentially, or all at once? I'd love to know!

As before, I have copied over one of the tracks, a cover of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now", and you can feast your ears on it here:

I get tired of saying it, but here it comes again: please help us if you know anything more about these tapes. Drop us a line - we'll be most grateful and you will help us with one of the dark corners of UK cover version history.

Solid Gold ... on cassette

The "Solid Gold" series appeared in 1981-82 and is one of the briefest regular sets, with just three installments. The series was some sort of off-shoot from Chevron's "Solid Gold Parade of Pops", with which it shared a good number of recordings.

Until now, I'd always thought the "Solid Gold" albums were only issued on vinyl. Well, the grainy images below show I was wrong!

Nice gold box, too!

I don't have much else to add. I spotted this in an Ebay lot, and grabbed the images. Worth knowing these things exist. Maybe one day I'll strike solid gold and find one myself!

UK one-offs part 12: 12 Great Hits For All The Family

Not just a one-off, but two one-offs. So, that's a two-off I suppose.

This pair of LPs appeared in 1974/75 and is another example of drinks companies tapping into the vinyl market for some product promotion. In this case the bubbly is made by Corona, who not content with just releasing a couple of records, have even created their own label.

Mines's a double. Here they are.

Two LPs fizzing with pop. In each case, Corona have attempted to convince the listener that side 1 is somehow different from side 2, with comments like, "Featured on Side One is a selection of the most popular songs ever recorded. With Side Two ... six more dynamic chartbusters plus the added fun of Corona's latest batch of crazy radio commercials between tracks."

Er... run that by me again?

"Corona's latest batch of crazy radio commercials between tracks."

It's true! At least, it's true of LP1 side 2, and quite amusing they are too, at least to start with. (remind you of anything?)

Now, the question always arises with these promo albums - where did they get the recordings? In this instance, we know - they are almost all taken from the Windmill label's "Parade of Pops" albums. LP1 has tracks from various volumes up to and including volume 17...

above, volume 12: "Solitaire"; "Tiger Feet" - and volume 17: "Love Me For A Reason"

Meanwhile, LP2 has tracks from volume 17 again, up to and including volume 23 (from which, no fewer than four songs are taken) ...

above, volume 20: "Goodbye My Love"; "Please Mr Postman" - and volume 21: "Let Me Be The One"; "Bye Bye Baby"

There are three songs which don't show up in the "Parade of Pops" series, these being "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", "Something Stupid" and "Home Lovin' Man". We don't know where they came from, but the betting is, some other Windmill LPs. Let us know, if you know.

Apparently, after releasing their two promotional records, Corona went back to doing what they did best - manufacturing soft drinks - while Windmill pretty much disappeared! Strange business, budget cover versions.

UK one-offs part 10: Pop Concert

This LP appeared on the little-noted Tempo label in 1979, but the clues to its true origins are there - I need not point out to collectors of Chevron's "Parade of Pops" series the act name, The Sound Sensations, nor the credits for Multiple Sound Distributors. For what we have here is, essentially, a "Parade of Pops" compilation (almost - see below) and, to cap it all, it was pressed on groovy green vinyl:

Pretty cool, eh? So the dozen selections can all be heard on "Parade of Pops", on various volumes ranging from CHVP 3 to CHVP 12. (And, since there was track sharing going on, five also turn up on various "Top of the Pops" LPs too.)

Here's the track listing:

• Bang Bang 
• Sunday Girl 
• Mr. Blue Sky
• Lay Your Love On Me 
• Sweet Little Rock 'N' Roller  
• Night Fever 
• Ring My Bell 
• Banana Splits 
• Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick 
• Gotta Go Home   
• You're The One That I Want
• Painter Man

So, what's the odd one out which I mentioned? Well, it's the most ambitious of the lot. "Mr. Blue Sky" never appeared on "Parade of Pops". However Chevron nailed a copy for the album below - an ELO tribute album also from 1979.

Why "Pop Concert" was pressed on the Tempo label rather than Chevron, is unclear, but with the green vinyl to mark it out from the crowd, this is one "one-off" well worth hunting down.

UK one-offs part 8: Chart Toppers

Another odd one...

Although it's called Vol. 2, I have never seen another in this series, so am treating this as a one-off. The label is Coronet, but that's about as much as we learn from the packaging.

