{"id":763721,"date":"2026-07-15T04:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T04:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/763721\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T04:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T04:43:09","slug":"80s-romance-edsel-reissues-the-belle-stars-with-singles-remixes-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/763721\/","title":{"rendered":"’80s Romance: Edsel Reissues “The Belle Stars” With Singles, Remixes, More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\"The<\/a>BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM<\/p>\n

The Belle Stars\u2019 catalogue is a relatively tiny one, consisting of just one complete studio album, a handful of non-LP singles, and a live album that didn\u2019t see release until long after the group had broken up.\u00a0 Now, Edsel has reassembled the all-girl band\u2019s audio discography in a new 3CD, 7-inch-sized box simply titled The Belle Stars \u2013 essentially a generously expanded edition of their same-titled debut LP.<\/p>\n

The Belle Stars were born out of the ashes of two-tone\/ska revival band The Bodysnatchers when five of its seven members decided to press forward with a new style.\u00a0 Guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, alto saxophonist Miranda Joyce, keyboardist Penny Leyton, and drummer Judy Parsons joined forces with bassist Lesley Shone and lead singer Jennie Matthias to become The Belle Stars.\u00a0 Stiff Records took notice and signed the band in early 1981, pairing top producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley with them for such early singles as \u201cHiawatha\u201d and \u201cSlick Trick.\u201d\u00a0 Despite a sound with appeal to both the pop and ska audiences, the 45s failed to chart, and Penny Leyton left the lineup at the year\u2019s end.\u00a0 Clare Hirst replaced her on keyboards and also played tenor saxophone.<\/p>\n

After the Pete Wingfield-produced, Roger Bechirian-mixed \u201cAnother Latin Love Song\u201d likewise failed to burn up the charts, The Belle Stars turned to cover versions.\u00a0 Despite stiff (no pun intended) competition from Scottish pop singer Natasha England, the Stars\u2019 rendition of The Dixie Cups\u2019 \u201cIko Iko\u201d gave them their top forty debut.\u00a0 Soon after, they hit the top twenty with a revival of \u201cThe Clapping Song\u201d (a 1965 hit on both sides of the Atlantic for Shirley Ellis) and went on to record a rendition of the Inez and Charlie Foxx oldie \u201cMockingbird\u201d (also memorably recorded by Carly Simon and James Taylor).\u00a0 Their LP also includes covers of The Velvelettes\u2019 \u201cNeedle in a Haystack,\u201d Oscar Brown, Jr.\u2019s \u201cThe Snake\u201d (a hit for Al Wilson), and Bob & Earl\u2019s \u201cHarlem Shuffle.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was the group\u2019s self-written \u201cSign of the Times,\u201d produced by Peter Collins, that gave them a long-hoped-for breakthrough.\u00a0 It made it all the way to No. 3 on the U.K. Singles Chart and entered the U.S. Hot 100, as well, reaching No. 75, along with top ten placements in Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.\u00a0 The dance remix peaked at No. 43 on the U.S. Dance chart.\u00a0 All told, The Belle Stars notched seven top 75 entries on the U.K. Singles Chart, with a further two songs peaking lower, while their lone self-titled studio album was a top 20 success.\u00a0 The group had already broken up when they scored their first U.S. smash.\u00a0 That was \u201cIko Iko,\u201d which had been featured in the Tom Cruise\/Dustin Hoffman drama Rain Man and climbed to No. 14 on the Hot 100.<\/p>\n

Edsel\u2019s new release collects the original studio LP mastered by Phil Kinrade plus eighteen non-LP sides and all nine 12-inch remixes as well as two remixes of \u201cIko Iko\u201d which coincided with the song\u2019s Rain Man renaissance.\u00a0 (The Belle Stars\u2019 final Stiff single, \u201cWorld Domination\u201d b\/w \u201cJust a Minute,\u201d is absent.)\u00a0 In addition, it boasts Live Signs, Live Times, a concert from the Birmingham Odeon recorded on April 29, 1983, and three songs produced by Anne Dudley for an abortive second album.\u00a0 (Alas, by the time of those recording sessions, the group was down to just three members: Sarah-Jane Owen, Lesley Shone, and Miranda Joyce.\u00a0 This track listing mirrors that of the out-of-print 2019 set Turn Back the Clock, minus that collection\u2019s DVD of seven music videos.<\/p>\n

