When French producer Jaques Morali went into Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia in October 1975 to tool up a disco version of the Ritchie Family single I Want To Dance With You (Dance With Me) the remix extended the original to twice its length. This six-minutes and 24 seconds was then pressed onto a 12”, given only to club DJs to try to break the song on the dancefloor. This was par for the course when it came to early 12” singles, which were mostly pressed for DJ use. But by 1977, the 12” was an accepted promotional and commercial format, not only for disco but other genres. For example, there was a promotional 12” by The Cure – Grinding Halt/Meat Hook – sent out to journalists in the UK in 1979 by Fiction (£150) to promote their Three Imaginary Boys LP.
The 12” single was manna from heaven for all styles of reggae in the late 70s, as it allowed songs to be paired with dub versions on both sides. Or, in the case of Sharon Little’s Don’t Mash Up Creation (1 Love, 1981, £150), just let the track burn beautifully for nearly 10 minutes. There was also a healthy business in imported 12” singles direct from Jamaica.
John Lydon’s post-Pistols outfit, Public Image Ltd, were so influenced by reggae and dub that their second LP was initially released in 1979 as three, 45rpm 12” singles in a Metal Box so that the low-end frequencies and extended running time of the music could be properly heard by buyers, rather than compressed onto four sides of two 33rpm LPs.
Another crucial waypoint in the UK came in 1983, when New Order unleashed their fifth single, Blue Monday. This self-produced track clocked in at seven minutes and 29 seconds and the band specified that it should only be released as a 12” single (£20). Peter Saville’s arresting die-cut floppy disc sleeve was so expensive to produce that Factory lost money on every copy sold. The track was so addictive, the first run of 60,000 copies sold out and the record was re-pressed as it caught fire and became the first 12” single to make the Top 10. The Orb enjoyed similar success in 1992 when Blue Room Part 1 and Blue Room Part 2 went Top 10 as a 12” single with a total running length just shy of 40 minutes (£12).
Equally seismic was Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax, dominating the charts in 1984. Though it did have a 7” run, it was the 12” that most bought (£4), especially as producer Trevor Horn and his studio crew concocted a series of remixes dutifully sent to shops and snapped up by Frankie fans who just could not get enough of a band who really were “shooting in the right direction.” The massive follow-up, Two Tribes, also had more remix gear changes than a bike used to navigate the Tour De France. In fact, Kraftwerk’s Tour De France from 1983 came either in a New York Club Mix or a remix by François Kevorkian on 12”.
By the 80s, the 12” was an established format and most major artists had singles issued on 7”, CD single and 12”, as record companies tried to extract as much loot as they could from fans of artists from Status Quo to Phil Collins. To be fair to Collins, tracks like Sussudio did have a decent extended mix on the 12”, whereas Status Quo fans would enjoy an additional track. As the decade progressed, artists like New Order, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and even Kylie Minogue became known for the sheer number and variety of remixes and club tracks that labels would press up as 12” promos and stock copies for fans to snap up.
Of course, dance music has always had a love affair with the 12”, the format of choice for hip-hop, house, acid house, rap, electro and drum’n’bass. Like punk, the dance music of the 80s onwards benefitted from a DIY ethos, with artists creating tracks at home or in cheap studios and then banging them out as a short-run white label that would go to DJs or specialist dance music record shops. Indeed, an entire industry grew up around it, with specialist pluggers doing everything they could to get records on the turntables of radio and club DJs – go rummaging in the racks and you will often find records with these “reaction” sheets. As the 80s progressed, it seemed that no track was safe from yet another dance remix: totally appropriate in the case of Yazz, say, but record company lunacy when it came to The Doors’ Riders On The Storm club and ambient retooling in 2000.
Lest we forget, indie embraced the 12”: there was usually a 12” with a bonus track to accompany every single by The Smiths, notwithstanding Morrissey’s demand to “hang the blessed DJ”. By the early 90s, it was standard practice for bands to issue 12” EPs of material – from My Bloody Valentine via Slowdive to The Charlatans. The first Suede record was the 500-copy 12” white label, Be My God/Art, withdrawn from circulation in 1991, as the band didn’t like how it sounded (£150).
But it was dance that pushed the 12” format to its fullest potential. Orbital’s Chime (1989, £20) is a near-perfect 12”. The career trajectory of Aphex Twin is beautifully mapped by his 12”s, from Analogue Bubblebath Vo1 1 (1991, £40) on. Less well-known are the compelling hardcore of Bass Ballistics’ self-titled EP (1992, £30) and the stone-cold classic that is Roy Davis Jr’s Gabrielle featuring Peven Everett (US, £20, 1996) that featured four great mixes of the same track – again, standard practice for dance music. Crucially, in the 90s, when the CD dominated the market, it was the dance industry that kept some record pressing plants going as the desire for 12”s from club-goers never abated.
