Last week i paid a visit to the second-hand store again where i had bought that David Bowie single from the Dutch Top 40 archive earlier. Decided to have a closer look at the other singles from that source that they had standing there, and i really found some cool things in there this time around. I recon you can look at those singles in two ways: either you look at them as unique pieces with some historical value (being from the archive of the official Dutch Top 40 Foundation, from a time when there was only one official radio station in Holland), or consider them as mutilated releases with a stamp and a sticker on the centre label, and no original sleeve anymore. I'm still not really sure what to think of them, but at least for me personally it feels a bit special since i am aware that i might have heard this very vinyl being played on the airwaves at the time. On the other hand i really do regret that they don't have picture sleeves anymore. Especially in the case of this single by THE SMITHS. Either way, i buy them for the songs. I wasn't even aware when i picked this out of the crate that it would be a rather rare release.
When the single William, It Was Really Nothing was released in the UK it had besides the song featured on the B-side of this 7" (Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want - which was the B-side for the UK 7" as well) also the song HOW SOON IS NOW on the B-side of the 3-track 12". And when it was time to release the 7" single in Holland and How Soon Is Now had become a popular tune in the alternative clubs in the meantime, Megadisc decided that that song would actually be a much better choice to release as A-side. So they kept the same catalogue number RT166 and William was completely dropped, in favour of How Soon. And instead of the green sleeve that the (first pressing of the) UK single had, the colour was lilac for this one. Following the success of this song in Holland, How Soon was then also released as single first in America and later, the following year, also in the UK (as RT176 with Well I Wonder as B-side).
From what i've read, there were two versions made of this Dutch edition: one on Megadisc and one on Rough Trade which said "Made in EEC". The last one being the most rare, apparently. And that's exactly the one that i dug up. So in this case it would've been better i guess when this was a regular copy with the original sleeve. On the other hand, all the singles from this archive are in such good condition (NM+ at least) that as for the audio i probably would never have found one in such condition.
Label: Rough Trade
Cat.nr.: RT166
Year of release: 1984
SIDE A:
01. How Soon Is Now
SIDE B:
01. Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
