The Great British Rock Invasion

Side 1	Side 2
1. I Want To Hold Your Hand	1. Can the Can
2. Maggie May	2. Don't Bring Me Down
3. Happy Jack	3. Cool For Cats
4. I Don't Like Mondays	4. Sultans of Swing
5. Black Night	5. Here Comes the Night
6. Itchycoo Park	6. Matthew and Son
7. Nights In White Satin	7. Cuz I Luv You
8. Shapes of Things	8. Out of Time
9. Pretty Flamingo	9. London Boys

Side 3	Side 4
1. Stuck in the Middle With You	1. Show Me the Way
2. Layla (Full Extended Version)	2. For Your Love
3. Man of the World	3. Love is the Drug
4. Part of the Union	4. Kids in America
5. Something in the Air	5. Go Now
6. Natural Born Bugie	6. Whatever You Want
7. Reflections of My Life	7. The Boys are Back in Town
8. Hold Tight	8. Strange Brew
	9. Darlin'

Side 5	Side 6
1. Hey Joe	1. Love Like a Man
2. Paranoid	2. Sounds from the Street
3. Turn It On Again	3. Broken Down Angel
4. Young Parisians	4. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
5. From the Underworld	5. America
6. Heart on My Sleeve	6. The Devil's Answer
7. (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice	7. Eighth Day
8. Fire	8. It's a Mystery
	9. He Knows You Know

Pressing & Mastering

First Issued	Side 1	Side 2	Side 3	Side 4	Side 5	Side 6	Parts
26-Nov-84	✎TAKE 1-1A	✎TAKE 1-1B	✎TAKE 1-2A	✎TAKE 1-2B	✎TAKE 1-3A	✎TAKE 1-3B	AU

Overview
Released in Australia on 26 November 1984 on Wizard Records as TAKE 1/1–3, The Great British Rock Invasion brought together fifty-two recordings across three LPs. Its selection extended from the beat boom of the 1960s through blues, psychedelia, progressive rock and glam to the newer sounds of the early 1980s.

The compilation drew on The Marquee Collection 1958–1983, a four-volume British series issued by England Records in 1983 to celebrate the London club’s twenty-fifth anniversary. Conceived and compiled by David Crowe and Bill Hurley, the original project was licensed from Rock Festival Records Ltd, UK, and reshaped for Australia into three LPs. Seven additional recordings were supplied through EMI and PolyGram in Australia, including The Beatles’ ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’.

‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ opens side one, placing The Beatles at the beginning of a selection that includes The Who, The Yardbirds, Small Faces and The Moody Blues. Later recordings by Dire Straits, The Jam, Kim Wilde, Toyah and Marillion broadened the scope beyond the original British invasion.

Priced at $19.99, the release received heavy television promotion. Despite opening the first LP, The Beatles were not mentioned or featured in the television advertising.

The inner gatefold featured a collage of performer photographs, providing a visual counterpart to the music’s span across several generations of British rock. Click the sleeve image above to view the inner gatefold.

EMI (Australia) mastered the three LPs using its Maxicut process. The programme mixed familiar singles with longer performances, including the full-length ‘Layla’ by Derek and the Dominos. The running order moved between eras and styles, presenting British rock across more than two decades.