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The World of... series

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A copy of The World of Reginald Dixon in a charity shop

The World of... is a series of budget albums released by Decca Records and its subsidiaries.[1] Launched in 1968, the series showcased a wide variety of the label's output including classical music, pop, folk, jazz, blues, world music, showtunes, comedy and spoken word releases. Among the editions are compilations, reissues, samplers and several collections based upon the BBC Radio programme Your Hundred Best Tunes. The World of... brought Decca’s catalogue to retailers like supermarkets, encouraging new buyers to "dip in".[2] By 1975, it was described as "probably one of the best-selling series ever devised by a record company".[3] The World of... albums are commonly found in charity shops in the UK.[2][4]

The World of... series was formulated after Decca head Sir Edward Lewis was shown Germany's Phase 4 Stereo sampler albums on a business trip to the country.[5] The series marked Decca's entry into the budget market, with the cut-price albums intended to entice consumers who didn’t usually buy LPs.[6] Promoted with window displays, browser cards and colour posters, the series was an immediate success.[1] By 1973, The World of... held 18-20 percent of the budget albums market in the UK, behind MFP with an estimated 28 percent.[7] In 1975, the albums retailed at £1.29.[1] By 1986, the dealer price had increased to £2.12.[8]

The first release, the 14-track compilation The World of Mantovani, was issued in September 1968 in a gatefold sleeve and priced at 17/6d.[5] The album reached number six on the UK Albums Chart, while a second Mantovani volume made number 4 in 1969.[9] Among the early entries in the series was The World of Johann Strauss (1969), the first of several releases that "treated classical music much like pop: compiling the most popular pieces and presenting them across two sides".[6] By the end of 1969, 54 titles were available in the series.[6]

Several releases spotlighted Decca's contemporary pop signings. The World of David Bowie (1970) was issued after Bowie left the label and features most of his 1967 debut album alongside 1966 B-side "The London Boys" and three previously unreleased songs.[10] Further releases were dedicated to Tom Jones, Lulu, Cat Stevens, Lynsey de Paul, the Zombies, Amen Corner, Alan Price, the Flirtations, Them and Billy Fury, among others.[11] Seven The World of Hits albums featuring acts such as Small Faces, the Move and Thin Lizzy were issued between 1969 and 1974.[11] Dedicated World of releases appeared for blues, soul, folk, easy listening, hard rock, country, music hall, television themes, sacred music and brass bands.[11] Comedy releases featuring the Goons, Tony Hancock, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Benny Hill, Marty Feldman, the Goodies and Bernard Manning among others were also issued.[11] In classical music, several The World of Your Hundred Best Tunes compilations were among the best-selling releases in the series, leading to the publication of a companion book by Alan Keith in 1975 "for the millions who have shown their needs by buying the discs".[12]

Some albums in the series dropped the World of designation. These releases can be identified by their catalog numbers, which are prefixed SPA as with all others in the series.[13][14] They include Nova Sampler (1970), comprising selections from Decca's short-lived progressive music series, I Thought Terry Dene Was Dead (1974), a companion to Dan Wooding's biography of the same title,[15] and a 1975 reissue of The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp (1968).[11] The release schedule slowed during the 1980s, with some of the final original albums appearing in 1986.[8] The series inspired the title of Morrissey's World of Morrissey album, released in 1995.[16] The World of... was revived in 2019 when five new titles were released to celebrate Decca’s 90th anniversary.[17]

Selected titles

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Decca's World of promotion" (PDF). Music Week: 2. 26 July 1975. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b Zawadzki, Clementine. "From Pavarotti to The Stones – tracing the trailblazing legacy of Decca Records". Hero. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Classical Tunes" (PDF). Music Week: 17. 28 June 1975.
  4. ^ Bates, Charlotte (2014). Video Methods: Social Science Research in Motion. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317859765. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  5. ^ a b MacKenzie, Colin (2005). Mantovani: A Lifetime in Music. Melrose Books. ISBN 9781905226191.
  6. ^ a b c "The World of Northern Soul". Printed Matter. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  7. ^ Punter, Graham (3 November 1973). "Budget records are breathing new life into the market". Billboard. p. 15. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Classics for value" (PDF). Music Week: 32. 25 January 1986. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Mantovani". Official Charts. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  10. ^ Henderson, Alex. "The World of David Bowie". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e Main Catalogue (supplement). Decca Records. 1974.
  12. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Music Week: 19. 28 June 1975.
  13. ^ Simon, Peter (1969). ""The World of... 1969"". Country Fair. 36. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  14. ^ Musiker, Naomi; Musiker, Reuben (2014). Conductors and Composers of Popular Orchestral Music. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781135917708. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music. Virgin Books. ISBN 9781852279370. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  16. ^ Goddard, Simon (2009). Mozipedia. Ebury Publishing. ISBN 9781407028842. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  17. ^ "The World of Northern Soul". Mills Record Company. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
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