If you are browsing this blog then you, like me, are a Pop Shop Junkie. The very first Pop Shop I bought was Pop Shop Vol.15 and then you got Pop Shop Spectacular Vol.2 for free.
My niece had Pop Shop Vol 1 - 14 in her record collection. Her records were also her holy grail and I was privileged enough to be allowed to listen to her collections whenever I visited. She gave me the first 14 Pop Shops on one of my birthdays.
That was the start of my very first quest - to collect all the missing Pop Shops. I visited pawn shops, asked friends and family and I also advertised on the radio stations. I got Pop Shop Spectacular Vol.1 from people who moved from Port Elizabeth to Bloemfontein just a week before she heard my request on radio!
I managed to collect them all. However the collection stopped in 1991 when the last LP, Pop Shop Gold Vol.4, was released. I stand to be corrected but I think Pop Shop was available on CD from Pop Shop Vol. 46. A few Pop Shops were released on CD years after the originals were discontinued but they were not the same. Maybe it was the compilers but I didn't feel comfortable with these compilations.
My grandmother was my greatest contributor to my collection as she provided the funds to buy the LP's. I was still in school when the Pop Shop bug bit me. Every day after school I would visit the local OK or CNA stores on my bicycle. I the new Pop Shop arrived (usually every three months) I would race home get the money from "Ouma" and headed back to town to get my Pop Shop. This kind of trip was ± 20 km on bicycle but worth every step of the way!
Unfortunately no matter how good you take care of your vinyls they eventually get scratches or repeat, or repeat, or repeat... itself as it got stuck. This decay led to my second biggest quest - collecting all the Pop Shop songs featured on the LP's in digital format or CD quality. It took me almost 15 years to track down these tracks and now I'm able to revisit my Pop Shops in clear quality... OK so it's not the same as listening to the vinyl sound but at least my memories live on...
I still have my Pop Shop Collection and I still take them out every now and then to check the covers and recalling where and when I got which album. It's these memories that made me decide to start this blog and to revisit the Pop Shops.
Pop Shop's greatest rival was the Springbok Hit Parade collection which usually came out the same time a Pop Shop hit the shelves. The one big difference between the two was that Springbok did not feature the original artists. They featured cover versions of the songs. they usually featured other tracks not featuring on the Pop Shop.
Another competitor showed its head in 1983 - Now That's What I Call Music! This albums also featured the newest tracks and in some instances even overshadowed the Pop Shop regarding track collection, especially from Pop Shop 39 on wards.
Personally I think the track selection for the Pop Shop records led to their demise and decrease in sales. In the beginning almost 80% of the tracks featured on the Top 20 when you bought a Pop Shop and at the end they featured about 40% of the Top 20.
Martin Locke, a radio DJ highlighted Pop Shop Volume 1-20 on the back cover as well as Best of Pop Shop and Pop Shop Spectacular Volume 1 & 2.
Norman Markgraaff, track compiler for Pop Shop at MFP highlighted Pop Shop Greatest Hits.
Pop Shop Vol.21, the first double LP in the series, was highlighted by Radio 5 DJ, Gordon Hoffmann.
The Pop Shop Gold Volume 1 & 2 albums was highlighted by David Gresham presenter of the SA Top 20, later Top 30 and Top 40. David also signed my copy of Pop Shop Vol.26 while doing promotion at the local CNA.
Springbok Radio was the station to listen to on Friday and Saturday evenings because the charts would have given you an indication of which songs may feature on the new Pop Shop!
Pop Shop covers were mostly designed by Heyes Delgoffe Advertising.
The following were double LPs: Pop Shop Vol. 21, 22, 24, Pop Shop Party Pack Vol. 1 and 2, Pop Shop Gold LP Vol. 1 and 2 as well as Pop Shop Spectacular Vol. 1 and 2.
For a comprehensive look at the Springbok Hit Parade LP's visit the following site:
http://springbokhits.blogspot.co.za/p/springbok-hit.html .
Another competitor showed its head in 1983 - Now That's What I Call Music! This albums also featured the newest tracks and in some instances even overshadowed the Pop Shop regarding track collection, especially from Pop Shop 39 on wards.
Personally I think the track selection for the Pop Shop records led to their demise and decrease in sales. In the beginning almost 80% of the tracks featured on the Top 20 when you bought a Pop Shop and at the end they featured about 40% of the Top 20.
Martin Locke, a radio DJ highlighted Pop Shop Volume 1-20 on the back cover as well as Best of Pop Shop and Pop Shop Spectacular Volume 1 & 2.
