REVO | CD-R | 2012 | PM014

Various: REVO Premaster 14 CD-R [2012]

1. Anna Domino: Summer 12
2. Anna Domino: Summer [inst.]
3. Armoury Show: Castles In Spain [wubb dug mix]
4. Armoury Show: Innocence Abroad
5. Armoury Show: Is It A Wonder
6. Armoury Show: We Can Be Brave Again 12
7. Armoury Show: A Feeling
8. Armoury Show: Catherine
9. Belle Stars: Sign Of The Times [remixed ext. ver.]
10. Belle Stars: Madness
11. Richard Strange: The Phenomenal Rise Of Richard Strange
12. Richard Strange: On Top Of The World
13. Comateens: The Late Mistake [club ver.]
14. Comateens: The Late Mistake [dub ver.]
15. Yello: Call It Love [trego snare ver. 2]

It’s already next week! Time for a new CD!

Les Disques Du Crépuscule | BENELUX | 12″ | 1986 | TWI 641

Anna Domino: Summer BENELUX 12″ [1986]

1. Summer [12″ mix]
2. Summer [inst.]

This is the only Anna Domino extended remix that I’ve ever come across. Believe it or not, it’s an Arthur Baker remix but it doesn’t sound a whit like the stereotypical Baker sound. He’s punched up the arrangement and made it shimmer a little more than the Alan Rankine production without throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Parlophone | UK | 12″ | 1984 | 12R 6079

Armoury Show: Castles In Spain UK 12″ [1984]

1. Castles In Spain [Wubb Dug mix]
2. Innocents Abroad
3. Is It A Wonder

More on this record here.

Parlophone | UK | 12″ | 1984 | 12R 6087

Armoury Show: We Can Be Brave Again UK 12″ [1984]

1. We Can Be Brave Again [ext. ver.]
2. A Feeling
3. Catherine

This is the only other Armoury Show 12″ I’ve been able to scare up. The A-side is more expansive “big music” that encroaches on U2 territory with a lot more taste and therefore, it stops short of causing my bile to rise.

Warner Brothers Records | US | 12″ | 1983 | 9 2967-0 A

Belle Stars: Sign Of The Times US 12″ [1983]

1. Sign Of The Times [ext. remix ver.]
2. Madness

It was many years later when the by then defunct Belle Stars had a surprise American top 40 hit with their [ancient] cover of the chestnut “Iko Iko” on the “Rain Man” soundtrack in 1989. But anyone who ever likes The Belle Stars knew that this single was the goods! This record dates from the interesting period where there were all-women Post-Punk bands popping up like mushrooms. Their album was heavy on covers but this original tune easily eclipsed yet another version of “The Clapping Song!” The extended remix is of solid 1983 vintage and the B-side could be an homage to their best-selling labelmates on Stiff Records.

Virgin | UK | 7″ | 1981 | VS431

Richard Strange: The Phenomenal Rise OF Richard Strange UK 7″ [1981]

1. The Phenomenal Rise Of Richard Strange
2. I’m On Top Of The World

This was the debut solo single from the former lead singer of Post-Glam-Pre-Post-Punk [quite a mouthful, eh?] trailblazers Doctors Of Madness. That band had a vivid impact on the likes of Simple Minds and Dave Vanian of The Damned, who in fact joined the group during a 1987 lull in The Damned at the tail end of their career. Strange’s debut album charts the geopolitical career arc of a dandy cutting a swath through a united Europe. All very heady stuff in 1981. The A-side sets the tale up but the B-side is much catchier. Both are taken from the album of the same name, which evades my grasp.

Mercury | USP | 12″ | 1983 | PRO 243-1

The Comateens: The Mate Mistake US Promo 12″ [1983]

1. The Late Mistake [club ver.]
2. The Late Mistake [dub ver.]
3. The Late Mistake [radio ver.]
4. Pictures On A String

New York’s Comateens were a band I’d read about and wanted to hear for loooooong years decades. Their first album on Cachalot Records in 1981 sounded wonderful, but it remained until 2008 [yes – 27 years] until I finally found a copy for sale! After that, I began mail ordering more from my favorite sources to build their presence in the Record Cell. This promo 12″ featured remixes contained here, unlike the UK and German 12″ releases of this title. In fact, there wasn’t even a commercial US 12″ on this title, but the record is pressed, like all fine Mercury promos of this period, in lush, virgin vinyl. Being American remixes, they are more adventurous than the typical UK mixes of this time. I also have the album that this is from but I’ve not yet had the pleasure, so I can’t comment on how these mixes differ from the original.

Mercury | UKP | 12″ | 1987 | YELLO 12

Yello: Call It Love UK Promo 12″ [1987]

1. Call It Love [Trego Snare Version 2]
2. Santiago [live @ The Palladium]

This record is verrrry hard to get. It is doubly sought by both Billy MacKenzie and Yello collectors [who are numerous]. It was a bonus 12″ of 2000 copies that was given away with LP copies of Yello’s “One Second” album at UK HMV stores. In fact, I don’t actually own this, as such. I have a digitized copy of the A-side courtesy of a fellow Billy MacKenzie collector. MacKenzie at this point was collaborating quite a bit with Yello and Boris Blank; providing vocals and lyrics to several Yello songs, including this one. The Trego Snare version 2 of “Call It Love” is especially feted because MacKenzie get an extra verse missing from all other mixes. Nick Launay’s remix toughens up the song to make it beefier for the dancefloor. I would be very interested in hearing the live B-side, but first I’d have to find a copy for sale. And then I’d need a cash injection of at least three figures.

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