Opening disclaimer: This article would not have been possible without the INCREDIBLE archive that is Smash Hits Remembered. Thank you for providing a time machine back to my childhood.
In 2010 I wrote a news piece on lyric videos. At this point in time they were an emerging trend, nowadays they’re common place for a new ‘single’ release. If you’re not familiar with the concept, artists will release a visualisation, prior to or in conjunction with an official music video, featuring the lyrics to their song.
This was the next evolution of lyrics being listed out on webpages in huge archives such as Genius and a response to the decline of physical releases, where fans might have found the words to their favourite songs adorning the printed inserts.
Prior to the internet, if you didn’t have a copy of an album, or single, where might you go to look up the lyrics to a song? Well, one option was the pages of music magazines.
Smash Hits was one such magazine for me, in the twilight years of their three decade run. I bought this fortnightly from around 1997 to 2000. At the age of 10 – 12 and exploring my interest in music, those issues felt like a sneak peak into my teen and tween years ahead. I can’t imagine how much of an influence it must had on my impressionable mind, but it’s been fun to begin examining that in writing this article.
The magazine actually began as a response to songwords magazines that existed in the 1970s. Original Smash Hits editor, Nick Logan, formerly of the New Music Express (NME) is quoted in an article from the Independent dated February 1996, revealing his inspiration to start the title.
“There was a songwords magazine around. My sister-in-law, who was 17, used to read it. All it did was print song lyrics on bog paper. I thought I could take better layout, better photos from the contacts I had …”
News, reviews, features and interviews surrounded the pages of lyrics in Smash Hits. Then, in 1998, twenty years after the magazine’s debut and eight years into a decade that took collector culture to dizzy new heights, Smash Hits introduced ‘Songwords Cards’.
This was the combination of two things I loved, that were pretty much the extent of my entire personality at the time; pop music and collecting.
The launch of Songwords Cards coincided with a refresh of Smash Hits magazine, though not a total rebrand (that would come in two years time, and be its last). The eight cards included with each issue were thicker stock card than the rest of the magazine it was attached to and could be easily separated from one another, with a little patience, thanks to the perforated lines.
They used a collecting convention of numbering the cards to reveal where there were gaps in your collection. This wasn’t a problem for me, I was committed to buying every edition of the magazine. For a period of time I had a copy reserved at one of the newsagents on my walk to school.
The next step in the Songwords collecting experience was the introduction of a bespoke album to hold each of the cards. This was teased at launch and Smash Hits stayed true to their promise that the card case would come free “in a couple of issues”.
It finally appeared a few months later, by which point there were already 48 Songwords Cards with the original red design and 16 in a new blue format. The colour ‘sets’ added again to a sense of collectability and encouraged readers to complete each round. There was even a limited time opportunity to make a postal order for any editions of 8 you’d missed, though they weren’t available individually. You’d best make sure you return each card to its place in the album!
As a collection, this was quite a passive one for me, unlike the packs of stickers or trading cards that were a standalone purchase. I was buying Smash Hits magazine regardless, the additional souvenir of these Songwords Cards to collect were a bonus, but I definitely ‘bought in’ and can remember sending off for additional albums to store the subsequent sets.
Was I alone or did the concept connect with other readers too?
Songwords Cards continued through additional colour sets (orange, green, pink.. ) and survived the Year 2000 rebrand of the magazine. By this point in time, internet access was more widely available and even the slowest dial up connection would probably make a song lyrics page easily accessible. Interest in and use of Songwords Cards would have inevitably dwindled.
Despite publishing its final issue in 2006, Smash Hits is remembered fondly and is occasionally revived for novel editions utilising the brand. Songwords Cards however would appear to be a footnote in the magazine’s 28 year history.
A search for the term on Google returns limited results other than eBay listings, most of which are currently from the same seller. Smash Hits distribution figure claim of 1.5 million readers in 1998 would suggest that more of these cards are out there. Although, perhaps not. Their ‘free’ perception may have meant the collectable was consigned to bin, along with the magazine itself.
One thing is for sure, I can’t seem to find one of the albums in decent condition, or for a rational price, to store the bundle of 62 songwords cards that I bought from a seller (£9.99 + postage…) for ‘research’ purposes. Can anyone reading help me out? Please get in touch.
Given the small amount written about these cards, this article may be one of the first results you found when searching yourself. If so, hello! When searching the term myself I was fortunate enough to find the website Smash Hits Remembered, which has almost every issue of the magazine archived on their website. Talk about doing the Lord’s work, I salute you Micheal.
