Comprises all the cover versions of 1961 hits that were sold exclusively in Woolworths.

Acrobat Music's series of British Hit Parade collections has become an essential annual purchase for a significant number of collectors and enthusiasts who wish to hear and own every record that entered the British record charts during each year.
This year, we are introducing another innovation into our annual trawl of the songs that the great British record-buying public was spending their hard-earned shillings on. This collection comprises every 45rpm single that was released in 1961 on the Embassy label, the cover versions that were sold exclusively in Woolworths stores from 1954 to 1965. Obviously, they were highly selective about the tracks they recorded - they were generally already guaranteed hits - although they did do one or two pre-emptive recordings of things they expected to chart which didn't make it.
For those who began their record-buying lives in the '50s and '60s the Embassy label provided a variety of different perceptions. For the purist, it was anathema - the idea of buying anything other than the version of a hit that was in the charts by the star artist was unconscionable (although people would happily buy a watered-down British cover of a stonking and original US hit if that was what was being pushed at them on the radio). For others, the chance to buy a halfway-decent version of two different hits on one 45 for not much more than half the price of a regular single - and from a shop they were probably in most Saturdays - looked like a sensible deal, especially if you weren't a dyed-in-the-wool NME or MM-reading aficionado. There were also those who were genuinely interested in the music, and saw it as an interesting parallel world, buying either or both of the original and the sound-alike version.
Half a century and more distant, in the world of collectors, enthusiasts and nostalgia, even the prejudices about the presumed naffness of Embassy recordings have gone out of the window as fans of '50s and '60s pop are happy to revisit the music of the times in all its forms in a happy voyage of rediscovery, and people can hear them for what they really are.
In addition, the artists who made the cover versions have a story of their own to tell, and still command a hard core of fans, and so this collection provides an eclectic slice of nostalgia that will appeal at a number of levels.
We are sure that in addition to the enthusiasts with a special interest in Embassy, many purchasers of our main British Hit Parade sets will also be keen to acquire the 'B' sides to ensure the completeness of their collection.

Track Listing

• Bobby Stevens - Counting Teardrops
• Jean Campbell - Breakin' in a Brand New Broken Heart
• Bobby Stevens - Sway
• Don Duke - Temptation
• Rikki Henderson - Portrait of My Love
• Bobby Stevens - A Girl Like You
• Rikki Henderson - Strawberry Blonde (The Band Rocked On)
• Bobby Stevens - Halfway to Paradise
• Rikki Henderson - Are You Lonesome Tonight
• Paul Rich - Running Scared
• Rikki Henderson - Stay
• Paul Rich - Well I Ask You
• Steve Stannard & His Group - Pepe
• Hal Munro - Don't You Know It
• Steve Stannard & His Group - Perfidia
• Hal Munro - You Always Hurt the One You Love
• Jean Campbell - Many Tears Ago
• Jean Campbell - Romeo
• Jean Campbell - Sailor
• Jean Campbell - You Don't Know
• Bobby Stevens - Rubber Ball
• Bobby Stevens - Johnny Remember Me
• Bobby Stevens - You're Sixteen
• Bobby Stevens - Time
• Bud Ashton - F.B.I.
• Jean Campbell - Reach for the Stars
• Bud Ashton - Wheels
• Jean Campbell - Together
• Don Duke - Calendar Girl
• Bud Ashton - Kon-Tiki
• Don Duke - Walk Right Back
• Happy Knights Jazz Band - That's My Home
• Bobby Stevens - Who Am I
• Rikki Henderson - A Little Bit of Soap
• Bobby Stevens - Wooden Heart
• Rikki Henderson - Wild in the Country
• Don Duke & Bobby Stevens - Are You Sure
• Bobby Stevens - Michael Row the Boat Ashore
• Don Duke - Theme for a Dream
• Bobby Stevens - Who Put the Bomp
• Jean Campbell - Where the Boys Are
• Russ Vincent - Hats Off to Larry
• Jean Campbell - Will You Love Me Tomorrow
• Russ Vincent - Jealousy
• Steve Stannard & His Group - Riders in the Sky
• Don Duke - Get Lost
• Steve Stannard & His Group - Ja-Da
• Jean Campbell - Walkin' Back to Happiness
• Leoni Page - Goodnight My Someone

• Michael Bond - 76 Trombones
• Don Duke - When the Girl in Your Arms Is the Girl in Your Heart
• Jacques Leroy and his Orchestra - Calcutta
• Don Duke - Wild Wind
• Jacques Leroy and his Orchestra - Theme from 'Exodus'
• James Wright & Orchestra - Sucu Sucu
• Don Duke - Lazy River
• Jean Campbell - You'll Answer to Me
• Don Duke - Pony Time
• Paul Rich - Hit the Road Jack
• Rikki Henderson - And the Heavens Cried
• Paul Rich - Tower of Strength
• Rikki Henderson - My Kind of Girl
• Bobby Stevens - Big Bad John
• Don Duke - Gee Whiz It's You
• Bobby Stevens - His Latest Flame
• Don Duke - You're Driving Me Crazy
• Bobby Britton - Moon River
• Bobby Stevens - Blue Moon
• Bobby Britton - The Time Has Come
• Don Duke - Warpaint
• Gordon Peters Quartet - Take Five
• Paul Rich - A Hundred Pounds of Clay (Original Version)
• Bobby Stevens - Take Good Care of My Baby
• Turk Ellis - On the Rebound
• Paul Rich - Give Us a Kiss for Christmas
• Jean Campbell - Don't Treat Me Like a Child
• Bud Ashton - The Savage
• Bud Ashton - Theme from Dixie
• Paul Rich - Runaround Sue
• Rikki Henderson - Runaway
• Paul Rich - The Twist
• Rikki Henderson - Surrender
• James Wright & Orchestra - Bless This House
• Bud Ashton - The Frightened City
• Kenny Bardell - The Baby Boy
• Doris Lee - You'll Never Know
• Charles Young - Johnny Will
• Don Duke & Bobby Stevens - Hello Mary Lou
• Kay Barry - My Friend the Sea
• Don Duke & Bobby Stevens - More Than I Can Say
• Steve Stannard & His Orchestra - Let There Be Drums
• Bobby Stevens - But I Do
• Steve Stannard & His Orchestra - Stranger On the Shore
• Bobby Stevens - Mother-In-Law
• Kay Barry - Don't Bring Lulu
• Kim Davey - I've Told Every Little Star
• Kay Barry - I Wanna Be Loved By You
• Gerry Stevens & Group with Don Duke - Pasadena

Additional Details

Label: Acrobat

Genre: Pop/Rock

Run Time: 181:20 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 06/19/12

UPC: 824046704520