One of the downsides of collecting dance is the sheer volume of white label copies out there that require a computer-like memory for matrix numbers when going through endless crates of records in order that you might turn up anything from a one-off abandoned KLF mix to DJ Lewi’s You Better Run (£200, 1995). But that, of course, is part of the fun of loving your music on 12”.
Love it or hate it, disco baptised the 12” single. Before 1975, producers were already extending tracks for the dancefloor on LP but having their handiwork ruined by record companies splitting tracks across two sides of 7” singles. Thus, Eddie Kendricks’ classic Girl You Need A Change Of Mind was issued as Part 1 and Part 2 on 7” in 1973 (£12). Even the 16-minute LP version of Donna Summer’s Love To Love You Baby was shorn of a few orgasms for a two-sided 7” in 1975 (US, £4).
Thankfully, the 12” single was on hand to save the day. Originally, it allowed extended versions to be played without club DJs having to use two copies of a 7” to keep the groove going. Sonically, tracks could be cut at 45rpm, deeper and wider, bringing out the full flavour of low and high frequencies ideal for the hi-fidelity audiophile sound systems from David Mancuso’s Loft to happening New York dancefloors. In turn, the 12” gave birth to remixing, where sonic alchemists like Tom Moulton would retool three-minute tracks to double their length and beyond. In the studio, bands and producers could now cut longer disco tracks for this new format and a new skill was born: remixing.
Disco 12” singles were originally only sent to DJs in 1975, but within a couple of years, the 12” became an accepted record store format, not only for soul, funk and disco but unlikely genres from punk to rock. The first 12” single I bought was a French import copy of the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy In The UK/I Wanna Be Me in 1977 (£25), followed by Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer (1977, £15) and Split Enz’s My Mistake (1977, £6). I felt short-changed when buying the 12” version of Ultravox’s Slow Motion as the track length was the same as the 7”. It was, however, pressed on clear vinyl: the 12” format was deployed for all manner of coloured vinyl, and when picture discs came to market it was ideal for that medium, from a-Ha to Tears For Fears.
Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight (1979, £15) was a milestone for the format – and early hip-hop. Like jazz musicians unshackled in the 50s by the 12” LP, rappers could now demonstrate their fluid wordplay and go back and forth without concern for the three- or four-minute limit. And in Jamaica, they really began to stretch out sonically.
The 12” went from strength to strength as the format of choice for dance music and its myriad affiliated and/or sub-genres: hip-hop, rap, funk, electro, house, acid house, EBM, techno, downtempo, ambient, trance, dancehall, lovers rock, drum’n’bass, reggae, breakbeat, hardcore, grime and a host of others. Of course, for every Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Oasis, Aphex Twin or Orbital 12” there are records pressed on 12” that hardly sold and have become hideously rare – here are 45 to whet your whiskers, from 1975 onwards.
HERBIE MANN
Hijack (Disco Cut)/JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH: Bertha Boogie Part 1
(Atlantic SAM 26, 1975) £200
Jazz musician Herbie Mann started his recording career in the 50s and by the 70s had 40-plus albums under his belt. His main instrument was the flute, which eased his move to disco on LPs like Discotheque (Atlantic K 50128, £5). The vocal and flute funk groove of Hijack had been released as a single in 1974 but was retooled as a promo-only special Disco Mix given to DJs in 1975 with an equally dancefloor-friendly filler by The Jimmy Castor Bunch on the flip. All early Atlantic Disco Special Cuts (1975-77) are worth money – try to find Ben E King’s foreplay groove, Supernatural Thing (SAM 27, 1975, £200), remixed by an (uncredited) Tom Moulton.
SANGIE DAVIS & L PERRY/DEVON IRONS & DOCTOR ALIMANTADO Words/Vampire
(Black Art, no cat no, Jamaica, 1977) £1,500
I would have been hung, drawn and quartered if the master, Lee Perry, was not featured in this list. Thankfully, this incredible, rare 12”, pressed up on his own Black Art label, was a no-brainer. Davis was a songwriter and producer who even penned a couple of big Bob Marley tunes like Wake Up And Live, though very few were released under his own name. And Vampire’s an amazing tune that sinks its fangs into your ears from the get-go. When Trojan reissued this in 2003, they had to listen to it against an original owned by an acquaintance of yours truly to ensure the required audio match. Now that is attention to detail –
no wonder that one is also worth £50.