Top 11
In addition to the lyrics, these cards also featured stats that allowed them to be used in a Top Trumps style fashion. I’ve selected 11 favourite songs from the batch I bought recently and ranked them, as per the credentials Smash Hits provided for your reading and listening enjoyment. Why 11, not 10? See my article on mixtapes and, you know, Spinal Tap.
- Barenaked Ladies – It’s All Been Done
Their lesser known follow up to mega hit One Week, years before they contributed the theme tune to The Big Bang Theory. I’m sure this featured on a Homebase advert in the UK but I can’t find anything to confirm that. I can confirm that I’ve seen them live twice (browse my gigography in full here)
- Jamiroquai – Canned Heat
No pun intended, Jamiroquai were on fire with the hits in the later 90s. This was the 2nd single from their fourth album Synkronized. I wanted to be a pop star like Jay Kay at this point in time, as did Napoleon Dynamite.
9. Sixpence None The Richer – Kiss Me
Prominently featured in 1999’s She’s All That, a film I remember had multiple failed screening attempts at a sleepover I went to the following year. The VHS and VCR worked fine, but few paid any interest each time it was put on. I’ve still never seen it.
- Bryan Adams feat. Melanie C – When You’re Gone
The song that inspired me to start my first band. It consisted of me and a girl in my class sharing the Bryan and Mel vocals, with our friend, the only musician in the band, on drums. We called it a day after a couple of rehearsals because we couldn’t hear ourselves over the drumming. I reckon we used this Songwords card to learn the lyrics (not this EXACT one, ofc).
- Emmie – More Than This
90s dance reworking of a Roxy Music song from 1982. I’m sure there are people out there who think this is sacrilege, I was born in 1987 so I can enjoy this without any pointless ire. Bryan Ferry apparently liked this version anyway (source: anonymous YouTube comment..).
- Hepburn – I Quit
The best song from the 90s that you probably don’t remember. I rediscovered this a couple of years ago and fell in love with it all over again. They may have faired better on the other side of 2000 when this sound took off a bit more in the UK.
- Savage Garden – I Want You ‘98
Frontman Darren Hayes has had a 31 year career in music, yet the band that started it all for him only released two records and were done by 2001, outlived by Songwords Cards. This track was re-released in 1998 following the success of To the Moon and Back and Truly Madly Deeply.
- Britney Spears – …Baby One More Time
I’ve probably heard this song enough to last 10 lifetimes, I include it because I’m oddly proud to say that I bought the CD single on its day of release in February 1999. I can’t claim to have been a lone trailblazer for Britney fandom though, 250,000 others in the UK also bought it in the first three days.
- Will Smith – Wild, Wild West
The theme from the film of the same name, featuring Will Smith in the lead role. In 2017 my friend Tom Clarke and I drove 6+ hours to Blackpool to see Will play his first UK show in years, and his last at the time of writing. This was years before the Academy Awards slapscident, so we can both sleep with a clear conscience. Also, Smash Hits’ Poll Winners Party over the Academy Awards any day.
- Vengaboys – We Like To Party (The Vengabus)
Far from a critical hit, sure, but the Vengabus is still in business, out living many other operators from the late 90s. I’m not sure which blows my mind most, that they played half hour from me in rural Dorset last year, or that I didn’t go to witness this spectacle.
- Steps – Love’s Gotta Hold Of My Heart
I thought it only fair that I include a Steps track in acknowledgement of my fandom in this era, and oh look, it went and took the top spot with a 99% Smash Hits ‘Pop Factor’ score. If I told you I had a large collection of Steps merchandise in the garage you’d believe me, wouldn’t you? Of course you would. A story for another time…
A personal legacy
A few years later, which felt like a lifetime back then, my mind was far from the dayglow pop I’d grown up on and headfirst into punk rock and ska. In 2003 though there was a record release, Less Than Jake’s Anthem, that had a familiar feature in its deluxe edition packaging. Rather than a lyric booklet, the set included individual cards for each track, with unique artwork inspired by the song on one side and the words on the reverse. I wrote about the Anthem campaign and release in detail for its 20th anniversary here.
I can’t say for sure if I made the connection back to Songwords Cards at the time. Less Than Jake are a US based act, I highly doubt they were ever aware of Smash Hits’ collectable format, an interesting coincidence in my evolution as a music fan though.
Bringing us back to 2010, I borrowed the Anthem concept to produce a set of art cards inspired by and featuring unused lyrics from my band of the time. I can say with some certainty that there’s a direct line in the series I created back to collecting songwords cards, via LTJ.
Liam Toms 