Stars on 45
Encyclopedia
Stars on 45 was a Dutch
novelty pop
act that was briefly very popular in the United Kingdom
, throughout Europe, the United States
and Australia
in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland it was known as Starsound. The band, which consisted solely of studio session musicians under the direction of Jaap Eggermont, formerly of Golden Earring
, popularized the medley, by recreating hit songs as faithfully as possible and stringing them together, with a common tempo and relentless underlying drum track. The point was to provide a danceable disco
record which used familiar tunes—a technique that was also used in the Hooked on Classics
series of recordings released by RCA Records and K-Tel Records.
, the Archies
and Madness
with a number of recent American and British disco hits like Lipps Inc.'s "Funkytown", Heatwave
's "Boogie Nights" and The S.O.S. Band's "Take Your Time (Do It Right)", as the rhythms of the various songs tended to compliment and "dovetail" into each other. When van Kooten heard that the medley also used a segment of "Venus", a 1970 US #1 hit by Dutch band Shocking Blue
- a song for which he himself held the worldwide copyright - and knowing that neither he nor Red Bullet Productions had given the permission for the use of the recording, he realised that the medley in fact was a bootleg
release. The record turned out to be a 12-inch single called "Let's Do It in the 80's - Great Hits", credited to a non-existing band called Passion and issued on a non-existing record label called Alto. The medley had its origin in Montreal
, Canada, and it was later revealed that it was the work of one Michel Ali together with two professional DJ's; Michel Gendreau and Paul Richer. Gendreau and Richer both specialised in the art of "splicing", stringing together snippets of music from different genres, in varying keys and BPM
's and from different sound sources, at this time still predominantly from vinyl records. The first version of the medley was eight minutes long, included parts from some twenty tracks of which only three were by the Beatles; "No Reply", "I'll Be Back", and "Drive My Car". A later extended, 16-minute, 30-track mix of the same medley labeled "Bits and Pieces III" added another five Beatles titles: "Do You Want to Know a Secret", "We Can Work It Out", "I Should Have Known Better", "Nowhere Man" and "You're Going to Lose That Girl". With the bootleg recording obviously already circulating in dance clubs on both sides of the Atlantic, van Kooten decided to "bootleg the bootleg" and create a licensed version of the medley by using soundalike artists to replicate the original hits and therefore contacted his friend and colleague Jaap Eggermont.
The Beatles soundalikes were established Dutch singers. John Lennon
's parts were sung by Bas Muys of the 70s Dutch pop group Smyle. Paul McCartney
's and George Harrison
's parts were sung by Sandy Coast frontman Hans Vermeulen and Okkie Huysdens who had worked with Vermeulen in the band Rainbow Train. Apart from the recreated songs, an original chorus and hook written by Eggermont and musical arranger Martin Duiser called "Stars on 45" was added at intervals to help string differing sections together. The '45' in the title refers to the playback speed of a vinyl record single — 45 rpm
, such singles were often simply called "45s". The female vocalist in the chorus was session singer Jody Pijper and later recordings also featured uncredited vocals by Dutch 70s star Albert West and Arnie Treffers of rock revival band Long Tall Ernie and the Shakers. The Stars on 45 recordings were made before the birth of digital recording technology, which meant that each and every song was recorded separately and the different parts were subsequently manually pieced together with a pre-recorded drumloop, using analog
master tapes, in order to create the segued medleys. The specific drumloop heard on most Stars on 45 recordings is often referred to as the "clap track", due to its prominent and steady handclaps.
The first such release was a 9:45 12" single, issued in the aftermath of the so called anti-disco backlash, and was released on the (at the time) minor label CNR Records in the Netherlands in December 1980. The single was simply entitled "Stars on 45" by Stars on 45, with no credits on the label or the cover as to who actually sang on the recording. When Dutch radio stations began playing the four minute, eight track Beatles segment of the medley, placed in the middle of the original 12" mix, an edited 7" single with the Beatles part preceded by "Venus" and The Archies
' "Sugar Sugar" was released and hit the #1 spot of the Dutch singles charts in February 1981. A few months later it also reached #2 in the UK, where it was released by the British subsidiary of CBS Records
and credited to 'Starsound'. Shortly thereafter Eggermont created the first Stars on 45 album, Long Play Album, issued with an equally anonymous album cover and featuring a 16-minute side-long medley of Beatles titles.
In June 1981 the "Stars on 45 Medley
" single also went to #1 in the US where it was released by Radio Records, a sublabel of Atlantic Records
. The track list for the 7" edit of the "Stars on 45 Medley" in the US was the names of all the songs that make up the medley as it appears on the actual record label (see image at left):
This single with its 41-word title continues to hold the record for a #1 single with the longest name on the Billboard
charts, due to the legalities requiring each song title be listed. The Stars on 45 Long Play Album (US title: Stars on Long Play, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: Stars on 45 - The Album) also became a massive seller worldwide, topping both the UK and Australian album charts, it was a Top 10 hit in most parts of Europe and also reached #9 on Billboard
s album chart in the US.
The popularity of the album even resulted in it being given an official release in the Soviet Union
, where it was issued by state-owned record label Melodiya
under the title Discothèque Stars. The "Stars on 45 Medley" single was later awarded a platinum disc for one million copies sold in the US alone.
A second Beatles medley went to #67 on the US charts. Another album followed later that same year, Longplay Album - Volume II
(US title: Stars on Long Play II, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: Stars on 45 - The Album - Volume 2) featuring medleys using the songs of ABBA
, a #2 hit in the UK and Motown, US #55. The recordings of the Stars on 45 medleys were also made before the advent of modern synthesizers with the possibility of sampling
sounds. Consequently, for the recreation of tracks like the themes from "Star Wars" and "The War of the Worlds", included in the "Star Wars and Other Hits" medley on Longplay - Album II and released as the third European single under the title "Volume III
", a full symphony orchestra was used, including strings
, brass
, woodwind, harpsichord
, orchestral percussion like timpani
etc. - even if those particular parts were only ten or fifteen seconds long on the actual record released.
