Hits (compilation series)

Hits is a compilation album series running over 20 years and compiled as a joint venture, usually between the compilation arms of the Sony BMG and Warner Music groups (e.g. Warner Strategic Marketing or Global Television). However, rather than all the albums in the series just simply being labeled Hits and the issue number, a number in the series have been released under alternative and expanded names such as "Monster Hits", "Huge Hits" or simply just "The Hits Album".

The Hits Album: Hits 1 to 15

1984 to 1991

The Hits Album was a highly successful compilation brand that was released in the UK between 1984 and 1991. It was a joint venture by CBS and WEA, in response to EMI and Virgin Records starting the "Now That's What I Call Music" series in 1983. RCA Ariola (later BMG) joined the partnership in 1986. The "Hits" collections brought together all the big hits from the partnering record companies and was a music collectors companion to the popular "Now" releases, usually issued at roughly the same time. The first "Hits Album" managed to keep the rival "Now" album ("Now 4") from the #1 position in December 1984, spending a total of 7 weeks at the top of the UK Top 100 Album chart. After the first album (now commonly known as "Hits 1") was released, the "The Hits Album" title has been subsequently used without an issue number at other times in the campaign, for example the 1990s release that came after "Snap It Up - Monster Hits 2". This successive refreshing of the brand could be seen as minor relaunches of the series, each time in the face of the continuing success and strength of the rival "Now!" brand. In 1986, "Hits 5" was the first album of the series to be released on a single CD, with "Hits 7" being the first to be released as a double-CD the following year. A video compilation was often released at the same time as the albums, but not always. Like the "Now" collections, the packaging of the "Hits" albums contained pictures and background information about the tracks, including chart positions. This appeared in the gatefold of the standard album, and later, in a small booklet with the CD releases.
From the early 1990s, the albums in the "Hits" series started deviating from their original chronological number system and began using alternative titles such as "Monster Hits" and "The Hit Pack". They are however an extension of the original series as these albums were all issued by BMG, CBS and WEA. and also contained the word Hit somewhere in the title.

* "Monster Hits" ^[1]
* "Snap It Up! - Monster Hits 2"
* "The Hit Pack" ^[2]
* "The Hits Album" ^[3]

^[1] Both "Monster Hits" featured a cartoon monster gimmick in the artwork and advertisting campaign, in a similar way a cartoon pig was used during earlier "Now That's What I Call Music" releases.
^[2] "The Hit Pack" was unique because it was released on LP and cassette with 24 tracks, but only as a 21 track single-CD. A year earlier in 1989, "Now That's What I Call Music 16" had been advertised as containing 3 bonus tracks, although these were found on the double-CD format.
^[3] Listed as "The Hits Album 15" in some publications due to the catalogue number 'CD HITS 15'. The suffix 'fifteen' isn't included after "The Hits Album" anywhere on this albums artwork.

The partners behind the series retired the brand in 1991. There was not a version of "The Hits Album 14" issued by BMG, CBS or WEA in any title variation or format and technically, what is listed as "The Hits Album 15" is actually the fourteenth volume of the series.

Hits '93

1993 to 1994

With the "Hits" brand retired, Telstar Records launched the Hits '93 compilation series in association with its parent distribution company BMG, who originally joined the "Hits" series with WEA and CBS in 1986. Unlike the albums put out by the respective Sony BMG and Warner labels of the era, Hits '93 was formatted as a single-CD and featured a larger percentage of dance acts than the normal "Hits" releases. However even though these albums could be seen as an extension of other Telstar Hit compilations (such as 100% Hits) these albums were categorized under the "Hits" brand in the "Complete Book Of British Charts", which was probably due to BMG's former and Telstar's subsequent involvement in the series. The series ran for four volumes during 1993, and one volume in early 1994 with the concept being replaced by the resurrection of Telstar/BMG's version of "The Hits Album" later in the year, which also lasted one volume.

The Hits Album - Rebirth

1995 to 2001

"The Hits Album" was relaunched in December 1995 (with the BMG compilations arm being known as Global Television, and WSM - warner.esp) but this time the numbering system was replaced in favour of different titles such as "New Hits" or "Big Hits" with the year normally following the word 'hits'. This was the most successful branding of the "Hits" series since the earlier volumes, and both Sony Music TV and compilation specialist company Telstar Records also joined forces with BMG and WSM. Originally, the albums were divided into four distincte parts (and were labeled as such): Part One contained the biggest hits; Part Two had all the big dance hits; Part Three featured indie and rock tracks and Part Four would generally hoover up any left over hits the compilers had access too. Unlike the earlier "Hits" albums (and indeed the "Now" compilations), the inlay booklets contained no pictures or trivia relating to the track in any of the titles released during this period.

"New Hits 96" (pictured) holds the record for most consecutive weeks at #1 in the compilation chart since its launch on 14th January 1989. It spent 9 weeks at #1 from 18th May 1996 to 13th July 1996.

Titles in the range

* Hits '96 (the first in the relaunched series by Global Television/Warner Bros, then trading as WMTV. Simply 'Hits' and the following year would be released in December, beginning that year's series of collections.)
* New Hits (Always released in March)
* Fresh Hits (Sony Music TV had rejoined the venture by this album's release in 1996, these were always released in July.)
* Huge Hits (Year-end "Hits" collections were always preceded with "Huge" and released around November.)
* Big Hits (Additional title, added to the series in 1998, usually released in September.)

Music : The Definitive Hits Collection to Essential Hits

2001-present

In 2001, yet another relaunch occurred. In an attempt to appeal to the broader range of "Now That's What I Call Music" buyers, Sony BMG and WSM decided to rebrand the "Hits" series with a more classy name and image and "Music : The Definitive Hits Collection" was launched in March, and contained three discs (as opposed to the traditional double-CD set) with 62 tracks in total. "Music... Part 2" was released three months later but the new concept failed to catch-on with neither compilation reaching the Top 3. So, the "Hits" series went full-circle and returned to the album numbering format it originally abandoned in 1991: The series was rebranded to "Hits 50" in September 2001, with the 2004's "Hits 60" ironically being issued on the same day as "Now That's What I Call Music! 59".

After "Hits 60" was issued in 2004, the amount of "Hits" releases has slowed down considerably, and once again, the numbering system has been dropped and recent editions of the album have been called "Essential Hits" and "Summer Hits 2006".

Complete chronology

# The first "Hits Album" to be released on CD. A single-CD with a collection of tracks from the standard album.
# The first "Hits Album" to be released on double-CD.
# Until 14 January 1989, compilation albums were included in the main UK Top 100 Album chart. After this date onwards, they were listed separately.
# Although not titled as such, this album is listed as 'Hits 15'.
# Had the chronological numbering system been continued, this album would be listed as 'Hits 47', not 'Hits 50'.
# Some of the same songs can be found on "Hits 58" and "Hits 60"; e.g. "Life for Rent" by Dido, "Left Outside Alone" by Anastacia, "Love is Only a Feeling" by The Darkness, "Hold Onto Our Love" by James Fox and "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" by Agnetha Faltskog. [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00027EFCU Amazon page for Hits 58] and [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00068416K Amazon page for Hits 60] ]

References

Inline:

General:
*cite book |last=Betts |first=Graham |title=Collins Complete Book Of British Charts |origdate=2005-10-03 |accessdate=2007-06-16 |edition=Rev Ed |publisher=Collins |isbn=0-00-720532-5
*cite book |editor=David Roberts |title=British Hit Singles and Albums |origdate=2006-06-02 |accessdate=2007-06-16 |edition=19th edition |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |isbn=1-904994-10-5