It's Good News Week

Originally the Trendsetters, a part-time band led by four Royal Air Force servicemen, Hedgehoppers Anonymous merit their place in history as the first band ever discovered, recorded, and nursed to instant fame by Jonathan King just months after he himself scored his debut hit with "Everyone's Gone to the Moon." "It's Good News Week" was a worldwide smash for the Hoppers, a multi-purpose protest song that focused on the media's obsession with making the most of contrarily bad news, but — setting a pattern for the remainder of King's career — what worked once would never take off again. The song remains the group's only hit, but a string of follow-up 45s at least proved they deserved better. Collected here with their respective B-sides, "Baby (You're My Everything)," "Don't Push Me," "Stop Press," and "Daytime" were each delightful slabs of mid-'60s pop and, though none pack the instant caustic appeal of the first hit, still there's enough melody and magic here to keep both fans and collectors happy.