In late 1981 Eggermont and Martin Duiser were awarded the Conamus Export Prize
in the Netherlands in recognition of their contributions to Dutch culture and economy.
A third album, The Superstars
(US title: Stars on Long Play III, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: Stars Medley), featured medleys of The Rolling Stones
and Stevie Wonder
. The single "Stars on 45 III: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder" peaked at #28 in the US in 1982, where the act was now simply listed as Stars On. It also reached #14 in the UK where it was called "Stars Medley" - confusingly exactly the same title as the third album in the British Isles
and Australasia
. In Continental Europe and most other parts of the world the Stevie Wonder medley was entitled "Stars on Stevie
". In late 1982 Eggermont and Duiser again won the Conamus Export Prize
, this time together with Tony Sherman who sang lead vocals on "Stars on Stevie".
There was a touring company also called Stars on 45 that promoted their albums, although not using the same studio session musicians as on the record.
In 1982, there was a staged musical show at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Hollywood, California and a video of that show was released in 1983 by MCA Home Video.
A spinoff group called The Star Sisters
had a hit in Europe in 1983 with an Andrews Sisters medley. The albums were released under the moniker of Stars on 45 Presents the Star Sisters.
Later European-only releases included Stars on Frankie
released in 1987 and some ten years later Stars on 45: The Club Hits, the latter however not produced by Eggermont.
While none of the three original Stars on 45 albums have been reissued to CD in their entirety or in their original form, several CD compilations on European budget labels such as EMI
's subsidiary Music Club, Arcade, Edel Records, Falcon Neuen Media, Bunny Music and ZYX Music have been released under the non-copyrighted 'Stars on 45' moniker all through the 1990s and 2000s. These include The Best of Stars on 45, The Very Best of Stars of 45, The Magic of Stars on 45, Stars on 45 Presents the Mighty Megamix Album, The Greatest Stars on 45, The Non-Stop Party Album, Greatest Stars on 45 Vol. 1 and Greatest Stars on 45 Vol. 2. It should however be noted that some of these compilations also feature titles such as "The Carpenters Medley", "Beach Boys Gold", "The Spencer Davis Group Medley", "Love Songs Are Forever" etc. - again recordings that were neither produced by Jaap Eggermont nor originally released as by Stars on 45 in the 1980s (see below).
A CD compilation with the slightly misleading title Stars on 45 - 16 Memories From the Golden Days of Vinyl, released by the K-Tel
label in 2003, includes no recordings by Stars on 45 whatsoever but merely a selection of various 60s and 70s hits.
In 2011, Dutch dance label Spinnin' Records issued a set of new remixes by Global Deejays and Olav Basoski
. In both mixes, only the original intro and chorus of the Stars on 45 singles were sampled. They did not contain any hits or sample of existing hits.
medley "Startrax Club Disco", Tight Fit
with "Back to the 60's Vol. 1" and "Back to the 60's Vol. 2", Enigma with "Ain't No Stopping - Disco Mix '81" and "I Love Music - Disco Special", Gidea Park with "Beach Boy Gold" and their Four Seasons
medley "Seasons of Gold" (UK peak #23, US peak #82), Lobo with his Harry Belafonte
medley "The Caribbean Disco Show", Band of Gold with "Love Songs Are Back Again" and "Love Songs Are Forever", Paul Giggs and his "Guitar Collection", Rock Heroes with their Rod Stewart
medley "Rock Heroes Vol. 1", Motor City Allstars with "A Tribute To Motown", Trini Tunes and their "Trini Lopez
Hit Medley", Super Rock Stars Live with "Super Rock Stars Live" etc.; all with varying degrees of chart success - and likeness to the original recordings.
The non-stop disco medley format was by no means a new phenomenon however; in 1976, the Ritchie Family had scored their biggest U.S. hit with a similar medley named "The Best Disco in Town
", which incorporated various pop hits of the day (such as Silver Convention
's "Fly, Robin, Fly
" and Donna Summer
's "Love to Love You Baby
") recreated in an order, and segued by the title theme.
Almost a year before the release of the "Stars On 45", a similar medley was produced by three South Florida men by taking the original Beatles recordings, editing them into a sequence, and then overdubbing identical drum and bass parts. While never receiving any airplay (obviously for rights/use and clearance issues), the master was purchased by a New York disco label.
Shortly after Stars On 45's recording of their "Supremes Medley" which was included on their second album Longplay Album - Volume II, Motown Records
re-issued their "The Supremes
Medley" a.k.a. "The Diana Ross
& The Supremes Medley of Hits" worldwide. The medley had first been recorded and released in the U.S. in 1977 both as a 12" single (- 10:06) and an edited 7" version ( - 5:09) and featured the original Supremes recordings of "Stop! In The Name of Love", "Back In My Arms Again", "Come See About Me", "Love Is Like An Itching In My Meart", "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Baby Love" strung together with a newly recorded disco accompaniment. The medley has since been re-issued on certain CD hits compilations with Diana Ross and The Supremes such as the 2003 Deluxe Edition of Ross' 1980 album "diana
".
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
recorded several albums as well as singles called Hooked on Classics
, the first of which was released in 1981, while Larry Elgart
and his Manhattan Swing Orchestra recorded a series of Hooked on Swing tracks. The single, "Hooked On Classics," peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Larry Elgart & His Manhattan Swing Orchestra peaked at #32 with "Hooked On Swing". Hooked on Classics
was subsequently parodied by the Portsmouth Sinfonia
as Classical Muddly.
The rock band Squeeze recorded a medley of their own classic hits, calling it "Squabs on Forty Fab", and releasing it as the B-side to their 1981 single "Labelled With Love
."
For their 1981 release, "Christmas Jamboree Bag", the Cockney musical act Chas & Dave recorded a medley parodying the "Stars on 45" format. Entitled "Stars Over 45", the song featured a selection of traditional London
songs.
