Monday, 4 January 2010

The eve of the war - Jeff Wayne

I've already got two copies of 'The eve of the war', namely the Dutch pressing and the UK pressing from 1978. When you listen to the version of 'The eve of the war' on this single, you will hear that it is performed by a different vocalist. And this is where the confusion begins...

When 'Eve of the war' was released as a single, Justin Hayward had already had a hit with 'Forever autumn'. There was no rights clearance for a single release of 'The eve of the war', and so Chris Thompson stepped in and sung an alternative version of the song. That version is featured on the 1978 singles - although the Justin Hayward version was also available circa 1978 when the rights issues were sorted out. This single was released in 1989, when Jeff Wayne's musical version of the War of the Worlds was re-released on lp and cd. And it features the Justin Hayward version! Obviously, I had to have this one as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 4382
Found: Second Life Music, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'The eve of the war' / 'The red weed'

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