The Hits Album
Encyclopedia
Hits was a compilation album series which ran in the United Kingdom for over 20 years between 1984 and 2006. It was 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
) to rival the Now That's What I Call Music series that had launched a year earlier in 1983, compiled by rival companies EMI
and Virgin. Initially, the Hits brand was arguably as popular as its main rival, with volumes 1 to 8 all reaching Platinum status, however, five years into the Hits run, a drop in sales saw several rebrands. From 1989 onwards, rather than the albums just simply being labelled 'Hits' and the issue number, the Hits albums were released with alternative and names such as Monster Hits, The Hit Pack or simply just The Hits Album. However, from 1995 onwards, the series was relaunched again for another successful run with the varied titles New Hits, Fresh Hits, Big Hits and Huge Hits followed by the year of release becoming the new format.
In 2001, an unsuccessful attempt at refreshing the Hits brand by renaming the series to Music: The Definitive Hits Collection saw the series going full circle and the Hits 50 release was a return to the original numbering format the series abandoned in 1989. Hits 60 is sometimes considered the last 'Hits' album, although Summer Hits 2006 in fact is.
Christmas 'Hits', Dance 'Hits' and Club 'Hits' have also been released.
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. The Hits albums often featured songs by artists such as Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and other big artists that did not appear on rival Now compilations and this made the albums particularly popular. 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 plus an issue number was released through to 1989 and stopped at the 10th volume (Hits 10
). Subsequently releases through to 1991 were released without an issue number and 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. The LP and CD variations in the series were often called "The Hits Album (Volume number)" whilst the cassette tapes were often called "The Hits Cassette (Volume number)" or "The Hits Tape (Volume number)"
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 late 1989, 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. From 1989 to 1991, the The Hits Album's were released with these titles:
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. These two albums are listed with the previous Hits albums in "The Complete Book of British Charts".
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.
Listed as The Hits Album 15 in some publications due to the catalogue number 'CD HITS 15'. The suffix 'fifteen' is not 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.
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 short-lived version of The Hits Album later in the year, which also lasted one volume.
Whilst the Hits series devolped a new era for 1995-2000 (see below), BMG and Telstar would go on to release Pure Hits 97 in 1997 which was (spiritually) a sequel to the Hits '93 and Hits '94 series to due similar cover art.
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 later in the series run. Originally, the albums were divided into four distinct 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 to. This theme ended in 1997. Unlike the earlier Hits albums (and indeed all Now
compilations), the inlay booklets contained no pictures or trivia relating to the track in any of the titles released during this period except for copyright details, which would have needed to be included.
The front covers usually looked quite similar to the Now
albums. Both volumes of 'Fresh Hits' in 2000, however, featured a brand new design on the front cover.
There were also some albums titled 'The Greatest Hits of' (followed by a year), which were released in 1997 and 1998 by Telstar. They are not considered part of the main Hits series though.
New Hits 96 holds the distinction for the most consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK Top 20 Compilation Chart since its launch on 14 January 1996. It spent 9 weeks at #1 from 18 May 1996 to 13 July 1996. It shares this record with Now 29.
There was no Hits 98 release. It is unknown why to this day.
This was the first in the relaunched series by Global Television and Warner Bros, then trading as WMTV, and was released in December 1995. Simply 'Hits' and the following year would then be released in December, beginning that year's series of collections.
Always released in March.
Sony Music TV had rejoined the Hits venture by this album's release in 1996; Fresh Hits were always released in July.
Year-end Hits collections were always preceded with Huge and were released around November.
Additional title, added to the series in December 1997 without a year suffix, the next and subsequent releases with the title Big Hits were usually released in September.
One album was released in 1995 with the name.
Hits albums with the genre of dance music. One volume released 2000.