British punk band Tenpole Tudor
also parodied the concept with "Tenpole 45", the B-side of their 1981 single "Wunderbar".
Also in 1981, American comedians Stevens & Grdnic
released "Commercials on 45", which was a compilation of that duo's parodies of commercials set to music.
In late 1981 Germany-based Caribbean disco band Boney M. released a Stars on 45 type medley under the title "6 Years of Boney M. Hits - Boney M. on 45
" featuring some twenty of their best-known recordings. The medley, ranging in length from five to thirteen minutes depending on the format, was issued both as an A- and B-side 7" and 12" single in certain territories to promote their albums Boonoonoonoos
and Christmas Album
. Five years later producer Frank Farian
took the megamix format one step further and released a full-length album called The Best of 10 Years - 32 Superhits.
In the spring of 1982, the Beatles hit the charts with their own medley. They peaked at #10 in the UK sales charts and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "The Beatles Movie Medley," highlighting their hits from the various motion pictures they appeared in throughout their popularity. "The Beatles Movie Medley" remains the only Beatles single not released on CD.
In 1981, The Beach Boys
had their own minor hit with "The Beach Boys Medley," peaking at #12 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart. Capitol Records' incentive to produce and release this medley came from the attention a South Florida man was receiving with his own self-produced and self-performed medley. Chuck Kirkpatrick, a former Capitol artist himself (under the name "Chuck Crane") had actually presented his idea to the Capitol staff months before the release of their own. Capitol's response was to say, "If we were interested in something like this, we'd simply use the masters we already own". 2 months later, Kirkpatrick's meticulously crafted 9 minute medley with 3 tempo changes was getting heavy airplay in South Florida and Kirkpatrick was appearing on several television shows including a national segment of PM Magazine. Capitol's release subsequently blew Kirkpatrick's out of the water, but it is interesting to note the similarity of sequencing and songs chosen by Capitol for their medley compared to Kirkpatrick's.
Also in 1981, The Hollies
released their own hit medley "Holliedaze", which became their first UK Top 30 entry since 1974.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
's 1984 song "Polkas on 45" parodies the Stars on 45 format, except that the entire song is done in the style of a polka
. "Polkas on 45" was included in Weird Al's second album
, and with the exception of Even Worse
and Alapalooza
(the latter of which has a polka version of Queen
's "Bohemian Rhapsody
" rather than a medley), a similar polka compilation has been included in each of his albums since.
1985 saw the release of an album titled Stars on 45 - Soul Revue and a single called "The Sam & Dave Medley" credited to 'Stars on 45 featuring Sam & Dave
', and even with the Stars on 45 logo on the album cover. While the album indeed was recorded in Holland it was neither produced by Jaap Eggermont nor did it feature the original formation of the duo but David Prater and his new singing partner Sam Daniels. Original member Sam Moore made Atlantic Records
- the parent label to the 'real' Stars on 45's US label Radio Records - recall both the single and the album for using the "Sam & Dave" name without permission, and the records were later re-labelled and re-issued as being by 'The New Sam & Dave Revue'.
In the early 1980s, Ivor Biggun
released "Bras on 45" (a.k.a. "Bra Size 45"), a novelty song about a woman with large breasts, which was very close to sounding like a Stars-on-45-style medley of recognizable songs, including Gary Numan
's "Cars
" and Ian Dury
's "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick
".
The Scottish post-punk
band Orange Juice
also recorded a Stars on 45-like medley of their earliest singles called "Blokes on 45" for John Peel
's BBC
show. It was released on The Glasgow School in 2005, a compilation of their early work recorded for Postcard Records
.
A Stars On 45-style medley of British pop group Girls Aloud
's singles, entitled "Girls On 45", was released in 2009 as the b-side
of their single "The Loving Kind
". The seven minute long mix features the intro and outro of the original Stars On 45 medleys and was created by Jewels & Stone
.
With the development of recording technology, similar subsequent efforts have used the actual recordings combined together rather than re-recordings with session musicians. The best-known example was probably Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers
, as well as a series of "Hit Mix" albums (e.g. "Hit Mix 86", a medley of many hits from that year).
Stars on 45 is still active, playing at corporate events and weddings, using a revolving group of professional musicians. The bandleader and founder is Eddie Garr, who toured with Walter Murphy, Billy Vera, and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
novelty pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
act that was briefly very popular in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, throughout Europe, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland it was known as Starsound. The band, which consisted solely of studio session musicians under the direction of Jaap Eggermont, formerly of Golden Earring
Golden Earring
Golden Earring are a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings . They had international chart success with the songs "Radar Love" in 1973, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. In their home country, they had over 40 hits and made over 30 gold and...
, popularized the medley, by recreating hit songs as faithfully as possible and stringing them together, with a common tempo and relentless underlying drum track. The point was to provide a danceable disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
record which used familiar tunes—a technique that was also used in the Hooked on Classics
Hooked on Classics
Hooked on Classics was a series of record albums first introduced in 1981, toward the end of the disco era's peak in popularity.Louis Clark, former arranger for Electric Light Orchestra, conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing a collection of very recognizable extracts from classical...
series of recordings released by RCA Records and K-Tel Records.
History
Jaap Eggermont originally created the "Stars on 45" concept after the managing director of the Dutch publishing company Red Bullet Productions, Willem van Kooten, in the summer of 1980 by sheer coincidence happened to hear a disco medley being played in a record store. The medley coupled original recordings of songs by the Beatles, the BugglesThe Buggles
The Buggles were an English New Wave band consisting of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes . They are remembered chiefly for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star" that was #1 on the singles chart in 16 countries. Its music video was the first to be shown on MTV in the U.S...
, the Archies
The Archies
The Archies are a garage band founded by Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones, a group of adolescent fictional characters of the Archie universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show...
and Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
with a number of recent American and British disco hits like Lipps Inc.'s "Funkytown", Heatwave
Heatwave (band)
Heatwave was an international funk/disco musical band featuring Americans Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and Keith Wilder of Dayton, Ohio, Englishman Rod Temperton , Swiss Mario Mantese , Czechoslovak Ernest "Bilbo" Berger , Jamaican Eric Johns and Briton Roy Carter .They were known for their successful...
