"Non Stop Hits" - overseas
Like Alan Caddy and his Avenue recordings, Mike Morton was responsible for an extremely high number of records in the UK and throughout the world. His many international releases may well include songs from his "Non Stop" series, among other recordings, but we simply do not have the resources to research his full career in this respect. Instead, we limit ourselves to releases which are known to have specific ties to the UK discography.
Morton's UK series, "Non Stop Hits" was released first through Aries and then through RCA. The survey below looks at all of these albums together.
Morton's UK series, "Non Stop Hits" was released first through Aries and then through RCA. The survey below looks at all of these albums together.
Argentina
So far we have a single and an album from Argentina, but they are rather different in nature:
This single was "Grabado en Londres", and was issued on RCA. Despite this, it consists of three songs from his UK Aries albums, one of which is from the "preliminary" release of 1971. The track listing is given to the right - song titles in Spanish, as per the record sleeve, and their English translations. |
Caballo Sin Nombre (Horse With No Name) - From Aries "Vol 3" (1971) Bangla Desh - From Aries "Vol 5" (1972) Reunion de Madre E Hijo (Mother & Child Reunion) - From Aries "Nonstop Top 20 Vol 4" (1971) |
This LP was called Top Top which also appears to be the name of the label. It is an exact pressing of the UK RCA album, Volume 6. All the tracks are credited to fictional artists with sometimes quite odd names (see right). The song titles were also translated into Spanish. |
Aliases on the LP include:
|
Norway
This Norwegian LP "Top of the Hits" consists of the Aries album, "Non Stop Hits Volume 3", but in addition to the familiar 14 tracks, there is an extra song tagged onto the end of each side - namely, "Run Baby Run" and "Tokoloshe Man". These two had already appeared on the UK volume 2, so it seems unlikely that was issued in Norway beforehand. The label is Top Hits, and the catalogue number is THS 105. ("Det Nye", in the top corner means "The New" - so this appears to be some sort of message to potential buyers.) |
Portgual
Singapore
In Singapore, a run of releases appeared with branding from a different UK series - namely, "Hits From England's Top Twenty" (they added to word, "World" at the front). The contents though tend to match Mike Morton's RCA albums.
The label, Elastic, resembles in name and logo the much more pretigious Elektra! These are the relevant examples we have:
The label, Elastic, resembles in name and logo the much more pretigious Elektra! These are the relevant examples we have:
Without a volume number, this album has catalogue number EL 1, and is therefore probably the first of its kind. The songs match Mike Morton's "Non Stop Hits" volume 2 on RCA, with the addition of two extras from an unknown source (these being "Hurting Each Other" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"). The album falsely names the original recording artists on the back! |
Pictured left is EL 3. It matches RCA album volume 3, and as with the album above, contains two additional tracks: "When You Are A King" and "To Be The One You Love". These, though, are on the original UK 8-track edition of "Hits From England's Top Twenty", which would account for their inclusion here. |
South Africa
MFP was active in South Africa and issued more than 70 LPs in their Springbok series, which was much the same as the UK "Hot Hits" but spanning well over a decade. In addition to the main album series, there were also several side albums, some of which formed a sub-series called "Springbok Hits of the Week". (These were issued on the Music For Leisure label!)
We are mainly interested in volumes 2 to 4, which did not contain MFP recordings; they were pulled from Mike Morton's UK albums instead. Volume 2 also used the same cover art as "Non Stop Hits" (Aries) volume 3. Details are as follows:
We are mainly interested in volumes 2 to 4, which did not contain MFP recordings; they were pulled from Mike Morton's UK albums instead. Volume 2 also used the same cover art as "Non Stop Hits" (Aries) volume 3. Details are as follows:
Spain
So far, we know of three Spanish albums, but there is a strong likelihood that there are several more. The first is a compilation LP by "The Mike Morton Congregation", which contains 14 tracks taken from the Aries series, starting with the "preliminary" "Nonstop Top 20 Vol 4" and running through to the standard Aries Vol 5. A track listing is given below.
The other two shown are credited to "The Cover Makers", and form part of a series called "Top Hits Non-stop". Since these are volumes 8 and 9 respectively, it seems probable that there are several others in existence. These albums are Spanish editions of Morton's RCA LPs, volume 5 and volume 6 - although this edition of volume 5 has two extra tracks added in, from an unknown source, bumping the contents up to 14 titles.
The other two shown are credited to "The Cover Makers", and form part of a series called "Top Hits Non-stop". Since these are volumes 8 and 9 respectively, it seems probable that there are several others in existence. These albums are Spanish editions of Morton's RCA LPs, volume 5 and volume 6 - although this edition of volume 5 has two extra tracks added in, from an unknown source, bumping the contents up to 14 titles.
West Germany
As with the UK, there were lots of cover version series running in West Germany, and keeping track of them all is difficult! We have identified three (so far) which are West German editions of Mike Morton's RCA albums.
The first two below appeared on the Metronome label. The first is not titled, but the next one is, and we know from the chronology that these are volumes 1 and 2. The next one we know of is an edition of volume 5, and the title has changed to Pop the Top. The label may also have changed (the logo looks different) although the catalogue numbers indicate this is part of a continuous West German series.
The first two below appeared on the Metronome label. The first is not titled, but the next one is, and we know from the chronology that these are volumes 1 and 2. The next one we know of is an edition of volume 5, and the title has changed to Pop the Top. The label may also have changed (the logo looks different) although the catalogue numbers indicate this is part of a continuous West German series.