2004's Hits 60 was ironically being issued on the same day as Now That's What I Call Music! 59 to see if the 'Hits' album could beat sells in the 'NOW!' albums. In the week's ending chart, Now! 59 was number one in the compilations chart whilst Hits 60 was behind at #5, and sales for Hits 60 were much smaller than sells for Now! 59. Hits had only ever tried to release their volume on the same day as it's NOW! counterpart once before, with Hits 52 alongside Now 51.
After Hits 60 was issued in 2004, the numbering system was stopped, with what would have been Hits 61 being Red Hot Hits. The numbering was probably stopped due to the poor sales of Hits 60. Since Red Hot Hits, only few more 'Hits' albums have been released. Essential Hits was released in late 2005, followed by Summer Hits 2006 in Summer 2006. However, Summer Hits 2006 ended up being the final Hits album, as there have not been any more releases since (as of July 2011) bar an expanded edition of Christmas Hits.
Telstar released some dance-themed albums including Club Hits 98 and Club Hits 99. Despite Hits appearing in the name of the albums, they are not considered part of the actual Hits series.
Global's Dance Hits 2000 was released in 2000, and was the first proper Hits album themed to dance music.
Inspired teamed up with Sony to release Big Club Hits, which was released 10 September 2001. Inspire and Sony then released Club Hits 2002, on 18 February 2002. Club Hits 2003 was the follow-up album, first released 27 January 2003.
music had begun in 2001. The releases all had the same name, but with different subtitles, and were:
Warner Strategic Marketing
Warner Strategic Marketing is a record label that is part of the Warner Music Group. It specializes in compilation albums, much like sister division Rhino Entertainment. However, unlike Rhino, it does not reissue classic albums in the WMG catalogue...
or Global Television
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
) to rival the Now That's What I Call Music series that had launched a year earlier in 1983, compiled by rival companies EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
and Virgin. Initially, the Hits brand was arguably as popular as its main rival, with volumes 1 to 8 all reaching Platinum status, however, five years into the Hits run, a drop in sales saw several rebrands. From 1989 onwards, rather than the albums just simply being labelled 'Hits' and the issue number, the Hits albums were released with alternative and names such as Monster Hits, The Hit Pack or simply just The Hits Album. However, from 1995 onwards, the series was relaunched again for another successful run with the varied titles New Hits, Fresh Hits, Big Hits and Huge Hits followed by the year of release becoming the new format.
In 2001, an unsuccessful attempt at refreshing the Hits brand by renaming the series to Music: The Definitive Hits Collection saw the series going full circle and the Hits 50 release was a return to the original numbering format the series abandoned in 1989. Hits 60 is sometimes considered the last 'Hits' album, although Summer Hits 2006 in fact is.
Christmas 'Hits', Dance 'Hits' and Club 'Hits' have also been released.
1984 to 1991
The original run of The Hits Album was a successful compilation brand with 14 albums released between 1984 and 1991, with most peaking at #1 or #2 on the UK Top 100 Album Chart. All of the albums from this period achieved at least a Platinum BPI Award, with the exception of Volume 9. The series was a joint venture by CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and WEA
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, in response to EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
and Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
starting the Now That's What I Call Music!
Now That's What I Call Music!
Now That's What I Call Music! is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Polygram /EMI/Sony Music/Virgin Records ; spinoff series were later introduced in South Africa and many other countries worldwide, including the United States...
series in 1983. RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
Ariola (later BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
) 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. The Hits albums often featured songs by artists such as Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and other big artists that did not appear on rival Now compilations and this made the albums particularly popular. 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 plus an issue number was released through to 1989 and stopped at the 10th volume (Hits 10
Hits 10
Hits 10 or The Hits Album 10 is the tenth release of the Hits series, compiled by BMG, CBS and WEA. It was released in the UK June 6, 1989. With this release, the compilers returned to the tradition of a volume issue number and the revival of artwork used from Hits 6 to Hits 8, with the issue...