's "Boogie Nights" and The S.O.S. Band's "Take Your Time (Do It Right)", as the rhythms of the various songs tended to compliment and "dovetail" into each other. When van Kooten heard that the medley also used a segment of "Venus", a 1970 US #1 hit by Dutch band Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band from The Hague, the Netherlands, formed in 1967. Their biggest hit, "Venus", went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970, and the band had sold 13.5 million discs by 1973, but the group disbanded in 1974.-Members:...
- a song for which he himself held the worldwide copyright - and knowing that neither he nor Red Bullet Productions had given the permission for the use of the recording, he realised that the medley in fact was a bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
release. The record turned out to be a 12-inch single called "Let's Do It in the 80's - Great Hits", credited to a non-existing band called Passion and issued on a non-existing record label called Alto. The medley had its origin in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada, and it was later revealed that it was the work of one Michel Ali together with two professional DJ's; Michel Gendreau and Paul Richer. Gendreau and Richer both specialised in the art of "splicing", stringing together snippets of music from different genres, in varying keys and BPM
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
's and from different sound sources, at this time still predominantly from vinyl records. The first version of the medley was eight minutes long, included parts from some twenty tracks of which only three were by the Beatles; "No Reply", "I'll Be Back", and "Drive My Car". A later extended, 16-minute, 30-track mix of the same medley labeled "Bits and Pieces III" added another five Beatles titles: "Do You Want to Know a Secret", "We Can Work It Out", "I Should Have Known Better", "Nowhere Man" and "You're Going to Lose That Girl". With the bootleg recording obviously already circulating in dance clubs on both sides of the Atlantic, van Kooten decided to "bootleg the bootleg" and create a licensed version of the medley by using soundalike artists to replicate the original hits and therefore contacted his friend and colleague Jaap Eggermont.
The Beatles soundalikes were established Dutch singers. John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's parts were sung by Bas Muys of the 70s Dutch pop group Smyle. Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's and George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
's parts were sung by Sandy Coast frontman Hans Vermeulen and Okkie Huysdens who had worked with Vermeulen in the band Rainbow Train. Apart from the recreated songs, an original chorus and hook written by Eggermont and musical arranger Martin Duiser called "Stars on 45" was added at intervals to help string differing sections together. The '45' in the title refers to the playback speed of a vinyl record single — 45 rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
, such singles were often simply called "45s". The female vocalist in the chorus was session singer Jody Pijper and later recordings also featured uncredited vocals by Dutch 70s star Albert West and Arnie Treffers of rock revival band Long Tall Ernie and the Shakers. The Stars on 45 recordings were made before the birth of digital recording technology, which meant that each and every song was recorded separately and the different parts were subsequently manually pieced together with a pre-recorded drumloop, using analog
Analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.Analog recording methods store signals as a continual wave in or on the media...
master tapes, in order to create the segued medleys. The specific drumloop heard on most Stars on 45 recordings is often referred to as the "clap track", due to its prominent and steady handclaps.
The first such release was a 9:45 12" single, issued in the aftermath of the so called anti-disco backlash, and was released on the (at the time) minor label CNR Records in the Netherlands in December 1980. The single was simply entitled "Stars on 45" by Stars on 45, with no credits on the label or the cover as to who actually sang on the recording. When Dutch radio stations began playing the four minute, eight track Beatles segment of the medley, placed in the middle of the original 12" mix, an edited 7" single with the Beatles part preceded by "Venus" and The Archies
The Archies
The Archies are a garage band founded by Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones, a group of adolescent fictional characters of the Archie universe, in the context of the animated TV series, The Archie Show...
' "Sugar Sugar" was released and hit the #1 spot of the Dutch singles charts in February 1981. A few months later it also reached #2 in the UK, where it was released by the British subsidiary of CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
and credited to 'Starsound'. Shortly thereafter Eggermont created the first Stars on 45 album, Long Play Album, issued with an equally anonymous album cover and featuring a 16-minute side-long medley of Beatles titles.
In June 1981 the "Stars on 45 Medley
Stars on 45 Medley
"Stars on 45" was a song issued in 1981 by the studio group Stars on 45. In some countries including UK, Ireland and New Zealand the band was credited as 'Starsound' and the medley itself was named "Stars on 45"...
" single also went to #1 in the US where it was released by Radio Records, a sublabel of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. The track list for the 7" edit of the "Stars on 45 Medley" in the US was the names of all the songs that make up the medley as it appears on the actual record label (see image at left):
This single with its 41-word title continues to hold the record for a #1 single with the longest name on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts, due to the legalities requiring each song title be listed. The Stars on 45 Long Play Album (US title: Stars on Long Play, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: Stars on 45 - The Album) also became a massive seller worldwide, topping both the UK and Australian album charts, it was a Top 10 hit in most parts of Europe and also reached #9 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s album chart in the US.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where it was issued by state-owned record label Melodiya
Melodiya
Melodiya is a Russian record label. It was the state-owned major record company/label of the Soviet Union.-History:It was established in 1964 as the "All-Union Gramophone Record Firm of the USSR Ministry of Culture Melodiya"...
under the title Discothèque Stars. The "Stars on 45 Medley" single was later awarded a platinum disc for one million copies sold in the US alone.
A second Beatles medley went to #67 on the US charts. Another album followed later that same year, Longplay Album - Volume II
Longplay Album - Volume II
Longplay Album – Volume II was the second album by the Dutch soundalike studio group Stars on 45, released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in August 1981. In the US the album was retitled Stars On Long Play II, released on Radio Records and credited to 'Stars On'...
