Record of the week – She's the one and Sheena

This is a nice one. The german issue of She's the one from the Road to ruin-album came in a great picture sleeve. Sire/Ariola was re-releasing the first three albums under the parole "The highest energy in rock!" in Germany at the time and the single was backed up with the studio-version of Sheena is a punk rocker.
The sleeve is made of thin paper, it's quite difficult to find a copies without seam split. That goes for all german singles from the 70's and the 80's.

Title: She's the one/Sheena is a punk rocker

Number: Sire/Ariola 100 394-100

Year: 1978

Country: Germany

Fake singles part three – Italian Baby I love you

This is a tricky one. In 1980 RCA in Italy released a split single with Ramones Baby I love you on one side (Sire rec) and the Italian band Decibel with the song Contessa on the other (Spaghetti rec). The disc was made for jukeboxes. So far so good. But after some years the single turned up with a picture sleeve, or rather a picture sheet.
The sleeve was marketed as a "radio promo" from SPER Radio Network.
It's is most likely that this is a fake – as well as a number of other singles with similar Circuito SPER sleeves. This is why most collectors think so:
* The sleeve sheet looks homemade. Amateurish and clipped together with random pictures and logos.
* Even if the discs are worn and scratched the covers are in near mint condition. They do not appear to be related to the records.
According to a well-known collector, there is no doubt that the single is false: "Stay away from it - famous fake sleeve!" He told me.
A seller from Italy has a different opinion: "The ps for Baby I love was pressed by the italian juke box 7" company for SPER Radio Network, I do not know how to consider it, we can call it a semi-official release! But many counterfeit copies of this ps exists".
Maybe someone from Italy knows more about the mysterious SPER Network. Until that I consider this as an official release – with a fake sleeve.

Other SPER-singles with the same "Disco successo"-mark.

The "real" italian Baby I love you jukebox single. 

Great collection sold on Ebay!

I guess most of you out there have noticed that a big Ramones-collection with 200+ singles was out on on Ebay last week. It ended today, sunday, and went for GBP 2 219. If you read this and are the winner, congratulations! And if you are going to sell any of the records please let me know.
ramonesonvinyl@gmail.com 

Record of the week – too ugly for the Ramones?

When Liberation Records would release the single Pet Sematary in Australia it did not go very well. Someone from the U.S. reacted on the design of the cover and it got withdrawn.
Somehow I can understand the reaction...
According to a printer who worked at the plant at the time the sleeves ended up in the trash.
Instead the single was sold in a CBS company bag.
But some of the original sleeves survived. Here it is – the sleeve that was too ugly for the Ramones.

UPDATE: I havn't noticed it before but the fact that the writing credits on the back of the sleeve are wrong must have been a big reason why this sleeve got withdrawn. Dee Dee wrote Pet Sematary and Charles Barris wrote Palisades Park...

Title: Pet Sematary/Palisades Park

Number: Liberation Records 102100 7

Year: 1989

Country: Australia

This is how the single was sold, in a company sleeve. I have also 

seen the single in a blue version of this sleeve.

The great Swallow my pride

Swallow my pride is one of my favorite tracks from Leave Home and one of the best slow songs the Ramones ever released, if you ask me. Joey wrote the song after the commercial failure of the first album. In Mickey Leights book I sleept with Joey Ramone Joey tells the story behind the song:
"I wrote a song called 'Swallow my pride'. It was about signing with Sire. Tommy always used the expression 'You gotta swallow your pride', and we did when we signed to Sire".
It was released as a single in july 1977. The US version has a great picture sleeve, the UK issue has an ok picture sleeve, the rest came in company sleeves.
Here they are:

Title:Swallow my pride/Pinhead

Number: Sire SA-738

Year: 1977

Country: US

Title:Swallow my pride (stereo)/Swallow my pride (mono)

Number: Sire SA-738

Year: 1977

Country: US

Note: Has the same PS as the stock version.

Title: Swallow my pride //Pinhead/Let's dance (live)

Number: Philips 6078 607

Year: 1977

Country: Ireland

Note: Sold in a irish version of the Phonogram company sleeve.

Some copies have a big centre hole.

Title:Swallow my pride//Pinhead/Let's dance (live)

Number: Sire 6078 607

Year: 1977

Country: UK

Title: Swallow my pride //Pinhead

Number: Philips 6078 512

Year: 1977

Country: Australia

Note: Sold in a australian version of the Phonogram company sleeve.

Ramones - and a safety pin

Here's an exeption from the "only about vinyl"-rule on this blog. Mr Smith sent me pictures of this badge that was sold on Ramones concerts somewhere between 1977 and 1980. Anyone who knows more?

