Strange way - All About Eve

Those limited editions kept coming when All About Eve released their third album, Touched by Jesus. There was no 10" single for the lead single, but when they released 'Strange way', there it was again. I was lucky enough to buy number 5111 of the limited edition of 10,000 copies (still an impressive number by today's standards) and found a photo card inside, advertising the fanclub which I never joined.

Musically this disc was a little underwhelming, since two tracks were taken from the album and the third one was also included on other formats. As far as All About Eve's 10" singles go, this was probably the least interesting of the lot. Still, it's a keeper.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered] 
Found: Wreckastow, Rotterdam, 1991
Tracks: 'Strange way' / 'Share it with me', 'Drawn to earth'

December - All About Eve

We're some months away from December, but I still wanted to post this beautiful limited edition 10" single of All About Eve's 'December'. It was packaged in a box and included a little poster featuring portraits of the band members and the lyrics of the song.

What's more, the disc included no less than four tracks. 'December' appears here in the 'Narnia Mix', which also appeared on the 12" single. All of the tracks appear on various formats, so no exclusives on this one.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 1990
Tracks: 'December (Narnia mix)', 'Drowning' / 'Paradise (89 remix)', 'The witch's promise'

What kind of fool - All about Eve

After the big success of their single 'Martha's Harbour', All About Eve released one last single from their debut album, titled 'What kind of fool'. Now several editions of that single have already been featured on this blog: the 7" single, this 12" single and this 12" single.

But there was also this 10" single. And not just any 10" single: it came in a gatefold sleeve with a booklet inside. The booklet contains the lyrics of 'What kind of fool' plus all the non-album tracks that were released as B-sides of several singles taken from the album. The B-side of the 10" single features an exclusive live track, recorded at the Astoria in London.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 1990
Tracks: 'What kind of fool', 'Gold and silver' / 'Every angel (live)' 

Every angel - All about Eve

All about Eve were promoted heavily by their record company when their debut album looked like it was going to be a big success. They didn't yet have their big hit 'Martha's harbour' yet, but a good live reputation and a strong fanbase went a long way. 

And so, Mercury Records started releasing singles in many different formats - a wellknown strategy in 1988, before chart rules were made more strict in the UK. 'Every angel' was released on a 7" single, a 12" single, and this limited edition 10" single. This format came with its own exclusive track: 'More than this hour' was only available on this 10" single. The exclusive poster showed the image from the sleeve of the 7" and 12" singles. 

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 1990
Tracks: 'Every angel (extended)', 'Candy tree' / 'Wild flowers', 'More than this hour'

What kind of fool - All About Eve

Last year I caught up with my collection of All About Eve 12" singles on this blog, but it seems I forgot one of them. This limited edition box features a big poster based on the artwork of the 7" single, plus a three track disc featuring the 'Autumn Rhapsody' version of the title track. Together with the two B-side tracks, this was an attractive package for the fans.

Funnily enough I never bought the 'regular' 12" single, featuring the same three tracks. A 10" single is also in my possession, but more about that later. Watch this space!

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 199X
Tracks: 'What kind of fool (Autumn Rhapsody)' / 'Gold and silver', 'The garden of Jane Delawney'

In the clouds - All about Eve

Owning two versions of the 7" single and the original version of the 12" single and was obviously not enough for a completist like me: I also had to have All about Eve's 'In the clouds' on the re-released 12" single. And with good reason: this 12" single features an extended version of the song, plus an extra track on the B-side.

Eventually the extended version of 'In the clouds' appeared on the re-released double CD version of the band's eponymous debut album in 2015. But that was a long time after I bought this disc.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: [unknown], 1989
Tracks: 'In the clouds [extended version]' / 'She moves through the fair', 'Calling your name'

Wild hearted woman - All About Eve

My recent post about All About Eve's 'Wild hearted woman' was one part of the story. There's another part to it, of course, because back in 1988 the band released many different formats and configurations of their singles.

Take for instance this limited edition version of the same 12" single. It comes in a box, which includes the 12" single in a completely different sleeve plus an enamel badge. That's all. No posters or postcards, just a badge. However, the 12" features an extra track compared to the 'regular' 12" single. The fourth track is a 'reprise' of 'What kind of fool' - a song that would get a single release some months later after the chart success of 'Martha's harbour'. 

