Decca: The World of Hits - The Complete Collection 1969-1973 - Volumes 1-7 (55th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) (10CD) (2024)

K SPECIAL

Decca: The World of Hits - The Complete Collection 1969-1973 - Volumes 1-7 (55th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) (10CD) (2024)

The World of... is a series of budget albums released by Decca Records and its subsidiaries.

Launched in 1968, the series showcased a wide variety of the label's output including classical music, pop, folk, jazz, blues, world music, showtunes, comedy and spoken word releases. Among the editions are compilations, reissues, samplers and several collections based upon the BBC Radio programme Your Hundred Best Tunes. The World of... brought Decca’s catalogue to retailers like supermarkets, encouraging new buyers to "dip in". By 1975, it was described as "probably one of the best-selling series ever devised by a record company". The World of... albums are commonly found in charity shops in the UK.

The World of... series was formulated after Decca head Sir Edward Lewis was shown Germany's Phase 4 Stereo sampler albums on a business trip to the country. The series marked Decca's entry into the budget market, with the cut-price albums intended to entice consumers who didn’t usually buy LPs. Promoted with window displays, browser cards and colour posters, the series was an immediate success. By 1973, The World of... held 18-20 percent of the budget albums market in the UK, behind MFP with an estimated 28 percent. In 1975, the albums retailed at £1.29. By 1986, the dealer price had increased to £2.12.

The first release, the 14-track compilation The World of Mantovani, was issued in September 1968 in a gatefold sleeve and priced at 17/6d. The album reached number six on the UK Albums Chart, while a second Mantovani volume made number 4 in 1969.

Among the early entries in the series was The World of Johann Strauss (1969), the first of several releases that "treated classical music much like pop: compiling the most popular pieces and presenting them across two sides". By the end of 1969, 54 titles were available in the series.

Several releases spotlighted Decca's contemporary pop signings. The World of David Bowie (1970) was issued after Bowie left the label and features most of his 1967 debut album alongside 1966 B-side "The London Boys" and three previously unreleased songs.

Further releases were dedicated to Tom Jones, Lulu, Cat Stevens, Lynsey de Paul, the Zombies, Amen Corner, Alan Price, the Flirtations, Them and Billy Fury, among others.

Seven The World of Hits albums featuring acts such as Small Faces, the Move and Thin Lizzy were issued between 1969 and 1973.

Dedicated World of releases appeared for blues, soul, folk, easy listening, hard rock, country, music hall, television themes, sacred music and brass bands.

Comedy releases featuring the Goons, Tony Hancock, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Benny Hill, Marty Feldman, the Goodies and Bernard Manning among others were also issued.

In classical music, several The World of Your Hundred Best Tunes compilations were among the best-selling releases in the series, leading to the publication of a companion book by Alan Keith in 1975 "for the millions who have shown their needs by buying the discs".

Some albums in the series dropped the World of designation. These releases can be identified by their catalog numbers, which are prefixed SPA as with all others in the series. They include Nova Sampler (1970), comprising selections from Decca's short-lived progressive music series, I Thought Terry Dene Was Dead (1974), a companion to Dan Wooding's biography of the same title, and a 1975 reissue of The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp (1968).

The release schedule slowed during the 1980s, with some of the final original albums appearing in 1986.

The series inspired the title of Morrissey's World of Morrissey album, released in 1995. The World of... was revived in 2019 when five new titles were released to celebrate Decca’s 90th anniversary.

In January 1969, The World of Hits was first introduced and focused on Decca hit records at the time. The series ran for seven volumes up until 1973.

In addition to the complete The World of Hits series, I have included three bonus albums: The World of David Bowie, The World of Mod and The World of Northern Soul which were released in 2019 and 2020 to celebrate Decca’s 90th anniversary.

The World of David Bowie - Decca UK (1970)

A special Record Store Day 2019 release, released on 13th of April.

