It looks like "Hits" is for sale on their website but it shows a release date of 2017 and a placeholder-like description.

Some of the other albums are for sale such as "Separations" but this has the Fire catalogue number. As Rough Trade is a record store as well as a label, this would make sense. 

Not sure what is happening to be honest. If this happens, let's hope we get a 3 CD reissue (the original, B-sides and the "lost" album) rather than a straightforward reissue or a bonus CD full of songs we already have. 

It would be interesting to find out exactly what happened with that song. The official website told us "Pulp aren't technically splitting up, but neither are they making any plans to return to the studio (other than for the new extra tracks on the Best Of, already recorded)" on 5th September 2002 but then when the tracklisting was released, Alex told us that "the other song wasn't finished". Maybe this is correct or the band decided that "Emmanuel" wasn't up to scratch. It's a shame that no single was released to promote "Hits" because it could have ended up as a B-side. 

Ah c'mon, he's a busy man!

As for the reissue, hmm. I don't think they'll tinker with the tracklist. I'd have 'Mis-Shapes' on there of course, (and 'O.U.'), to make it a proper singles rundown, but 'Underwear' is one of their biggest songs these days, and I think 'Last Day' is wonderful and I like that it's on the CD.

Really, if we're redoing Hits, then a new two-disc 'best-of' compilation drawn from their time with Universal and Rough Trade (rather than a straight singles rundown) would be nice.

Something like

DISC ONE
'Sheffield: Sex City' - 'O.U. (Gone, Gone)' - 'Babies' - 'Razzmatazz' - 'Lipgloss' - 'Acrylic Afternoons' - 'Do You Remember the First Time?' - 'Pink Glove' - 'His 'n' Hers' - 'Common People' - 'Mis-Shapes' - 'Disco 2000' - 'I Spy' - 'F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.' - 'Something Changed'

DISC TWO
'The Fear' - 'Dishes' - 'Help the Aged' - 'This Is Hardcore' - 'Like a Friend' - 'The Trees' - 'Wickerman' - 'Bad Cover Version' - 'Sunrise' - 'Last Day of the Miners Strike' - 'After You' - 'Spike Island' - 'Slow Jam' - 'My Sex' - 'Got to Have Love' - 'A Sunset'

Your mileage may vary as to certain tunes, of course.

I find greatest hits such a anachronistic concept in a playlist age. Shed 7 at least re-recorded all the tracks with new arrangements for their recent one.

Eamonn wrote:

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I'd hate Pulp to do that. I remember for Suede's hits album Anderson rerecorded the vocals for Trash cos he was embarrassed at sounding like he was on helium on the original. But going back to change history...feck that.

Greatest Hits are cashcows for the label. Madness today announced their 13th. Which is the same number of studio albums they've released!

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Its not just the vocals, the added keys on that version of Trash are horrendous too. Its the worst reworked version of a good song I can think of

HoltbyCity wrote:

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I find greatest hits such a anachronistic concept in a playlist age. Shed 7 at least re-recorded all the tracks with new arrangements for their recent one.

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 I agree, Hot Chip recently released a best of which had one new song on it which was released as a single before the album came out. 

So if you looked at the album on a streaming service before it was released the only song you could play was the new one and all the other tracks were faded out even though they were all already available to stream! I could have, if Id wanted to, recreated the album as a playlist before release. 

-- Edited by JohnWayne on Thursday 2nd of October 2025 12:15:51 AM

If they really are reissuing Hits, I just find that such a strange idea. It's by far their least popular (and most redundant) major label release. On the other hand you've got WLL which was a top 10 album that fans have been clamouring for a deluxe version of for years. And yet....

Eamonn wrote:

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Disagree. Hits has never been issued on vinyl and the CD version has actually gone on to be a steady seller despite its inauspicious initial chart position. It's now sold more than 300k copies in the UK over the years (mostly via HMV and Amazon bargain bins presumably - but no different to other artists backlists) which must be close to 10 times what WLL sold (less than 30k in its first week, dribs and drabs after).

We Love Life has already had a couple of vinyl releases and would need all the unreleased 1999/2000 gold to make it more of a pull.
Very few people bought vinyl in 2002 when Hits came out, hence it never being released on the format. They do now. Universal wouldn't need to worry about adding extra content, it's low-effort and likely to sell more than any other Pulp reissue other than Different Class imo. Especially after an arena tour this year fresh in the minds of thousands of casuals...

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But £35, purely to have Miners' Strike on vinyl? 

I'd easily resist a Hits reissue on vinyl. I struggle to resist that Pulp completist impulse. Am holding out on the new Different Class vinyl, seems about £25 too expensive to me, but I know I'll crumble in the end. But Hits, or any of the Pulp compilations (Intro excluded) don't seem like Pulp objects to me. WLL deluxe would be a must, Hits, why bother?

Eamonn wrote:

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Disagree. Hits has never been issued on vinyl and the CD version has actually gone on to be a steady seller despite its inauspicious initial chart position. It's now sold more than 300k copies in the UK over the years (mostly via HMV and Amazon bargain bins presumably - but no different to other artists backlists) which must be close to 10 times what WLL sold (less than 30k in its first week, dribs and drabs after).

We Love Life has already had a couple of vinyl releases and would need all the unreleased 1999/2000 gold to make it more of a pull.
Very few people bought vinyl in 2002 when Hits came out, hence it never being released on the format. They do now. Universal wouldn't need to worry about adding extra content, it's low-effort and likely to sell more than any other Pulp reissue other than Different Class imo. Especially after an arena tour this year fresh in the minds of thousands of casuals...

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You and your pesky facts!

HoltbyCity wrote:

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I never buy re-releases on vinyl, but then I have all the originals I'm after (after a long time of collecting).  Like why would someone buy the 2019 repress of Everybody's Problem, when the original can be picked up for only a little bit more?  I buy new physical formats, but represses just feel like replicas.  

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 I like your approach. I do buy most of the re-releases, but I don't like that I do. It's only the originals that feel a bit magical. If fans can't find rare originals, and second best is all they can get, then people will want them, but they seem to lose something in translation. They're never done as well, a bit erstatz: the disc labels are badly designed, the sleeve printing is lower quality (bad cover versions). Official releases now are like the knock-offs of 30 years ago, so why does it cost so much to look so rough?