The 12" single!
Author
Discussion

StevieBee

Original Poster:

14,608 posts

275 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
Stumbled across a set of Simple Minds albums containing a load of 12" versions of their songs. Some really good versions on there.

It got me to think of this long-lost genre of expanded versions of single hits. A lot of them were just looped bits added at the beginning and the end. But some were almost entirely new bits of music.

One that sticks in my mind is Welcome to the Pleasuredome by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The single was pretty good. The 12" version is a different level.

Any others?

worsy

6,379 posts

195 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
Back in the 80s a lot of "album" artist songs were cut to a 3min edit for Radio.

Pretty much all Marillion singles were longer as the 12" version.

Edited to say, just looking at U2 New Years day and that was a longer version on the 12 as well. Seems quite a common thing.


Edited by worsy on Wednesday 10th December 09:48

Lotobear

8,406 posts

148 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
Somewhere I have the 12 inch single of 'A Smile Is Diamond' by the O Band - in red vinyl.

croyde

25,198 posts

250 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
I have a few 12ins, my first was a Michael Jackson number or possibly Jackson 5.

I no longer have a record player but a quick look has unearthed this.




LHRFlightman

2,167 posts

190 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
StevieBee said:
Stumbled across a set of Simple Minds albums containing a load of 12" versions of their songs. Some really good versions on there.

It got me to think of this long-lost genre of expanded versions of single hits. A lot of them were just looped bits added at the beginning and the end. But some were almost entirely new bits of music.

One that sticks in my mind is Welcome to the Pleasuredome by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The single was pretty good. The 12" version is a different level.

Any others?
There are multiple versions of WTTP.

vixen1700

27,182 posts

290 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
A few that come to mind:

Tina Turner: One of the Living. A quite bland tune from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, but the 12" Special Club Mix still sounds great 40 years later.

Art of Noise: Paranoimia with Max Headroom. The 12" is so much better than the standard single.

Toni Childs: Don't Walk Away. Bit of an obscure '80s tune but so much better on the 12"

Donna Summer: I Feel Love. Can't talk about 12" singles without mentioning the Patrick Cowley 15.45 12" mix. Although I think it's too long and prefer the shorter 8.45 'b' side.

Those late '70s Atlantic Records 12"s from Sister Sledge, Chic, etc. were pretty good, although I never really got them at the time.



toon10

6,923 posts

177 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
I have the 12" extended version of Visage Fade to Grey. Think I'll dig it out of the collection and give it a spin this weekend.

marcosgt

11,388 posts

196 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
Well, THE 12" single is Blue Monday, of course. Which famously cost more to make than they sold it for!

My favourite is Hard Times/Love Action by the Human League. The tracks merge into one another on the 12" single.

M

Turn7

25,078 posts

241 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
marcosgt said:
Well, THE 12" single is Blue Monday, of course. Which famously cost more to make than they sold it for!

My favourite is Hard Times/Love Action by the Human League. The tracks merge into one another on the 12" single.

M
Good shout , Tainted love deserves a mention as well.

Gladers01

1,551 posts

68 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
I used to work for an audio & video company many moons ago and the staff would be forever swopping records to test the sound quality of the equipment they produced and one of my favourites at the time
was the 12" version of'Master Blaster' by Stevie Wonder