(US title: Stars on Long Play II, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: Stars on 45 - The Album - Volume 2) featuring medleys using the songs of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, a #2 hit in the UK and Motown, US #55. The recordings of the Stars on 45 medleys were also made before the advent of modern synthesizers with the possibility of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
sounds. Consequently, for the recreation of tracks like the themes from "Star Wars" and "The War of the Worlds", included in the "Star Wars and Other Hits" medley on Longplay - Album II and released as the third European single under the title "Volume III
Volume III (Stars on 45)
"Volume III" a.k.a. "Stars on 45 Volume 3" was a song issued in 1981 by the Dutch studio group Stars on 45, in the UK credited to 'Starsound'...
", a full symphony orchestra was used, including strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
, brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
, woodwind, harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, orchestral percussion like timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
etc. - even if those particular parts were only ten or fifteen seconds long on the actual record released.
In late 1981 Eggermont and Martin Duiser were awarded the Conamus Export Prize
Buma Export Award
The Buma Export Award is given to the Dutch artists who have sold the most records abroad. Each year, this prize is given by the Buma Cultuur foundation which also presents the Golden Harp and Zilveren Harp awards....
in the Netherlands in recognition of their contributions to Dutch culture and economy.
A third album, The Superstars
The Superstars
The Superstars was the third album by Dutch soundalike studio group Stars on 45, released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in March 1982. In the US the album was retitled Stars On Long Play III, released on Radio Records and credited to 'Stars On'...
(US title: Stars on Long Play III, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: Stars Medley), featured medleys of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
. The single "Stars on 45 III: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder" peaked at #28 in the US in 1982, where the act was now simply listed as Stars On. It also reached #14 in the UK where it was called "Stars Medley" - confusingly exactly the same title as the third album in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. In Continental Europe and most other parts of the world the Stevie Wonder medley was entitled "Stars on Stevie
Stars on Stevie
"Stars on Stevie" a.k.a. "Stars Medley" a.k.a. "Stars on 45 III: In Tribute to Stevie Wonder" was a song issued in 1982 by the Dutch studio group Stars on 45, in the UK credited to 'Starsound', in the US 'Stars On'...
". In late 1982 Eggermont and Duiser again won the Conamus Export Prize
Buma Export Award
The Buma Export Award is given to the Dutch artists who have sold the most records abroad. Each year, this prize is given by the Buma Cultuur foundation which also presents the Golden Harp and Zilveren Harp awards....
, this time together with Tony Sherman who sang lead vocals on "Stars on Stevie".
There was a touring company also called Stars on 45 that promoted their albums, although not using the same studio session musicians as on the record.
In 1982, there was a staged musical show at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Hollywood, California and a video of that show was released in 1983 by MCA Home Video.
A spinoff group called The Star Sisters
Star Sisters
The Star Sisters were a female Dance/Pop trio from The Netherlands that were very popular during the 1980s, most notably as the ladies who performed the chorus as members of Jaap Eggermont's studio act Stars on 45 and in a spinoff in which they performed as The Andrews Sisters in a medley that...
had a hit in Europe in 1983 with an Andrews Sisters medley. The albums were released under the moniker of Stars on 45 Presents the Star Sisters.
Later European-only releases included Stars on Frankie
Stars on Frankie
Stars on Frankie was the fourth and final album by the Dutch soundalike studio group Stars on 45, released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in 1987...
released in 1987 and some ten years later Stars on 45: The Club Hits, the latter however not produced by Eggermont.
While none of the three original Stars on 45 albums have been reissued to CD in their entirety or in their original form, several CD compilations on European budget labels such as 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...
's subsidiary Music Club, Arcade, Edel Records, Falcon Neuen Media, Bunny Music and ZYX Music have been released under the non-copyrighted 'Stars on 45' moniker all through the 1990s and 2000s. These include The Best of Stars on 45, The Very Best of Stars of 45, The Magic of Stars on 45, Stars on 45 Presents the Mighty Megamix Album, The Greatest Stars on 45, The Non-Stop Party Album, Greatest Stars on 45 Vol. 1 and Greatest Stars on 45 Vol. 2. It should however be noted that some of these compilations also feature titles such as "The Carpenters Medley", "Beach Boys Gold", "The Spencer Davis Group Medley", "Love Songs Are Forever" etc. - again recordings that were neither produced by Jaap Eggermont nor originally released as by Stars on 45 in the 1980s (see below).
A CD compilation with the slightly misleading title Stars on 45 - 16 Memories From the Golden Days of Vinyl, released by the K-Tel
K-tel
K-tel International is an "As-Seen-On-TV" company, which is most noted for its compilation music albums, such as "The Super Hits" series, "The Dynamic Hits" series and "The Number One Hits" series...
label in 2003, includes no recordings by Stars on 45 whatsoever but merely a selection of various 60s and 70s hits.
In 2011, Dutch dance label Spinnin' Records issued a set of new remixes by Global Deejays and Olav Basoski
Olav Basoski
Olav Basoski is a Dutch DJ/remixer.In 2005, Basoski teamed up with the British dancehall artist Michie One to record "Waterman". A remake of "Bam Bam" , it became a hit in the United States at both clubs and radio, where it debuted at number 22 on Billboards Hot Dance Airplay chart in its March...
. In both mixes, only the original intro and chorus of the Stars on 45 singles were sampled. They did not contain any hits or sample of existing hits.
