SMASH HITS
Side 1
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Side 2
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NOTES
Catalogue number: MFP 1194 Release date: August 1967 Like Hits '67, this album was released in mono only (at least that was the case in the UK - see below), and is (wrongly) rumoured to feature David Bowie singing the two Beatles covers, "When I'm 64" and "All You Need Is Love". As with Hits '67, the Bowie rumours are false. Lead vocalist on both Beatles covers is in fact William (Billy) Butler, at the time a member of the group Gullivers People, recording for EMI's Parlophone label (with another Beatles connection - their producer was Norman (Hurricane) Smith who had engineered several Beatles albums). Butler also takes lead on "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Alternate Title". He now works as a record producer in Vancouver, Canada. It is interesting that "When I'm 64" was never released as a single, and was in fact pulled from the Sgt Pepper LP. There would be only a couple more album cuts ever in the Hits/Hot Hits series. |
Alternative Pressings
There are three different editions of the album, each with a different price stated on the sleeve. The lowest price, 12/6, is shown at the top of this page; above are covers showing 13/11 and 14/6. The rest of the album packaging, and the LP itself, are identical in all cases.
Note - some copies of the LP have a very minor difference in the label print, identifiable by a lack of brackets around the number MFP.1194A, to the left of the play hole. It is not yet clear to us whether each variation belongs exclusively to one or other cover.
Note - some copies of the LP have a very minor difference in the label print, identifiable by a lack of brackets around the number MFP.1194A, to the left of the play hole. It is not yet clear to us whether each variation belongs exclusively to one or other cover.
Pictured here is an Australian edition, which shows the cover price as $1.99. It also has a different MFP logo on each side of the sleeve. The tracks are in the same order as in the UK, but this release is of particular note because it is a stereo LP as opposed to the UK mono. Note also, use of the red label which was not yet in use in the UK. The catalogue number is A 8039. |
This album was released in Spain on the Cem label. It's called Lista de Exitos Hits (meaning, in essence, list of successful hits). Half the album draws from Smash Hits, the rest are from unknown sources, although "The Last Waltz" and "Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" could be from other MFP Hits albums. It was probably released at the end of 1967; all the tracks were UK hits during that year. The track listing is as follows:
Don't Sleep in the Subway
San Francisco (Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)
Let's Pretend
The Last Waltz - from Hits '67 (?)
Hello Goodbye - source unknown
Thank U Very Much - source unknown
A Whiter Shade Of Pale
I'll Never Fall In Love Again
All You Need Is Love
The Happening - source unknown
Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde - from Heart Hits (?)
Massachusetts - source unknown
Don't Sleep in the Subway
San Francisco (Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)
Let's Pretend
The Last Waltz - from Hits '67 (?)
Hello Goodbye - source unknown
Thank U Very Much - source unknown
A Whiter Shade Of Pale
I'll Never Fall In Love Again
All You Need Is Love
The Happening - source unknown
Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde - from Heart Hits (?)
Massachusetts - source unknown
This single was released in West Germany, with the group name given as Prock Harson. It is in fact the mfp version of "A Whiter Shade", with Billiy Butler singing lead. The track is backed with "I Wanna Live" from an unknown source.