Last week, we heard that the old UK budget albums, including Top of the Pops, were afforded a glimpse of the limelight, courtesy of the Daily Mail newspaper.
Like several dailies, the Mail has a column for reader questions and answers, and someobdy posed the query, "Did any artists who recorded cover versions for Music For Pleasure's Hot Hits or Pickwick's Top Of The Pops go on to achieve fame?" And, someone named James Thompson, of Hartlepool, pitched in with an informed answer.
It's hard to read from the scan, so here's a grab from the online version (click to enlarge):
James Thompson is clearly quite a fan - and if you're reading this, please leave a message.
Great to see - and our thanks to Clive Hetherington for the heads up, and the newspaper scan.
Another in our series of occasional posts, which crop up when a Top of the Pops LP makes a cameo appearance in the media.
This time out, we spotted one of the LPs in the popular British TV show, Hollyoaks, a sort-of adolescent soap opera screened in the early evenings. OK, we don't normally watch the show, and don't know much about it, but our research reveals the following:
Down in "Hollyoaks Village" is an "emporium" (a junk shop) staffed by the character, Liberty Savage. The episode screened on Valentine's Day this year saw Liberty having a tense conversation with her sister, inside the emporium, and here's what we noticed:
There it is - just behind her - Top of the Pops volume 26.
For some reason, they've stuck a big pink label over the model's face. Something's written on it, but we can't make out what!
Here's the original LP sleeve:
Next to it on the shelf is a Contour album, which may well be another budget cover version LP. Impossible to say. We don't recognise the red album sleeve behind it, but then again, it doesn't necessarily belong to the disc anyway.
Watch out for more 'Top of the Spots' - and if you see any yourself, drop us a line.
We were delighted last week to get out hands on a copy of the much-anticipated David Bowie LP issued by Electronic Sound magazine: The Top of the Poppers Sing and Play the Hits of David Bowie.
As detailed in our last post, it compiles nine tracks from the Top of the Pops albums and is the first new vinyl release from the series in 33 years. Check out the fabulous purple vinyl!
Of course Poppers fans will know exactly what the record contains - nine cover versions bridging across Bowie's 1970s output, from "Space Oddity" through to "Fashion".
This LP is certain to become highly collectable, and I would recommend snapping a copy up while you can. And while you're at it, check out the mag as well, which carries an article about the Top of the Pops series by (ahem) a certain collector and blogger.
Mag and vinyl are available here: https://electronicsound.co.uk/
One we've known of for a while, but which fits in with our recent posts about Top of the Pops LPs turning up in various places. This one's a book cover, "Just for the Record" by Alan R Cox. It's about the turntable manufacturer, BSR, and the history the firm and its staff. Here's the front cover, and an enlargement of part of the main image:
You can see, just poking out from behind Elvis, a copy of Top of the Pops volume 42.
The inclusion of the LP was no accident. I once heard from the author, who told me (and I trust he won't mind me quoting), "These albums were an important part of pop and it was one of the many symbolic items placed on the cover."
Great to see a bit more recognition of this iconic series. It's likely that tens of thousands of these albums will have been slapped onto a BSR deck back in the day, so ubiquitous were they when 'suitcase' record players were all the rage. Here's a view of one, just like I remember when I was a lad. I can almost hear "Wombling Merry Christmas" rocking out from the built-in speaker...
Bo-Rap - pinnacle of the "Top of the Pops" cover versions, and the most famous of all soundalike recordings. It's long been recognised for the sheer achievement of Bruce Baxter and the boys, nailing an impressive copy of something which took Queen three weeks to record, in just a single session.
So complex was the task that no other versions were recorded in the UK. Of the regular covers album series, Pye's "Charbusters" and Windmill's "Parade of Pops" were still going at the time, while other labels were continuing to dabble here and there - but no-one even dared take a punt on the formidable Bo-Rap.
It's long been thought, then, that the "Top of the Pops" version is unique. Well, not so. We're recently learned that in South Africa, a different version was made for the long-standing "Springbok" series of albums, on the Music for Pleasure label. Volume 27, to be precise.
