The intriguing aspect of this release is where it has been, the stories it could have told ....
This single was originally the property of a business or organisation in BURUNDI, AFRICA which is one of the poorest nations on earth. A lot of tradegy and human suffering has occurred in this area, RWANDA is right 'next door'.
The details of the previous owner are on the quite worn cover and the record label
I cannot find out anything that makes sense about a place called the 'Scutch Club or Scotch Club' (it is a bit difficult to figure out the letters), almost 50 years on and there seems to be no sign of such a place in Burundi (that I could find online) but there is a business of the name 'Scotch Club' in Djibouti but that is 3000Km away!
The Velvet Glove were an English duo but this record was pressed in France and right next to France is Belgium, a country which had colonised Burundi until 1962. I suspect that a person from Belgium bought this record and took it over to Burundi in the mid 1970's - why? no idea!
I would guess however that as Burundi is an extremely poor country, the citizens of Burundi placed vinyl records way down on their 'priority list' so I suspect this was no ordinary 'tourist' who bought the record to Burundi, it was intended to stay at this venue or organisation called the Scotch Club, as shown by the rubber stamp on the front & rear cover and the record label. I would have loved to find out what that club (The Scutch or Scotch) was all about. My thoughts only but I think this was a club in the sense of an organised collection of members, not a 'nite club' The more you think about it, a vinyl record such as this would have been a really Western thing to have around and was probably of no interest to the 'local' population. I am wondering if this club was a meeting place for ex-Pat's or foreign dignitaries/diplomatic staff.
The music is nothing terribly special, certainly not 'nite club' music so it is a real mystery to me why someone would bring this single all the way from Europe across to an impoverished country such as Burundi and then some 25 years later it was considered 'valuable' enough to pack up and bring it here to Australia, ending up here in Canberra, Australia - it has certainly 'seen' a bit of travel!
How do I know it came to Australia? I bought this record at a 'diplomat's residence' personal contents sale in Canberra around the year 2000. I have no idea who that person was or the position they held and for which government.
I love this sort of intrigue, it's not always just about the music but the tale behind the record you hold in hand that can be equally as interesting...you can play the music and then tell a nice long tale about "Do you know that this record has traveled all around the world and once lived in Africa?"
A full description of the record is below but adding to the interest is the fact that even after all that travel, the vinyl does not show signs of a lot of playing AND it has a jukebox (large) centrehole - so I am guessing that this Club in Burundi had a jukebox.
Although I must say, 'Sweet Was My Rose' is a pretty sad, melancholy song. Side B is a lot more 'uplifting', nice rock pop song here.
VELVET GLOVE - Sweet Was My Rose
Philips Records
Cat# 6121 304
1974
French release
Record cover is in good (minus) condition, old cellotape gum can be see. The seams are all secure but I have reapplied tape to the edges in an effort to preserve the cover condition. Note that this pressing using the technique of having the record label pressed directly into the vinyl and then in-filled with the colour required - a permanent label that cannot be removed! Text on the label is both English and French.
SPECIAL NOTE: the centre hole is the large jukebox style, to play this on a 'standard' turntable you will need to use your 45 adapter.
New inner plastic sleeve
Vinyl is in very good condition, visually examined under a bright white halogen light source and I can only see a couple of very light ~ light marks or scratches. I then played the ENTIRE release, both sides, and there are no significant issues with surface noise or click/pops. Considering the travels this vinyl has seen, I don't believe it actually was played very often.
New outer protective sleeve
Tracks: Sweet Was My Rose, Roll Me Down A Little Sunshine