DISCO FOX The Fox/Forest Funk/The Hunt (Ebonite E 101, US, 1977) £400
During the period 1976-78, a US tax loophole saw thousands of records pressed up in small quantities and hidden in warehouses and garages. For legal reasons the records had to be LPs or extended 12” singles. The music included funk, soul, disco, rock, Broadway tunes, jazz and country. Most were dross because the labels had no intention of the music ever seeing the light of day, but some – Terea, Spice and Stonewall, for example – were amazing and are collectors’ items. Disco Fox served up three fantastic slices of dancefloor boogie with musicians pleasing themselves.
Like many great tax dodge records, it will probably never be reissued due to legal murk, ensuring that this particular dancing fox remains hunted by music hounds.
LEE PERRY & THE FULL EXPERIENCE Disco Devil/Keep On Moving (Upsetter, no cat no, Jamaica, 1977) £400
This track is another fantastic Lee Perry concoction: first-class reggae drenched in effects, rather than a disco song. God only knows how many were pressed, and to make things more complicated, there are sleeve variations. The most recent reissue was on Black Friday in November 2017.
JOY DIVISION An Ideal For Living (Anonymous ANON 1, UK, 1978) £700
The first pressing made by the band was a 7” (Enigma PSS 139, 1978) with fidelity issues and a hand-folded picture sleeve – it’s worth nearly £2,000 in Mint condition. This re-pressing handled by Lyntone as a 12” gave Warsaw, No Love Lost, Leaders Of Men and Failures more room to breathe and came in a different sleeve to the original 7” EP. There were only 1,200 copies pressed and it was bootlegged as early as 1981. There are so many unofficial versions you have to take real care when buying an original online.
ABBA & STIKKAN Sang Till Görel (Polar JUB 30, Sweden, 1979) £1,500
This song was recorded at Polar studios on 21 June 1979, the 30th birthday of Görel Hanser, personal assistant to ABBA’s manager Stig Anderson and a close friend of the band. Sang Till Görel was pressed up in a limited-run of 50 copies as a one-sided 12” on blue vinyl that that was then handed out as a gift to those who attended Hanser’s birthday party. Stikkan was a pun on Stig Anderson, who sang along with ABBA on this humorous tribute to Görel. This is, as you might imagine, the rarest ABBA record in the world.
CHINA BURTON You Don’t Care About Our Love (Long Version)/(Short Version)/(Instrumental)
(Logo GOT 354, UK, 1979) £300
I was buying the wrong records on Logo back in the late 70s, as my copy of Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias’ rare single, Juan Lopez (1978), is only worth £3. This sole single by Mr China Burton is a masterfully arranged slice of disco with lashings of strings and a massed horn section that limped out upon release. The 7” version is worth £100, but this is the one that everyone wants, as it features an amazing breakdown in the middle of the extended version – beat, bass orchestral stabs, horns and burbling synth – that powers on for six minutes and 40 seconds. The flip-side has the original 7” version and an instrumental version. Burton later wrote Red Hot for Princess in 1987, which is worth half the price of Juan Lopez.
MARTIN L DUMAS JR Attitude, Belief And Determination/Non-Stop To The Top (Taurean Connection T 1281, US, 1979) £1,000
Guitarist and vocalist Dumas played with funk band Rasputin’s Stash, who released two albums – Rasputin’s Stash (Cotillion SD 9046, 1971, £40) and Devil Made Me Do It (Gemigo GMS 1000, 1974, £60) – and then with Crystal Winds, who issued First Flight in 1982 (Cash Ear MEGCO 9255, £50). Somewhere between those paving stones came the crack of this mega-rare 12”, pressed up in Chicago by Dumas on his own label. The A-side is a sensational groove about the benefits of positive thinking: “black, white, yellow or brown, you will be a crown.” The B-side was of a similar gold standard. Reissued by BBE in 2015.
STEPHEN ENCINAS Disco Illusion/’Lypso Illusion (Kalinda KDS 2020, Trinidad & Tobago, 1979) £800
Recorded at KH studios, the A-side is a slice of interstellar disco with a sweet beat, Chic-esque guitar, great vocals, handclaps and stud-like synth lines. The B-side throws a steel drum lead into the mix to give local flavour. Sadly, the record probably only sold in Trinidad & Tobago and did not catch fire in US clubs. Encinas’ other record – Rock-A-Bye-Bay Love/Music In Me (KD 569, 7”, 1979, £200) – is also essential, serving up two wonderful slices of lost soul. The Invisible City re-pressing (Canada, 2013) sold so well it was re-pressed in 2016 and 2018.
GOLDEN FLAMINGO ORCHESTRA The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us/The Guardian Angel Is Watching Over Us (Golden Flamingo
GF 2929, US, 1979) £500
The titular Guardian Angels were those brave souls who formed part of a volunteer security force to protect people riding the New York subways. Musically, it’s a tour de force, underpinned by a gorgeous bassline, tight drumming and opens with Tannoy announcements before Margo Williams gets her groove going. There is gospel here in the Mizzell-esque massed chorus while the “it’s alright” refrain points us towards Sterling Void. Produced and co-written by Cloud One maestro, Patrick Adams, it features the same track on both sides – it’s that good.
