Copycat ... er ... Covers - part 6

Another installment of looky-likey album covers, but slightly different this time. Whereas previously we've concentrated on the photographs, this time we're looking at the overall design, and in particular how the "Top of the Pops" template has been so very influential.

It was Pickwick's Bill Graham who designed the first "Top of the Pops" sleeve, including the logo, and his work would be copied over and over in the years since. In fact, the sleeves of the albums are so iconic that imitations are not at all surprising.

Let's start with a reminder of the typical "Top of the Pops" cover:

Exhibit A is the album below, part of the "International Hit Parade" series from Italy. It's practically a "Top of the Pops" sleeve in all but title:

Meanwhile in Portugal, a short series called "Best of the Top Pops" was appearing. The sleeves were somewhat naughtier than their UK equivalents, but again the basic design idea is obvious:

This next one is our absolute favourite. What nutter thought it was a good idea to have the model wearing a great big crash helmet? The album, called "Top Hits", is in fact part of the same "International Hit Parade" set as the last-but-one example - note how title and lettering have been brought into almost exact line with "Top of the Pops":

It's down to South Africa for our next album sleeve - "Pick of the Pops" is a name we know from other British albums, but again here the styling of the letters can have only one inspiration:

It's a fact that Bill Graham's famous design was such a winner that it was still being used by Pickwick as late as 1985. Similarly there are later overseas albums which draw on it for their template. This example has a name which we've certainly seen before! And below the big, bold letters is the box of song titles, and with them a three-quarter-length model... (this one's from Portugal as well):

In 1991, indie band, Thrilled Skinny, released this 12-inch EP, borrowing the artwork directly from "Top of the Pops" volume 28:

And still it continued. This next installment is from 1995, and consists of a vinyl album of house music from Todd Terry. Note again the unmistakable borrowing of the "Top of the Pops" lettering - actually the Cooper Black font, with Bill Graham's patent outlines around each letter. We could have been back in the early 70s!

Let's end this round-up with Artistry's fab 2015 compilation CD, "Tops in Pops of the 60s" - full circle, really, as we're back with the original UK cover versions of old!

Drop us a line if you know of any more examples, and we'll look to feature them in future.

Copycat ... er ... Covers - part 5

Another installment of our ongoing series of blog posts, bringing together cover version and budget LP sleeves which resemble other cover version LPs. We'll kick off this selection with some overseas albums using similar artwork to our own UK covers LPs...

First up, the Boulevard LP, "16 Hit Songs", which is in fact volume 1 of what would become Flag's "World Top 12" series. Below are four annual releases from the US, rounding up cover versions of summer hits. Notice how on the fourth they have simply discarded the cover model!

Next, to Stereo Gold Award's "12 Tops" series. The cover of volume 8 featured a model who would shortly turn up on the front of the German album, Tanz-Party 2 - the photo is from the same session:

"12 Chart Buster Hits" volume 15 was issued in the UK by Pye around Easter 1975. Probably around the same time, volume 4 of "Special Disco Party" was released in Israel, with the same photo on the front:

Next up is Rediffusion's "Hit Parade Special" volume 8. There are two overseas albums with similar photos. The first is the German LP, "Amarillo", the second an Australian album called "The Hits of Simon & Garfunkel", which we've featured before in this series, but which is worth juxtaposing with the other two; the photo has been flipped over:

Another one we've seen before is the Israeli album below left, which has a similar cover photo to that used on Contour's "16 Chart Hits" volume 10. We're re-running it here as we've found a third: "Top Hit Famous Theme From Films", which we believe is an Italian release.

...which leads us nicely onto the UK/UK examples below, the first of which features another photo from the session. Here, the model's swapped her hat for a fag. (No chance that would be allowed these days!)

The rest of these don't need much introduction. They are all UK albums with similar or identical photographs on the covers...

Check back here for another installment in a few days' time...

Copycat ... er ... Covers - Part 4

Another look at some of the LP sleeves from Britain and abroad, which share artwork with the standard covers albums (see here for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

All of the examples below feature alternative shots from the same photo session as certain more familiar LP sleeves...

 

 

Copycat ... er ... Covers - part 3

This is the third instalment of a series of blog posts giving examples of sleeve art from the classic cover version LPs turning up on other records (see the other two here: part 1 part 2). This time out, I'm looking at Top of the Pops, and concentrating here on the actual photo sessions.

It's sometimes the case that other photos from the same shoot were used elsewhere, either on unrelated UK albums, or even overseas, especially in France. In each case below there is a specific edition of Top of the Pops which has more than one alternative photo in circulation somewhere...

We start with Top of the Pops volume 38 (1974). The model also appears on two french LP sleeves, one of them in the long-running Hit Parade Chante covers series, the other on one of the Parades des Succes LPs:

This one is volume 65 (1978) and the cover photo was taken by French photographer Michel Laguens - who shot a couple more UK covers too - and in fact, he is openly credited on the sleeve of volume 16. The other albums are French, except for Angelo, which is an Israeli LP...

There are numerous photos known from the session which gave rise to Top of the Pops volume 67 (1978). Indeed two more turn up in the UK - the cover of Best of Top of the Pops '78 and the poster/calendar inside. Here we have yet more examples from France, and one (Disco Disco Disco) which was released in Yugoslavia!

Two more photos from the volume 80 (1980) shoot are known. Ever wondered what the model was wearing on her legs? Check out the cover of the Italian Hit Parade volume 33! The other example appeared on a UK album by Ray Conniff, released by Hallmark. Both of these were released years before volume 80, showing the photo was old by the time Top of the Pops used it.

Lastly, we look at one of the classic Top of the Pops sleeves - Best of '71. The model is of course Susy Shaw, and the images below show that this photo was from a part-nude shoot. Without wishing to be lecherous about it, the other images show her in progressively less clothing - in fact that chair is the only thing to positively link the last example to the others! That final shot, incidentally, is from a German magazine advert. One of the others is a standard UK covers LP released by Mike Morton, another is from South Africa, and another was only released as an 8-track cartridge:

Update ... and one more's turned up...