). Subsequently releases through to 1991 were released without an issue number and 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. The LP and CD variations in the series were often called "The Hits Album (Volume number)" whilst the cassette tapes were often called "The Hits Cassette (Volume number)" or "The Hits Tape (Volume number)"
In 1986, Hits 5
Hits 5
Hits 5 is a compilation album released in November 1986 by CBS and WEA. It was the fifth in the Hits series which has now spanned over 20 years, with the first volume released in December 1984...
was the first album of the series to be released on a single CD, with Hits 7
Hits 7
Hits 7 is a compilation album that was released in December 1987 by CBS, BMG, and WEA. It reached #2 in the UK Top 100 Album chart. This was the first in the Hits series to be released on double-CD...
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 late 1989, the albums in the Hits series started deviating from their original chronological number system and began using alternative titles such as Monster Hits
Monster Hits
Monster Hits is the eleventh release of the Hits compilation Series. It was released in December 1989 in the United Kingdom and was a sales rival to Now That's What I Call Music 16. The album was issued on vinyl, double cassette and double compact disc and featured 32 tracks and 3 UK Number One hits...
and The Hit Pack
The Hit Pack
The Hit Pack can be seen as an extension to the "Hits Compilation series". It was issued by BMG and Sony Music in December 1990 and reached #2 on the UK Top 20 Compilations Chart. The album was unique because it was released as a 21 track single-CD, while the cassette format contained 24 tracks and...
. 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. From 1989 to 1991, the The Hits Album's were released with these titles:
- Monster HitsMonster HitsMonster Hits is the eleventh release of the Hits compilation Series. It was released in December 1989 in the United Kingdom and was a sales rival to Now That's What I Call Music 16. The album was issued on vinyl, double cassette and double compact disc and featured 32 tracks and 3 UK Number One hits...
- Snap It Up! Monster Hits 2Snap It Up! Monster Hits 2Snap It Up! Monster Hits 2 is a compilation album forming part of the "Hits Compilation series". It is the 12th volume in the long-running series...
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. These two albums are listed with the previous Hits albums in "The Complete Book of British Charts".
- The Hit PackThe Hit PackThe Hit Pack can be seen as an extension to the "Hits Compilation series". It was issued by BMG and Sony Music in December 1990 and reached #2 on the UK Top 20 Compilations Chart. The album was unique because it was released as a 21 track single-CD, while the cassette format contained 24 tracks and...
The Hit Pack was unique because it was released on LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
and cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
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.
- The Hits Album (15)The Hits Album (15)The Hits Album is a compilation album compiled by Sony Music TV and BMG and released in the UK in August 1991. The album is considered an extension of the Hits series which originally launched in 1984. Although often listed as The Hits Album 15 in chart statistic books such as The Complete Book of...
Listed as The Hits Album 15 in some publications due to the catalogue number 'CD HITS 15'. The suffix 'fifteen' is not 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.
1993 to 1994
With the Hits brand retired, Telstar RecordsTelstar Records
Telstar Records was a record label founded in 1982 by Sean O'Brien and Neil Palmer with a government loan of £120,000. It was founded as a specialist compilation marketing label and had hits with a range of compilation franchises such as the Deep Heat, Kaos Theory and 100% ranges...
launched the Hits '93 compilation series in association with its parent distribution company BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, who originally joined the Hits series with WEA
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in 1986. Unlike the albums put out by the respective Sony BMG and Warner
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
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 short-lived version of The Hits Album later in the year, which also lasted one volume.
Whilst the Hits series devolped a new era for 1995-2000 (see below), BMG and Telstar would go on to release Pure Hits 97 in 1997 which was (spiritually) a sequel to the Hits '93 and Hits '94 series to due similar cover art.
1995 to 2000
Following an album called Hitz Blitz released by Global Television, The Hits Album was relaunched in December 1995 (with the BMGBMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
compilations arm being known as Global Television, and WSM
Warner Strategic Marketing
Warner Strategic Marketing is a record label that is part of the Warner Music Group. It specializes in compilation albums, much like sister division Rhino Entertainment. However, unlike Rhino, it does not reissue classic albums in the WMG catalogue...