The World of David Bowie is a compilation album by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 6 March 1970 by Decca Records as part of their The World of... series following Bowie's success with the "Space Oddity" single. It primarily consists of material he recorded in 1967 for Decca subsidiary Deram, including all but four tracks from his debut album David Bowie, as well as three previously unreleased songs - "Karma Man", "Let Me Sleep Beside You" and "In the Heat of the Morning" - and the 1966 B-side "The London Boys". The tracklisting was approved by Bowie himself, while the sleeve photo was provided by David Bebbington. The album was reissued in April 1973 with a Ziggy Stardust-era sleeve photo.

LP - Record Store Day 2019 Release. 180 Gram Blue Vinyl.

3500 copies.

Part of the ’Decca90’ series celebrating the label’s 90th anniversary year.

Decca launched its much-loved World of Series in 1968. The first album set out the series’ stall perfectly, looking at one of the label’s biggest selling artists - yet hardly one that chimed with the counter culture in 1968. The World of Mantovani - SPA 1, (or PA 1 in mono) – was a 14 track collection, each track a different selection from his sizeable Decca album catalogue. Released in the autumn of the year, it acted as a perfect primer, and its price, 17s, put it shy of the 37s 6d of the full price albums. Its whole raison d’etre was to drive sales of the artist’s deeper repertoire - dip in here and then indulge further - the rear sleeve clearly offered the catalogue numbers of the parent albums.

The series would run throughout the 70s and become a ubiquitous feature of the label. It was taken so seriously, that David Bowie himself offered the track listing for his own addition to the series, (SPA/PA 58), which was released in March 1970 after the success of the Phillips-released single Space Oddity. It also showed how the World ofs could be a veritable treasure trove for rarities and one-offs, as it contained the first official release of Let Me Sleep Beside You, Karma Man and In the Heat of the Morning. According to Kevin Cann’s invaluable book on Bowie’s early years, Any Day Now, Bowie bought a copy of the original himself from a record shop on Beckenham High Street. It became a big seller - indeed, Decca repackaged it in 1973 - when Bowie finally became a big star. Imagine the shock people had thinking they had The Jean Genie when all they had was Uncle Arthur and Little Bombardier.

Originally, the single versions of both Love You Till Tuesday and When I Live My Dream were meant to replace the album versions for this compilation, but this didn't transpire.

The 2024 digital remaster featured here is presented how it was initially intended to be released featuring all the original mono mixes and single versions.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_of..._series

The albums included in this box set are:

The World of Hits, Vol. 1 - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (1969)

The World of Hits, Vol. 2 - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (1969)

The World of Hits, Vol. 3 - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (1969)

The World of Hits, Vol. 4 - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (1970)

The World of Hits, Vol. 5 - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (1971)

The World of Hits, Vol. 6 - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (1972)

The World of Hits, Vol. 7 - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (1973)

The World of David Bowie - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (1970)

The World of Mod - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (2019)

The World of Northern Soul - Decca UK (2024 Digital Remaster) (2020)

None of these albums have ever been released on CD or digitally, so this is a true first in this presentation of all digital files.

Compiled as always using the very latest and highest quality digital remasters, with a considerable number of tracks sourced from the original master tapes for superior sound quality and enjoyment.

This 10CD set contains only 100% CD quality original recordings, including many in their original mono form. No later remixes, re-recordings, vinyl rips or poor-quality YouTube rips here!

Enjoy!

K

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Track lists

The World of Hits, Vol. 1

01 Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale (Original 1967 7" Mono Single Version) 4:08

