Probably like most members of the great AW Massive if I have a query regarding a particular record I will turn to the Discogs website for it’s vast database of knowledge. I have recently retrieved my 7″ singles collection out of the attic and am having fun discovering what, er, gems I have acquired over my lifetime.
During the Leeds Poly years, I was often sent bundles of records by EMI, Polygram & CBS and groups looking for a gig would also ply me with their self-pressed masterpieces. Here is such a single by Gordon Alexander from 1980. Nothing about it on Discogs or YouTube. A search on Google only reveals this song was re-issued by Starward Records in 1981 with the correct title of Save Your Kisses For Me.
So now I present, in all it’s glory, Gordon’s non-hit wonder for the first time on the interweb. It could have been a contender. Have YOU ever defeated Discogs?
*pretends to listen to clip*
Outstanding!
I’ve defeated it occasionally, but I forget what with. I’ll have a think.
Yes ! This is getting into very pedantic stuff, but the Avalanches single Since I Left You was released as a cassette single in 2000 and I bought it. Discogs has thirteen versions listed but not the cassette.
Frequently… though it’s often proved very helpful, too. Here’s one nationally released UK album that is conspicuous by its absence on Discogs: ‘Hold Up!’ the sole (1967) LP by The Moonshiners, on the Page One label (the Troggs, etc). You won’t even find it on any online Page One discography. For some reason, it’s a label that has been largely untapped by reissuers, bar the Troggs.
The band was effectively Big Pete Duker (gtr, banjo, voc) and Mike Deighan (banjo, voc) plus a small band of named session men. it’s a terrific LP, mixing C&W, 60s pop, bluegrass, and music hall (two George Formby covers). The more I type the more I’m surprised Beany doesn’t have a copy…
https://soundcloud.com/colinh-1/moonshiners-side-2
It is also difficult to defeat whosampled.com but I was pleased with this one (I’m Strontium Dawg),
http://www.whosampled.com/sample/453016/Bassomatic-Rat-Cut-A-Bottle-Lyn-Collins-Rock-Me-Again-%26-Again-%26-Again-%26-Again-%26-Again-%26-Again-(6-Times)/
Speaking of Big Pete Duker, Discogs misses his Melodic single and the first of his two mid 60s Columbia singles, of which this is the ace B-side:
https://soundcloud.com/colinh-1/i-saw-your-face-in-the-moon
Yes.
Yesterday I tried to identify which album a particular track, “Macunaima” by Quarteto em Cy (Brazilian female harmony group), came from but couldn’t find it anywhere on their Discogs listing.
I got it several years ago amongst a batch of Brazilian mp3 tracks from a friend, who’d got it from somebody else. I played and Shazamed the lot of them yesterday and identified all of them except this one. Shazam didn’t recognise it at all.
I then searched all Quarteto em Cy’s Discogs-listed releases; albums, singles and compilations, but still failed to find it.
Another Shazam failure was a parody version of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” entitled “Ugly Girl”. But I expect occasional failures when using Shazam.
Just found another one in my dusty singles box.
A single, on Red Meat records, date unknown but end of ’70s I believe.
“Having Fun?/F.U.2.” by Last Resort RMRS01 Produced by Mike Kemp at Spaceworld Studios, Oxford.
“A Porky Prime Cut” on the lead-out, so it was mastered by the illustrious George “Porky” Peckham.
This site – http://www.7tt77.co.uk – strives to carry discographies and potted histories for every label that issued a 7″ single in the 1970s.
They even have an entry for the Red Meat label – albeit without an image of the label.
In, I think about 1978, I saw an ad for a Flexi disc-only single being sold for 20p which was roughly the kind of wonga I had burning my pocket in those days. Local record shop didn’t have it. The band were called Diamond Head Piece and they looked a bit like the Rezillos. They’re not on discogs or the even the Internet for that matter. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not talking about ? hitmakers Diamond Head.
I’m currently going through my iTunes library, filling in the blank fields. Yes, I know, a bit OCD and pointless, but I get these daft ideas in my head from time to time! Anyway, I found Wikipedia was a bit hit and miss, so I started using Discogs, as it has almost everything on there. I think there have been about 50 records that weren’t on there so far (about 40,000 tracks in), but it’s a fab database.
Shocking. Carman Silvera is listed but not this single.
For singles and EPs 45cat.com is fantastic – much more comprehensive than discogs for records in the 7 inch format. It often includes numerous foreign release singles and illustrations of their covers.
It did have the Gordon Alexander single but not the original version above. They don’t have Carmen Silvera.
Have you considered starting Beany-dot-com? The place record buffs go to if a record is too obscure or unloved even for Discogs and 45Cat?
I don’t understand all this electrickery stuff. I have yet to figure out how to put stuff on YouTube. I did once own the domain scenehitter-dot-com but did nothing with it.
See also http://www.45worlds.com which also covers 78rpms, DVDs, CD singles, memorabilia, magazines and all sorts of other stuff.
And http://www.45spaces.com which has everything from “Solid Body Electric Guitars” to “Glasgow Celtic FC Memorabilia”, not to mention “Beermats” and “Semi-Legal Cassettes”. An AWer’s dream!
Ooh! http://www.45spaces.com/company-sleeves-45rpm-singles/
Oh no. Look at all those Fivepenny Piece badges!
*Resigns from world*
I just typed in a bunch of my collection that come up with zilch. Mind you they were Aussie and African albums.