Other similar acts
The commercial success of the first "Stars On 45" single started a medley craze in the years of 1981, 1982 and 1983, with a multitude of similar, more or less anonymous studio productions being released by both minor and major record labels in both Continental Europe and the U.K., such as Hits On 45 with "Disco Beatles", Disco On 33 with "28 Hits of the Superstars", Disco Dancing On 33 with "Disco Dancing On 33", Magazine 60 with "Magazine 60", Intro Disco with "Intro Disco", Startrax with their Bee GeesBee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
medley "Startrax Club Disco", Tight Fit
Tight Fit
Tight Fit are a British pop group who had a number of hits in the early 1980s, including a UK No.1 with their cover version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1982...
with "Back to the 60's Vol. 1" and "Back to the 60's Vol. 2", Enigma with "Ain't No Stopping - Disco Mix '81" and "I Love Music - Disco Special", Gidea Park with "Beach Boy Gold" and their Four Seasons
The Four Seasons (group)
The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before The Beatles...
medley "Seasons of Gold" (UK peak #23, US peak #82), Lobo with his Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
medley "The Caribbean Disco Show", Band of Gold with "Love Songs Are Back Again" and "Love Songs Are Forever", Paul Giggs and his "Guitar Collection", Rock Heroes with their Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
medley "Rock Heroes Vol. 1", Motor City Allstars with "A Tribute To Motown", Trini Tunes and their "Trini Lopez
Trini Lopez
Trini Lopez is an American singer, guitarist and actor.-Career:Lopez was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood. He began his entertainment career in Dallas playing at the Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby...
Hit Medley", Super Rock Stars Live with "Super Rock Stars Live" etc.; all with varying degrees of chart success - and likeness to the original recordings.
The non-stop disco medley format was by no means a new phenomenon however; in 1976, the Ritchie Family had scored their biggest U.S. hit with a similar medley named "The Best Disco in Town
The Best Disco in Town
"The Best Disco in Town" is a 1976 crossover disco single by Philadelphia-based group, The Ritchie Family. In the United States, the single was a top 20 hit on both the soul and pop charts and reached number one for one week on the disco/dance chart....
", which incorporated various pop hits of the day (such as Silver Convention
Silver Convention
Silver Convention was a German euro disco recording act of the 1970s. The group was originally named Silver Bird Convention, or Silver Bird.-Career:...
's "Fly, Robin, Fly
Fly, Robin, Fly
"Fly, Robin, Fly" is a 1975 record by the German group Silver Convention. The song was released as a single from their 1975 album Save Me. In the United States, it rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975, staying there for three weeks. The single also was #1 on the soul singles chart...
" and Donna Summer
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...
's "Love to Love You Baby
Love to Love You Baby (song)
"Love to Love You Baby" is a song by American singer Donna Summer released in 1975 . It became one of the first ever disco hits to also be released in an extended form.-Song information and original release:...
") recreated in an order, and segued by the title theme.
Almost a year before the release of the "Stars On 45", a similar medley was produced by three South Florida men by taking the original Beatles recordings, editing them into a sequence, and then overdubbing identical drum and bass parts. While never receiving any airplay (obviously for rights/use and clearance issues), the master was purchased by a New York disco label.
Shortly after Stars On 45's recording of their "Supremes Medley" which was included on their second album Longplay Album - Volume II, Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
re-issued their "The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
Medley" a.k.a. "The Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
& The Supremes Medley of Hits" worldwide. The medley had first been recorded and released in the U.S. in 1977 both as a 12" single (- 10:06) and an edited 7" version ( - 5:09) and featured the original Supremes recordings of "Stop! In The Name of Love", "Back In My Arms Again", "Come See About Me", "Love Is Like An Itching In My Meart", "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Baby Love" strung together with a newly recorded disco accompaniment. The medley has since been re-issued on certain CD hits compilations with Diana Ross and The Supremes such as the 2003 Deluxe Edition of Ross' 1980 album "diana
Diana (album)
diana is a 1980 album by American R&B and soul singer Diana Ross, released by Motown. Her 11th studio album, it was, and still is, the biggest-selling studio collection of Ross' career.-Conception:...
".
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
recorded several albums as well as singles called Hooked on Classics
Hooked on Classics
Hooked on Classics was a series of record albums first introduced in 1981, toward the end of the disco era's peak in popularity.Louis Clark, former arranger for Electric Light Orchestra, conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing a collection of very recognizable extracts from classical...
, the first of which was released in 1981, while Larry Elgart
Larry Elgart
Larry Elgart is an American jazz bandleader, who with his brother, Les, recorded the original rendition of "Bandstand Boogie", theme to the long-running teen dance show, American Bandstand.-Biography:...
and his Manhattan Swing Orchestra recorded a series of Hooked on Swing tracks. The single, "Hooked On Classics," peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Larry Elgart & His Manhattan Swing Orchestra peaked at #32 with "Hooked On Swing". Hooked on Classics
Hooked on Classics
Hooked on Classics was a series of record albums first introduced in 1981, toward the end of the disco era's peak in popularity.Louis Clark, former arranger for Electric Light Orchestra, conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing a collection of very recognizable extracts from classical...
was subsequently parodied by the Portsmouth Sinfonia
Portsmouth Sinfonia
The Portsmouth Sinfonia was an orchestra founded by a group of students at the Portsmouth School of Art in Portsmouth, England, in 1970. The Sinfonia had an unusual entrance requirement, in that players had to either be non-musicians, or if a musician, play an instrument that was entirely new to...
as Classical Muddly.
The rock band Squeeze recorded a medley of their own classic hits, calling it "Squabs on Forty Fab", and releasing it as the B-side to their 1981 single "Labelled With Love
Labelled With Love
"Labelled With Love" was the third single released from Squeeze's fourth album, East Side Story. It was the last Squeeze single to reach the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #4 in 1981...
."
For their 1981 release, "Christmas Jamboree Bag", the Cockney musical act Chas & Dave recorded a medley parodying the "Stars on 45" format. Entitled "Stars Over 45", the song featured a selection of traditional London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
songs.
British punk band Tenpole Tudor
Tenpole Tudor
Tenpole Tudor are an English punk band fronted by Edward Tudor-Pole. The band has been active intermittently since 1977.-Origins:Tenpole Tudor formed in 1977 when Tudor-Pole met guitarist Bob Kingston , bassist Dick Crippen, and drummer Gary Long...
also parodied the concept with "Tenpole 45", the B-side of their 1981 single "Wunderbar".
Also in 1981, American comedians Stevens & Grdnic
Stevens & Grdnic
Stevens & Grdnic are American comedians having worked as market radio morning hosts, and written for network TV comedies...
released "Commercials on 45", which was a compilation of that duo's parodies of commercials set to music.