- 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
Telstar Records
Telstar Records was a record label founded in 1982 by Sean O'Brien and Neil Palmer with a government loan of £120,000. It was founded as a specialist compilation marketing label and had hits with a range of compilation franchises such as the Deep Heat, Kaos Theory and 100% ranges...
also joined forces with BMG and WSM later in the series run. Originally, the albums were divided into four distinct 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 to. This theme ended in 1997. Unlike the earlier Hits albums (and indeed all Now
Now That's What I Call Music!
Now That's What I Call Music! is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Polygram /EMI/Sony Music/Virgin Records ; spinoff series were later introduced in South Africa and many other countries worldwide, including the United States...
compilations), the inlay booklets contained no pictures or trivia relating to the track in any of the titles released during this period except for copyright details, which would have needed to be included.
The front covers usually looked quite similar to the Now
Now That's What I Call Music!
Now That's What I Call Music! is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Polygram /EMI/Sony Music/Virgin Records ; spinoff series were later introduced in South Africa and many other countries worldwide, including the United States...
albums. Both volumes of 'Fresh Hits' in 2000, however, featured a brand new design on the front cover.
There were also some albums titled 'The Greatest Hits of' (followed by a year), which were released in 1997 and 1998 by Telstar. They are not considered part of the main Hits series though.
New Hits 96 holds the distinction for the most consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK Top 20 Compilation Chart since its launch on 14 January 1996. It spent 9 weeks at #1 from 18 May 1996 to 13 July 1996. It shares this record with Now 29.
There was no Hits 98 release. It is unknown why to this day.
Titles in the range
- Hits '96
This was the first in the relaunched series by Global Television and Warner Bros, then trading as WMTV, and was released in December 1995. Simply 'Hits' and the following year would then 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 Hits venture by this album's release in 1996; Fresh Hits were always released in July.
- Huge Hits
Year-end Hits collections were always preceded with Huge and were released around November.
- Big Hits
Additional title, added to the series in December 1997 without a year suffix, the next and subsequent releases with the title Big Hits were usually released in September.
Other titles
- Hitz Blitz
One album was released in 1995 with the name.
- Dance Hits
Hits albums with the genre of dance music. One volume released 2000.
2001 to 2006
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. "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. Hits 50 and Hits 51 featured 50 tracks, with 25 tracks on each disc, although each song was heavily edited and the new format was disapproved and sales for Hits 51 were lower than Hits 50 possibly because buyers were aware of the 50 track edited format. This tradition was stopped, with the final '50 track' album being Hits 51. Hits 52 featured 40 tracks which were not heavily unedited. Hits 52 also started another short tradition, which is to feature a music video as a bonus feature on CD2 when CD2 is entered into a computer. The final volume to feature a music video was Hits 54. Hits 52, Hits 53 and Hits 54 also featured a new tagline, '2 CDs Packed With Hits'. Hits 55 through to Hits 59 were branded with a new tagline 40 Massive Chart Hits.2004's Hits 60 was ironically being issued on the same day as Now That's What I Call Music! 59 to see if the 'Hits' album could beat sells in the 'NOW!' albums. In the week's ending chart, Now! 59 was number one in the compilations chart whilst Hits 60 was behind at #5, and sales for Hits 60 were much smaller than sells for Now! 59. Hits had only ever tried to release their volume on the same day as it's NOW! counterpart once before, with Hits 52 alongside Now 51.
After Hits 60 was issued in 2004, the numbering system was stopped, with what would have been Hits 61 being Red Hot Hits. The numbering was probably stopped due to the poor sales of Hits 60. Since Red Hot Hits, only few more 'Hits' albums have been released. Essential Hits was released in late 2005, followed by Summer Hits 2006 in Summer 2006. However, Summer Hits 2006 ended up being the final Hits album, as there have not been any more releases since (as of July 2011) bar an expanded edition of Christmas Hits.
