Culture Club Collect - 12" Mixes Plus/Remix Collection

Culture Club Collect – 12" Mixes Plus is the name of a remix collection, first released in 1991, compiling 14 among remixed tracks by British band Culture Club, the original versions of which were recorded for their first four albums (1982-1986) «plus» a couple of their stand-out tracks, some B-sides as well as the legendary «P. W. Botha 12" Remix» of lead singer Boy George’s solo British and European Number One "Everything I Own" (and that’s what the «plus» in the title of the compilation actually refers to). Many tracks in fact remix and extend the edit versions of the songs from the various original albums. The «Dub Version» of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", and at present only included here is really a recovered treasure: a bass-heavy reworking of a remarkable song, made even more exciting by an unexpected and impressive toast by Jamaican dub wizard Pappa Weasel (quite ungrateful at the time, since he claimed he hadn’t been fairly paid for his vocals, but he only did after the huge success of the track, since before that he was openly ashamed of his association with gender-bending singer). The simple version of "Love Is Love" (from the "Electric Dreams" soundtrack), and the other B-sides are equally delightful: the percussive duet Helen Terry/Boy George on "Man Shake", and the band’s second album title-track, "Colour by Numbers", all of them quite rare at the time of their first release, but now largely available as bonus tracks on the remastered CD versions of the first three albums. Which makes the real rarity here, worth the whole pack, the only one B-side (and also, again, title-track) from the fourth studio album, "From Luxury to Heartache", never again on any CD, either before or after this release. The version here included is the edit one, which was on the "God Thank You Woman" single, whereas the extended version of this mega-rare title-track was only available as extra B-side to the maxi single of the same track.

Quite interestingly, Culture Club Collect – 12" Mixes Plus, for the very first time released in 1991 by Virgin for the «VIP Series», and distributed by small label Pickwick, first re-released in 1994, unaltered with its 14 tracks and cover (as again in 1997, but with a slightly increased Catalogue # - see Release Details below), and once more recently, in 2006, for the very third time, this time round directly by EMI for the «Gold Series», still unaltered as for the tracklisting, but with a brand new cover, and simply re-titled Culture Club Remix Collection, had already been kind of re-released (actually, remodeled) by another label, namely Caroline, in 1997 (same year as second re-release of the former) with a change of title. This 1997 edition appeared as 12" Collection Plus, and with 15 tracks, was especially different in its last tracks, omitting "Time" and "Black Money", including a comparative rarity (the rubbery, echoey version of the 1983 B-side "Mystery Boy", also a CD bonus track by now), and first presenting two extra ultra-rarities. These are the above mentioned "From Luxury To Heartache" (Extended Mix), containing within itself the edit version, which is why the latter is omitted, and "Gusto Blusto" (Rock Mix), another track from the 1986 album, in a special version which cannot be found anywhere else. One more curiosity about the 1986 "From Luxury To Heartache" title-track: it is the one and only song on this compilation (and in Boy George & Culture Club’s whole discography) which was produced by Tony Swain, half of the Jolley & Swain producing duo, who, in the beginning of the Eighties, worked and created the sound for many dance-oriented acts, such as Imagination, Bananarama and Alison Moyet, before being 'substituted' by more up-to-date Europop producing trio Stock, Aitken & Waterman.

Here below you will find a brief description for each of the 14 songs originally released in the 1991 (1994 and 1997 too) compilation titled Culture Club Collect – 12" Mixes Plus (re-released, as was already mentioned above, in 2006, as Culture Club Remix Collection). These comments were printed in the essential two-page booklet which the VIP Series by Virgin included in-between the cover and the back cover (the sleeve design was by Acos Kaikitis for P.D.S.), also crediting composers and producers (and obviously the publishers).

"Move Away": The extended mix of their 'comeback' single which reached No. 7 in the Spring of 1986.
"It’s A Miracle/Miss Me Blind": Glorious remix segueing two of the best songs from Colour by Numbers.
"God Thank You Woman": The band’s last single, issued in unhappy times (May ’86) but on reflection a great record, which the remix enhanced even more.
"I’ll Tumble 4 Ya": The band’s third American Top 10 hit, this remix appeared on the B-side of "Karma Chameleon" 12" in the UK.
"Love Is Cold": B-side of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me".
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me": The 12" Dub Version with a ‘crucial’ bit of rapping!
"Everything I Own": Boy George’s first solo single – took just two weeks to hit No. 1. Great 12" version.
"Colour by Numbers": Title of the band’s most successful album but never featured on there! Became B-side of the Top 3 hit "Victims".
"From Luxury To Heartache": Similarly, titled after their (fourth) album but not included in the tracklisting – became B-side of "God Thank You Woman".
"Time": The glorious Orchestral Remix which turned up on the 12" single. Purely instrumental and quite wonderful.
"Black Money": Was first featured on Colour by Numbers album – then on This Time hits set as a forthcoming (belated!) single. However, release was pulled at last minute. Would have been a big hit.
"Love Is Love": From the "Electric Dreams" soundtrack and a smash hit single in Japan.
"Man Shake": Superb track heavily featuring the soaring vocals of Helen Terry. B-side of "Church of the Poison Mind".
"The War Song": Heavily percussive 12" remix accentuating the chant feel of this Top 3 smash.

