''Master Series'' is the title of a line of greatest hits albums, released in European countries primarily by

PolyGram International PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

, as well as A&M Records,

Deram Records Deram Records was a subsidiary record label of Decca Records established in the United Kingdom in 1966. At the time, U.K. Decca was a different company from the Decca label in the United States, which was owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings w ...

, FFRR Records, Mercury Records, and Polydor Records. In addition, some albums were reissued by Universal Music Group under the ''Universal Masters Collection'' and ''Millennium Edition'' titles.

Series

Four ''Master Series'' series of albums were released: from 1987–1990, 1996–1998, 1998–1999, and from 2003 onwards. The covers of each series are visually unified: * 1987 series: Black background, "Master Serie" in a

sans-serif In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than seri ...

typeface, the artist's name in a script typeface, a prominent red stripe, and a photo. * 1996 series: Black background, the artist's name in a

serif In typography, a serif () is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. A typeface or "font family" making use of serifs is called a serif typeface ...

typeface, and a

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

of photos. * 1998 series: White background, "Master Series" in a script typeface, the artist's name in a sans-serif typeface, and a photo. * 2003 series: A large photo crossfading into a black background with the artist's name in a serif typeface, and "Master Serie" set against a red glow. The 1996 series represented various bands in eclectic genres (such as new wave) with relatively small followings, and the 1998 series included

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

/ progressive rock musicians and bands. These series are branded with the international title ''Master Series''. The French title ''Master série'' is used to brand the more traditional line with a strong focus on European pop singers, which are frequently issued in multiple volumes. Each subsequent series also reissued some albums from the previous series.

Releases

1987 series

* Daniel Balavoine Volume 1(1986) – ''Master Serie'' * Daniel Balavoine Volume 2(1992) – ''Master Serie'' * Barbara Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Barbara Volume 2 – ''Master Serie'' * Georges Brassens Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Georges Brassens Volume 2 – ''Master Serie'' * Georges Brassens Volume 3 – ''Master Serie'' *

Mike Brant Mike Brant (born Moshe Michael Brand, he, משה מיכאל ברנד, 1 February 1947 – 25 April 1975) was an Israeli singer and songwriter who achieved fame after moving to France. His most successful hit was "Laisse-moi t'aimer" ("Let Me Lov ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Jacques Brel Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Jacques Brel Volume 2 – ''Master Serie'' * Alain Bashung – ''Master Serie'' * Jane Birkin – ''Master Serie'' * Frida Boccara – ''Master Serie'' *

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Jean-Michel Caradec (1989) – ''Master Serie'' * Christophe – ''Master Serie'' * Dalida Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Dalida Volume 2 – ''Master Serie'' * Michel Delpech – ''Master Serie'' *

Jacques Dutronc Jacques Dutronc (born 28 April 1943) is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He married singer Françoise Hardy on 30 March 1981 and together they have a son (manouche jazz) guitarist Thomas Dutronc, born 1973); they sep ...

– ''Master Serie'' * François Feldman (1994) – ''Master Serie'' * Jean Ferrat Volume 1 (1988) – ''Master Serie'' * Jean Ferrat Volume 2 (1990) – ''Master Serie'' * Nino Ferrer – ''Master Serie'' * Claude François Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Claude François Volume 2 – ''Master Serie'' *

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

– ''Master Serie'' *

Daniel Guichard Daniel Guichard (; born 21 November 1948) is a French singer, songwriter and record producer. Life and career He was born in Paris, of mixed Breton and eastern European heritage, and grew up in the Les Halles area. His father died when he was ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Johnny Hallyday Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Johnny Hallyday Volume 2 (1990) – ''Master Serie'' *

Jean-Luc Lahaye Jean-Luc Lahaye (born Jean-Luc Laheaye; 23 December 1952, in Paris) is a French pop singer, former television host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts televisi ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Bernard Lavilliers – ''Master Serie'' * Maxime Le Forestier (1987) – ''Master Serie'' * Guy Marchand – ''Master Serie'' *

Melina Mercouri Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri (, 18 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a political family that was prominent over multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination a ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Yves Montand – ''Master Serie'' * Nana Mouskouri Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Nana Mouskouri Volume 2 – ''Master Serie'' * Georges Moustaki – ''Master Serie'' * Claude Nougaro Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Claude Nougaro Volume 2 – ''Master Serie'' * Claude Nougaro Volume 3 – ''Master Serie'' * Edith Piaf – ''Master Serie'' * Serge Reggiani – ''Master Serie'' *

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...

– ''Master Serie'' *

Nicole Rieu Nicole may refer to: People * Nicole (name) * Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor'' * Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977) * Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Eurovi ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Demis Roussos – ''Master Serie'' * William Sheller – ''Master Serie'' * Mort Shuman Volume 1 – ''Master Serie'' * Mort Shuman Volume 2 (1991) – ''Master Serie'' * Yves Simon (1988) – ''Master Serie'' * Alan Stivell (1990) – ''Master Serie'' * Tri Yann(1986) – ''Master Serie'' * Boris Vian – ''Master Serie''

1996 series

10cc 10cc are an English rock band formed in Stockport in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians – Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – who had written and recorded together since 1968. The group featured t ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1996 ABBA – ''Master Series'' * 1997

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

– ''Master Series'' * Wolfgang Ambros – ''Master Series'' * 1997 Joan Armatrading – ''Master Series'' * 1996 The Allman Brothers Band – ''Master Series'' * 1997

Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the Eu ...

– '' Master Series'' * 1997 Big Country – ''Master Series'' * 1997

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1996 Bananarama – '' Master Series'' * 1997 Berlin – ''Master Series'' * 1998

Maria Bill Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1996 Black – ''Master Series''
* Elkie Brooks – '' Master Series'' * 1996 Sam Brown – ''Master Series'' * 1996 Jimmy Somerville – ''Master Series'' (reissue) * 1997

Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1998 Peter Cornelius – ''Master Series'' * 1996 Dexys Midnight Runners – ''Master Series'' *

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1998 Rainhard Fendrich – ''Master Series'' * Bill Haley – ''Master Series'' * 1998

Ludwig Hirsch Ludwig Hirsch (28 February 1946 – 24 November 2011) was an Austrian singer/songwriter and actor. Life and work Hirsch was born in Sankt Magdalena am Lemberg, Styria, grew up in the Leopoldstadt district of Vienna and first studied graphic arts ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1997 Joe Jackson – ''Master Series'' * 1997 The Jam – ''Master Series'' * 1996

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1996 Level 42 – ''Master Series'' * 1997

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1998 The Moody Blues – ''Master Series'' * Nana Mouskouri – ''Master Series'' (reissue) * 1996 The Neville Brothers – ''Master Series'' *

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

– ''Master Series'' * Demis Roussos – ''Master Series'' (reissue) *

The Rubettes The Rubettes are an English pop/glam rock band put together in 1974 after the release of "Sugar Baby Love", a recording assembled of studio session musicians in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, the then head of A&R at Polydor R ...

– ''Master Series'' * Scorpions – ''Master Series'' * The Small Faces – ''Master Series'' * Jimmy Somerville – ''Master Series'' * 1998 Squeeze – ''Master Series'' *

STS STS, or sts, may refer to: Medicine * Secondary traumatic stress, a condition which leads to a diminished ability to empathize * Sequence-tagged site, a gene-reference in genomics * Soft-tissue sarcoma * Staurosporine, an antibiotic * STS (gen ...

– ''Master Series'' *

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

– ''Master Series'' * 1998

Visage Visage may refer to: *A synonym of face *Visage Mobile, an American software as a service company *Visage, Georgia, a community in the United States * ''Visage'' (film), also known as ''Face'', a 2009 French film * ''Visage'' (video game), a surv ...

– '' Master Series'' * 1998 Waterloo & Robinson – ''Master Series'' * Bruce Willis – ''Master Series'' * 1998

Georg Danzer Georg Franz Danzer (7 October 1946, in Vienna – 21 June 2007, in Asperhofen, Lower Austria) was an Austrian singer-songwriter. Although he is credited as one of the pioneers of Austropop (most famous are his comic songs "Jö schau" (about a str ...

- ''Master Series'' * 1998 Kurt Ostbahn - ''Master Series'' * 1998 Stefanie Werger - ''Master Series'' * 1998

Arik Brauer Arik Brauer ( he, אריק בראואר; 4 January 1929 – 24 January 2021) was an Austrian painter, printmaker, poet, dancer, singer-songwriter, stage designer, architect, and academic teacher. Brauer, from a family of Jewish emigrants, grew ...

- ''Master Series''

1998 series

* 1998 ABBA – ''Master Series'' (reissue) *

Graeme Allwright Graeme Allwright (7 November 1926 – 16 February 2020) was a New Zealand-born French singer and songwriter. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s as a French language interpreter of the songs of American and Canadian songwriters such as Leona ...

– ''Master Series'' * Ange – ''Master Serie'' * Daniel Balavoine – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Bananarama – ''Master Series'' (reissue) *

– '' Master Series'' *

Barbara Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * 1999

Barclay James Harvest Barclay James Harvest are an English progressive rock band. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948–2004), a ...

– ''Master Series'' * Brigitte Bardot – ''Master Serie'' *

The Barron Knights The Barron Knights are a British humorous pop rock group, originally formed in 1959 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire,Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), ), p. 32 as the Knights of the Round Table. C ...

– ''Master Series'' * Acker Bilk – ''Master Series'' * Jane Birkin – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Georges Brassens – ''Master Serie'' *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Roy Buchanan – ''Master Series'' * 1999 Kim Carnes – ''Master Series'' * Mirek Černý – ''Master Serie'' * 1998 Dio – ''Master Series'' * Jean Ferrat – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * France Gall – ''Master Serie'' * Godley & Creme – ''Master Series'' * Johnny Hallyday – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Engelbert Humperdinck – ''Master Series'' * 1999 Joe Jackson – ''Master Series'' (reissue) * 1998

– ''Master Series'' (reissue) * Kool & the Gang – ''Master Serie'' *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Bernard Lavilliers – ''Master Serie'' * Luna Twist – ''Master Serie'' *

Enrico Macias Gaston Ghrenassia (born 11 December 1938), known by his stage name Enrico Macias, is an Algerian-French singer, songwriter and musician of Algerian Jewish descent. Early years Gaston Ghrenassia was born to a Sephardic Algerian Jewish family i ...

– ''Master Serie'' * The Mamas & the Papas – ''Master Series'' * Guy Marchand – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * 1998 John Miles – ''Master Series'' *

Eddy Mitchell Claude Moine (; born 3 July 1942), known professionally as Eddy Mitchell, is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires (The Black Socks). He took the name ''Eddy'' from the American ...

– ''Master Serie'' *

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Nana Mouskouri – ''Master Series'' (reissue) * Georges Moustaki – ''Master Serie'' *

Nicoletta Nicoletta is a surname and feminine given name derived from the Greek ''Nikolaos'', most often used in Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Nicoletta is also a surname. Given name * Nicoletta (singer), full name Nicoletta Grisoni, French singer, ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Robert Palmer – ''Master Series'' * Edith Piaf – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Pink Fairies – ''Master Series'' * The Platters – ''Master Series'' * Cozy Powell – ''Master Series'' *

– ''Master Serie'' * Serge Reggiani – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * The Righteous Brothers – ''Master Series'' * Demis Roussos – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – ''Master Series'' * The Shadows – ''Master Series'' * Mort Shuman – ''Master Serie'' * 1998

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

– ''Master Series'' *

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a French, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specifically ...

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * 1998 The Style Council – ''Master Series'' * Taxmeni – ''Master Series'' * 1998 Thin Lizzy – ''Master Series'' * Hervé Vilard – ''Master Serie'' * 1998

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

– ''Master Series'' * Roger Whittaker – ''Master Series''

''Millennium Edition'' reissues

* Wolfgang Ambros – ''Millennium Edition'' * 2000 Joan Armatrading – ''Millennium Edition'' *

– ''Millennium Edition'' * Black – ''Millennium Edition'' * Elkie Brooks - '' Millennium Edition'' *

– ''Millennium Edition'' * John Miles – ''Millennium Collection''

2003 series

* 2003 ABBA – ''Master Serie'' (reissue)
* Daniel Balavoine – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Brigitte Bardot – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Gilbert Bécaud – ''Master Serie'' * Jane Birkin – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Georges Brassens – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Jan de Wilde – ''Master Serie'' * Jean Ferrat – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Kool & the Gang – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Bernard Lavilliers – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Nana Mouskouri – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Georges Moustaki – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Florent Pagny – ''Master Serie'' * Edith Piaf – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Serge Reggiani – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) *

André Rieu André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu (; is a Dutch violinist and conductor best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu and his orchestra have turned classical and waltz music into a worldwide concert touring act. He r ...

– ''Master Serie'' * Tino Rossi – ''Master Serie'' * Demis Roussos – ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Michel Sardou – ''Master Serie'' *

– ''Master Serie'' (reissue) * Herve Vilard – ''Master Serie'' (reissue)

References

{{Authority control Compilation album series