The Belle Stars is packaged in seven-inch format, with its three CDs in slots, and a ten-page booklet with photos and credits as well as a brief note.\u00a0 This tribute to the band best known for \u201cSign of the Times\u201d and \u201cIko Iko\u201d is available now from Edsel at the links below.\u00a0 As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.<\/p>\n

The Belle Stars, The Belle Stars (Edsel EDSL0284, 2026) (Amazon U.S.<\/a> \/ Amazon U.K.<\/a> \/ Amazon Canada<\/a>)<\/p>\n

CD 1<\/p>\n

The Belle Stars (Stiff SEEZ 45, 1983)<\/p>\n

Sign of the Times
\nCi Ya Ya
\nThe Clapping Song
\nIndian Summer
\nHarlem Shuffle
\nThe Reason
\nIko Iko
\nBaby I\u2019m Yours
\nMockingbird
\nThe Snake
\nBurning
\nNeedle in a Haystack<\/p>\n

Non-Album Singles & B-sides (all originally released on Stiff Records)<\/p>\n

Hiawatha (BUY 117A)
\nBig Blonde (BUY 117B)
\nSlick Trick (BUY 123A)
\nTake Another Look (BUY 123B)
\nAnother Latin Love Song (BUY 130A1)
\nMiss World (BUY 130 A2)
\nStop Now (BUY 130B1)
\nHaving a Good Time (BUY 130B2)
\nBlame (BUY 155B)
\nTurn Back the Clock (BUY 159B)
\nMadness (BUY 167B)
\nSweet Memory (BUY 174A)
\nApril Fool (BUY 174B)<\/p>\n

CD 2<\/p>\n

Non-Album Singles & B-sides (continued) (all originally released on Stiff Records unless otherwise indicated)<\/p>\n

Sun Sun Sun (BUY 185B)
\nThe Entertainer (BUY 187A)
\nThe Spider (BUY 187B)
\n\u201880s Romance (BUY 200A)
\nIt\u2019s Me (BUY 200B)<\/p>\n

The 12\u201d Singles<\/p>\n

Slick Trick (Extended 12\u201d Mix) (S-BUY 123A)
\nIko Iko (12\u201d Mix) (Capitol V-15475)
\nThe Clapping Song (Extended 12\u201d Mix) (S-BUY 155A)
\nMockingbird (Extended 12\u201d Mix) (BUY-IT 159A)
\nSign of the Times (Extended 12\u201d Mix) (BUY-IT 167A)
\nSweet Memory (Extended 12\u201d Mix) (BUY-IT 174A)
\nIndian Summer (Extended 12\u201d Mix) (S-BUY 185A)
\nSun Sun Sun (Extended 12\u201d Mix) (S-BUY 185B)
\nThe Entertainer (Extended 12\u201d Version) (S-BUY 187A)
\n\u201880s Romance (Extended 12\u201d Version) (S-BUY 200A)
\nIko Iko (Bonus Beats) (Capitol V-15475)<\/p>\n

CD 3<\/p>\n

Live Signs, Live Times: Birmingham Odeon, 29 April 1983<\/p>\n

Sweet Memory
\nThat\u2019s Life
\nThe Snake
\nMockingbird
\nSun Sun Sun
\nBlame
\nApril Fool
\nThe Entertainer
\nSign of the Times
\nBaby I\u2019m Yours
\nMadness
\nSlick Trick
\nCrime of Passion
\nCi Ya Ya
\nIndian Summer
\nThe Reason
\nBurning
\nThe Clapping Song<\/p>\n

Bonus Tracks<\/p>\n

Crime of Passion
\nIs This the Night
\nCool Disguise<\/p>\n

Tracks 1-21 from Turn Back the Clock, Edsel EDSL0047, 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM The Belle Stars\u2019 catalogue is a relatively tiny one, consisting of just one complete…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216],"class_list":["post-763721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}