In late 1981 Germany-based Caribbean disco band Boney M. released a Stars on 45 type medley under the title "6 Years of Boney M. Hits - Boney M. on 45
6 Years of Boney M. Hits
"6 Years of Boney M. Hits " is a greatest hits medley by Boney M., inspired by the success of the hit medleys by Stars on 45. Originally released on the B-side of the band's 1981 Christmas single "Little Drummer Boy", the single was flipped over in January 1982 with the medley as an A-side...
" featuring some twenty of their best-known recordings. The medley, ranging in length from five to thirteen minutes depending on the format, was issued both as an A- and B-side 7" and 12" single in certain territories to promote their albums Boonoonoonoos
Boonoonoonoos
Boonoonoonoos is the fifth studio album by Boney M. It was released on November 1, 1981.Despite producer Frank Farian having announced that Boney M...
and Christmas Album
Christmas Album (Boney M. album)
Germany7"* "Little Drummer Boy" - 4:27 / "6 Years Of Boney M. Hits " - 4:48 * "Zion's Daughter" - 3:50 / "White Christmas" - 3:15 12"* "6 Years Of Boney M Hits Germany7"* "Little Drummer Boy" - 4:27 / "6 Years Of Boney M. Hits (Boney M. on 45)" (7" Edit) - 4:48 (Hansa Records 103 777-100, 1981)*...
. Five years later producer Frank Farian
Frank Farian
Frank Farian , is a German record producer and songwriter. He started out as a trained cook before moving into the music industry...
took the megamix format one step further and released a full-length album called The Best of 10 Years - 32 Superhits.
In the spring of 1982, the Beatles hit the charts with their own medley. They peaked at #10 in the UK sales charts and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "The Beatles Movie Medley," highlighting their hits from the various motion pictures they appeared in throughout their popularity. "The Beatles Movie Medley" remains the only Beatles single not released on CD.
In 1981, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
had their own minor hit with "The Beach Boys Medley," peaking at #12 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart. Capitol Records' incentive to produce and release this medley came from the attention a South Florida man was receiving with his own self-produced and self-performed medley. Chuck Kirkpatrick, a former Capitol artist himself (under the name "Chuck Crane") had actually presented his idea to the Capitol staff months before the release of their own. Capitol's response was to say, "If we were interested in something like this, we'd simply use the masters we already own". 2 months later, Kirkpatrick's meticulously crafted 9 minute medley with 3 tempo changes was getting heavy airplay in South Florida and Kirkpatrick was appearing on several television shows including a national segment of PM Magazine. Capitol's release subsequently blew Kirkpatrick's out of the water, but it is interesting to note the similarity of sequencing and songs chosen by Capitol for their medley compared to Kirkpatrick's.
Also in 1981, The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
released their own hit medley "Holliedaze", which became their first UK Top 30 entry since 1974.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's 1984 song "Polkas on 45" parodies the Stars on 45 format, except that the entire song is done in the style of a polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
. "Polkas on 45" was included in Weird Al's second album
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D is the second studio album by American signer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on February 28, 1984, by Rock 'n Roll Records. The album was one of many produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer...
, and with the exception of Even Worse
Even Worse
Even Worse is the fifth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1988. The album was the fifth produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer...
and Alapalooza
Alapalooza
Alapalooza is the eighth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1993. The cover sleeve is a spoof on the movie poster of the hit movie Jurassic Park. The name is a parody of the music festival Lollapalooza....
(the latter of which has a polka version of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's "Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
" rather than a medley), a similar polka compilation has been included in each of his albums since.
1985 saw the release of an album titled Stars on 45 - Soul Revue and a single called "The Sam & Dave Medley" credited to 'Stars on 45 featuring Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave
Sam & Dave were an American soul and rhythm and blues duo who performed together from 1961 through 1981. The tenor voice was Samuel David Moore , and the baritone/tenor voice was Dave Prater .Sam & Dave are members of...
', and even with the Stars on 45 logo on the album cover. While the album indeed was recorded in Holland it was neither produced by Jaap Eggermont nor did it feature the original formation of the duo but David Prater and his new singing partner Sam Daniels. Original member Sam Moore made Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
- the parent label to the 'real' Stars on 45's US label Radio Records - recall both the single and the album for using the "Sam & Dave" name without permission, and the records were later re-labelled and re-issued as being by 'The New Sam & Dave Revue'.
In the early 1980s, Ivor Biggun
Doc Cox
Robert "Doc" Cox , also known as Ivor Biggun, is a British musician and former television journalist...
released "Bras on 45" (a.k.a. "Bra Size 45"), a novelty song about a woman with large breasts, which was very close to sounding like a Stars-on-45-style medley of recognizable songs, including Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
's "Cars
Cars (song)
Fear Factory, an American industrial metal band, recorded a version of "Cars" and released it as the second single from their third studio album, Obsolete. The song was only included as a bonus track on the limited edition digipak re-release of Obsolete and would be instrumental in breaking Fear...
" and Ian Dury
Ian Dury
Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...
's "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
"Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" is a song and single by Ian Dury & The Blockheads, first released 23 November 1978 and was first released on the 7" single BUY 38 Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick / There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards by Stiff Records. It went to number one on the UK Singles...
".
The Scottish post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
also recorded a Stars on 45-like medley of their earliest singles called "Blokes on 45" for John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
show. It was released on The Glasgow School in 2005, a compilation of their early work recorded for Postcard Records
Postcard Records
Postcard Records is a Glasgow-based independent record label founded by Alan Horne in 1979, as a vehicle for Orange Juice and Josef K releases. The label's motto was "The Sound of Young Scotland", a parody/tribute to the Motown motto; its logo featured a cartoon cat beating a drum...
.