Norman Markgraaff, track compiler for Pop Shop at MFP highlighted Pop Shop Greatest Hits.
Pop Shop Vol.21, the first double LP in the series, was highlighted by Radio 5 DJ, Gordon Hoffmann.
The Pop Shop Gold Volume 1 & 2 albums was highlighted by David Gresham presenter of the SA Top 20, later Top 30 and Top 40. David also signed my copy of Pop Shop Vol.26 while doing promotion at the local CNA.
Springbok Radio was the station to listen to on Friday and Saturday evenings because the charts would have given you an indication of which songs may feature on the new Pop Shop!
Pop Shop covers were mostly designed by Heyes Delgoffe Advertising.
The following were double LPs: Pop Shop Vol. 21, 22, 24, Pop Shop Party Pack Vol. 1 and 2, Pop Shop Gold LP Vol. 1 and 2 as well as Pop Shop Spectacular Vol. 1 and 2.
For a comprehensive look at the Springbok Hit Parade LP's visit the following site:
http://springbokhits.blogspot.co.za/p/springbok-hit.html .
A list of the NOW That's What I Call Music series (which was a world wide release) can be found at the following site:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_That%27s_What_I_Call_Music!_discography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_That%27s_What_I_Call_Music!_discography
Hi Harry. I came across you blog site searching for the Pop Shop Range. I had the whole range on LP, listened to it very often on my Technics LP player. But then a fire destroyed most of my LP's (I had about 3000!). All the Pop Shop albums were lost. Then I went about the same way as you, trying to collect the albums. I could not get much, the ones I got are so badly scratched that the people gave it to me for free. I searched on the internet, I found a site with all the track names of every album, so I started downloading and compiling my own Pop Shop range. After about 2 years doing this, and getting some songs from people also looking for these albums, I finally got my whole collection in digital format, on my computer. And what happens? We were involved in an armed robbery, they took the computer which had the entire full range of Pop Shop albums on it. This was March 2016. I was devastated. What I would like to ask is if you can please help me with the range? My e-mail is jannie.heymans37@gmail.com. I live in Pretoria.
ReplyDeleteHi Jannie
ReplyDeleteI read your story on the pop shop site.
I was also searching for these pop shops and also tried to collect the songs one by one until I came across a friend on the Mabu vinyl site. We started talking on email and within a few days I had the complete collection. I know how it feels to lose music and this has happened to me a few times. Now I have three backup’s of everything.
Hi Glenn
ReplyDeleteIs there any remote wild chance that I can persuade you to share that collection with me please?
:-)
Hi Glenn / All
ReplyDeleteI have now collected all the LP's except for 2: Best of Pop Shop and Pop Shop Gold Volume 4. If anyone has copies for sales - omegacomp@mweb.co.za . I would also love the digital version of the LP's as I would like to keep my collection in top nic and only listen to them on special occasions.
Hi All
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody have a copy of the track "Scheme Of Things", by Sean Fury please? I've been unable to find this track after many years of searching.
Thanks
Send me your email...
Deleteroje001@yahoo.com
DeleteWow! Unbelievable! I cant believe my ears! :-)
DeleteI am eternally grateful. Thanks a ton!
Wow, I had no idea this community even existed. I was born in the second half of the 70s, so the music I grew up with was initially the many Springbok LPs with the semi-naked ladies on the cover. However, in 1985 and 1986 my dad bought the cassette versions of Pop Shop 29 and Pop Shop 31 (still two of my favourites). He was a cop, so he recovered the Pop Shop Gold cassette without a cover from a crashed vehicle. One of my sister's boyfriends gave me Pop Shop 40 and 36, both as cassettes without covers. 36 remains a favourite because of "Crazy" by Icehouse followed by "Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac. Fast Forward (no pun) a decade or two to when I started collecting LPs and I am still encountering these at flea markets and vinyl faires. My collection is by no means complete, and I'm not really trying to have the full set. But I currently have the following volumes on LP: 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 25, 26, 27, 28 (x 2), 29 (x 2), 30, 31 (x 2), 32, 33, 34 (x 2), 35, 36, 39, 40, 44 and Pop Shop Greatest Hits.
ReplyDeleteHi there. You should check out the bid or buy site there you will find the missing Pop Shops mostly LP versions with a few cassettes in between.
DeleteHi Jannie. Amazing that I found your blog. Myself started with PopShop 13 and ended at 23. Then totally lost track and then started with the Now series, which I have collected upto 64. Would it be possible to get a copy of the digital Pop Shops from you? To me it is still the best Era of music in the 80s. Please please. Regards Donovan
ReplyDelete