Friday, 14 November 2008

Hey Presto - Black

One of the great mysteries of the 1980's is the video for Black's 'Hey Presto'. I saw it, I know I saw it, I saw it many times on the satellite TV channels of that time: Sky Channel, Music Box and the like. When my parents finally bought a VCR, in December of 1984, the video disappeared, and it never resurfaced again. Even in this age of YouTube and all, the video is nowhere to be found.
It was because of this video that I discovered the band Black. It was a love story that still hasn't ended to this day. This song, so dynamic and lively, wasn't available in Dutch shops in 1984, so I had to wait until 1987 to find my copy. By that time, Black had resurfaced in the Dutch and UK charts with 'Sweetest smile' and 'Wonderful life' - also great tracks. But more about those singles later...
'Hey presto' was released on WEA's Eternal label, but despite some promotion didn't make the charts in the UK, despite critical acclaim. It was at the beginning of their professional career. Although Black built a relatively successful career a few years later, they would never perform this song live again. Strange, because despite it being worlds apart from their later type of music, this track is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
My collection: 7" single no. 565
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Hey Presto' / 'Stephen'
Download: here
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8 comments:

  1. Kato5 December 2008 at 03:01

    Wonderful - I haven't heard this in 20 years. Thanks so much for sharing.

    I had a Black cassette that preceded "Wonderful Life." A friend picked it up in London while on vacation, and taped it for me. It had "More than the Sun", "Hey Presto" and all the other early, pre-LP songs. I think it had a blackbird on the front cover. I never found it properly released in the US. Anyway, thanks. If I locate that cassette, I'll rip it. I have a box about a hundred unlabeled cassettes to go through...

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  2. TwResearch17 March 2009 at 00:31

    i have the said LP on vinyl - one of few treasured items transported from Uk to new home in Brazil - if i find a way of getting it onto mp3 ill return and post it somewhere
    great album

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  3. doodledan9 October 2009 at 10:41

    I've been looking for this album for years having mislaid my vinyl copy. If anyone manages to rip it, please let me know! Can't find it anywhere online, starting to think I imagined the whole thing...

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  4. calanthe6 July 2010 at 00:35

    I have this EP on cassette, just finished ripping it. Will clean it up and post some download links if anyone's interested

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  5. calanthe6 July 2010 at 01:05

    For those trying to back up their old cassettes / vinyl versions, here's my backup up from the Black EP cassette:

    http://hotfile.com/dl/52798653/bad6e60/Black_EP.zip.html

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  6. mart25 June 2011 at 21:03

    hi calanthe.i would love a copy of the black mp3

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  7. mart25 June 2011 at 21:03

    hi calanthe.i would love a copy of the black mp3

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  8. Blackfan2 September 2016 at 15:24

    Hey Presto the official music video did appear on Youtube quite a few years ago as I watched it for the first time ever and was shocked to see that a music video was made for it, but sadly it got removed off Youtube (like so many videos...sadly) and nobody else has ever posted it since, which is a shame..as none of us may ever see it again :(

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