02 Dave Berry - The Crying Game 2:41

03 Unit Four Plus Two - Concrete and Clay 2:17

04 Cat Stevens - Matthew & Son 2:40

05 Small Faces - Sha-La-La-La-Lee (Original 1966 7" Mono Single Version) 2:55

06 The Alan Price Set - Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear 1:58

07 The Fortunes - You've Got Your Troubles 3:25

08 Them - Gloria (Original 1964 7" Mono Single Version) 2:39

09 The Zombies - She's Not There (Original 1964 7" Mono Single Version) 2:23

10 Los Bravos - Black Is Black 2:56

11 Billie Davis - I Want You to Be My Baby 2:40

12 The Moody Blues - Go Now! 3:12

The World of Hits, Vol. 2

01 The Move - I Can Hear the Grass Grow (Original 1967 7" Mono Single Version) 3:05

02 Small Faces - All or Nothing 3:04

03 Lulu and the Luvvers - Shout (Original 1964 7" Mono Single Version) 2:55

04 The Tornados - Telstar (Original 1962 7" Mono Single Version) 3:15

05 The Honeybus - I Can't Let Maggie Go 2:57

06 Hedgehoppers Anonymous - It's Good News Week 2:05

07 The Alan Price Set - I Put a Spell on You 3:20

08 The Amen Corner - Bend Me, Shape Me 2:36

09 Crispian St. Peters - The Pied Piper 2:34

10 The Nashville Teens - Tobacco Road 2:25

11 Whistling Jack Smith - I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman 2:23

12 The Attack - Hi Ho Silver Lining 2:30

13 Them - Here Comes the Night (Original 1965 7" Mono Single Version) 2:48

14 Cat Stevens - I Love My Dog 2:20

The World of Hits, Vol. 3

01 Small Faces - Whatcha Gonna Do About It (Original 1965 7" Mono Single Version) 1:57

02 The Casuals - Jesamine 3:34

03 Donnie Elbert - Without You 2:23

04 Twinkle - Terry 3:10

05 The Fortunes - Caroline 2:02

06 Savoy Brown - Train to Nowhere 4:14

07 The Move - Night of Fear (Original 1966 7" Mono Single Version) 2:18

08 Cat Stevens - I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun 2:13

09 The Cryin'? Shames - Please Stay 3:18

10 Timebox - Beggin' (Original 1968 7" Mono Single Version) 2:49

11 Billie Davis - Angel of the Morning 3:21

12 The Moody Blues - Boulevard de la Madeleine 2:54

13 The Flirtations - Nothing But a Heartache (Original 1968 7" Mono Single Version) 2:42

14 Chris Andrews - Yesterday Man 2:32

The World of Hits, Vol. 4

01 The Marmalade - Reflections of My Life 4:12

02 Arrival - Friends 3:56

03 The Amen Corner - High in the Sky 2:58

04 White Plains - My Baby Loves Lovin' 2:46

05 Small Faces - My Mind's Eye (Original 1966 7" Mono Single Version) 2:01

06 Dana - All Kinds of Everything 3:03

07 Frijid Pink - The House of the Rising Sun 4:44

08 Jonathan King - Let It All Hang Out 2:13

09 The Alan Price Set - Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo 2:48

10 Cat Stevens - A Bad Night 3:12

11 Chris Andrews - To Whom It Concerns 2:37

12 Brotherhood of Man - United We Stand 2:52

The World of Hits, Vol. 5

01 The Marmalade - Rainbow 3:18

02 White Plains - Julie, Do Ya Love Me 2:37

03 Jonathan King - Million Dollar Bash 2:16

04 The Amen Corner - Gin House Blues 3:11

05 Dana - Who Put the Lights Out 3:14

06 Arrival - I Will Survive 3:17

07 The Alan Price Set - Don't Stop the Carnival (Original 1968 7" Mono Single Version) 2:26

08 Small Faces - Hey Girl 2:18

09 The Poppy Family - Which Way You Goin' Billy? 3:23

10 The Applejacks - Tell Me When 2:16

11 Brotherhood of Man - Where Are You Going to My Love 3:20

12 East of Eden - Jig-a-Jig 3:35

The World of Hits, Vol. 6

01 The Marmalade - My Little One 3:20

02 Jonathan King - Lazybones 2:16

03 Dave Berry - Little Things 2:24

04 Val Doonican - Elusive Butterfly 2:43

05 The Flower Pot Men - Let's Go to San Fransisco (Original 1967 7" Mono Single Version) 3:31

06 The Fortunes - Here It Comes Again 3:04

07 White Plains - When You Are a King 2:52

08 The Amen Corner - The World of Broken Hearts 3:00

09 Brotherhood of Man - California Sunday Morning 3:23

10 Pinkerton's Assorted Colours - Mirror, Mirror 2:00

11 Lulu - Leave a Little Love (Original 1965 7" Mono Single Version) 2:46

12 Unit Four Plus Two - (You've) Never Been in Love Like This Before 2:33

The World of Hits, Vol. 7

01 The Marmalade - Cousin Norman 3:11

02 Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar (1972 7" Radio Promo Edit) 3:43