HOLOCAUST Slay That Dragon/ Take Me To Your Lawyer/So Called Civilised Way (Pile Driver HOL 201, UK, 1979) £1,000
Most punk, rock and new wave bands that put out DIY records opted for the established 7” format – the lingua franca of those genres – but this band of NWOBHM merchants opted for a 12”
to showcase three of their tight-trousered tracks, even if they couldn’t afford to print a sleeve to show the world their faces and detail their name, rank and serial number. Their career wasn’t helped by another metal band called Holocaust, who had a regular series of releases from 1980 which saw these boys throw in their leather-studded towel. This 12” has never been reissued.
RAY MUNNINGS Funky Nassau/Jump In The Water (Tammi 12 TAM 103, UK, 1979) £200
The Beginning Of The End, helmed by Ray Munnings, were a funk quartet from the Bahamas, bringing the world Funky Nassau in 1971. This version, retooled for the dancefloor, went for £464 on eBay back in 2005, after 21 bids. Though it has since sold for £200, 12” copies with the 6.14 “breakbeat” are harder to find than the more common 7” promo versions that go for £20-£30. To add spice to the mix, the flipside Jump In The Water, opening with a great cosmic synth line, is a classy rare groove. A great double-sider.
U2 Three EP
(CBS 12 7951, Ireland, 1979) £2,000
U2’s debut EP was released by CBS in Ireland but pressed up in England. This original pressing was on 12”, containing three tracks – Out Of Control, Stories For Boys and Boy/Girl – and was limited to 1,000 numbered copies when released in September 1979. There was also a 7” pressing in a picture sleeve worth £150. The 12” re-pressing from 1981 is worth £60 to £100.
CHILDREN OF ATLANTIS We Came To Party (Dance Discs DD 1000, US) £700
Multi-instrumentalist and producer Travis Biggs cut his teeth with the Isaac Hayes band, releasing two great space-funk LPs – Challenge (TB&C 1001, US, 1976, £100) and Solar Funk (Source SOR 3154, US, 1979, £80) – that have been heavily sampled, especially the track Tibetan Serenity. Biggs was behind the controls for this one-off 12” out of Atlanta that was pressed with DJ-friendly banding – Intro/Song/Break/Riff and Airplay Version/Disco Version – yet failed to attract airplay and sales. I’m still not sure when We Came To Party was released as, like the city of Atlantis, such information is lost to time.
KING TUTT D-A-N-C-I-N/You’ve Got Me Hung Up (Fun City KKC 461, US, 1979) £750
Another Holy Grail disco
12” from a chap who, judging from a rare promo photo, dressed like a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra. While the 7” version is more reasonably priced at around £300, it’s this 12” that everybody wants as both tracks are extended from 4.15 to 8.04 and 3.43 to 5.26. BBE put collectors out of their misery in 2013 with a classy reissue. Tutt also issued two singles on TK Disco in the US in 1980 – Hey Sexy/Keep On and Comin’ Out/Even Though – and you can get both for £20! Do You Wanna Dance/(Dub) (12”), released under the name of Tuttoo (FHL 404, 1985, £200), is freaky electro/vocoder boogie.
LE COP Move Your Body/Law
(K Shavonne FGB 21506, US, 1979) £800
This ultimate underground disco record – listed as Le Cop and Le Roc on the 12” – was released on New York producer Bob Johnson’s own label, named after his daughter. After that, the well of information runs dry as, back in 1979, there were so many good disco records being released by major labels that “DIY Disco” just didn’t get a look in if it didn’t catch the ears of the right DJs or radio producers. There was also a 7” version – Law, Order & Peace/Law, Order & Peace (FGB 21508) – that is equally rare and worth £300. Though bootlegged, this has never been officially reissued.
MIGHTY THREES Rasta Business/Sata (April 1379, US, 1979) £300
The 12” single was perfect for the reggae market, not only for JA pre-releases but also for the scope that it allowed for dub versions of tracks to follow the main tunes on the A/B sides of 12” singles. As well as Jamaica and the UK there was reggae pressed up in the US and Canada. The Mighty Threes were Bernard Brown, Carlton Gregory and Noel Browne, and Rasta Business appears on Africa Shall Stretch Forth Her Hand (April X 1949, US, 1978, £150) and the scarcer Mighty Threes Dub (April 8263, US, 1978, £300). This was released around the same time, selling poorly – maybe the words “special disco mix” frightened off buyers!
