1.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
2.
Pet Shop Boys
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Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic pop duo, formed in London in 1981 and consisting of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. Pet Shop Boys have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, Other hit songs include a cover of Go West, Opportunities and What Have I Done to Deserve This. in a duet with Dusty Springfield. At the 2009 Brit Awards in London, Pet Shop Boys received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, in 2016, Billboard magazine named Pet Shop Boys the No.1 Billboard Dance duo/group over the 40 years since the charts inception in 1976. In 2017 the duo received NMEs Godlike Genius Award, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met in an electronics shop on Kings Road in Chelsea, London, in August 1981. Recognising a mutual interest in music, they began to work together on material, first in Tennants flat in Chelsea and from 1982. It was during early years that several future hit songs were created, including Its a Sin, West End Girls, Rent. Their big break came in August 1983, when Tennant was assigned by Smash Hits to interview The Police in New York, the duo were obsessed with a stream of Hi-NRG records made by New York producer Bobby Orlando, simply known as Bobby O. According to Tennant, I thought, well, if Ive got to go and see The Police play, in April 1984, the Orlando-produced West End Girls was released, becoming a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco. On 2 November, it was voted Screamer of the Week by listeners of Long Island and it was a minor dance hit in Belgium and France, but was only available in the United Kingdom as a 12 import. In March 1985, after negotiations, Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Bobby O. Hiring manager Tom Watkins, they signed with the London-based Parlophone label, in April, Tennant left Smash Hits and in July, a new single, Opportunities, was released, reaching number 116 in the UK. The B-side to this single, In the Night, later resurfaced, in a remixed version, as the opening track to the duos first remix album, Disco. This version was used as the theme for the UK television series The Clothes Show. Unperturbed by the low position, the band returned to the studio in August to re-record West End Girls with producer Stephen Hague. Released in October 1985, this new version entered the charts at a similarly low position. It was subsequently number one in the United States, Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Israel, New Zealand and Norway and it remains the most-heard Pet Shop Boys song to date. After the success of West End Girls, Pet Shop Boys released a single, Love Comes Quickly. The single reached number 19 in the UK Singles Chart and was followed by their album, Please
3.
Very (Pet Shop Boys album)
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Very is the fifth studio album by English electronic duo Pet Shop Boys. It was released in September 1993, nearly two and a years after the duos previous studio album, Behaviour, and the compilation album Discography. Very exhibits one of many turning points the Pet Shop Boys would make to their music, the content and lyrics led to Very being called their coming-out album, since it was during this time that Neil Tennant had publicly discussed his long-rumoured homosexuality. Very has sold more than five million worldwide, and contains five UK singles. After the Performance Tour of 1991, Pet Shop Boys elected to take a break, with that compilation many fans thought they were splitting because 1992 saw no new original works. However, in 1993, Pet Shop Boys came back together and this therefore, by many critics, is considered their Upper album as many thought Behaviour was a downer album. A limited edition of Very was also released as an album titled Very Relentless. The second disc, Relentless, was a dance album containing tracks that are more experimental and instrumental. There were plans to expand upon Relentless in 1994 by releasing the six tracks along with others, making a dance album. The six tracks on Relentless have not been released elsewhere since, the album was reissued in 1996 as a mid-price release, this time in a standard jewel case with a new sleeve showing an image of the original case. Very was re-released on 3 July 2001 titled Very, Further Listening 1992–1994, the re-released version was digitally remastered and came with a second disc featuring B-sides and previously unreleased material. The unreleased songs were recorded during the Very recording sessions, but Tennant, on 9 February 2009, the album was re-released yet again, still remastered, under the title Very, Remastered but this time containing only the 12 original tracks. Following the 2009 re-release, the 2001 2-disc remastered version was deleted and it can only be purchased second-hand or MP3 digital download. Some of the B-sides are also on Alternative, their 1995 album of B-sides, the original release of Very was packaged in a unique orange jewel case with raised bumps, designed by Daniel Weil of Pentagram in London. Very Relentless was similarly unique, with the two CDs housed in card sleeves with both of these housed in a translucent rubber case with raised bumps, in June 2000, Q magazine placed Very at number ninety-one on its list of The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. All songs except Go West written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, not the version featured on PopArt. Neil Tennant Chris Lowe Additional Pete Gleadall – programming J. J, with thanks to Graeme Perkins and Jaqueline Pierce – choir on track 121993 interview with Daniel Weil, designer of the Very package
4.
