Another wave of Elvis Presley reissues is about to break on the shores of the U.K. singles chart. Following 2005’s weekly program of re-releases of his 18 U.K. No. 1 singles in sequence, Sony BMG is mounting a new campaign to mark the 30th anniversary of the King’s death, beginning Aug.13 and augmented by a new hits compilation.
The 2005 campaign, which started around what would have been Presley’s 70th birthday, was centered on a series of limited edition singles. Targeted squarely at collectors, it resulted in a four-month series of prominent reappearances for his original chart-toppers. The re-release of his first U.K. No. 1, “All Shook Up,” was not eligible for the sales chart as it came with a collectors’ box in which to house the singles collection. His second, “Jailhouse Rock,” returned to No. 1, as did the next, “One Night”/”I Got Stung,” and his fifth, “It’s Now Or Never.”
All the other reissues reached the top five, eight of them hitting No. 2, although most only spent two weeks each in the top 40 because of the limited nature of their availability.
The new campaign will also be designed around 18 weekly re-releases, the key difference being that the titles include celebrated Elvis songs that were not originally U.K. chart-toppers, such as “Suspicious Minds,” “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Heartbreak Hotel.” The latter is the first reissue, out Aug. 13 and housed within another numbered collectors’ box, which again makes it chart-ineligible.
Sony BMG will pay particular attention to the actual 30th anniversary of Presley’s passing on Aug. 16, with an unusual Thursday reissue of “Suspicious Minds.” Each single will be available in a limited edition numbered CD and 10-inch vinyl format, using the original U.S. and U.K. sleeve and label artwork. They’ll also be available as digital download singles for the first time.
The weekly campaign will see Elvis songs in the singles charts on a regular basis through into December. The company is also releasing the new two-CD, 50-track retrospective “Elvis the King” on Aug. 13.
