by Fred Taghon » Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:31 pm
My sister bought the original 1981 USA 7" with the 2:38 version and "Memorabilia" on the B-Side. I would often sneak it out of her record collection and listen to both sides over and over.
I don't remember exactly when I bought MY 7" but it must have been in 1987 because I have the same 7" that Passing_Stranger shared. I doubt it was released because USA radio finally "discovered" it - the song reached #8 in 1982 in the USA so by 1987 it had already been a hit and did not need discovering hehe. I think it was issued more as an "Oldie" which may also explain why "What" was the B-side on it, since it had also been a single.
I do remember hearing this 4:11 mix on the radio in 1982, so it was probably the promo 7" they were playing. I remember not understanding why my sister's record was so short lol. So I was excited to find that version a few years later on the 7" I now own, as it's always been my favorite version of the song. Obviously it's rare to find on CD so I re-created the mix myself a few years ago. I was surprised that the actual playing time of the 7" was 4:11 and not 3:58 as indicated on the label. Of course now I know that this happens quite often, so I don't always trust what is printed on a label.
How odd that Dave Ball did not recall this version of the song! If I were a pop star I'd probably be my own biggest fan and collect EVERY mix of EVERYTHING I did lol. Of course, it was customary in the 80's for the USA record labels to create or commission different mixes for the US market which may explain why he was not familiar with it.
Also interesting that they didn't make much money off their biggest hit, but it makes sense as the songwriters always get the larger percentage of sales.