It's a nice package, which I managed to buy at a record fair some time after its release.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 1990
Tracks: 'Wild hearted woman [extended]', 'What kind of fool (Reprise)' / 'Appletree man', 'Like Emily'

Wild hearted woman - All About Eve

I haven't mentioned All About Eve's 'Wild hearted woman' since the 7" single in 2009. While I bought that single for just 1 guilder (0,45 euro in this day and age), the 12" singles I bought were considerably more expensive. Actually I don't really remember how much I paid for the 'original' 12" single, because it was a very long time ago. I am sure, however, that it was a second hand copy. There's a little bit of sticker residue on the back cover to remind me of that fact.

The 12" single features an extended version as well as two B-sides, adding 'Like Emily' to the 'Appletree man' which already appears on the 7" single. Both tracks appear on the band's debut album, released the same year.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: [unknown], 1989
Tracks: 'Wild hearted woman [extended]' / 'Appletree man', 'Like Emily'

Every angel - All About Eve

Of course I have the 7" single of 'Every angel', but the 12" single offers an extended mix of the track and an extra track called 'Candy tree', which is actually one of the band's best offerings at that point in time. All About Eve often buried great tracks on 12" singles (and later CD-singles), and in fact their entire output pleased me a lot through the years.

Lead vocalist Julianne Regan confessed years ago that she couldn't take any credit for a song like 'Every angel', because such speedy little nuggets were usually the specialty of fellow band members Tim Bricheno or Andy Palmer.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 1989
Tracks: 'Every angel (extended version)' / 'Wild flowers', 'Candy tree'

Road to your soul - All About Eve

While I was going through my All About Eve 12" singles (partly for this blog, as you have been noticing recently), I noticed that one was missing. 'Road to your soul' was released in 1989 and I bought the single just after it came out. The CD-single followed swiftly, but I never bought the 12" single. As interesting as the 'art print' seemed, there was nothing new on the disc - or so I thought.

It turns out that the 12" single actually features an extended version of 'Road to your soul', which doesn't appear on the CD-single at all. I did find out about this years ago, but it didn't prompt me to buy the disc immediately. However, I recently found out that a shop in my neighbourhood could get it for me, and so I ordered it. As it turns out, the disc is in near mint shape and the art print is still in there! I am one happy customer.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 17 August 2024
Tracks: 'Road to your soul [extended]' / 'Pieces of our heart', 'Hard Spaniard'

Martha's harbour - All About Eve

All About Eve were very busy after releasing their debut album. Having already released a few singles in advance, the singles kept coming after the album was out, and in various formats too. Their best known single 'Martha's harbour' wasn't just released on CD-single, 7" and 12", a special edition of the 12" single came in a box and featured a large colour poster and two exclusive live tracks.

You could say it's a nightmare for collectors, but all these years later it's still a major joy to look back and go through all these different versions.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 1989
Tracks: 'Martha's harbour', 'Another door' / 'In the clouds (live)', 'Shelter from the rain (live)'

The dreamer - All About Eve

It's hard to imagine now, but in the early Nineties vinyl was on its way out. Record companies embraced the CD format (just as quickly as they are dropping it now) and didn't have much time for decent vinyl releases anymore. 

However, some record companies stuck by the format, and there were really some attractive releases in the early Nineties still. This 12" single of All About Eve's 'The dreamer', for instance, featured four tracks and the sleeve was signed by all four members of the band. It was a numbered limited edition, and I got number 4947. Both remixes of 'The dreamer' remain unreleased on CD until now.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Wreckastow, Rotterdam, 1991
Tracks: 'The dreamer (extended remix)' / 'Frida of blood and gold', 'Road to Damascus', 'The dreamer (Nightmare mix)'

Martha's harbour - All About Eve

The first All About Eve single I ever bought was 'Martha's harbour', and coincidentally it was also the band's biggest hit in the UK. Since discovering the band I bought lots of singles, CD-singles and 12" singles... including the 12" single of 'Martha's harbour'. 

The A-side features both sides of the 7" single, which leaves space on the B-side for a bonus track. It's a live version of one of the album's most fiery tracks, 'In the meadow'. Unfortunately the sleeve gives no information on when and where this version was recorded. But Tim Bricheno does give you one of his excellent guitar solos.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, unknown date
Tracks: 'Martha's harbour', 'Another door' / 'In the meadow (live)'

Scarlet - All about Eve

The British band All about Eve has few equals. Born from the goth scene they managed to cross over to the mainstream with their first and second albums, only to triumph artistically if not commercially with their third and fourth album. 

