BazFromThePast

What a great thread. Another one you don’t see a lot of…

@Moveandgroove I was too young for VA VA’s. Only went to Wigan from ‘77 to closing. I can’t recall buying a badge after chucking away my school bag. So if it helps your research all these I framed off my bag were pre ‘81. The ‘Lives On’ clearly suggests the Va Va’s one was post closure. And I’m sure I’d have bought a wheel one if available at the time. I could be wrong though, sadly time diminishes the brain! I’d rely on those who were there for that one. Cheers BazFromThePast

That’s a good point Dobber. I hope you are well pal, it’s been too long. The sound file is similar enough to substantiate what you say too. I did say I thought it was either/or. I’ve just listened again and you can also hear Frankie’s quiet shout just into the start of the sax break and it’s the same on both. That’s too much of a coincidence for them to be different recordings. So the original recording sped up with a rough cut of the Sax break sounds about right. It would be good if Steve’s tapes could explain the rationale. Take care Dobber.

I'm not a regular visitor to this site, but when I do, I enjoy reading the banter and very impressed at the level and depth of knowledge that the members have. I only discovered this fascinating thread last week, it goes back some time and it's still open! After much debate about which recording came first and what are the differences, or are they in fact the same. I thought I'd try and help as I'm fortunate to own a copy of both records. Therefore, last week I recorded both records one after another, I then played them both at the same time, switching the sound from one to another, to determine whether one's faster or differs in any way up to the sax break. Unfortunately, my ears aren't good enough to spot any tiny differences. It's obvious that the sax break is longer on the Fairmont copy (approx. 12.5 seconds against Rouser's 6 seconds) and that the Rouser copy uses the Fairmont number on the label and in the dead wax. Which suggests that Cameo Parkways Fairmont label came first. (For completeness the Fairmont copy is BellSound stamped). It's been previously noted by Chalky that the Rouser recording has a faster start, which it does sound like when listening to the two together. Therefore, within iMovie, I separated the sound files and compared them, and the Rouser copy reaches the sax break a full 3.5 seconds before the Fairmont recording. This would point to the Rouser copy being either a completely different recording, or the track was sped up for the new press. Looking at the peaks and troughs of the sound file, they are similar, but not the same, which could point to a different recording, or maybe just the difference in the quality of the pressing plant of the two. I have no idea how to reliably differentiate the two. To add, the Fairmont copy is 2:43 long and the Rouser copy 2:33 long. That's 10 seconds different, which accounts for the 6.5 second difference in the sax break plus the 3.5sec difference that the Rouser copy takes to get to the break. It may be a new recording or that the original recording on Fairmont was sped up a tiny bit and the sax break cut down on Rouser to reduce the overall length of the record, to shoe horn it nearer to a two and a half minutes long record, maybe thinking that could appeal better to the radio stations at the time and therefore lead to more plays and sales. Maybe Steve's tapes would help on this, if Chalky can get his hands on them. I have mixed feelings, I prefer the Rousers' speed, but miss the preferred longer sax break on Fairmont. I hope this all helps in some way. Also, if it would help, or you are interested, I could put the recording of the two on the decks together and provide a link here, for you to do your own comparison. Please just let me know.