There it is, placed at the very bottom of the song list, and avoiding our attention until now. So, I suppose you'd like to hear it? No problem:
This version appears to have been recorded in South Africa especially for the LP. It gives the "Top of the Pops" effort a run for its money, although the relative merits of the two are up to the listener to decide. (I won't offer a 'critique'.) Here is the "Top of the Pops" recording for comparison, from volume 49:
When the "Top of the Pops" recording emerged, it was a bit of a sensation. Kenny Everett played it on national radio, defying listeners to identify whether they were listening to the expensive original or the cheapo cover version. An extract from a more recent radio show is given below, with reference to the success of the "Top of the Pops" version, and Kenny Everett's famous listener challenge:
It was a rare thing for a cover version like this to be given anything other than derisory mention. Yet Bohemian Rhapsody, "Top of the Pops"-style, has always garnered respect, and rightfully so. It was even released as a single in Italy! (The group name, Green Fly, is of course a fiction - it's really the "Top of the Pops" crew.)
I wonder whether anyone took similar note of the Springbok version in South Africa? It certainly deserves some recognition, if only for the bravery of the crew - whoever they were - in trying their hand at this most challenging of songs when they could have opted instead for something more conventional and easy to capture. Hats off to them.
For more on the "Springbok" series, see "Blogs we Like" at the top of this page.
More television cameos for those Top of the Pops LPs...
This time, it's the short comedy series, The Rebel, starring Simon Callow.
Callow plays an anti-establishment, ex-mod who refuses to grow old and likes nothing more than sticking two fingers to the law. Filmed in Brighton, scene of the most famous mod-rocker showdown in the '60s, episode 2 has him leading a group of pensioners in a riot over improper use of charity shop donations.
Down on Brighton beach, one of his army - an elderly lady in a Zimmer frame - proceeds to produce some Top of the Pops LPs, and, launching one as a frisbee, leads a charge against the enemy, LPs held aloft...
Here are some stills of her in action:
We can spot very clearly, volume 15 (the frisbee) and volume 35.
There's a third LP we don't get to see, the very edge of which is just poking out from behind volume 15. Given the red frame just visible, this must be an upside down sleeve, and the sharp square corner of said frame leads me to think it's volume 21:
If you see any surprise appearances like this, on TV, film, magazine, etc - send them in, and we'll feature them here.
Those old Top of the Pops LPs are turning up all over the place! We've recently featured a couple which made unexpected appearances on UK TV, and now we have another case of Top of the Pops pinching a bit of attention in the most unlikely of places.
So, I've decided to start a series of blog posts on this subject and invite readers to send in examples where Top of the Pops (or similar) have been spotted - "Top of the Spots" we'll call it.
And so to this post - music buff Rebecca Garnham has kindly sent us a copy of the front cover of Prog magazine (issue 51, Dec 2014). As the name suggests, this publication deals with prog rock, and ran a special feature on the music of 1974. Check out the LPs pictured:
All prog rock fans will recognise Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and Queen's Queen II. And all prog fans will also recognise the red LP sleeve elbowing its way into shot, with cover versions of prog classics like, er, "Sugar Baby Love" and "Seasons in the Sun".
It is, of course, our very own Best of Top of the Pops 1974:
What's it doing on the front of the mag? We've no idea - unless of course the photographer and editors were closet TOTP fans, which seems overwhelmingly likely. Come to that, as Rebecca pointed out, taking your LPs out for a pint was never really a craze anyway!
Still, once again we have the era depicted with a Top of the Pops LP used to good effect. Top spot from Rebecca - more to follow soon (well, at least one, which I have up my sleeve...).
A few weeks ago I mentioned the guest appearance of a Top of the Pops LP on UK national TV here. Well it seems the LPs are getting a taste for the limelight ... fellow collector Colin Cannon pointed out to us another small-screen cameo, aired on New Years Eve just gone.
The show is the Scottish comedy, Still Game, which included a flashback scene to a 1970s party, chucking in everything the decade had to offer from ghastly wallpapers to fibre-optic table lamps. And spinning on the "music centre" was none other than "Top of the Pops" volume 25:
Alas, viewers didn't get to hear the LP, for dubbed over the top was "That's The Way (I Like It)" by KC and the Sunshine Band.
Still, great to see one of the old TOTP LPs being used, obviously for its status as a 1970s icon.
There I was, casually ignoring the TV set tonight, when my attention was suddenly grabbed by a familiar sight: the sleeve of Top of the Pops volume 28...
What was it doing on BBC TV? You'll never guess - so I'll tell you!
The show was Celebrity Antiques Road Trip. The basic idea is a couple of celebs hook up with a couple of antiques experts, and travel from town to town hunting bargains to sell - hopefully at a profit - at auction. The whole thing is filmed of course. In tonight's gripping head-to-head, (no longer Little) Jimmy Osmond was pitting his wits against fellow popster, Tony Christie.
