News

The Belle Stars’ 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’t see release until long after the group had broken up.  Now, Edsel has reassembled the all-girl band’s audio discography in a new 3CD, 7-inch-sized box simply titled The Belle Stars – essentially a generously expanded edition of their same-titled debut LP.

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.  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.  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 “Hiawatha” and “Slick Trick.”  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’s end.  Clare Hirst replaced her on keyboards and also played tenor saxophone.

After the Pete Wingfield-produced, Roger Bechirian-mixed “Another Latin Love Song” likewise failed to burn up the charts, The Belle Stars turned to cover versions.  Despite stiff (no pun intended) competition from Scottish pop singer Natasha England, the Stars’ rendition of The Dixie Cups’ “Iko Iko” gave them their top forty debut.  Soon after, they hit the top twenty with a revival of “The Clapping Song” (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 “Mockingbird” (also memorably recorded by Carly Simon and James Taylor).  Their LP also includes covers of The Marvelettes’ “Needle in a Haystack,” Oscar Brown, Jr.’s “The Snake” (a hit for Al Wilson), and Bob & Earl’s “Harlem Shuffle.”

But it was the group’s self-written “Sign of the Times,” produced by Peter Collins, that gave them a long-hoped-for breakthrough.  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.  The dance remix peaked at No. 43 on the U.S. Dance chart.  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.  The group had already broken up when they scored their first U.S. smash.  That was “Iko Iko,” which had been featured in the Tom Cruise/Dustin Hoffman drama Rain Man and climbed to No. 14 on the Hot 100.

Edsel’s 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 “Iko Iko” which coincided with the song’s Rain Man renaissance.  (The Belle Stars’ final Stiff single, “World Domination” b/w “Just a Minute,” is absent.)  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.  (Alas, by the time of those recording sessions, the group was down to just three members: Sarah-Jane Owen, Lesley Shone, and Miranda Joyce.  This track listing mirrors that of the out-of-print 2019 set Turn Back the Clock, minus that collection’s DVD of seven music videos.

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.  This tribute to the band best known for “Sign of the Times” and “Iko Iko” is available now from Edsel at the links below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

The Belle Stars, The Belle Stars (Edsel EDSL0284, 2026) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

The Belle Stars (Stiff SEEZ 45, 1983)

1. Sign of the Times
2. Ci Ya Ya
3. The Clapping Song
4. Indian Summer
5. Harlem Shuffle
6. The Reason
7. Iko Iko
8. Baby I’m Yours
9. Mockingbird
10. The Snake
11. Burning
12. Needle in a Haystack

Non-Album Singles & B-sides (all originally released on Stiff Records)

13. Hiawatha (BUY 117A)
14. Big Blonde (BUY 117B)
15. Slick Trick (BUY 123A)
16. Take Another Look (BUY 123B)
17. Another Latin Love Song (BUY 130A1)
18. Miss World (BUY 130 A2)
19. Stop Now (BUY 130B1)
20. Having a Good Time (BUY 130B2)
21. Blame (BUY 155B)
22. Turn Back the Clock (BUY 159B)
23. Madness (BUY 167B)
24. Sweet Memory (BUY 174A)
25. April Fool (BUY 174B)

CD 2

Non-Album Singles & B-sides (continued) (all originally released on Stiff Records unless otherwise indicated)

1. Sun Sun Sun (BUY 185B)
2. The Entertainer (BUY 187A)
3. The Spider (BUY 187B)
4. ‘80s Romance (BUY 200A)
5. It’s Me (BUY 200B)

The 12” Singles

6. Slick Trick (Extended 12” Mix) (S-BUY 123A)
7. Iko Iko (12” Mix) (Capitol V-15475)
8. The Clapping Song (Extended 12” Mix) (S-BUY 155A)
9. Mockingbird (Extended 12” Mix) (BUY-IT 159A)
10. Sign of the Times (Extended 12” Mix) (BUY-IT 167A)
11. Sweet Memory (Extended 12” Mix) (BUY-IT 174A)
12. Indian Summer (Extended 12” Mix) (S-BUY 185A)
13. Sun Sun Sun (Extended 12” Mix) (S-BUY 185B)
14. The Entertainer (Extended 12” Version) (S-BUY 187A)
15. ‘80s Romance (Extended 12” Version) (S-BUY 200A)
16. Iko Iko (Bonus Beats) (Capitol V-15475)

CD 3

Live Signs, Live Times: Birmingham Odeon, 29 April 1983

1. Sweet Memory
2. That’s Life
3. The Snake
4. Mockingbird
5. Sun Sun Sun
6. Blame
7. April Fool
8. The Entertainer
9. Sign of the Times
10. Baby I’m Yours
11. Madness
12. Slick Trick
13. Crime of Passion
14. Ci Ya Ya
15. Indian Summer
16. The Reason
17. Burning
18. The Clapping Song

Bonus Tracks

19. Crime of Passion
20. Is This the Night
21. Cool Disguise

Tracks 1-21 from Turn Back the Clock, Edsel EDSL0047, 2019