Dance albums
Some 'Hits' albums were themed to Dance and Club music.Telstar released some dance-themed albums including Club Hits 98 and Club Hits 99. Despite Hits appearing in the name of the albums, they are not considered part of the actual Hits series.
Global's Dance Hits 2000 was released in 2000, and was the first proper Hits album themed to dance music.
Inspired teamed up with Sony to release Big Club Hits, which was released 10 September 2001. Inspire and Sony then released Club Hits 2002, on 18 February 2002. Club Hits 2003 was the follow-up album, first released 27 January 2003.
Christmas Hits
Hits albums themed to ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
music had begun in 2001. The releases all had the same name, but with different subtitles, and were:
- Christmas Hits (50 Festive Favourites) (2001): An album that had 50 tracks over 2 discs (being one in four Hits albums to do so). Re-released in 2002 and again in 2003 intime for Christmas. Some tracks had to be edited for the ability to use 25 tracks.
- Christmas Hits (60 Festive Favourites) (2004): Contains 60 tracks over 3 discs. Re-released in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
- Christmas Hits (80 Festive Favourites) (2008): Contains 80 tracks over 4 discs, with the fourth disc being an exclusive studio albumStudio albumA studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
containing new recordings of carols. The digital version is titled Chrismtas Hits (Digital Edition). Re-released in 2009.
Complete chronology
| Date Charted | Title | Record company | Chart position (duration / weeks) |
Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-12-01 | Hits 1 Hits 1 For the Sirius XM Channel see Sirius XM hits 1The Hits Album, or Hits 1 as it is often called, is a compilation album released by CBS and WEA in November 1984. The album was released as a rival to the already successful Now That's What I Call Music series which EMI and Virgin Records had launched... |
CBS / WEA | #1 (7) | Double LP / MC |
| 1985-04-13 | Hits 2 Hits 2 The Hits Album 2, or Hits 2 as it is often called, is a compilation album that was released in April 1985 in the UK. It was released by CBS and WEA. It reached #1 in the UK Top 100 Album Chart for 6 weeks. Among its twenty-eight tracks were 18 Top Ten hits and four #1s... |
CBS / WEA | #1 (6) | Double LP / MC |
| 1985-12-07 | Hits 3 | CBS / WEA | #2 | Double LP / MC |
| 1986-03-29 | Hits 4 Hits 4 Hits 4 is a compilation album released in the UK in March 1986 by CBS and WEA, with RCA Ariola now also joining the partnership from this release onwards... |
CBS / WEA | #1 (4) | Double LP / MC |
| 1986-11-22 | Hits 5 Hits 5 Hits 5 is a compilation album released in November 1986 by CBS and WEA. It was the fifth in the Hits series which has now spanned over 20 years, with the first volume released in December 1984... [1] |
CBS / WEA / RCA / Ariola | #1 (2) | Double LP / MC; Single CD |
| 1987-07-22 | Hits 6 Hits 6 Hits 6 is a compilation that was released in July 1987 by CBS, WEA and BMG in the UK. It was a successful album, and reached #1 and achieved a Platinum BPI award... |
CBS / WEA / RCA / Ariola | #1 (5) | Double LP / MC; Single CD |
| 1987-12-05 | Hits 7 Hits 7 Hits 7 is a compilation album that was released in December 1987 by CBS, BMG, and WEA. It reached #2 in the UK Top 100 Album chart. This was the first in the Hits series to be released on double-CD... [2] |
CBS / WEA / RCA / Ariola | #2 | Double LP / MC / CD |
| 1988-07-30 | Hits 8 Hits 8 Hits 8 is a 32-track compilation album released in the summer of 1988 by CBS, WEA and BMG Records in the UK. It was released as a double LP, MC and CD... |
CBS / WEA / BMG | #2 | Double LP / MC / CD |
