Category: Region crazy

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He Said – ‘Could You?’ versions

Some while back I posted about the wonderful (though of its time) He Said album, ‘Take Care’. The supporting single release for the album was the uneasy ‘Could You?’. Who knows for sure what the ‘text’ by Graham Lewis really alludes to, but for me it has always leaned towards some cryptic confession of murder/mercy killing. Despite the opaque nature of the lyric, it looks like there were high hopes for its commercial success as a single and it provides rich pickings for version craziness to be uncovered, with no less than six mix variants across the ‘Could You?’/’Could You (Too)’ main variants.

He Said - Could You? - UK 12 inch single front sleeve design.
^ He Said – Could You? – UK 12 inch single front sleeve design.

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Siouxsie and the Banshees – ‘Cities In Dust’ (Bob Rock Remix) US 7″ (Wonderland/Geffen, 7-28813, 1986)

This little curio has passed me by until recent times I must admit, since to my knowledge this particular remix has never been re-issued on CD format at all. For its release in the United States, Geffen Records had a remix of ‘Cities In Dust’ made and it found its way on to this 7″ single as well as a regular edition 12″ EP edition and promo-only 12″ single. Given that the sleeve and label credits quite clearly namecheck the ‘Tinderbox’ LP, I would wager that this single release is from 1986 rather than the UK’s original late 1985 debut – but as I say, this particular variation passed me by altogether, so anyone else who knows for sure is more than welcome to comment.

Siouxsie and the Banshees - 'Cities In Dust' (Bob Rock Remix) US 7
^ Siouxsie and the Banshees – ‘Cities In Dust’ (Bob Rock Remix) US 7″ – front sleeve design

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Heaven 17 – ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ Canadian LP (Virgin VL 2225, 1981)

It was initially a surprise to me when the ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ LP was released that their second single, ‘I’m Your Money’,was overlooked for inclusion, whereas their debut single,  ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, was all present and correct. I was quite partial to ‘I’m Your Money’, its sequenced rhythm had a touch of the ‘Trans-Europe Express’ to it and it’s multi-lingual speech inserts also hinted at that Kraftwerk-like ambition to cross borders. But it was left off and that was that, until I came across this pressing that is…

Heaven 17 - Penthouse and Pavement - Canadian LP front cover design
^ Heaven 17 – Penthouse and Pavement – Canadian LP front cover design

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Gary Numan – ‘Remember I Was Vapour’ (Live) West German 12″ (Beggars Banquet INT 126.600, 1980)

An odd choice of single perhaps, not the most immediate song to shout ‘single’ release from ‘Telekon’ – but then, neither was ‘This Wreckage’, was it? This 12″ single was only released in the then West Germany and was immediately of appeal to collectors worldwide due to its attractive sleeve design and unique pairing of tracks. Remember, for me anyway, this was the era of interesting import releases that would be listed in the back pages of music papers such as Sounds, NME, etc with excitingly brief descriptions as ‘diff pic bag’ indicating some (variable) picture sleeve design from the familiar UK versions.

Gary Numan - 'Remember I Was Vapour' (Live) West German 12" front cover design
^ Gary Numan – ‘Remember I Was Vapour’ (Live) West German 12″ front cover design

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Kraftwerk – ‘Home Computer’ Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981)

This curious 7″ single hails from Brazil and the background to its release I presume to be its use in a television series from late 1981 into 1982, ‘Brilhante‘. What is of particular interest is that both sides feature unique edits of the track. When I say edits, I really mean they are faded out at specific points – in the case of the A side at the 2 minute 17 mark and in the case of the B side 4 minute 47 mark. The A side edit is abrupt, while the B side edit had a somewhat more generous use of the fader control. Not terribly exciting in comparison to some of the editing scissor work on single edits from around the world, such as ‘Autobahn’. Mind you, that was a case of whittling down 22 minutes down to a mere 3 to 4 minutes. Still, it is an interesting curio to have ‘Home Computer’ as a single on its own. The labels don’t mention it, but the the record pls at 33 1/3 RPM for some reason, rather than the more common 45 RPM.

Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7" (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) front
^ Kraftwerk – Home Computer Promo 7″ (EMI Odeon SDP-867, 1981) front

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