Blow bubbles, score a new album?
aka The Gum Wrapper Giveaway
I’ve been planning to dive into the ‘Pink Flash! Volume One’ LP for a while now, but if you grew up in the era you know the story would not be complete without Chu-Bops.
That’s right, gang - in the early 80s nothing went together like your obsession for music and some shitty pink bubble gum. It was a different time.
Chu-Bops were available from roughly 1980-83, made by Amurol Confections, a division of Wrigley Company.
A total of nine series were released, six with various artists and three special sets featuring Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles.
CanCon fans will find that two Rush albums were made available, ‘Permanent Waves’ in Series 1 and ‘Moving Pictures’ in Series 5.
Still valued by collectors, many of these can still be found online. No word on if the gum is still good.
photo from reddit
Not to be outdone, the Canadian makers of Bubble Yum put together an album/cassette that could be acquired via mail order in 1981.
For the low, low price of five Bubble Yum wrappers [plus shipping and handling], the ‘Pink Flash! Volume One’ record or tape could be yours!
Volume Two never emerged.
The track listing is full of original hits by the original stars [shout out K-Tel Records!] and six were CanCon.
Side 1
Adam And The Ants – Dog Eat Dog 🇬🇧
Harlequin – Innocence 🇨🇦 peaked #29, 1980
Powder Blues – Doing It Right 🇨🇦 peaked #40, 1980
Cheap Trick – Dream Police 🇺🇸
Randy Meisner – Hearts On Fire 🇺🇸
The Powder Blues - Doin It Right
Side 2
Journey – The Party’s Over (Hopelessly In Love) 🇺🇸
Loverboy – The Kid Is Hot Tonight 🇨🇦 peaked #30, 1981
Teenage Head – Let’s Shake 🇨🇦 peaked #88, 1980
Rough Trade – Fashion Victim 🇨🇦 peaked #25, 1980
Doug And The Slugs – Too Bad 🇨🇦 peaked #20, 1980
Teenage Head - Let’s Shake
Guys, this is a tremendous selection of tunes for a promotional record. The team at CBS Special Products really outdid themselves here.
Did you have this release, or maybe something similar? How many of you had Chu-Bops?
I'm pretty sure the gum is still good. They used some heavy-duty preservatives.
I used to collect baseball cards and had saved unopened packs for a couple of decades before selling them. This was back when they'd include a stick of pink gum in the pack with the cards. I was convinced this was what kept the cards so fresh.
Was this a mini-CD? I thought CDs started to be sold in like 82. Those aren't mini-records are they?
You're right, this is a solid collection. I don't even like gum. It sticks to my shoes in the summer. But I like this track list!