| 1988-12-17 | The Hits Album 9 The Hits Album 9 The Hits Album is a compilation album released by BMG, CBS and WEA in December 1988. It charted on December 17. Unusually, this Hits album was released without the chronological '9' anywhere on the albums artwork, although it was listed as The Hits Album 9 in The Complete Book of the British Charts... |
CBS / WEA / BMG | #5 | Double LP / MC / CD |
| 1989-01-14 | The Hits Album 9 [3] | CBS / WEA / BMG | #4 | Double LP / MC / CD |
| 1989-06-03 | Hits 10 Hits 10 Hits 10 or The Hits Album 10 is the tenth release of the Hits series, compiled by BMG, CBS and WEA. It was released in the UK June 6, 1989. With this release, the compilers returned to the tradition of a volume issue number and the revival of artwork used from Hits 6 to Hits 8, with the issue... |
CBS / WEA / BMG | #1 (6) | Double LP / MC / CD |
| 1989-12-02 | Monster Hits Monster Hits Monster Hits is the eleventh release of the Hits compilation Series. It was released in December 1989 in the United Kingdom and was a sales rival to Now That's What I Call Music 16. The album was issued on vinyl, double cassette and double compact disc and featured 32 tracks and 3 UK Number One hits... |
CBS / WEA / BMG | #2 | Double LP / MC / CD |
| 1990-08-11 | Snap It Up! Monster Hits 2 Snap It Up! Monster Hits 2 Snap It Up! Monster Hits 2 is a compilation album forming part of the "Hits Compilation series". It is the 12th volume in the long-running series... |
CBS / WEA / BMG | #2 | Double LP / MC / CD |
| 1990-12-29 | The Hit Pack The Hit Pack The Hit Pack can be seen as an extension to the "Hits Compilation series". It was issued by BMG and Sony Music in December 1990 and reached #2 on the UK Top 20 Compilations Chart. The album was unique because it was released as a 21 track single-CD, while the cassette format contained 24 tracks and... |
CBS / WEA / BMG | #2 | Single MC / Single CD |
| 1991-08-10 | The Hits Album (15) The Hits Album (15) The Hits Album is a compilation album compiled by Sony Music TV and BMG and released in the UK in August 1991. The album is considered an extension of the Hits series which originally launched in 1984. Although often listed as The Hits Album 15 in chart statistic books such as The Complete Book of... [4] |
CBS / WEA / BMG | #1 (2) | Double LP / MC / CD |
| 1993-02-20 | Hits 93 Volume 1 Hits 93 Volume 1 Hits 93 Volume 1 is a compilation album released by Telstar Records and BMG in February 1993. The original Hits Album compilation series had effectively been retired in 1991 by the original partners in the series CBS and WEA , and this release saw BMG, who originally joined CBS and WEA in 1986,... |
Telstar / BMG | #1 (3) | Single MC / CD |
| 1993-05-29 | Hits 93 Volume 2 Hits 93 Volume 2 Hits 93 Volume 2 is a 20-track compilation album released by Telstar Records and BMG in Spring 1993. It was the second in a series of four albums collecting the biggest hits of the year, much like the original series called The Hits Album which ran from 1984 to 1991, although Hits 93 was formatted... |
Telstar / BMG | #2 | Single MC / CD |
| 1993-04-13 | Hits 93 Volume 3 Hits 93 Volume 3 Hits 93 Volume 3 is a 22-track compilation album which charted on 14 August 1993 and was released by Telstar Records in association with BMG. The release was subtitled "22 Hot Summer Hits".... |
Telstar / BMG | #2 | Single MC / CD |
| 1993-08-14 | Hits 93 Volume 4 Hits 93 Volume 4 Hits 93 Volume 4 was the final compilation in a series of four collecting the biggest hits of 1993. It was released by Telstar Records and BMG, and it charted at #2 in December 1993.... |
Telstar / BMG | #2 | Single MC / CD |
| 1994-03-19 | Hits 94 Volume 1 Hits 94 Volume 1 Hits 94 Volume 1 was the first and only compilation in the Hits 94 series. In 1993, there were 4 volumes of the Hits series, however, the series was discontinued after this release... |
Telstar / BMG | #3 | Single MC / CD |
| 1994-10-15 | The Ultimate Hits Album | Telstar / BMG | #11 | Single MC / CD |
| 1995-08-01 | Hitz Blitz | Global Television | #2 | Single CD |
