I traded this item with a collector in August 2025

Here we have a fairly unknown and very hard to find item (ok, it’s actually incredibly rare).

Hollywood Records bought the rights in 1990 to re-release all past Queen albums in the US and Canada, but also to release a number of new albums and compilations in the future. The reissue campaign kicked off in June 1991 with remastered albums on CD plus bonus tracks. Some of those bonus tracks were remixes of album tracks, others were contemporary B-sides and mixes.

In March 1992, the label released the compilation Classic Queen. This was basically the US counterpart of the UK’s 1991 Greatest Hits II. In September of that year they released another compilation called Greatest Hits. This was more or less similar to the 1981 UK and US compilation though it omitted songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Keep Yourself Alive and Under Pressure since those were already available on Classic Queen. For that reason, a few other songs were added such as Save Me and Body Language.

It was probably around that time when Hollywood Records decided to create an item to promote these releases, aptly called Their Best.

Ultimately not much is known about these sets. Some think it could be an unofficial release, while others vow that it is genuine. Fact is, it is very rare and only 100 copies were ever produced. Probably 100 of each as there are at least four known variants. One of them is shown here!

The packaging

As you can see, this promotional item comes as a sturdy plastic briefcase. The case is from the brand ClikCase (stylized as Clik!Case). I cannot find evidence that this brand is still around today, but they made cases during at least the 90’s which were mainly used for storing cassette tapes.

The front of the briefcase

The case has a size of 36,4 x 7,5 cm / 14,3″ x 3″ and has a custom print on the front showing the band’s name and title in silver. The font choice is arguably interesting and, at least in my opinion, anything but their best. It is to my knowledge also the only release which used this font in 1992. Most other releases from that time used a font similar to the one used for Greatest Hits II so it is beyond me why they went with this one. The back of the case is plain black.

Inside the case you will find some soft grey foam. One side contains one large straight piece. The other contains two which are glued together. The top layer has cut-outs, allowing for particular items to be stored properly. Depending on which edition you have, you can either store a CD plus VHS tape or two CD’s.

The inner of the briefcase. This one can hold two CD’s

That is basically all there is when it comes to the packaging. Stylish and simple.

What’s inside?

As mentioned before, there are currently four known variants:

• One with the 1992 US Greatest Hits CD, a 1992 We Are The Champions promo CD-single, a GH press release, a Queen II era press photo plus a Hollywood Records card showing a limited edition number
• One with the 1992 US Greatest Hits CD, the 1992 Classic Queen CD, a press release for GH and one for CQ plus a Queen II era press photo
• One with the 1992 US Greatest Hits CD and VHS tape, two GH press releases and an Innuendo era press photo
• One with the 1992 Classic Queen CD and VHS tape, a CQ press release and an Innuendo era press photo

The latter three may or may not have the Hollywood Records card with a limited edition number. It is also interesting to note that the first one seems to be the most “common” one whereas the other three aren’t. You can see a photo of the first three variants over here which is a great Queen Facebook collectors page.

This feature covers the first variant with the promotional CD-single for We Are The Champions.

So what does the set look like with all the items in their place? Here we have a full overview in all its glory:

The inner of the briefcase with contents

The two CD’s are standard releases. Only the one on the right, We Are The Champions, is an actual promotional copy. Greatest Hits is a regular commercial copy.

Greatest Hits CD

Some or maybe all GH CD’s in this set have a punch hole through the barcode on the back of the sleeve to prevent the CD from being sold in shops. The CD contains the usual 17 tracks and comes with a nice booklet featuring new liner notes and artwork for the featured singles. These liner notes were updated and expanded for a 1994 GH golden CD edition in Europe.

Some photos for the 1992 Greatest Hits US CD

We Are The Champions CD-single

The second CD is a true promotional disc for We Are The Champions with catalogue number PRCD-10192-2. I do not know why this song or promotional single was chosen for this set, though it might have been done to capitalise on the situation that the songs on this promo were featured in the movie The Mighty Ducks (released in October 1992).

As with most Hollywood Records promo CD’s from that time, it does not come with front artwork and thus only has a back sleeve. It contains three tracks. Curiously, WATC is featured twice on this disc:

1. We Are The Champions
2. We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions
3. We Will Rock You (Ruined by Rick Rubin)

As you can see, track 2 features two songs. No special mixing was done here. The songs play just like they do on the 1977 album News Of The World.

Track 3 is a great remix by Rick Rubin which was initially featured on the 1991 NOTW Hollywood Records CD re-release. It was dubbed 1991 bonus remix ruined by Rick Rubin on that re-issue. Fun fact: this remix features bass by Flea and Chad Smith on drums from Red Hot Chili Peppers and new guitar parts by Brian!

The disc and back artwork of the 1992 We Are The Champions US promo CD

Press kit

The next item is a lavish looking folder which holds the press kit. The folder is completely black on the front and back. It features the band name in silver on the front with the same font that is used on the front of the outer case.

The press kit consists of a promotional photo and a press release about Greatest Hits across two pages.

Curiously, the label supplied a Queen II era photo for this set. Two other variants come with a photo from the Headlong sessions which may have been more appropriate, considering that this is a 90’s release (and Headlong is of course from 1991). However, this particular set heavily leans towards the old hits and maybe that is why they went for an older photo. This photo is however also featured on page 14 of the GH CD booklet.

The front of the folder and opened with its contents

Touching the topic of fonts again: it is arguably interesting to note that the label used the Greatest Hits font for the band name on both the photo and press release. So this creates even more confusion as to why they used a completely different one for the case and the folder. Unless the printing company did not had access to the (custom?) font for the band name and thus went with an elegant alternative. On the other hand, just take a look at the font used for the We Are The Champions promotional CD. It doesn’t match with any commercial release whatsoever, so maybe this was all done intentionally.

Complimentary card

To round off this set, a small complimentary card was included. It states that the item was made for promotional purposes and shows its limited edition number which is hand-written. In the case of this copy, it is number 059 out of 100.

The complementary card

There is at least one copy out there which contains a card that does not feature the text “Promotional issue […]” plus the limited edition number. It is unclear whether this is a misprint, overstock or even something else. That particular copy with such as a card has the same items as the one highlighted in this article with the Greatest Hits and We Are The Champions CD’s.

As mentioned earlier, the other three variants may or may not contain this particular card. I say this because all known photos of those variants do not show this card. It therefore remains unclear until an owner of such a set can confirm whether one of those variants contain a card as well.

Their best?

What do you think of this set? It certainly is a lovely item, though can be difficult to handle. When you open it, the media might fall out when that side is not lying flat as it is not stuck between or held by the foam. Apart from that it is a nice (and rare!) promotional item from that time period.

I am really curious if this feature opens the door to other people sharing their copies. This can maybe reveal even further variants, but also answer the question whether the other three variants come with the complementary Hollywood Records card or not.