Revived 45's
These two albums - volume 1 and volume 2 - are not really part of the Top of the Pops discography although they do sit neatly alongside it. They both contain cover versions of songs that were hits before Top of the Pops started. They are compiled from old singles originally released on Woolworth's Embassy record label.
Volume 1 (left) was released in 1970 and contains songs that had been number 1. The original mono recordings were processed to create an artificial stereo effect. The last track on the LP ("The Carnival Is Over") has not yet been found in the Embassy discography, and so its origins remain a mystery.
Volume 2 (right) was released in 1971. It includes standards such as "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "Your Cheatin' Heart", although the idea of including only former number 1s has been abandoned. Again, the original Embassy monos are processed into fake stereo for the LP.
Volume 2 (right) was released in 1971. It includes standards such as "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "Your Cheatin' Heart", although the idea of including only former number 1s has been abandoned. Again, the original Embassy monos are processed into fake stereo for the LP.
Examples of the original Embassy singles
Cover photos
If the covers look vaguely familiar, that's because they use photographs from the same photo shoots as Top of the Pops Volumes 2 and 50 (see images below). Volume 2 came out long before Revived 45s but Volume 50 was not released until several years later!
Overseas editions
Australia
Both the albums were released in Australia, on the Summit label. The covers show the Summit label logo top-right, and at least one of them also appeared on cassette.
Israel
In Israel, an album was released called Oldies But Goldies which was in fact a compilation of tracks from both volumes. It uses the cover art from Volume 2: