It’s no secret that Rubellan Remasters have really worked that Visage action like the pros they are! With definitive CD DLX RMs of the first two Visage albums, as well as the exotic dance mix variations of “Beat Boy” and the “Singles Collection,” their attention to the catalog of this dance collective [don’t call them a band] has been spectacular.

As much as Rubellan went into business to release the CDs that The Man wouldn’t let them buy [hmm, that sounds familar…] the cold hard facts of the matter are that their recent foray into releasing music on the increasingly popular vinyl format last year have gone spectacularly well for the reissue label. With most of their LPs sold out and the label even has to institute a “one per customer” rule for its recent LPs.

With that in mind, Rubellan Remasters has now turned its attention to the band’s first compilation, “Fade To Grey: The Singles Collection.” This was the “blue frame” album that had the cheek to posit a greatest hits album from just two LPs worth of material, but given the large tectonic shift of personnel who comprised the band between everything else and the final single here, “The Pleasure Boys,” it made a certain kind of sense. I’ve ended up with multiple copies of this in my Record Cell over the years.

The first copy I bought of this album, was contemporary when I sauntered into Crunchy Armadillo Records and found a used promo copy of “Fade To Grey: The Singles Collection.” I was certain that I had not yet heard of the title, so it was an instance of stumbling into it in store and being surprised. It had the extended US remix of “Fade To Grey” and nine other tracks. Since my copy of the “Pleasure Boys” 12″ single was broken before I got to ever play it [long, irrelevant story not included here], I needed this for a copy of “The Pleasure Boys” at the time.

The 1991 EU 1st CD version, was of vital importance, as it was the first Visage music that I had on the silver disc. It was identical to the 1983 US LP version. It had the US extended remix of “Fade To Grey” on it and the same ten tracks. It was at this time that the 7″ edit of “The Damned Don’t Cry” became a bone of contention with me. As the only version of the song I had to listen to on CD, it always vexed me with its brevity.

A US copy of the 1993 re-titled, re-jigged version with a suitably altered cover and two more songs for a dozen included here. The compilers of “Fade To Grey: The Best of Visage” swapped out the extended remix of “Fade To Grey” for the 7″ mix, but included two tracks that came from later than 1983 at the end of the program. The “Love Glove” single from “Beat Boy” made its CD debut here. And this release also featured the Bassheads 7″ edit of “Fade To Grey” from the 1993 post-modern remixed single[s] that accompanied this album.

In the new millennium with the internet at my disposal, I found out about the “Fade To Grey: The Singles Collection [Special Limited Dance Mix Album” with the “red frame” cover and managed to finally buy one of these for less than a fortune about 17 years ago, I’d wager. It featured alternative mixes of the songs segued together and featured an 11th song added in the always desirable, “Der Amboss!” My copy was sort of trashed but it was not always easy to obtain a copy of the 1984 release.

Finally, two years ago Rubellan Remasters issued the now OOP US CD + bonus tracks to “Fade To Grey: The Singles Collection [Special Dance Mix Album]” with the original eleven tracks of the 1984 LP slightly altered as RR felt that on CD, having “The Anvil” follow just two tracks after “Der Amboss” was problematic. So “Der Amboss” was placed in the bonus tracks at the end of the disc with four other rare mixes.

Visage: Fade To Grey The Singles Collection – US – color LP [2022]

1. Fade To Grey
2. Mind Of A Toy
3. Visage
4. We Move [remix]
5. Tar
6. Beat Boy
7. In The Year 2525
8. The Anvil
9. Night train
10. Pleasure Boys
11. The Damned Don’t cry
12. Love Glove

So this time the 7″ version of “Fade To Grey” was used once again, but the two singles from “Beat Boy” were both added to the ends of the sides, to get the singles from album number three into the frame. The album contains a double sided insert showcasing the 7″ sleeves that make up the song selection with both front and back covers of each single depicted on either side of the insert! It’s that sort of attention to detail that this Monk appreciates. The pressing will be 500 copies each in the following colors.

​Each LP retails for $24.99 with a one copy limit to deter flippers. There’s also a combo package with both LPs for the mathematically precise price of…$49.98. If anyone reading this is new to he world of Visage, why not revisit the classic title track of this album to get a sense of what’s at stake here with the 1980 single that made the band’s name?

The pre-order begins today, with the release date being May 13th. I shouldn’t need one of these, as I have 3xCDs and 2x LPs of this title, but my resolve buckles when I see the great insert that was to me the icing on the cake of this release. We’ll see, but in the mean time…Mr. D.J. Hit That Button.

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