'Scarlet' was the third single from their second album 'Scarlet and Other Stories', released near the end of the Eighties. The B-side features a live version of one of their earliest tracks, 'Our Summer'. This promotional 7" single features a slightly edited version of 'Scarlet', chopping off 20 seconds without doing the kind of damage some other single edits can do. Still, this edit does not appear anywhere else, which makes this single a bit of a rarity.

My collection: 7" single no. 6335
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 December 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Scarlet [edit]' / 'Our Summer (live)'

December - All about Eve

Ordering online can be a treat sometimes, especially when you're able to combine things and get a few interesting singles together. I was a little surprised when this one arrived in a picture sleeve. It is a promotional 7" single for All about Eve's 'December', featuring the single edit on one side and an even shorter radio edit on the other side.

This track is of course best in its unedited version, but to own an exclusive radio edit is a nice addition to my already impressive All about Eve collection.

Listen to the song

My collection: 7" single no. 5857
Found: Discogs.com, received July 1, 2016
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'December (radio edit)' / 'December [single edit]'

Flowers in our hair - All about Eve

I got to know All about Eve thanks to a TV special on a satellite channel. On that occasion I saw short clips of 'Every angel', 'Martha's harbour' and 'Flowers in our hair'. I hadn't had much of a chance to find out more about them, but within weeks I spotted this 12" single in a discount record store. A once in a lifetime chance, as I found out later. At least, this 12" single became quite expensive in later years, although the price seems to have dropped in recent years.

Besides an extended version of the title track, this disc features a cover version of the Cliff Richard track 'Devil woman'. Cliff Richard? Well it's hard to imagine him singing this lyric I have to say, but he did.

My collection: 12" single no. 77
Found: Haags Modehuis, Den Haag, 1989
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Flowers in our hair (extended)' / 'Devil woman', 'Paradise'

Our summer - All about Eve

Collectors items can be very frustrating to a collector, as sometimes you think you may never get hold of them. When I became interested in the band All about Eve, I quickly became aware of their early 'indie' releases. 'Our summer' was released in 1987 as the band's third indie release on 12", and it was one of those frustrating items for me for years.

I finally found a copy during a visit to one of those record exchanges in London, and the price had dropped to an almost acceptable level. I'm still very happy to have found this disc.

My collection: 12" single no. 175
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 1993
Cost: 9 pounds
Tracks: 'Our summer (extended mix)' / 'Lady moonlight', 'Shelter from the rain'

Martha's harbour - All about Eve

All about Eve have really had only one big hit; the immortal 'Martha's harbour'. The single reached number 10 and it was their only single to reach the top 10 in the UK. It was an astonishing success, since at the time, inane house music and assembly line pop from the Stock/Aitken/Waterman stable was dominating the charts.

This 12" single in a box was one of the many formats available at the time. It featured a large poster, signatures of all four band members and two exclusive live tracks on the B-side. It was a numbered limited edition; I have number 4943.

My collection: 12" single no. 271
Found: Record fair, 1996
Cost: 20 guilders
Tracks: 'Martha's harbour', 'Another door' / 'In the clouds (live)', 'Shelter from the rain (live)'

Scarlet - All about Eve

All about Eve were in the business of creating beautiful songs, but they were also smart enough to saturate the market with many different versions of their singles. In 1990, they released 'Scarlet' as the third single from their second album 'Scarlet and other stories' on 7", 12" and two different cd-singles.

The 12" single was very special because of its gatefold sleeve, free poster and the four tracks. Three of them were included on the cd-singles as well, but the live version of 'Scarlet' could be found on this 12" single only. Longtime All about Eve fans were especially pleased with a live version of the early single 'Our summer'. A cracking version it is, too.

My collection: 12" single no. 136
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 1993
Cost: 3,50 pounds
Tracks: 'Scarlet (live)', 'Candy tree (live)' / 'Tuesday's child (live)', 'Our summer (live)'

The dreamer - All about Eve

Although by 1991 the chart rules in the UK had restricted the number of different formats any single could be released on in order to count for sales, All about Eve still used the maximum amount of different formats to sell their singles. 'The dreamer', the last single to be taken from the album 'Touched by Jesus', was released on 7" single, cd-single, 12" single and this picture disc 12".

And this picture disc 12" came with one exclusive track, too: the demo version of the previous single 'Strange way'. It's an interesting version as the lyric of the song wasn't complete yet. The two instrumental B-sides, which were included on other formats too, have become classics in their own right.

My collection: 12" single no. 137
Found: Rhythm Records, London, October 1992
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'The dreamer (remix)', 'Frida of blood and gold' / 'Road to Damascus', 'Strange way (demo)'