| 1995-12-23 | Hits 96 | Global Television | #1 (5) | Double MC / CD |
| 1996-05-01 | New Hits 96 | warner.esp / Global / Sony TV | #1 (9) | Double MC / CD |
| 1996-08-31 | Fresh Hits 96 | warner.esp / Global / Sony TV | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 1996-11-09 | Huge Hits 1996 [7] | warner.esp / Global / Sony TV | #1 (2) | Double MC / CD |
| 1996-12-21 | Hits 97 Hits 97 Hits 97 is a compilation album released in 1996. As a part of the Hits compilation series, it contains UK hit singles from mid-to-late 1996.-Disc one:# What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted - Robson & Jerome# Child - Mark Owen... |
warner.esp / Global / Sony TV | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 1997-04-26 | New Hits 97 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (4) | Double MC / CD |
| 1997-08-16 | Fresh Hits 97 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (3) | Double MC / CD. |
| 1997-11-01 | Huge Hits 1997 [7] | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (1) | Double MC / CD |
| 1997-12-20 | Big Hits | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #4 | Double MC / CD |
| 1998-04-04 | New Hits 98 | warner.esp / Global / Sony TV | #1 (2) | Double MC / CD |
| 1998-07-04 | Fresh Hits 98 | warner.esp / Global / Sony TV | #1 (6) | Double MC / CD |
| 1998-09-19 | Big Hits 98 Big Hits 98 Big Hits 98 is a compilation album released in September 1998. It is part of the Hits compilation series begun in 1984. Big Hits 98 is one of the more notable albums in the series, as it had charted in the UK Compilations Chart at #1 and stayed there for 5 weeks, and was also the first Hits album... |
Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (5) | Double MC / CD |
| 1998-11-07 | Huge Hits 1998 [7] | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (2) | Double MC / CD |
| 1998-12-19 | Hits 99 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 1999-04-03 | New Hits 99 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (1) | Double MC / CD |
| 1999-07-03 | Fresh Hits 99 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (3) | Double MC / CD |
| 1999-09-04 | Big Hits 99 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (2) | Double MC / CD |
| 1999-09-04 | Huge Hits 1999 [7] | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (4) | Double MC / CD |
| 1999-12-18 | Hits 2000 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 2000-02-21 | Dance Hits 2000 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #4 | Double MC / CD |
| 2000-03-25 | New Hits 2000 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #1 (2) | Double MC / CD |
| 2000-07-15 | Fresh Hits 2000 Volume 1 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #2 | Single MC / CD |
| 2000-09-16 | Fresh Hits 2000 Volume 2 | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #2 | Single MC / CD |
| 2000-11-04 | Huge Hits 2000 [7] | Global / Sony TV / warner.esp | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 2000-12-16 | Hits 2001 | BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 2001-03-31 | Music: The Definitive Hits Collection | BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar | #4 | Triple CD |
| 2001-06-23 | Music: The Definitive Hits Collection 2 | BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar | #7 | Triple CD |
| 2001-09-10 | Big Club Hits | Inspired / Sony | #5 | Double CD |
| 2001-09-29 | Hits 50 Hits 50 Hits 50 is a compilation album released in the UK in September 2001. It contains 50 tracks spread over two CDs, including 11 number one singles on the UK Singles Chart from Five, DJ Pied Piper and the Masters of Ceremonies, Craig David, Blue, Jennifer Lopez, Bob The Builder, Rui Da Silva, Atomic... [5] |
BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 2001-12-15 | Hits 51 | BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar | #10 | Double MC / CD |
