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The Hit Parade
(Australia) London
The Hit Parade is a group who make pop records. They started life as a suburban three piece from South Bucks, in the American state of England UK. Their first single 'Forever' was a tribute to Phil Spector. Their next one sounded like 'The Byrds'. And so on. Now they are older they reference Philip Larkin and civic architecture. Girls usually feature prominently in the average Hit Parade song.

The group is essentially a trio of three schoolfriends Julian Henry, Raymond Watts and Matt Moffatt. Over the years they have been joined by Cath Carroll, Harvey 'Festive' Williams, Amelia Fletcher and others. Now they record with Iain Catt, producer of St Etienne.

Their records are released on their own JSH label and come pressed on 7" vinyl with brightly coloured sleeves. In the 1990s they became trendy in Japan and released a sequence of albums firstly for an indie label, and then for a Japanese major company, and went on to have a top 20 hit in the indie chart there with 'Hello Hannah Hello'. They toured Japan several times, appeared on TV, opened record stores and generally enjoyed themselves before getting bored of the routine.

Back in the UK they were picked up by Sarah Records, and in the US by Minty Fresh. In 2006 they released their fifth album called 'The Return Of The Hit Parade'. Their sixth album 'Cornish Pop Songs' is due out in 2013. Today the band spend most of the evenings in the Richard Steeles pub in Belsize Park London arguing over which songs should be played at their funeral.



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Releases:
Forever (7") Jan 1984
on JSH Records - JSH 1
- Forever
- Stop
My Favourite Girl / It Rained On Monday Afternoon (7") Oct 1984
on JSH Records - JSH 2
- My Favourite Girl
- It Rained On Monday Afternoon
The Sun Shines In Cerrards Cross (7") Apr 1985
on JSH Records -JSH 3
- The Sun Shines In Cerrards Cross
- You Hurt Me Too
You Didn't Love Me Then (7") Sep 1985
on JSH Records - JSH 4
- You Didn't Love Me Then
- Huevos Mexican
See You In Havana (7") Aug 1986
on JSH Records - JSH 5
- See You In Havana
- Wipe Away The Tears
I Get So Sentimental (7") Apr 1987
on JSH Records - JSH 6
- I Get So Sentimental
- Sue
With Love From The Hit Parade (LP+CD) Jun 1988
on Vinyl Japan - ASK 02
originally released on vinyl only on JSH Records June (JPEW 1), Vinyl Japan re-releases in 1990 and 1999
- Forever
- Stop
- I Get So Sentimental
- Sue
- My Favourite Girl
- It Rained On Monday Afternoon
- See You In Havana
- Wipe Away The Tears
- The Sun Shines In Cerrards Cross
- You Hurt Me Too
- You Didn't Love Me Then
- Huevos Mexican
- The Sun In My Eyes
- Come And Get Me Girl
- You As Just A Memory
- Let Her Go (CD only)
- I Wish (CD only)
- All The Way Across The USA (CD only)
- Run Away (CD only)
More Pop Songs (LP+CD) Jan 1991
on Vinyl Japan - ASK 05
also JSH
- In The Hit Parade
- Hitomi
- The Beatles In 1963
- When I Close My Eyes
- Girlfriends
- The Streets Of Toytown
- Christmas Tears
- It Was Meant To Be
- Groovy Heart Attack
- You Were Mine
- It Doesn't Matter Now
- What Did You Love Me For?
- Chrismas Tears (starring Amelia) (CD only)
- If You See Her (CD only)
Christmas Tears (7") Nov 1991
on JSH
In Gunnersbury Park (7") Dec 1991
on Sarah Records - SARAH 058
- In Gunnersbury Park
- Harvey
Light Music (CD) 1992
on Polystar Japan
- The Wrong Side Of The World
- Are You Scared To Be Happy
- Familiar Goodbye Kiss
- On The Eve Of Greatness
- Blue Lagoon
- When The Stars Are Bright
- The Photo Session
- Alice In Wonderland
- So Said Kayo
- The First Time
- Goodbye To Jane
- Somewhere
Hitomi (7") Jul 1993
- Hitomi
Sixteen Weeks (CD5) 25-Oct-1993
on Polystar - PSCW-2029
- I Love Christmas
- The Dispossessed
- Corporation Street
- Autobiography
- Now The Holiday's Over
Autobiography (7"+CD5) May 1994
on Sarah Records - SARAH 090
- Autobiography
- The Dispossessed
The Sound Of The Hit Parade (LP+CD) Jul 1994
on Sarah Records - SARAH 622
- On The Road To Beaconsfield
- As I Lay Dying
- Grace Darling
- Hello Hannah Hello
- Walk Away Boy
- Farewell My Lido
- The Fool
- House Of Sarah
- She Won't Come Back
- Crying
- She's Lost Everything
- So This Is London
In Your Arms (7") Dec 2003
on JSH Records - JSH 7
- In Your Arms
- She Goes Down
Born in St. Ives (7") 2005
on JSH Records - JSH 8
- Born in St. Ives
- Beauty Queen
My Stupid Band (7") 2006
on JSH Records - JSH9
- My Stupid Band
- Twenty Percent
The Return Of The Hit Parade (CD) 31-Jul-2006 - More details
on JSH Records - JPEW 002
- Ode To A Footballer's Wife
- Queen Of Mousehole
- My Stupid Band
- Intermission
- New Woman
- Lonely Girl
- Born In St Ives
- You're Bloody Rubbish
- Sugar
- Westbourne Terrace W2
- It's A Dream
- You're The Girl Who Always Gets Her Own Way
On compilations:
Imminent 4  (LP) 1986
on Food Records
- Let Her Go
Borobudur  (LP) 26 July 1990
- I Get So Sentimental
CD86  (CD) 23-Oct-2006
on Castle Music CMEDD1420
- You Didn't Love Me Then
on Cherry Red Records - CRCDBOX10
- Forever
Last updated: 6-May-2012 © 1994-2024 TweeNet Creative Commons License