New CD issues from Artistry

Exciting news has come through once again from the guys at Artistry, with the release of more CDs compiling from the old cover version albums - "International Edition Tops In Pops"; "Tops In Pops of the 60s Vol 3" and a collection of "Instrumental Chartbusters".

There are some fantastic track selections on these latest discs, one in particular catching my eye, as we did a post on it recently - "Tops in Pops of the 60s Vol 3" contains the coveted version of "Love Me Do" by the Sparrows, which was the first cover version of a Lennon-McCartney song anywhere in the world! This, I believe if the first and only time it has been released on CD - so a little bit of music history there.

The rest of the tracks raid the Avenue vaults for vocals by Martin Jay, Danny Street, Peter Lee Stirling, David Byron and others - many of them familiar from the LPs released back in the day. Some are much older and a tad rarer - "Two Silhouettes" for example, was an Embassy label B-side for Paul Rich back in 1963.

Fans of Elvis Costello will also note the presence of Ross McManus on one of these albums - he's Elvis's dad of course! (And need we mention a certain Elton John?)

Below are some track details from the CD inserts. These should be available any time now, on EBay - head over and track them down. As ever, full credit to Colin Richardson and the Artistry team for preserving these fab recordings.

Embassy goes digital

I chanced upon these two CDs while browsing Amazon this week. Readers of this blog will no doubt be au fait with the old Woolworth's label, and the slew of bargain-priced cover records it released. These two CDs are now available for aficionados, providing a comprehensive overview of the years under the spotlight:

The 1960 collection includes hits like You Got What It Takes (Hal Munro); Cathy's Clown (Dick Jordan); Three Steps To Heaven (Rikki Henderson); Only The Lonely (Don Duke); Save The Last Dance For Me (Rikki Henderson)...

1961 features Rubber Ball (Bobby Stevens); Calendar Girl (Don Duke); Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Jean Campbell); Take Five (Gordon Peters Quartet); Johnny Remember Me (Bobby Stevens)...

Of course it's all a far cry from the Technicolor world of 1970s covers albums, but here, in these old tapes made for pressing to 45, are the seeds of the later cover versions we know and love. Some collectors will have heard a clutch of old Embassy singles without realising it - they make up Hallmark's two "Revived 45s" albums, without a sniff of a credit!

On the subject of Embassy, this CD is also currently available:

Some of these cuts are also on "Revived 45s", while the Typhoons themselves are quite highly regarded by those in the know for their work not just on Beatles covers but several 1960s hits by what could loosely be termed 'beat groups'.

Great to see that these recordings are being preserved, as their place in cover version history deserves. Check them out!