Touch Definitive

Edsel is pleased to announce the release of a comprehensive Five Star box set, which has been personally curated by DENISE PEARSON. Five Star were managed by their Father, Buster Pearson who harboured the idea that his talented children could be the UK's 1980s version of an older Jackson 5. Following an appearance on BBC One's Pebble Mill in 1983, Five Star signed to RCA Records then spent 1984 honing their craft and performing at numerous club PAs around the country…

In the wake of the recent, superb box set, it's hard to imagine a single disc being definitive of one of Britain's great folk singing groups. At best, you can touch on their different facets and legacy. But Definitive Collection actually does a splendid job. There are the hymns, the traditional songs, and some of the permutations (Lal and Norma, Mike, even the late Peter Bellamy), as well as tracks by Waterson: Carthy and Blue Murder, who carry on the flame of the original Watersons in many ways (especially Blue Murder, which is essentially Waterson:Carthy plus Barry Coope, Jim Boyes and Lester Simpson). The tracks are from their "Topic" albums (which means, because of licensing, nothing from the original, wonderful Bright Phoebus release is here), but all of those that are here are wonderful, and sung with such naturalness that they epitomize what folk singing should be about. There's no sense of premeditation about their performances. This is simply who they are, and their way of expressing themselves. It's not Mighty River of Song, which really is definitive, but as an introduction to the Watersons, and an overview of their massive achievements in folk music, this works excellently.

Purists might tell you that the golden age of Bubblegum Pop occurred strictly between 1967 and 1972, but in reality its scope was far wider. Foreshadowed by the shimmering girl-pop of the early to mid 60s and followed by the novelty chart hits of the 70s and 80s, Bubblegum can be seen in almost all great pop music from the last 60 years. This 3CD set brings together many of its highlights, from The Archies Sugar Sugar to Bucks Fizz s Making Your Mind Up . You might call these hits disposable, but just try getting them out of your head!

Fire in the Blood: The Definitive Collection, a massive career-spanning box set featuring the work of Welsh singer and songwriter Shakin’ Stevens. The 19 CD box set features all of Shaky’s albums as a solo artist, from his first signing and album on Track Records, to his latest studio album, Echoes Of Our Times and it also comes with four CDs of rarities. Shaky was a chart sensation in the UK in the 1980s, in fact, he was the biggest selling singles artist of that decade. Stevens enjoyed 15 British top ten hits in the 1980s and four UK number ones. In total, this set contains 266 tracks and notable inclusions are a live concert recorded at the Paris Theatre, London for BBC Radio 1 in 1980 and the four rarities discs are packed with B-sides, 12-inch mixes, two previously unreleased tracks and more.