Not having an 8-track player, I've never heard the recordings. My efforts to identify them turned up just one clue, and it may well be right - all tracks on the cartridge may also be heard on the album below (itself something of a one-off), so there's a good possibility they are from the same source:

The LP is part of the Windmill label's output - they of "Parade of Pops" fame. It is in fact a charity fund-raiser, with Miss World, Belinda Green, on the front. The recordings never surfaced on the regular "Parade of Pops", adding to the idea that these were sourced from elsewhere as some kind of special project. It's a fair guess that Coronet made up their 8-track from these same tapes, although who got their hands on them first is anyone's guess.

Who though are Coronet, and did they release anything else?? Leave us a message if you know more.

UK one-offs part 7: Request Time

Odd little album this. Never having heard it, we're only assuming it has some soundalike cover versions on it, so bear with us if this turns out to be a boo-boo.

It certainly looks like it should have some soundalikes on it! Just look at the track listing - 70s pop hits all, while on the cover we have one Beverley Pilkington, stalwart of budget albums from "Top of the Pops" to "Parade of Pops".

So what do we know about the "Request Time" LP? Well, the label is Tag - or to be more precise, T.A.G. - or to be even more precise, the Ten Album Group of Warrington. Odd name, that - the Ten Album Group, and this LP is sub-titled, "The best of our albums in one".

With the catalogue number, TAG 10, there is reason to believe that the Ten Album Group was formed in order to release just a decuplet (look that up, folks) of albums, this being the conclusion to the set. And in fact, it is a compilation from some or all of the other nine. Here are a few of them...

We'd very much like to hear more about this album - whether it's a bona-fide covers LP, a red herring, or part both. In any case, part of a curious project to release ten - and only ten - LPs, each with a little picture of itself in the top corner!


++++++++++++ UPDATE ++++++++++++++

11/09/2016:

We have kindly been sent a copy of this album by reader, Jeff Vagg, and were keen to see if our hunch was right - namely, that these are all soundalike cover versions.

On hearing the album, it seems we were almost right (well, 92.86% right to be exact) in that all bar one are indeed imitations of the famous hit versions. The odd one out? It comes as early as track 2 - a schmaltzy piano instrumental of Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire" - it had been a hit for Andy Williams and The Carpenters of course.

We're not sure how or why this crept in - but the rest of the album does a fine job imitating hits the size of "Dancing Queen" and "Love Me For A Reason". Thanks to Jeff for helping us give it a listen at last!
 

Covering the Christmas charts... 1974

Forty years ago, December 1974, the cover version LP was going strong. Perhaps a little past its peak, when budget albums were scaling the charts themselves, but still a notable presence in High Street stores, especially Woollies. It's interesting now to take a glance back and see how the Christmas hits were rounded up - or not - on the albums in question. Before we do that, let's remind ourselves of the top 40 on Christmas day, 1974:

1 - Lonely This Christmas  (Mud)

2 - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet  (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)

3 - Juke Box Jive  (The Rubettes)

4 - You're The First, The Last, My Everything  (Barry White)

5 - Wombling Merry Christmas  (The Wombles)

6 - Streets Of London  (Ralph McTell)

7 - My Boy  (Elvis Presley)

8 - Get Dancing  (Disco Tex And The Sex-O-Lettes)

9 - Oh Yes! You're Beautiful  (Gary Glitter)

10 - Tell Him  (Hello)

           

11 - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds  (Elton John)

12 - You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything  (The Faces And Rod Stewart)

13 - The Inbetweenies / Father Christmas Do Not Touch Me  (The Goodies)

14 - Ire Feelings (Skanga)  (Rupie Edwards)

15 - Down Down  (Status Quo)

16 - Tell Me Why  (Alvin Stardust)

17 - Sound Your Funky Horn  (KC And The Sunshine Band)

18 - Christmas Song  (Gilbert O'Sullivan)

19 - I Can Help  (Billy Swan)

20 - Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)  (Al Green)

           

21 - Gonna Make You A Star  (David Essex)

22 - Under My Thumb  (Wayne Gibson)

23 - Hey Mister Christmas  (Showaddywaddy)

24 - The Bump  (Kenny)

25 - Never Can Say Goodbye  (Gloria Gaynor)

26 - Magic  (Pilot)

27 - Stardust  (David Essex)

28 - How Long  (Ace)

29 - Only You  (Ringo Starr)

30 - Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart  (The Trammps)

           