FAMILY FOUR Rap Attack/Rap Attack
(Tyson 001, US, 1980) £800
Family Four were Mike Cee, Toney Tone, KC and Kid Vicious, and this is lo-fi early hip-hop at its finest. It was done on such a shoe-string that you get the same track on both sides. Listening back today, it sounds wonderfully commercial, with sweet funky bass and disco guitar underpinned by a live drummer who is on fire; not only staying on the beat, but throwing in rolls, fills and even a little solo. The four MCs are superb: “There’s no-one better on land or sea.” There is, as yet, no official re-pressing but this has been counterfeited.
BILLY FRAZIER The Mind Blower (Finally Got His Mind Blown) (Vocal)/(Instrumental) (Biljuma 003/004, US, 1980) £600
Frazier was a singer/songwriter whose first record, Ooh Baby (Look At Me)/Is That Right, was issued in the US in 1965 (Music World MW 111, £30). By the 70s, he had moved into disco and the vocal version of The Mind Blower throws in the kitchen sink when it comes to production: strings, brass stabs, funky guitar, electric piano and great female vocals. But it remains just a little too short and has a too clever steeplechase arrangement to lock into a groove. Ironically, Frazier’s earlier Billy Who? (Bijuma 001, 1980) is the one that locks in from the start, but is only worth £30.
THE MISFITS Beware
(Plan 9 PLP 9, UK, 1980) £400
The Misfits were led by Glenn Danzig, and this compilation of seven tracks, already pressed on some of the band’s 7”s in the US, was intended to be in the shops prior to the band’s 1979 tour. The title was inspired by Danzig seeing a sign that stated ‘Beware Bollards’, though the artwork was finished by the time the tour kicked off, with The Misfits supporting The Damned at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall on 23 November 1979. The following six gigs were cancelled and so the run of 3,120 copies that were pressed up weren’t in the shops until 1980. Caroline Exports – part of Virgin – were supposed to issue the record but had no distribution so the ever-resourceful Cherry Red stuck a sticker on it and distributed it through Spartan.
MR MAGIC Potential 1980 Singing Rap Song/Potential 1980 (Magic KF 3102, 1980) £500
Outside the magic circle there have been a number of musical artists who recorded as Mr Magic. The real name of this one was Anthony Pearson, a local DJ in New Haven, Connecticut, who set up Magic Records to release three of his own records between 1980 and 1981. This one was also pressed as a 7” but the 12” version is literally an LP running for 16 minutes on the A-side and nearly 18 minutes on the flip! A gorgeously funky slice of early but obscure hip-hop shot through with a disco vibe. Rarer still is the compilation LP, Mr Magic’s Be Bop Convention (Tri State KF 3110, 1982, £1,000).
CLOUD ONE Don’t Let My Rainbows Pass Me By/Don’t Let My Rainbows Pass Me By (Golden Flamingo 2525, US, 1981) £400
Cloud One was one of the tentacles of Peter Brown and musician, producer and arranger, Patrick Adams. Like Arthur Russell, Adams’ work with Cloud One took disco and dance into more experimental and esoteric territory, without losing the beat. While LPs like Atmosphere Strut (P&P 1001, 1976) are reasonably cheap at £60, there are a number of 12” singles that have been sampled to death and remain sought-after. This is the rarest, with probably only 500 copies being pressed on a label helmed by Brown between 1979 and 1981.
PAUL GARDINER Stormtrooper In Drag/Night Talk (Beggars Banquet
BEG 61, UK, 1981) £700
Paul Gardiner was originally the bassist with Tubeway Army, led by Gary Numan, giving Beggars their first No 1 single in 1979 with Are ‘Friends’ Electric? Though Tubeway Army were basically Numan’s band – after the release of second LP, Replicas, everything was released as Gary Numan – the musicians stayed the same for studio and live work. Released after Numan’s 1981 “farewell” tour, 7” copies of this first solo single – featuring Numan on keyboards, vocals and guitar – are cheap as chips, but white label promo copies on 12” are a Holy Grail item for Numanoid collectors worldwide.
MID AIR Ease Out (Vocal)/Ease Out (Instrumental) (Full Scope FSD 8203, US, 1983) £700
A synth-laden, electro-bass lost funk classic, pressed up by a small Chicago label that only put out six releases between 1982 and 1983. One assumes Mid Air were J Schisholm, M Schisholm and Brian Allis, who are credited as writers and arrangers on the labels.
One source suggests the vocalist was Lillo Thomas, an Olympic Standard US track and field athlete before a car accident ruined his dreams of gold. Still, he enjoyed a hugely successful solo career after releasing his debut LP, Let Me Be Yours, in 1983 (Capitol ST 12290, US, 1983, £5).