03 Billie Davis - Tell Him 2:14

04 White Plains - I've Got You on My Mind 2:42

05 Bloodstone - Natural High (Original 1973 7" Single Edit) 4:09

06 David Bowie - The Laughing Gnome (Original 1967 7" Mono Single Version) 2:59

07 Junior Campbell - Hallelujah Freedom 4:02

08 Candlewick Green - Who Do You Think You Are 3:05

09 Dave Berry - Mama (Original 1966 7" Mono Single Version) 2:52

10 Lieutenant Pigeon - Mouldy Old Dough 2:44

11 The Goons - The Ying Tong Song 3:24

12 Peter Skellern - You're a Lady 4:35

The World of David Bowie

01 David Bowie - Uncle Arthur (The Original Mono Album Mix) 2:09

02 David Bowie - Love You Till Tuesday (Mono Single A-side) 3:01

03 David Bowie - There Is a Happy Land (The Original Mono Album Mix) 3:16

04 David Bowie - Little Bombadier (The Original Mono Album Mix) 3:26

05 David Bowie - Sell Me a Coat (The Original Mono Album Mix) 3:00

06 David Bowie - Silly Boy Blue (The Original Mono Album Mix) 3:54

07 David Bowie - The London Boys (Mono Single B-side) 3:22

08 David Bowie - Karma Man (Mono Decca Master) (Previously Unreleased) 3:05

09 David Bowie - Rubber Band (The Original Mono Album Mix) 2:19

10 David Bowie - Let Me Sleep Beside You (Mono Single Master) (Previously Unreleased) 3:27

11 David Bowie - Come and Buy My Toys (The Original Mono Album Mix) 2:10

12 David Bowie - She's Got Medals (The Original Mono Album Mix) 2:27

13 David Bowie - In the Heat of the Morning (Previously Unreleased Mono Vocal Version) 2:47

14 David Bowie - When I Live My Dream (Mono Single Master) 3:52

The World of Mod 

01 Small Faces - All or Nothing 3:04

02 The Quik - Bert's Apple Crumble 2:12

03 Timebox - Beggin' (Original 1968 7" Mono Single Version) 2:49

04 Eyes of Blue - Supermarket Full of Cans 2:41

05 Tom Jones - Looking Out My Window 2:21

06 David Bowie - The London Boys 3:20

07 The Birds - Leaving Here 2:42

08 Jimmy Winston & His Reflections - It's Not What You Do (But the Way That You Do It) 3:01

09 The Hipster Image - Make Her Mine 2:16

10 Chirs Farlowe - Air Travel 2:11

11 The Beatstalkers - Base Line 2:10

12 Billie Davis - Billy Sunshine 3:22

The World of Northern Soul

01 Timebox - Beggin' (Original 1968 7" Mono Single Version) 2:49

02 The Flirtations - Nothing But a Heartache (Original 1968 7" Mono Single Version) 2:42

03 Tom Jones - Stop Breaking My Heart 2:26

04 David Essex - So-Called Loving 2:29

05 Clyde McPhatter - Baby You've Got It 2:55

06 Eden Kane - A New Kind of Lovin' 2:16

07 Brotherhood of Man - Reach Out Your Hand 3:19

08 Billie Davis - Billy Sunshine 3:22

09 The Fantastics - Ask the Lonely 2:49

10 Dave Berry - Picture Me Gone 2:45

11 Engelbert Humperdinck - Come Over Here 2:41

12 Eyes of Blue - Supermarket Full of Cans 2:41

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