What happened next was quite unexpected. Jimmy and antiques expert Catherine Southon arrived in a second-hand shop in the town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire. They chanced upon a stack of old LPs, and out of the pile emerged this one. Jimmy Osmond was impressed to see an old Osmonds hit, "Crazy Horses" listed on the sleeve (he didn't seem to know it was a cover version though!):
Of course he had to buy it - and even more so when Catherine Southon pointed out another hit - Jimmy's own "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool" also on the LP!
Turns out 'Little' Jimmy is a 'big' deal when it comes to bargaining. He managed to get half a dozen LPs, a vintage Marconiphone record player, and even a wire record rack for a fantastic all-in price of £25. Great bargain lot to take to auction.
And Jimmy had more tricks up his sleeve. He autographed the LP, and then proceeded to lead a chorus of "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool" from the auction floor!
Bidding started at £50 and edged up to £56 - a £31 profit on the day. To be honest, if I'd been there I'd have raised the stakes considerably to secure this one - the record player alone was worth the price, never mind that LP.
Some lucky person took this gem home with him, and has a fantastic tale to tell. How often do you see one of the original recording artists proudly holding a Top of the Pops LP, let alone an autographed copy? (If the winning bidder is reading this, please get in touch and tell us about your day!)
If you're quick, you may be able to catch the whole episode on BBC iPlayer
I was recently contacted by Gary Jones, who brought to my attention an old advert for Chevron cassettes - the budget line stocked primarily, probably exclusively, by Woolworths in the late 1970s and 1980s. Gary chanced upon the ad in an old copy of Smash Hits magazine - as featured on this impressive blog. (It's the Christmas edition, posted up on December 1, 2014 - click the mag cover to see all the scans.) Anyhow - here it is, and you can click here to enlarge:
Note first, how the ad is titled "So This Is Music". Since the magazine which carried it appeared in December 1984, the unrelated Now! That's What I Call Music LP series had been up and running for a full and highly successful year - and the similarity of titles is striking.
The advert shows how much emphasis Chevron placed on their cover version cassettes at the time, not least in borrowing that title. Their series, This is Music, was running apace in 1984, and we see no fewer than three volumes cited in the ad, as well as cover scans of two - plus the end-of-year collection, Top Hits of the Year. Below are some close-ups.
Here we are in 2014, going on 2015 - an age of MP3s, MP4s, iPods, iPads - whatever - and it's amazing by modern standards that budget cover version cassettes were being actively promoted in a magazine dealing with proper chart music - albeit one aimed at teenagers, none of whom were to be seen dead without a Walkman. It shows how much emphasis Woolies placed on these cassettes, and presumably reflects on their popularity at the time.
Thanks to Gary for the heads up, and the proprietors and editors of the "Like Punk Never Happened" blog - a fine trip down memory lane for us older viewers.
Incidentally, you can find out more about Chevron's This Is Music series here.
Browsing for magazine articles on Salvador Dali (don't ask!), I chanced upon the magazine below, and something (besides the obvious) caught my eye. The magazine is called Weekend, and this particular edition dates to December 11, 1974. So I suppose I should have waited until next Thursday to post it up, exactly on its 40th anniversary - but what the heck. Here it is...
Check it out - just 6p buys you gripping stories like "How the Forsyte Saga Wrecked my Marriage" and "What Keeps an AA Man Smiling?"... but what's it doing on a blog about budget cover version LPs?
Well, quite simply, the photo is very similar to one which appeared on volume 12 of Pye's Chart Buster Hits in the autumn of that year - so a couple of months prior to the magazine. Here's the LP in question:
The photo is clearly from the same shoot, and courtesy of the magazine (which has something to say about the model in question, inside) we now know her to be Carol Augustine, one of many models to feature on the LP sleeves, who like the musicians and singers, were condemned to anonymity in nearly all cases.
Carol also appeared on at least two other budget LPs, with another photo from the session - one of them released in Spain, the other in Argentina. Different bikini bottoms to the above, but otherwise a close match:
Given that most of these models were making their living from posing for magazines and the like, there could well be many more out there, waiting to be discovered. Maybe, like this one, they will enable us to identify the models in person. Here is one other example, although we don't know her name. This time, it's Windmill's Parade of Pops series, corresponding with the cover of Cosmopolitan (August 1972):
Drop us a line if you spot any similar examples out there...
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