RON E RICHARDSON Ooh Wee Baby (Dance Mix)/(Instrumental) (TCI FD 009, Canada, 1983) £700
Ron E Richardson passed through one of the later iterations of soul band The Tymes and handled vocals for the disco-infused outfit Soiree, who released an eponymous LP and one 12” in 1979 that aren’t worth much. Which can’t be said for his one and only solo outing – issued by the short-lived Canadian disco imprint TCI. Ooh Wee Baby sounds like the template for the hard-balled romantic funk with which Alexander O’Neal would later enjoy chart success. Ooh Wee Baby was reissued by Boogie Time in France in 2012 and has also been bootlegged.
RAMMELLZE/K-ROB Beat Bop/(Instrumental Version)
(Tartown TT 001, US, 1983) £1,500
The only time I’ve ever seen one of these was under glass at the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition at London’s Barbican a couple of years ago. Basquiat had briefly played in the undocumented avant-noise band Grey, and produced this record; he also did the artwork for the labels and the sleeve which includes his famous “crown” motif. Only 500 were pressed; a Profile label re-pressing from 1983 is totally different, with no Basquiat artwork. The 2005 reissue replicated the original but plays at 33 rather than 45rpm.
MAGGOTRONICS Radio Mars/Instrumental Mars (4 Sight 1084
FS 2, US, 1984) £750
It’s believed only 50 copies of this classy vocoder-dominated electro joint were pressed up and never officially issued due to a dispute between main Maggot, James McCauley, and 4 Sight label owner William ‘Billy’ Hines. Based in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, 4 Sight grew out of the Royal Sounds record shop and issued the hugely influential Bass Rock Express by MC ADE (Adrian Hines aka Adrian Does Everything) (385 FS 9, 1985). The latter was yet another take on Kraftwerk’s Trans Europe Express and the foundation stone of the Miami bass sound.
THE STONE ROSES So Young/Tell Me (Thin Line THIN 001, UK, 1985) £400
By the mid-80s, the indie market had moved towards the 12” as a shop window or acts and had even followed the dance market by pressing up runs of up to 200 est-pressings to circulate as pre-releases to generate buzz about an artist. These Martin Hannett-produced tracks were limited to 100 copies and came with a press release extolling the virtues of the line-up that, at this time, included Andy Couzens on bass. Only 10 copies came with two photos of the band, making it the rarest Rose of all. Promos without the photos are still worth £250.
FAST FORWARD Water Bed (Part 1) (Vocal)/Water Bed (Part II) (Vocal)(HI-IN-ER-GY HI 1002, US, 1986) £750
This is one of a number of rare 12” singles where the trail runs cold straight away. This bass-heavy joint extolling the joys of love on the ocean waves at home remains unissued and sought-after. The same applies to Bruce Sampson’s You’re Bad, recorded with Chuck Turner and the Traffic Jam Band and released in New Orleans in 1982 (Rosemount RS 8212, £350-400). From Long Beach, California, Mary Gold’s equally ecstatic Dancing/Dancing (Goldfox 101, 1981, 350-400), bootlegged in Italy last year, is
just as hard to find – or find out about.
CORNELIUS OLIPHANT It’s Your Turn To Cry (Club Mix)/It’s Your Turn To Cry (Instrumental)(Knockout K 1016, France, 1986) £400
Born in Jamaica, Cornelius Oliphant moved to the US and, by the mid-80s, was issuing wax on his own Knockout label. It’s Your Turn To Cry hardly sold at all on release, but is now on the wants list of collectors worldwide as both cuts are gems. Those with pockets as shallow as my own can pick up the reissue, pressed in France by Boogie Times in 2012 – sadly, not in the original picture sleeve where, sporting a white suit, with a beautiful woman by his side, he looks like an evangelical pastor getting ready to castigate sinners for contemplating fornication… or not buying his record.
LE MELANGE INC FEATURING CHINA
Tortured Journey (Radio)/(Club)/
(A cappella) A Journey (Dub) A Journey/(Drum) A Journey/Bonus Jacks!
(SMKM S 143, US, 1987) £350
This is sunken Chicago treasure at its finest and sought-after by collectors of house music. Michael Busch wrote the music and words – sung by China AKA Allegra Wakest – and the tracks were mixed by keyboard- player Mike B (Krazy K also played keyboards) and the legendary Marcus Mixx, whose records on Missing Dog and Missing Records are equally sought-after. Busch reputedly released this 12” without the knowledge of Mixx or session engineer LIAM which may be one reason why this particular “Incorporation” only lasted for one record. Tortured Journey still sounds fresh and compelling today and even has an element of Chris and Cosey about it.
As you might imagine, it’s in desperate need of reissue.
