(Grape Fruit Records) 82 tracks, digisleeve in Klappbox - inkl. booklet

A four-hour, 3-CD anthology of the British pop scene in the late 1960s during the early years of Radio 1.
Big hits and fascinating failures from some of the biggest acts and most prominent songwriter/producer teams of the era.
In 1967, British pop radio underwent a fundamental change when the pirate stations that had dominated the airwaves in previous years were declared illegal by an act of Parliament and replaced by a national station controlled by the public broadcaster BBC.
With the advent of Radio 1, the British pop scene was reshaped in the station's image, and a new wave of songwriting and production teams competed to produce cheerful, shrill, and relentlessly optimistic tracks that would be included in Radio 1's all-important playlist.
While The Love Affair, The Herd, The Tremeloes, and The Foundations were among the groups making headlines, the real key figures were the writers behind the scenes: names like Tony Macaulay, Howard Blaikley, and arranger Keith Mansfield were all instrumental in creating the new, homogenized pop radio sound.
"All Things Bright And Beautiful: The UK Pop Explosion" is a 3-CD box set with a playing time of four hours that celebrates this crucial phase in British pop history. It includes a host of important hits—including several that were played in the first hour of Radio 1's first broadcast—as well as minor successes and a few 45s that were played frequently on the radio but never quite made the breakthrough.
Packaged in Grapefruit's signature clamshell box with a 48-page booklet and track-by-track notes, this is another must-have for any lover of late 60s pop music.