VA - All Things Bright and Beautiful, The UK Pop Explosion 1967-1969 [2025] (3 x CDs)

UK POP

VA - All Things Bright and Beautiful, The UK Pop Explosion 1967-1969 [2025] (3 x CDs)

If you’re craving a blast of British pop sunshine, All Things Bright and Beautiful, The UK Pop Explosion 1967-1969 is like stepping into a paisley time machine. Released by Grapefruit Records, this 3CD box set is a technicolor celebration of the moment UK radio went full stereo sparkle, when Radio 1 launched, pirate stations faded, and suddenly every corner of Britain was humming with harmony-rich, hook-heavy pop.

You’ve got the big hitters here, The Move’s “Flowers in the Rain,” The Hollies with “Carrie Anne,” even The Kinks dropping in with “Wonderboy.” But Grapefruit’s real magic is in the deep cuts. Sweetshop’s demo of “Slow Motion” is pure bubblegum bliss, and The Eggy’s “Hookey” sounds like a lost fuzz-pop anthem from a parallel universe. Then there’s The Violent Thimble (yes, really) with “Gentle Peoples Pts. 1 & 2” a psych-pop oddity that feels like it wandered in from a dream.

Rarity-wise, it’s stacked: unreleased demos, regional 45s, and tracks that got airplay but never charted. Even Genesis sneak in with their debut single “The Silent Sun,” back when they were more baroque pop than prog rock. The title track comes from Neil Christian’s “You’re All Things Bright and Beautiful,” a charming slice of orchestral pop that sets the tone perfectly.

The packaging is classic Grapefruit, clamshell box, 48-page booklet, track-by-track notes, and that unmistakable care for historical detail. It’s a well curated journey through a moment when British pop was playful, ambitious, and gloriously melodic. Whether you’re chasing B-sides or just vibing with the era’s optimism, this set feels like a warm breeze through a Carnaby Street record shop. (B)

I want to thank K for sharing this beauty from his personal collection. PLEASE DO THE SAME.

