VA - Kenny Everett, The World's Worst Record Show [1978]

NOVELTY

VA - Kenny Everett, The World's Worst Record Show [1978]

There is a certain kind of compilation that only makes sense once it is playing, and Kenny Everett The World's Worst Record Show falls straight into that category. On paper it reads like a novelty idea, a radio personality gathering deliberately odd, awkward, or outright baffling records. In practice it feels closer to tuning into a late-night broadcast where the rules have quietly slipped away.

Curated by Kenny Everett, the set reflects the sensibility he brought to his radio work, irreverent, playful, and slightly chaotic, but always rooted in a deep familiarity with records. The sequencing does not aim for musical flow in the usual sense. Instead, it leans into contrast. A straight-faced performance might sit next to something unintentionally comic, followed by a track that sounds perfectly normal until a small detail throws it off balance.

What gradually emerges is a different kind of pacing. Rather than building mood, the record resets itself again and again, each track acting like a new sketch. Novelty songs, curious spoken word pieces, and offbeat performances take their turns without warning. The effect is less about judging the records as good or bad and more about hearing how strange the edges of popular music can be when placed side by side.

Because Everett approached the material as a broadcaster rather than a historian, the selection feels personal. These are not obscure tracks gathered for rarity alone, they are chosen for reaction, for the way they land when heard unexpectedly. That sense of timing carries through the entire set.

The compilation becomes something closer to a radio programme preserved on vinyl. The humour arrives in waves, sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle, and occasionally not intentional at all. It leaves space for the listener to decide what belongs and what does not, which is part of the appeal. (B)

Thanks to Marty who shared this. (Thanks Marty)

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Track list

01 Jimmy Cross - I Want My Baby Back 3:28

02 Zarah Leander - Wunderbar 2:39

03 Legendary Stardust Cowboy - Paralysed 2:13

04 Pat Campbell - The Deal 3:23

05 Nervous Norvus - Transfusion 2:22

06 Jess Conrad - This Pullover 2:24

07 Mel & Dave - Spinning Wheel 2:47

08 Dickie Lee - Laurie 3:00

09 Mrs. Miller - A Lover's Concerto 2:29

10 Ferlin Husky - The Drunken Driver 2:26

01 Jess Conrad - Why Am I Living? 2:08

02 Trashmen - Surfin' Bird 2:13

03 Steve Bent - I'm Going to Spain 2:29

04 Duncan Johnson - The Big Architect 3:53

05 Jess Conrad - Cherry Pie 2:04

06 Eamonn Andrews - The Shifting Whispering Sands 2:54

07 Tub Thumper - Kick Out The Jams 2:41

08 Adolph Babel - My Feet Start Tapping 2:01

09 Skip Jackson - The Greatest Star of All 3:03

10 Raphael - Going Out of My Head 2:45

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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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