Top Of The Pops albums
I was looking at the 'first record I ever bought' thread when I realised that the first record I ever owned was a Top of the Pops album dating to 1972 (although I had to Google it to verify the date): a present from a well-meaning grandma to a nine-year-old who enjoyed "that pop music"...
Check out the cover. Meanwhile for a full Wikipedia explanation of the albums, click here.
For younger Word readers, and those who can't be bothered clicking through to Wikipedia, the TOTP album series had nothing whatsover to do with the BBC TV show, involved compilation after compilation of chart hits, started in summer 1968 and lasted until 1982 - 91 titles in all on Pickwick's Hallmark label. (They brought out a swansong 92nd in 1985.) Famously, their front covers were very simple pictures of 'dolly birds' (no other description really does it justice) and a track listing.
They were the Now That's What I Call Music of their day, with one crucial exception - each album was full of well-kent tunes but they were all cover versions by jobbing session musicians.
The track listing for "my first album" was - with original artistes in brackets, as best as I can Google them - Metal Guru (T Rex), Supersonic Rocket Ship (The Kinks), Tumbling Dice (Rolling Stones), Coconut (Harry Nilsson), Rocket Man (Elton John), Lady Eleanor (Lindsifarne), What's Your Name (Chicory Tip), Doobedood'ndoobe Doobedood'ndoobe (Diana Ross), Little Willy (The Sweet), Isn't Life Strange (Moody Blues), California Man (The Move) and At The Club (no idea - anyone recognise that?).
As a nine-year-old I think I enjoyed the parping on California Man bestest. All together now, "Goin' to a party, meet me out after school..."
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Talking of Elton
Did he perform on some of these albums in his early days? I'm sure Danny Baker's played some probably-Elton-singing renditions culled from them over the years.
I do remember that one of said Top Of The Pops albums (c. 1979, I guess) actually contained a version of PIL's Death Disco. Never heard it but I'd love to - the session musos must have had a field day on that one.
Strange fact
Americans are unmoved by The Move. Most of them are convinced that "California Man" was actually a Cheap Trick tune, because they only know the lame-o 1978 cover version.
True dat.
Also (more Googling)
At the Club by the Drifters, written by Goffin & King - doh
'At The Club'
...that would be The Drifters - it was a double A side with 'Saturday Night At The Movies', c. May/June 1972. Obviously it was a 'revive forty-five', or a 'blast-from-the-past' in the common parlance of the day. Not 'arf!
String bikini to go
You have to feel for the guys who had to put together Bohemian Rhapsody in an afternoon, don't you? Less so whoever did Chicory Tip's Son of My Father, which I maintain to this day was better than the original.
Fighting talk!
...outside now!
There was an even cheaper variant...
I think from Woolies, on EPs, with 3 tracks a side. I remember a shocking one with an orange centre label, with songs reproduced as faithfully as did the TOTP orchestra rend "Uptown Topranking" by Althea and Donna*. I can't actually remember what was on the record I bought, having foolishly thought it was kosher; I chucked it away, after snapping it, as an insult to my dansette.
*Should there be another strand acknowledging the cricifixion of songs that could take place when the TOTP arrangers had to, under then music law, "re-arrange" material? The Althea and Donna still sticks in my mind, so awful was it, and I remember the bemused embarrassment as the 2 of them, as they gamely tried to soldier on. I believe the song went down in the charts following that, which remains a disappointment,as I believe it deserved better treatment. I still love it today, and raise a smile when Mr Random finds it.
We had the one
with Telegram Sam on it.
I remember a friend had the one with Crazy Horses on it - and I swear that the woooooaw woooooaw bit was done with a comb and brown paper.
Of course...
...Elton John and David Byron of Uriah Heep contributed to many of these recordings. Elton's came out on CD as 'Chartbusters Go Pop!' and some of them were even given away as a free CD with a UK newspaper a few years ago.
In my record collecting days I used to see lots of these around, but I never bought them. Mojo did a great 2-page special on them around 2000 or so though, and I think Hallmark actually released 'best ofs' for each year on CD of these albums.
ohrwurm alert
Whenever I think of the TOTP albums I instantly think of David Soul's Silver Lady - my best friend (or possibly one of her sisters) had the one with said track on it, the singer was noticably much lower in the vocal department than David Soul.
And now I have Silver Lady in my head. Joys!
Oh, and the girls in towelling bikinis and possibly a 'Donny' style cap...