A Stars On 45-style medley of British pop group Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
's singles, entitled "Girls On 45", was released in 2009 as the b-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of their single "The Loving Kind
The Loving Kind
"The Loving Kind" is a song performed by British girl group Girls Aloud, taken from their fifth studio album Out of Control . The song was written by Pet Shop Boys, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania, and produced by Higgins and Xenomania...
". The seven minute long mix features the intro and outro of the original Stars On 45 medleys and was created by Jewels & Stone
Julian Gingell
Julian Gingell , known as Jules, is a British songwriter and record producer, best known for his partnership with fellow writer and producer Barry Stone under the name Jewels and Stone....
.
With the development of recording technology, similar subsequent efforts have used the actual recordings combined together rather than re-recordings with session musicians. The best-known example was probably Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers
Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers
Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers were a 1980s and early 1990s novelty pop music act from Rotherham, Yorkshire, England. The face of the group was Jive Bunny, a cartoon rabbit who appeared in the videos, and also did promotional appearances for them...
, as well as a series of "Hit Mix" albums (e.g. "Hit Mix 86", a medley of many hits from that year).
Stars on 45 is still active, playing at corporate events and weddings, using a revolving group of professional musicians. The bandleader and founder is Eddie Garr, who toured with Walter Murphy, Billy Vera, and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show.
Albums
- Stars On 45: Long Play Album (Netherlands #7, March 1981)
- - UK title: Starsound: Stars on 45 - The Album (UK #1, May 1981)
- - US title: Stars On: Stars On Long Play (US #9)
- Stars On 45: Longplay Album - Volume IILongplay Album - Volume IILongplay Album – Volume II was the second album by the Dutch soundalike studio group Stars on 45, released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in August 1981. In the US the album was retitled Stars On Long Play II, released on Radio Records and credited to 'Stars On'...
(Netherlands #4, August 1981)
- Stars On 45: Longplay Album - Volume II
- - UK title: Starsound: Stars on 45 - The Album - Volume 2 (UK #18, September 1981)
- - US title: Stars On: Stars On Long Play II
- Stars On 45: The SuperstarsThe SuperstarsThe Superstars was the third album by Dutch soundalike studio group Stars on 45, released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in March 1982. In the US the album was retitled Stars On Long Play III, released on Radio Records and credited to 'Stars On'...
(Netherlands, March 1982)
- Stars On 45: The Superstars
- - UK title: Starsound: Stars Medley (UK #94, April 1982)
- - US title: Stars On: Stars On Long Play III
- Stars On 45: Stars on FrankieStars on FrankieStars on Frankie was the fourth and final album by the Dutch soundalike studio group Stars on 45, released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in 1987...
(Netherlands #59, October 1987) - Stars On 45: The Very Best of Stars On 45 (Netherlands #36, August 1991)
- Stars On 45: The Club Hits (Germany, November 1997)
- Stars On 45: Stars on Frankie
Netherlands
- February 1981, Stars on 45: "Stars on 45Stars on 45 Medley"Stars on 45" was a song issued in 1981 by the studio group Stars on 45. In some countries including UK, Ireland and New Zealand the band was credited as 'Starsound' and the medley itself was named "Stars on 45"...
" (#1) (The Beatles and other 1960s tracks) - July 1981, Stars on 45: "More StarsMore Stars"More Stars" a.k.a. "Stars on 45 Vol. 2" was a song issued in 1981 by the Dutch studio group Stars on 45, in the UK credited to 'Starsound'. It was the follow-up to the US and Dutch #1 and UK #2 single "Stars on 45"...
" (#4) (ABBA) - September 1981, Stars on 45: "Volume IIIVolume III (Stars on 45)"Volume III" a.k.a. "Stars on 45 Volume 3" was a song issued in 1981 by the Dutch studio group Stars on 45, in the UK credited to 'Starsound'...
" (#10) (Intros) - February 1982, Stars on 45: "Stars on StevieStars on Stevie"Stars on Stevie" a.k.a. "Stars Medley" a.k.a. "Stars on 45 III: In Tribute to Stevie Wonder" was a song issued in 1982 by the Dutch studio group Stars on 45, in the UK credited to 'Starsound', in the US 'Stars On'...
" (#6) (Stevie Wonder) - April 1982, Stars on 45: "The Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band in the WorldThe Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band in the World"The Greatest Rock 'n Roll Band in the World" a.k.a. "Stars Medley" a.k.a. "Stars on 45 III: Rollin' Stars" was a song issued in 1982 by the Dutch studio group Stars on 45, in the UK credited to 'Starsound', in the US 'Stars On'...
" (#15) (The Rolling Stones) - October 1987, Stars on 45: "Stars on FrankieStars on FrankieStars on Frankie was the fourth and final album by the Dutch soundalike studio group Stars on 45, released on the CNR Records label in The Netherlands in 1987...
" (#16) (Frank Sinatra) - 1989, Stars on 45: "Stars on '89 Remix" (The Beatles)
- 1991, Stars on 45: "Stars on Stevie Megamix" (Stevie Wonder)
- 1997, Stars on 45: "The Club Hits"
United Kingdom
- April 1981, Starsound: "Stars on 45" (#2)
- July 1981, Starsound: "Stars on 45 Volume 2" (#2)
- September 1981, Starsound: "Stars on 45 Vol.3" (#17)
- February 1982, Starsound: "Stars Medley" (#14)
- June 1982, Starsound: "Stars Medley" (-)
United States
- May 1981, "Stars on 45": Medley: Intro Venus/Sugar Sugar/No Reply/I'll Be Back/Drive My Car/Do You Want to Know a Secret/We Can Work It Out/I Should Have Known Better/Nowhere Man/You're Going to Lose That Girl/Stars on 45" (#1)
- July 1981, Stars on 45: "Stars on 45 Medley 2" (#67)
- September 1981, Stars On: "More Stars" (#55)
- March 1982, Stars On: "Stars on 45 III: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder" (#28)
- June 1982, Stars On: "Stars on 45 III: Rollin' Stars" (-)
- July 1983, Stars On: "The Star Sisters Medley" (#107)