OXO Keep On Living/(Other Version)(Summit MIX 003, Italy, 1987) £800
Summit was
a recording studio and label that only released four 12” singles, one of which was the highly covetable slice of Italo disco, Butterfly (MIX 002, 1987, £400), by Stella Stevens. The driving electronic pulse of Keep On Living is the scarcest and most sought-after piece of Italo disco, even if the John Parr Saint Elmo’s Fire Man In Motion vocal style won’t be to everyone’s taste. Tracks from all Summit 12”s were reissued by ID (IDL 017) in Italy in 2012 and that EP is a bargain at £12. Another rare and recommended slice of Italo disco is Ryvon DJ’s I’m Gonna Dance (Take Me Tonight)/(Instrumental) (Poker 03084/1 1984, £400).
PRINCE I Wish U Heaven (Part 1, 2
& 3)/CAMILLE: Scarlet Pussy (Edit)
(Paisley Park W 7745, UK, 1988) £1,000
This was the third single taken from the Lovesexy LP and copies of the 12” on
standard black vinyl can be picked up for a couple of pounds. There are, however, these scarce coloured vinyl variations – on blue or purple – which Prince collectors believe suggested there were plans for a coloured vinyl edition that were abandoned. The few copies that have sold on eBay have gone for up to £1,520. Camille, of course, was one of The Purple One’s female alter egos, and he cancelled the release of her debut LP in 1987.
CLAUDIA BENN Mister Hasta La Vista (7”)/Mister Hasta La Vista (12”)/Samba Fever (Vidisco 1120224, Portugal, 1989) £500
I tried, but failed, to glean any information whatsoever about Claudia Benn. This slice of Portuguese Italo-disco was pressed by one of the biggest labels in the country and even today there is speculation that there might be a 7” version out there as well. Extremely rare, with only one copy sold on eBay for £745 in 2012. Musically, it hits the spot with a crackling, pulsating electro vibe, flamenco guitar and a sublime vocal. It comes in a picture sleeve with Claudia striking a pose.
RON B Stitch By Stitch/(Instrumental)/Live Entertainer/(Instrumental) (p/s)(Asiatic ASI 1020, US, 1990) £750
According to the press release sent out with promo copies of this record, Rob B was spotted by the label at a support slot for A Tribe Called Quest and is “truly the biggest thing to come out of the small town of Ellenville, NY.” Today, Ellenville has a population of just over 4,000 and this was Ron B’s only release! Saying that, it’s a fine one, and after being compiled on DJ Ivory’s Hear No Evil Vol 2 in 2003, it became highly sought-after. Collectors were only put out of their misery by Diggers With Gratitude’s 2019 reissue, and while the 7” was plentiful – 500 copies – there were only 50 white labels of the 12” pressed up as a test-pressing (DWG 028, £100).
IBM NATION Brainiac EP
(Inner City ICRI 901, US, 1990) £800
Based in Philadelphia, Brother Bilaal Muhammad, Mac G, Lyrical King and DJ Sam went into the studio to record this sole EP back in 1990. The tracks were Brainiac, Original Black Man, I’m A Do What I Like, I’m A Do What I Like (Instrumental Version), This Is For The Nation and an instrumental version of that track. There was supposed to be a follow-up but it never materialised. Diggers With Gratitude pressed up a limited-edition reissue of 200 numbered copies in 2015 which included two unheard tracks culled from an original demo tape.
MORRISSEY November The Second (HMV POPDJ 1623, 1990) £2,000
The ultimate Smiths and Morrissey collectable is not the negative sleeve Hand In Glove but this legendary one-sided 12”. Back in 1990, dance remixes were all the rage and someone at Morrissey’s label thought that November Spawned A Monster would be an interesting one to remix. When a copy
got to Moz’s turntable, he took such violent exception to the track that he ordered all test-pressings and the master be destroyed. At present, there is one known physical white label copy in non-circulation.
SEVERE CARNAGE The Struggle Continues/Back To Basics(white label, no cat no, UK, 1990) £400
There are thousands upon thousands of white labels in charity and record shop crates that you can pick up for as little as 50p. British hip-hop collectors are always looking for this one by this crew from…. Bognor Regis! The line-up comprised rappers Tiny Cee, MC Pryme and AKA (“also known as the Double Agent!”), with DJs Scape One and Mack One. RC’s Dudley Jaynes describes this banger as “high-octane” and it is certainly fast and furious: it dropped at a time when home-grown artists were regarded as inferior to, and somehow less authentic than, their US counterparts. This is the only record they ever released and it’s a rare classic.