A-side and B-side
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The terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 78,45, and 33 1/3 rpm phonograph records, whether singles, extended plays, or long-playing records. Creedence Clearwater Revival had hits with both A-side and B-side releases, others took the opposite approach, producer Phil Spector was in the habit of filling B-sides with on-the-spot instrumentals that no one would confuse with the A-side. With this practice, Spector was assured that airplay was focused on the side he wanted to be the hit side, the earliest 10-inch,78 rpm, shellac records were single sided. Double-sided recordings, with one song on side, were introduced in Europe by Columbia Records. There were no record charts until the 1930s, and radio stations did not play recorded music until the 1950s, in this time, A-sides and B-sides existed, but neither side was considered more important, the side did not convey anything about the content of the record. The term single came into use with the advent of vinyl records in the early 1950s. At first, most record labels would randomly assign which song would be an A-side, under this random system, many artists had so-called double-sided hits, where both songs on a record made one of the national sales charts, or would be featured on jukeboxes in public places. As time wore on, however, the convention for assigning songs to sides of the record changed. By the early sixties, the song on the A-side was the song that the company wanted radio stations to play. It was not until 1968, for instance, that the production of albums on a unit basis finally surpassed that of singles in the United Kingdom. In the late 1960s stereo versions of pop and rock songs began to appear on 45s. The majority of the 45s were played on AM radio stations, by the early 1970s, double-sided hits had become rare. Album sales had increased, and B-sides had become the side of the record where non-album, non-radio-friendly, with the advent of cassette and compact disc singles in the late 1980s, the A-side/B-side differentiation became much less meaningful. With the decline of cassette singles in the 1990s, the A-side/B-side dichotomy became virtually extinct, as the dominant medium. However, the term B-side is still used to refer to the tracks or coupling tracks on a CD single. With the advent of downloading music via the Internet, sales of CD singles and other media have declined. B-side songs may be released on the record as a single to provide extra value for money. There are several types of material released in this way, including a different version, or, in a concept record
5.
If Love Were All
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If Love Were All is a song by Noël Coward, published in 1929 and written for the operetta Bitter Sweet. The song is considered autobiographical, and has described as self-deprecating as well as one of the loneliest pop songs ever written. Ivy St. Helier performed the song in the 1933 film version of Bitter Sweet, in June 2009, an Off-Broadway play of the same name about Cowards relationship with Gertrude Lawrence premiered at Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City. If Love Were All has been described as self-deprecating as well as one of the loneliest pop songs ever written, rod McKuen considers the song to be among the truly great songs about entertaining from the entertainment point of view. And also on Sarah Brightmans The Songs That Got Away, in the latter part of her life, Garland often included If Love Were All in her concert and television repertoire. Maria Friedman Alma Cogan Elaine Stritch Cultural impact of Noël Coward List of 1920s jazz standards
6.
Yesterday, When I Was Mad
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Yesterday, When I Was Mad is a single by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys released as the fifth and last single from their 1993 album Very. The single peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, the song was remixed by Jam & Spoon for its single release, among other things removing a compression effect applied to Tennants voice during the verses. The B-sides included a cover of the Noël Coward song If Love Were All, Tennant has said that many of the lines in the song, such as And someone said, Its fabulous youre still around today—youve both made such a little go a very long way. Euroboy, a track written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe in the Eurodance mould of such bands as Cappella and Livin Joy, was released as one of the B-sides on Yesterday. It later appeared on the US release of the album Disco 2, the B-side collection Alternative, the track includes Chris Lowe in one of his rare lead-vocals performances, singing through a vocoder. The Boys claimed to have been unaware at the time of release that Euroboy was also the name of a gay pornographic magazine. It was occasionally performed live on the Asian leg of the bands 1994 Discovery tour, Yesterday, When I Was Mad If Love Were All Can You Forgive Her
7.
