Thursday, January 24, 2013

Chart Busters box set surfaces in Brazil

A while back, I posted details of a Readers Digest box set called "Chart Busters", which I picked up on a charity shop run (see here). Little did I know when I bought it, that it contained tracks from a range of covers albums including Hot Hits, Top of the Pops, 12 Tops, Parade of Pops... and so on.

Anyway, I have since come across some more information on this release, revealing that the box - plus an intriguing extra - was also issued in, of all places, Brazil - thereby representing the export of a good cross-section of the UK covers industry, with recordings from most of the main labels. Here are some images of the box:



It's noticeable how deep the box is, as compared to the UK one, with the track listings printed under the lid. The label logo can be seen on the top - it's Borges & Damasceno, rather than Reader's Digest, who were a budget label in Brazil (surprise, surprise). More interesting still are the contents of the box:




The upper image shows all the records laid out, and they are in red printed inner sleeves, in contrast to the UK edition which had each individual LP in a conventional sleeve. And what's that blue sleeve at the top? It's a seventh album, which was not included at all with the UK set! Here's the full cover artwork for it:


The album is called "Rock 'n' Roll of the 50s" and I have yet to find a UK equivalent. It contains cover versions of classic 50s hits such as "Rock Around The Clock", "Long Tall Sally", "Peggy Sue", "Be-Bop-A-Lula", "Shake, Rattle And Roll" and so on. I wonder where these recordings originally came from?
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2013 at 9:03 PM

    Bill Wellings BWD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PopperJanuary 24, 2013 at 9:05 PM

      Thanks very much! Any knowledge of a UK edition? Would it have been on mfp?

      Delete
  2. bro19January 25, 2013 at 4:39 PM

    I wonder if this album was issued as a bonus with the original Readers Digest box set? It wasn't uncommon for Readers digest box sets top be offered with a bonus disc so it may be that this was a bonus disc for this set. Mine doesn't have one unfortunately. :-)

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  3. PopperJanuary 25, 2013 at 7:50 PM

    It's possible, though I've never heard of one, and Googling has so far failed to throw up a UK edition. The UK boxes did have a Readers Digest certificate inside them - sadly, mine has been lost.

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2013 at 8:14 PM

    The Bonus Rock and Roll record was specially compiled from the BWD back Cat. It was never released on its own for retail sale.

    ReplyDelete
  5. PopperJanuary 25, 2013 at 8:51 PM

    Well, that would explain why it's not easy to find. Do you know if it was just in Brazil, or whether it was in the UK set as well?

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 15, 2014 at 1:34 PM

    There's a cassette version of this on Ebay right now!

    ReplyDelete

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