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Track lists

CD1

01 Move - Flowers in the Rain 2:31

02 Alan Price Set - Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear 2:02

03 Neil Christian - You're All Things Bright and Beautiful 2:56

04 Vanity Fare (aka: The Sages) - I Live for the Sun 2:30

05 A New Generation - Smokey Blue's Away 3:18

06 Foundations - Baby, Now That I've Found You (Original Clem Curtis Vocal Version) 2:37

07 J. Vincent Edwards - Thanks 3:03

08 Living Daylights - Let's Live for Today 2:53

09 Hollies - Carrie Anne 2:53

10 Jonathan King - Round, Round 2:57

11 Hi-Fi's (aka: Five's a Crowd) - I'm a Box (Mum-Mum-Mum) 2:35

12 Arrival - Friends 3:57

13 Val McKenna - House for Sale 2:02

14 Sweetshop (Pre "The Sweet") - Slow Motion (Demo Version) 3:01

15 Plastic Penny - Everything I Am 2:21

16 Magic Lanterns - Shame, Shame (Stereo Mix) 3:00

17 Kinks - Wonderboy 2:49

18 Shakane (aka: Force West; The Oscar Bicycle) - Mr. Blue 2:48

19 Don Fardon - The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian 3:25

20 Davey Payne and the Medium Wave - A Walk in the Sunshine 3:30

21 Spectrum (aka: Le Group 5) - Samantha's Mine 2:22

22 Candy - Little Bit O' Soul 2:00

23 Paper Dolls with John Macleod and his Orchestra - Something Here in My Heart (Keeps A-Tellin' Me No) 2:55

24 Secrets feat. Clifford T. Ward (aka: Martin Raynor and the Secrets; Simon's Secrets) - I Think I Need the Cash 2:18

25 Sundowners - The Gloria Bosom Show 2:45

26 Flower Pot Men - In a Moment of Madness 3:01

27 Keith West with the Mark Wirtz Orchestra and Chorus - Excerpt from "A Teenage Opera" (Grocer Jack) 4:28

CD2

01 Love Affair with Alan Hawkshaw and his Orchestra - Bringing on Back the Good Times 3:24

02 Lulu - The Boat That I Row (Stereo Mix) 2:49

03 Twiggy - Beautiful Dreams 2:56

04 Simon De Lacy - Baby Come Back to Me 3:03

05 Wheels - What's the Matter with Juliet 2:36

06 Clodagh Rodgers with Johnny Arthey and his Orchestra and Chorus - Come Back and Shake Me 2:36

07 Cindy Ann Lee with the Kenny Woodman Sound - March 2:23

08 Gene Latter (aka: Tony) with the Tony King Orchestra - Sign on the Dotted Line 2:39

09 Skatalites - Please Let Me Hide 2:47

10 Family Dogg - A Way of Life 4:06

11 Episode (aka: Episode Six) - Wide Smiles 1:50

12 Cymbaline - Peanuts and Chewy Macs 2:23

13 Genesis - The Silent Sun 2:12

14 U.K. Jones (aka: Mike Berry and the Perishers) - And the Rains Came Down 2:57

15 Merseys feat. The Funky Bottom Congregation - Lovely Loretta 3:05

16 Chuckles - I Thought You Thought 2:27

17 Marmalade - Lovin' Things (Stereo MIx) 3:04

18 Quotations - Cool It 2:56

19 Mike Stuart Span (aka: Leviathan) - Baubles and Bangles 2:33

20 Unit 4 + 2 (aka: The Unit) - Would You Believe What I Say 2:13

21 Whichwhat - Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' 2:18

22 Eggy - Hookey 2:43

23 Amen Corner - (If Paradise Is) Half as Nice 2:45

24 Chocolate Watch Band - What's it to You 2:45

25 Twinkle - Micky 2:27

26 Tony Ritchie - Anybody at the Party Seen Jenny 2:53

27 Circus - Gone Are the Songs of Yesterday 3:02

28 Violent Thimble - Gentle People (Pts. 1 and 2) 5:49

CD3

01 Barry Ryan with the Majority and the Johnny Arthey Orchestra - Eloise (Single Version) 5:13

02 Herd - I Don't Want Our Loving to Die 2:57

03 Mirage (aka: Yellow Pages; Portebello Explosion; Jawbone) - Mystery Lady 2:30

04 Good Things (aka: The Good Thing Brigade; High Broom; Jason Crest) - (Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree 3:02

05 Dave Christie - Penelope Breedlove 2:36

06 Casuals with Cy Payne and his Orchestra - Jesamine (aka: When Jezamine Goes) 3:33

07 Grapefruit - Round Going Round 2:47

08 Gnomes of Zurich - Publicity Girl 2:09

09 Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - Last Night in Soho 3:17

10 Harmony Grass - I Remember 3:05

11 Tony Hazzard - Everything's Gone Wrong 2:15

12 Sun Dragon - Blueberry Blue 2:21

13 Outer Limits - Great Train Robbery (Original Promo Version) 3:39

14 Honeybus - I Can't Let Maggie Go (Stereo Mix) 2:57

15 Apple - Let's Take a Trip Down the Rhine 3:04

16 Mirage (aka: Yellow Pages; Portebello Explosion; Jawbone) - Ding Dong Bell 2:07

17 Carlew Choir - Huma-Lama 2:45

18 Sons and Lovers - Things You Do 2:33

19 Katch-22 (aka: Westland Steamboat) - While We're Friends 3:03

20 Deep Feeling (aka: Guy Darrell Syndicate; Green Man) - The Turtle Tortoise and the Hare 2:23

21 Steve Rowland - I See Red 3:15

22 Warm Sounds - Angeline 3:52

23 Jimmy Henderson Set - Drive, Drive, Drive 2:49

24 Roll Movement - Just One Thing 2:07

25 Tuesday's Children (aka: Czar) - Bright Eyed Apples 3:37

26 Picadilly Line (aka: Edwards Hand) - Evenings with Corrina (So Long Ago) 2:47

27 Tremeloes - Even the Bad Times Are Good 2:37

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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