CD single
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This article is about the 12cm single. Not to be confused with 8cm single, the standard in the Red Book for the term CD single. A CD single is a single in the form of a standard size compact disc. It is not to be confused with the Mini CD single, the format was introduced in the mid-1980s but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s. With the rise in digital downloads in the early 2010s, sales of CD singles have decreased, commercially released CD singles can vary in length from two songs up to six songs like an EP. Some contain multiple mixes of one or more songs, in the tradition of 12 vinyl singles, depending on the nation, there may be limits on the number of songs and total length for sales to count in singles charts. Containing four tracks, it had a limited print run. CD singles were first made eligible for the UK Singles Chart in 1987, the Mini CD single format was originally created for use for singles in the late 1980s, but met with limited success, particularly in the US. The smaller CDs were more successful in Japan and have become more common in Europe. By 1989, the CD3 was in decline in the US and it was common in the 1990s for US record companies to release both a two-track CD and a multi-track maxi CD. In the UK, record companies would also release two CDs but, usually, these consisted of three tracks or more each. Pressure from record labels made singles charts in some countries become song charts, allowing album cuts to chart based only on airplay, without a single ever being released. At the end of the 1990s, the CD was the single format in the UK, but in the US. In Australia, the Herald Sun reported the CD single is set to become extinct, while CD singles no longer maintain their own section of the store, copies are still distributed but placed with the artists albums. That is predominantly the case for popular Australian artists such as Jessica Mauboy, Kylie Minogue and, most recently, Delta Goodrem, the ARIA Singles Chart are now predominantly compiled from legal downloads, and ARIA also stopped compiling their physical singles sales chart. On a Mission by Gabriella Cilmi was the last CD single to be stocked in Kmart, Target and Big W, sanity Entertainment, having resisted the decline for longer than the other major outlets, has also ceased selling CD singles. In Greece and Cyprus, the term CD single is used to describe a play in which there may be anywhere from three to six different tracks. These releases charted on the Greek Singles Chart with songs released as singles, in September 2003, there was talk of ringtones for mobile phones outstripping CD singles sales for the year 2004
8.
12-inch single
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The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time compared to typical LPs. This allows for levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range. This record type is used in disco and dance music genres. They are played at either 33 1⁄3 or 45 rpm, 12-inch singles typically have much shorter playing time than full-length LPs, thus require fewer grooves per inch. This extra space permits a broader dynamic range or louder recording level as the grooves excursions can be greater in amplitude. Many record companies began producing 12-inch singles at 33 1⁄3 rpm, although 45 rpm gives better treble response and was used on many 12-inch singles, the gramophone records cut especially for dance-floor DJs came into existence with the advent of recorded Jamaican mento music in the 1950s. With the 1967 Jamaican invention of remix, called dub on the island, those specials became valuable items sold to allied sound system DJs, who could draw crowds with their exclusive hits. The popularity of sound engineer King Tubby, who singlehandedly invented and perfected dub remixes from as early as 1967. By then 10-inch records were used to cut those dubs, by 1971, most reggae singles issued in Jamaica included on their B-side a dub remix of the A-side, many of them first tested as exclusive dub plates on dances. Those dubs basically included drum and bass-oriented remixes used by sound system selecters, the 10-inch acetate specials would remain popular until at least the 2000s in Jamaica. Most likely, the use of exclusive dub acetates in Jamaica also led American DJs to do the same. In the United States, the 12-inch single gramophone record came into popularity with the advent of music in the 1970s after earlier market experiments. In early 1970, Cycle/Ampex Records test-marketed a 12-inch single by Buddy Fite, the experiment aimed to energize the struggling singles market, offering a new option for consumers who had stopped buying traditional singles. The record was pressed at 33 rpm, with run times to the 7-inch 45-rpm pressing of the single. Several hundred copies were available for sale for 98 cents each at two Tower Records stores. Another early 12-inch single was released in 1973 by soul/R&B musician/songwriter/producer Jerry Williams, 12-inch promotional copies of Straight From My Heart were released on his own Swamp Dogg Presents label, with distribution by Jamie/Guyden Distribution Corporation. It was manufactured by Jamie Record Co. of Philadelphia, PA, the B-side of the record is blank. The first 12-inch single made specifically for DJs was actually a 10-inch acetate used by a mix engineer in need of a Friday-night test copy for famed disco mixer Tom Moulton, the song was Ill be holding on by Al Downing
9.
Cassette single
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A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette. Bow Wow Wows C·30 C·60 C·90 Go was the first cassette single released in the U. K. in 1980, records released the first cassette single in the U. S. with the Go-Gos Vacation in 1982. The ZTT label made good use of the format by 1984, with singles by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Art of Noise, the format was used as a promotion in the 1990s, with Disney giving a cassingle to attendees of Hercules promotional events. Originally, most cassette singles were released in a sleeve that slipped over the outside of the release. This was then usually shrink wrapped in plastic, some singles contained one song on each side, much as 45s had done, but others repeated the songs on both sides. In some markets, cassette singles generally used the packaging as standard cassettes. As the cassette maxi-single was released, more intricate packaging was incorporated that looked similar to the packaging of a cassette release. These were placed in regular plastic cassette cases with a paper/cardstock insert, unlike a full-length cassette album, these were generally only one two-sided inlay instead of a fold-out. Maxi-singles usually contained four versions of a song, i. e. unique mixes & edits. In the U. S. cassette singles were completely phased out by the early 2000s, one reason for their lesser popularity was because they appeared to be an inefficient use of the media to consumers - a cassette single took up the same storage space as a full album