Record of the week – only in France

Here is another example that shows how the record company in France went their own way. In 1977 Philips released You're gonna kill that girl as a single from Leave Home. Some say that is was only out as a jukebox promo, but there is no signs of that on the label. I have seen the record in this turquoise company sleeve and in a red one.

Title:You're gonna kill that girl/Gimme Gimme shock treatment

Number: Philips 6837 381

Year: 1977

Country: France

The "Time Square"-single

Ramones appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Time Square from 1980 with I wanna be sedated. The track was released by RSO records as a single in the UK, USA, Spain and the Philippines. The US versions are pressed on styrene plastic, not vinyl. Watch out for copies with cracks! All stock versions have The return of Jackie & Judie on the flip. Here are the different versions:

UK:

Title: I wanna be sedated//The return of Jackie and Judie 

Number: RSO 70

Year: 1980

Country: UK

United States:

Title: I wanna be sedated//The return of Jackie and Judie 

Number: RSO 1055

Year: 1980

Country: UK

Note: !st press, released in RSO company sleeve

Title: I wanna be sedated//I wanna be sedated

Number: RSO 1055 DJ

Year: 1980

Country: US

Note: !st press, DJ copy with stereo/mono versions, released in RSO company sleeve.

Title: I wanna be sedated//I wanna be sedated

Number: RSO 1055

Year: 1980

Country: US

Note: !st press, white label promo with stereo/mono versions, released in RSO company sleeve.

Title: I wanna be sedated//I wanna be sedated

Number: RSO 1055

Year: 1980

Country: US

Note: 2nd press, released in RSO company sleeve.

Title: I wanna be sedated//I wanna be sedated/ 

Number: RSO 1055

Year: 1980

Country: US

Note: 3rd press, released in RSO company sleeve or in a plain white?

Spain:

Title: I wanna be sedated//The return of Jackie and Judie 

Number: RSO 20 90 512

Year: 1980

Country: Spain

Philippines:

Title: I wanna be sedated//The return of Jackie and Judie 

Number: RSO 873-096

Year: 1980

Country: Philippines

Note: Promo

Title: I wanna be sedated//The return of Jackie and Judie 

Number: RSO 873-096

Year: 1980

Country: Philippines

It would be great if anyone have information about if the Philippines singles. Did they come in a company sleeve or not?

Ramones – the thai releases

Some the most obscure Ramones-singles are the thai releases on Express songs. There are four of them and each one contains "stolen" releases from different labels and with different artists, four tracks on each 45. These very rare and sought after records are not official releases. Still they are not bootlegs, they should rather be seen as counterfeit or pirate records.

There are two reasons why big labels did not find it worth it to release records in Thailand in the 70's, according to the site sex-pistols.net:  

1. Foreign record companies could not stock their own products on site due to the weather damage.
2. Foreign record companies did not want to deal with local Thai companies. It was purely a question of business, there was not enough money to be made. In the 70’s & 80’s no one in Thailand could afford to buy an official Sex Pistols single, retailing around £1. However, Thai record manufacturers could provide low price counterfeit records for local fans. The EP format was a good way to provide cheap compilations with 4 different artists each time.

There are very little information to be found about the thai manufacture, Express Songs. Even the year of release is up for discussion, but it is likely that the first two EP's was released in 1977 and the last two in 1978. Sometime after the first two records with Ramones tracks Express Songs changed the label design.

Around 2005 someone in Sweden did a bootleg of the EP with the God Save the Queen-sleeve. The original thai version have a serrated crown that the bootleg don't have. There are also later pressings of the bootleg on colored vinyl. 

The most rare of the four thai records is the the God Save the Queen single. The reason is that it contains songs from both the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, two of the most collectible band from the punk era. 

I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend 

Other tracks: The Glitter Band – People Like You and People Like Me, Blondie – X Offender, Inner Circle – Reggae Thing.

Number: Express Songs EXP-260

Year: 1977 (?)

California Sun / I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You

Other tracks: Blondie – In The Sun, Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots - Disco Duck (Parts 1 & 2)

Number: Express Songs EXP-264

Year: 1977 (?)

Sheena Is A Punk Rocker 

Other tracks:  Bryan Ferry – Tokyo Joe, Boz Scaggs – Lido Shuffle, Sex Pistols – God Save The Queen

Number: Express Songs EXP-0330

Year: 1978 (?)

Swallow My Pride 

Other tracks: Leif Garrett – Surfin' USA, Ram Jam – Black Betty, Stranglers – Something Better Change.

Express Songs EXP-0352

Year: 1978 (?)

Thanks to Oliver Breit for help with scans.