31 - Cheri Babe  (Hot Chocolate)

32 - Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus  (Jane Birkin And Serge Gainsbourg)

33 - Ms. Grace  (The Tymes)

34 - Too Good To Be Forgotten  (The Chi-Lites)

35 - Killer Queen  (Queen)

36 - Pepper Box  (The Peppers)

37 - Help Me Make It Through The Night  (John Holt)

38 - No Honestly  (Lynsey De Paul)

39 - (Hey There) Lonely Girl  (Eddie Holman)

40 - The Wild One  (Suzi Quatro)

What’s striking about the listing is the sheer number of Christmas songs represented. And these weren’t all novelty records either – quite a few were specially written hits for some of the major acts of the day. Number 1 were Mud with “Lonely This Christmas”, while both Gilbert O’Sullivan and Showaddywaddy were on chart with their respective seasonal offerings. “Christmas Song” and “Hey Mister Christmas”. Meantime, the then-popular Wombles were sitting pretty at number 5 (“Wombling Merry Christmas”), with TV stars The Goodies placed at number 13 (“Father Christmas Do No Touch Me”)

Of course the aim of the covers album was to scoop up all these hits - or, as many as could be predicted given that they had to be recorded some time in advance. When it came to Christmas singles though, the main LP series were often reluctant to get to grips with them for some reason, and so there are comparatively few available over the years. (Not a single one tackled the current number 1 hit, “Lonely This Christmas”!)

So what about the rest of the top 40? How did the covers albums fare? Let's start with the stalwart of stalwarts, "Top of the Pops". Like several of the album series, there were actually two offerings for your stocking that year – the standard album, as well as an end-of-year round-up LP:

Top of the Pops were currently running at volume 42, and their 12 song selections manage to capture the current chart numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 and 16 – not a bad snapshot of the Christmas listing. The unseasonal “Streets of London” was missing, as well as that chart-topper from Mud, but we do have at least one Christmas number in the form of “Wombling Merry Christmas” – actually, an underrated example from the genre.

The “Best of 1974” collection contains 14 (count ’em!) number 1s from the year.

Naturally, one might look to compare mfp’s offering at this stage, to see how they stacked up against the Hallmark boys. But, with “Hot Hits” having folded a year earlier, mfp had little available in 1974. Their most recent album, “Chart Choice 74” was something of a retrospective, casting its eye over the year’s blockbusters, and just managing to tap into the Christmas charts with the inclusion of “(Hey There) Lonely Girl”, which was clinging on to number 39 on Christmas morning.

Now, something strange was afoot in late-1974. Three of the leading names in cover version LPs were quietly closing in on one another. Get this - the Christmas releases from Pye (“Chart Buster Hits” volume 13), Windmill (“Parade of Pops” volume 19) and Stereo Gold Award (“12 Tops” volume 25) each had exactly the same contents! What on earth??... Here they are:

So what makes the cut? The Christmas numbers 2, 3, 4 and 9 appear – all of which were also to be heard on the current “Top of the Pops” collection, but there are some curious choices as well; five of these tracks never even cracked the top 10, while one, a cover of Peters & Lee’s “Closer” failed to chart at all in the UK! No Christmas hits to lighten the mood either...

For number 1 hits, we have to look at the annual collections, scooping up the year’s highlights. Pye went out on a limb by issuing a 30 (yes, you heard me) track assemblage called “1974 Top 30” – so vast it wouldn’t fit onto a disc and so only came out on cassette and 8-track cartridge:

Meantime, Windmill missed the Christmas boat completely, their yearly retrospective not landing until January:

 

We should also mention one other review of 1974, Rediffusion’s lesser-known “The Best of ’74”, pretty similar to the “Top of the Pops” equivalent LP, but with a couple less tracks:

The last name on the scene in December 1974 was Contour, currently running volume 16 of their “16 Chart Hits” series. Alongside it came their best-of album, “20 Great Hits of ’74”...

The album “16 Chart Hits” pulled out nine tracks from the seasonal listing: 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 26, 36, 38 and 40, and was the only one to capture a version of Elvis’s “My Boy”.

So, all-in-all, a fair bit of overlap can be seen on these “rival” offerings, but nevertheless, buyers had a choice of five current chart collections, besides as many again surveying the hits of the previous 12 months. Not bad for a format supposedly past its prime. But where, oh where, are all the Christmas hits?...