Bulgaria "World's Variety" (BTA 1295) - 1971

The album pictured here is a Bulgarian compilation from UK Volumes 15 and 16. The name of the album is, in the original Bulgarian, Световна Естрада  - which translates to "World’s Variety".

The contents are shared equally between the two source albums, with six titles from each. There is one interesting detail which emerges: through the inclusion of "Power To The People", "Another Day" and "My Sweet Lord" this is the only Poppers LP to contain tracks by three different solo Beatles!

This black and white cover is alarmingly thin - paper rather than card, but by contrast, the LP itself is substantial and of good quality. (This sleeve design was generic, and turns up on other, unrelated Bulgarian LPs.) The track listing below shows the song titles in their original Bulgarian, as on the cover.

• Розова градина
  Rose Garden - From volume 16
• Власт дайте на народу
  Power To The People - From volume 16
• Ходене
  Walkin' - From volume 16
• Скачай, Бейби
  Baby Jump - From volume 15
• Луда любов
  Stoned Love - From volume 15
• Обикновен ден
  Another Day - From volume 16

• Кендида
  Candida - From volume 15
• Слънчево момиче
  Sunny Honey Girl - From volume 15
• Песен за колоездача
  The Pushbike Song - From volume 15
• Мили мой
  My Sweet Lord - From volume 15
• Странна жена
  Strange Kind Of Woman - From volume 16
• Виждал ли си някога дъжда
  Have You Ever Seen The Rain? - From volume 16

'English' edition

Pictured above is another edition of this album, in a (more common) red and black cover. The catalogue number and track listing are the same as the above version but the song titles are provided in English, in addition to Bulgarian, on the back of the sleeve, along with the slogan, "The world's favourite melodies".

It is thought that this edition was produced either for sale to Westerners visiting Bulgaria, or possibly for export to Europe.

'Russian' edition

Pictured above is a further edition of this album. Unlike the others, this version features the song titles in Russian, and was probably manufactured for export to the Soviet Union.

The catalogue number and track listing remain unaltered. Song titles as printed on this sleeve are shown below:

Side 1:

• Розовый сад
  Rose Garden - From volume 16
• Власть дайте народу
  Power To The People - From volume 16
• Хождение
  Walkin' - From volume 16
• Прыгай, Бэби!
  Baby Jump - From volume 15
  
• Сумасшедшая любовь
  Stoned Love - From volume 15
• Обыкновенный день
  Another Day - From volume 16
  

Side 2:

• Кандида
  Candida - From volume 15
• Солнечная девушка
  Sunny Honey Girl - From volume 15
  
• Песня велосипедиста
  The Pushbike Song - From volume 15
• Милый мой
  My Sweet Lord - From volume 15
• Странная женщина
  Strange Kind Of Woman - From volume 16
  
• Видел ли ты когда-нибудь дождь?
  Have You Ever Seen The Rain? - From volume 16

And yet another variation is known (above) - a pressing of the 'Russian' edition which is in all respects the same as the other one, except that the LP title on the front is given in red rather than white.

We are grateful to Ukrainian collector Dmitry Orlovskiy for informing us about these LPs, and to Shumov Konstantin for donating copies.