Ian Peel’s A to Z of POP
HOW IS IT THAT SO MANY CLASSIC GREATEST HITS COMPILATIONS WERE RELEASED WITH TRACKS THAT WE’D NEVER ACTUALLY HEARD BEFORE?
G IS FOR…
GREATEST HITS SINGLES
I havea strange affection for Greatest Hits singles. Not singles that were the biggest hits of their respective artists or groups. But singles that were recorded especially to appear on a retrospective compilation even though, very often, no one had ever heard them before. Let alone sent them to the top of the charts.
You can imagine the conversation in stuffy record label offices: “What this band needs is a Greatest Hits! It will be the perfect way to restart their career,” says one. “Yes, but it needs a new track as well as all the old classics,” adds another. “But why, and what if it doesn’t become one of their greatest hits?” counters one. “It doesn’t matter – every album needs a single, and compilations are no different. Besides, it will show that even though we’re cashing in on past glories, the group is still current and has a future...”