| 2002-02-18 | Club Hits 2002 | Inspired / Sony | #5 | Double CD |
| 2002-04-06 | Hits 52 | BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 2002-08-10 | Hits 53 | BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 2002-11-02 | Hits 54 | BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar | #1 (2) | Double MC / CD |
| 2002-11-30 | Huge Hits 2003 [7] | BMG / Sony / Telstar / WSM | #4 | Double MC / CD |
| 2003-01-27 | Club Hits 2003 | Inspired / Sony | #12 | Double CD |
| 2003-04-12 | Hits 55 | BMG / Sony / WSM / Telstar / WSM | #1 (2) | Double MC / CD |
| 2003-07-26 | Hits 56 Hits 56 Hits 56 is a compilation album released in the UK in July 2003. It contains 40 tracks spread over two CDs, and features one number one single from Tomcraft.... |
BMG / Sony / Telstar | #1 (1) | Double MC / CD |
| 2003-11-01 | Huge Hits 2004 [7] | BMG / Sony / Telstar / WSM | #3 | Double MC / CD |
| 2003-12-13 | Hits 57 Hits 57 Hits 57 is a compilation albums released in the UK in December 2003. It contains 40 chart hits, including three number one singles from Westlife, Blu Cantrell and Daniel Bedingfield... |
Sony BMG / WSM / Telstar | #5 | Double MC / CD |
| 2004-06-12 | Hits 58 Hits 58 Hits 58 is a compilation album, released in the UK in May 2004. It contains 40 chart hits spread over two CDS, including UK number ones from Busted, Britney Spears and Peter Andre. It was released around the same time as the similar Now 57.-Disc one:... [6] |
Sony BMG / WSM / Telstar | #1 (1) | Double MC / CD |
| 2004-10-02 | Hits 59 Hits 59 Hits 59 is compilation album released in the UK in September 2004 by Sony Records. It contains 40 chart hits, including five number-one singles from Natasha Bedingfield, Brian McFadden, Usher, Britney Spears, and Eamon.... [6] |
Sony BMG / WSM | #2 | Double MC / CD |
| 2004-11-27 | Hits 60 Hits 60 Hits 60 is a compilation album released in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2004. The album contains 61 tracks on three discs. Despite containing 61 tracks, the album cover advertises the album has having 60 tracks.... [6] |
Sony BMG / WSM | #5 | Triple CD |
| 2005-03-21 | Red Hot Hits | Sony BMG / WSM | Unknown | Double CD |
| 2005-12-05 | Essential Hits Essential Hits Essential Hits is a compilation album released in the United Kingdom on 5 December 2005. The album has 50 tracks on 3 discs. It was from the Hits albums series, and would later turn out to be the penultimate album in the series.-Disc one:... |
Sony BMG / WSM | Unknown | Triple CD |
| 2006-06-26 | Summer Hits 2006 | Sony BMG / WSM | Unknown | Double CD |
- 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 48', not 'Hits 50', it would be 'Hits 50', however, if both dance and club albums released before 'Hits 50' were counted.
- Some of the songs found on Hits 58 and Hits 59 can be found on Hits 60; e.g. "Life for Rent" by DidoDido (singer)Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
, "Left Outside Alone" by AnastaciaAnastaciaAnastacia is an American singer-songwriter. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has had only minor success in her native United States...
, "Love is Only a Feeling" by The Darkness, "Hold Onto Our Love" by James FoxJames Fox (singer)James Fox, real name . is a pop music singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist. He represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul...
and "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" by Agnetha FaltskogAgnetha FältskogAgnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...
. - These were 'year-end' collections, combining the biggest hits of previous volumes. There was not an edition of Huge Hits 2001 or Huge Hits 2002, although Huge Hits 2000 was released in 2000 and Huge Hits 2003 was released in 2002, making 2001 the only year without a Huge Hits between the 1996 and 2004 volumes.