Today's Smash Hits - Italian pressing

One of the lesser-noted UK covers series was "Today's Smash Hits", issued on the London-based Enterprise label. In fact, it was the last of the regular series to start up, not counting those with a back-history of some sort (eg mfp's "Chart Choice" which has "Hot Hits" as a direct predecessor).

The series began in Autumn 1972, with installment four appearing just under a year on, and thereby ending the set. Here is the UK edition:

Thanks to the fab site, Discogs, I have now discovered that this relatively small series found its way over to Italy - this same installment number 4 (there were no actual volume numbers) was issued there. Here's a cover image:

Note the little badge in the bottom corner - it's the logo of Broadway International, the Italian label which hosted all sorts of obscure goodies, from Jimi Hendrix tributes to an edition of "Hot Hits 18", about which we'd like to know more! 

It's not known whether there are more Italian editions of "Today's Smash Hits" - but if we see any, expect them to be posted on here in due course.

To be going on with, here's the same label's edition of "Hot Hits 18" - you'd hardly recognise if, if you didn't know!

12 Tops holidays in France!

Readers of this blog will know all about the "12 Tops" LP series, which was released in the UK between 1972 and 1976, on the Stereo Gold Award label. But something we didn't know, until the record below turned up the other day (thanks to Declan, a keen fellow collector), was that the series also made an appearance - in a slightly different guise - south of the English Channel.

This LP is called "12 Tops Todays Top Hits", which technically is the full title of the UK series, and is compiled from nine tracks from the main LP series, plus another three which previously appeared only on volume 2 of Stereo Gold Award's special American editions ("Mary Had A Little Lamb"; "Rocket Man"; "Tumbling Dice"). All tracks were originally released in 1972, which is of course also the date of this compilation LP.

(For more about the UK series, and to see which records the tracks originate from, click here.)

The label here is Mondio Music, a French imprint much of whose discography to date is printed on the back of the sleeve.

It appears they wanted to credit Stereo Gold Award on the label, but must have mistaken the word "Stereo" for a description of the recording and left it out - hence, it reads just "Gold Award Records"!

There are no previous editions of "12 Tops" in the listing on the back, and since the LP includes tracks as early as UK volume 2, it seems this was the first of its kind. Was it also the last? We don't know, but would love to hear from anyone who knows more.

The cover photo, by the way, might look familiar. It is very similar to a (later) UK cover - "Today's Smash Hits volume 3" which was released on the Enterprise label in 1973 (below).

The photo is by well-known LP cameraman, M. Laguens. On the French LP there is a noticeable swirl effect over the image, which seems to have been included deliberately as part of the artwork, since the yellow lettering over the top does not have this effect.

Please contact us if you know any more about this French LP or any similar ones.