1 Tracklisting
2 Musicians/Personnel/Staff/Production
3 Release details
4 Trivia
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Tracklisting

"Move Away" (12" Mix) – 7:28 (Culture Club, Pickett)
"It's A Miracle/Miss Me Blind" (US 12" Mix) – 9:10 (Culture Club, Pickett)
"God Thank You Woman" (Extended Version) – 7:04 (Culture Club, Pickett)
"I'll Tumble 4 Ya (US 12" Remix)" – 4:38 (Culture Club)
"Love Is Cold (You Were Never No Good)" – 4:22 (Culture Club)
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (Dub Version, featuring Pappa Weasel) – 3:38 (Culture Club)
"Everything I Own" (Extended P.W. Botha Mix) – 7:13 (Gates)
"Colour by Numbers" – 3:57 (Culture Club)
"From Luxury to Heartache" – 4:23 (Culture Club, Pickett)
"Time (Clock of the Heart)" (Instrumental Mix) – 3:46 (Culture Club)
"Black Money" – 5:19 (Culture Club)
"Love Is Love" – 3:51 (O’Dowd, Hay)
"Man Shake" – 2:35 (Culture Club)
"The War Song" (Ultimate Dance Mix) – 6:18 (Culture Club)

[edit] Musicians/Personnel/Staff/Production

Boy George - male vocals
Mikey Craig - bass
Roy Hay - guitar, piano, keyboards, sitar, electric sitar
Jon Moss - percussion, drums; mix on track 8
Helen Terry - female vocals

Arif Mardin, Lew Hahn: production on tracks 1, 3
Stewart «Steve» Levine: production on tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; mix on track 8
Tony Swain: production on track 9
Richard Lengyer: engineer on track 5
Gordon Milne: assistant engineer on track 6
Glen Skinner: engineer on track 7

Acos Kaikitis for P.D.S.: sleeve design
see for other details Culture Club’s first four albums credits: Kissing to Be Clever, Colour by Numbers, Waking Up with the House on Fire and From Luxury to Heartache.

[edit] Release details

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
France	1991	Virgin/VIP-Pickwick	CD	VVIPD 114
UK, Argentina	1997			VVIPD 116

The release details only refer to the very first release of the compilation in 1991 (the second, that is the first re-release, in 1994, remaining unaltered), and to the third release (second re-release) in 1997, when the Catalogue Number underwent a small change. No details are instead given of subsequent releases, which happened with considerable formal changes in the code and in the title (Culture Club Remix Collection), though the 14 tracks were kept the same and in the same order as previously. Anyway, go to External Links below to also watch the cover art, read reviews and other product details of the latter.

[edit] Trivia

A real hot curiosity concerns the original cover of the 1991 edition, and following versions sharing the same front image (latest one, with same sleeve, in 1997, with a slightly higher Catalogue Number, that is VVIPD 116), of the compilation called Culture Club Collect – 12" Mixes Plus only - not other versions, as, for example, Culture Club Remix Collection, with updated title and a brand new cover, or the Caroline label alternative release with 15 tracks. On that very first sleeve picture, featuring the same promotion photograph of the band, taken in 1986, during recording sessions of fourth album From Luxury to Heartache, George and former lover Jon Moss are standing in the middle, close to each other, Jon being slightly more in the front than George (and also than the two other members of the band, Roy and Mikey, respectively on the left and on the right of the people observing the photo), even though it seems that the pictures of each of the four guys were taken separately, because it was becoming very difficult to catch all four of them together in the same place at the same time (the band would split up soon in the middle of a live tour, shortly after the release of the third single, which did not even get any promo videoclip). If you look close enough, carefully and with sufficient interest, you will have no trouble discovering that the two central characters, falling apart as a couple in reality, though together in the image only due to perspective magic and the photographer's ability and stubbornness to realize a decent picture, Jon and George are there ultimately still united, if not at least by a graphical trick, that is the word «sex» crossing their bodies, and being perfectly readable in reverse, from right to left (if we also consider the plain «i» after «sex», we shall have the phonetic rendition of the adjective, correctly written as «sexy», though exactly pronounced that way as /sexi/). That word sequence «sex/i» is in fact the end of the word «Mixes» as in «12" Mixes Plus». By the way, the number «12"» falls on Roy's stomach, whereas the adverb and mathematical symbol «Plus» happens to find itself lying most on Mikey Craig, ironically the least known of the members from the band. Also the sex-in-reverse allusion must have been ironic enough at the time, since Jon really did all that he could do to do hide his relationship with Boy George, who desperately tried to be loved by him instead^[1], which might lead us to think that O'Dowd himself was the string puller of the strange graphic coincidence - which is actually a double coincidence, since not only the word «sex» is readable in reverse, but also the fact that reading itself has to be performed «in reverse» ultimately brings those people who catch the hidden trick not to separate the two items, but to jointly interpret the issue as a matter of «sex in reverse».

Go to link to see original cover and suggested reverse reading