STATUS QUO Fakin’ The Blues (Edit)/Fakin’ The Blues (Album Version)/Heavy Daze/Better Times
(Vertigo QUO 3112, UK, 1991) £1,500
Status Quo started the 90s by getting to No 2 in the charts with the Anniversary Waltz Part One in September 1990, while The Anniversary Waltz Part Two went Top 20 in November. The release of this next single was cancelled late in the day and withdrawn copies became the Holy Grail for Quo collectors worldwide. There are only 25 copies of this 12” out there, as well as 25 copies of Fakin’ The Blues/Heavy Daze on 7”. Can’t Give You More/Dead In The Water came out instead, and reached No 37.
MADONNA Erotica (Album Version 5.12)/Erotica (Instrumental 5.12)/Erotica (Radio Edit 4.31) (12”, picture disc with gold insert, withdrawn)
(Maverick W 0138 TP, UK, 1992) £2,500
This case of art imitating life seems a bit silly now. Royal princess Sarah Ferguson was caught – on camera – having her big toe sucked by her financial advisor in a Daily Mirror exclusive. So, when the 12” picture disc version of Madonna’s new single, Erotica, was manufactured, showing her Madgesty having a go at a big toe as well, her record label got, uh, cold feet, and decided to toe the line laid down by management and withdraw the picture disc – and all but 138 copies were destroyed. Beware of foot-legs, sorry, bootlegs.
TRUTH The End/Calm Down/Newlands/Emotional/The Start
(Funky Groove FUNKY 4, UK, 1992) £500
A great slice of promo-only techno helmed by Mark Goddard, who had previously released Dance To The Melody as Masters Of Dance with A Lysandrou (Boogie Beat BOG B 2 T, 1991, £20). This record ranged from the hefty bang of the title track to the Orb-esque Little Fluffy Clouds vibe of Newlands that floats wonderfully for six minutes. (The Orb are actually thanked on the run-out groove, as are Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Gerald Simpson and 808 State). Aphex Twin apparently paid £500 for a copy, so it has good pedigree. Goddard is reportedly recording again – let’s hope he finds time to reissue this lost classic.
OASIS Columbia (Creation CTP 8, UK, 1993) £300+
There were only 510 copies of this demo version pressed up and sent out to journalists and radio DJs as a one-sided 12” to introduce the music world to the Sex Beatles (as The Face dubbed them). All had a typed hype sticker that stated: “Not wishing to wind everybody up, but OASIS have got everything. Hear for yourself –
and this is only the demo! Anyone for any more?” Though this would become a much-loved live staple, Supersonic was the first Oasis single proper, released in 1994, and
the final studio version of Columbia ended up on debut LP, Definitely Maybe (Creation CRELP 169, 2LP, £100).
APHEX TWIN Analogue Bubblebath Vol 5 (Rephlex CAT 034, UK, 1995) £500
This fifth EP of musical bath salts (lasting nearly 50 minutes) was supposed to be an AFX release but, after listening to test pressings, Richard H James decided to
shelve it, creating an instant Aphex collectable. That said, in early 2005, when Rephlex were mailing out part of the 11-part Analord series, a small number who had pre-paid for Analord 10 (that came with the binder for the series) did not receive their package. When this was rectified in June 2005 those very lucky people received a free test-pressing of the Analogue Bubblebath 5 12” EP! Talk about customer service.
MICHAEL JACKSON Smile (Short Version)/Is it Scary (Radio Edit)/(Eddie’s Love Mix)/(Downtempo Groove Mix)/(Deep Dish Dark and Scary Radio Edit) (p/s)(Holland Epic EPC 6651306, Holland,1998) £700
This is the rarest Michael Jackson 12”. Smile originally appeared as an instrumental in the Charlie Chaplin film Modern Times in 1936, though Chaplin later added lyrics to transform it into a song. Smile was supposed to be released on CD and 12” and featured special cover art with Jackson and a young tyke replicating a scene from Chaplin’s silent classic The Kid (1921). When the single was scrapped there had been a small number of CDs and 12”s manufactured in Holland. Jackson’s star may have lost its lustre, yet Smile remains sought-after.
BOARDS OF CANADA —— / —— / —— / XXXXXX / —— / —— (Warp 37367,UK, 2013) £1,500
Everything recorded by these two faux-soundtrack makers – Michael Sandison and Marcus Eion – is recommended and early work
like their debut LP, Twoism, limited to 100 copies on vinyl (Music 70 BOARD 1, 1995, £400), is collectable. On Record Store Day in 2013, they snuck into some shops and put copies of this one-sided 12” into the racks, thereby creating the ultimate Boards Of Canada rarity. Of the six known copies, only four have owners: there are two more out there, somewhere. Whether the Scottish duo, or the staff at Warp, kept their mitts on any copies is unknown.
Special thanks to Ian McCann, Polo, Chris from Kalita and Mark Darby.
