The Velvet Underground
Singles & EPs
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Lou Reed's singles & EPs with VU tracks
"I'd like to see us have a hit single.
It's really important that you do that.
Our singles so far are a joke."
Sterling Morrison, 1969
All records are 7 inch single unless stated otherwise.
U.S.A. | |
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All Tomorrow's Parties / I'll Be Your Mirror Verve VK-10427, mono, July 1966 Side 1: label: (100,667) | etch: VK10427 100667-1 Two different editions both with same matrix numbers:
According to The MGM Labels | A Discography | Volume 2 | 1961-1982, compiled by Michel Ruppli and Ed Novitsky, (Greenwood Press, 1998, p. 245), the single is registred in NYC on June 16, 1966. Some promo copy with 23rd August 1966 date stamped on label was reported. There is no reason to believe that the stamp was not original, so maybe it gives some clue as to the original release date. Another promo copy was reported with "7-15-66" handwritten on the label. The 45 release is also mentioned in the Mojo Navigator R&R News fanzine Vol. 1, No. 6 issue dated September 18, 1966. This 45 offers mono mixes. All Tomorrow's Parties is edited to 2:45, with a hotter sound. This version was 'reissued' on the 1995 Peel Slowly And See box set. Both single versions were then included in the 2002 The Velvet Underground & Nico | Deluxe Edition, and the 2012 The Velvet Underground & Nico | 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition. Both those releases offer a 'no fade-out' alternate ending of I'll Be Your Mirror (the original 45 version fades out as does the album version). The picture sleeve is known as one of the rarest picture sleeve ever printed and could be considered as the Holy Grail for the Velvet Underground collector. It was reviewed by Andy Davis in Record Collector's Diggin' For Gold section: "the sleeve to All Tomorrow's Parties was never issued commercially, and was only ever intented for promotional purposes. Legend has it that this cover was never packaged with actual vinyl copies; certainly, it has only ever surfaced as a paper artefact and then in only single figure quantities. It's this extreme rarity coupled with the immortal, unlit power of the Velvets, which has conspired to produce a non-vinyl collectable of such magnitude." According to The Velvet Underground Handbook by M.C. Kostek (Black Spring Press, 1992), this 45 peaked at #103 on the Cashbox singles chart. |
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Sunday Morning / Femme Fatale Verve VK-10466, mono, November 1966 Side 1: label: (101,592) | etch: VK10466 101592-1 No picture sleeve. Two different versions both with same matrix numbers.
Second single taken from The Velvet Underground & Nico album – another attempt to marketing which faltered as Verve only issued a few copies of this single. An alternate (unique?) stock copy with black/silver T label was auctioned on eBay in September 2009. This edition has differences in lettering and misses the -1 in matrix numbers. Release is announced in From The Music Capitals of the World | New York in Billboard, November 19, 1966 (p. 68): ""Sunday Morning," a single by the Velvet Underground & Nico on MGM slated to hit the market in about a week." The single is mentioned in December 3, 1966 issue of Cash Box in Record Ramblings | New York section (p. 28), with a promo photo of the band with Nico: "The Velvet Underground, in the company of William Kermit Smith, dropped by the office to leave a copy of the Velvet Underground & Nico's new single “Sunday Morning” and “Femme Fatale.” The group is back in the city after having worked a gig in Detroit. An album is expected shortly." Also the 45 is listed as part of the Newcomer Picks in Cash Box, December 17, 1966 (p. 22): "The Velvet Underground and Nico have been zooming the length and brath of the land making a name for themselves and now follow the personal stuff with a potential filled deck. The top side “Sunday Morning” is a haunting, lyrical emotion stirring chant. Listen very closely. Eerie, unusual number back here." Cash Box December 24, 1966 issue (p. 88) has a press ad for the 45 – later reproduced on the printed insert which comes with the Sundazed The Velvet Underground | Singles 1966/69 7 x 7inch box set. "Verve The single is reviewed in January 20, 1967 issue of Go Magazine in 'Sweet Cyrkle sound | Discs a la Debbi. Reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 94). |
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White Wind (by Peter Walker) / Loop 7 inch flexi-disc, Americom NYC, mono, December 1966 Side 1: A-1632 A Part of the December 1966 issue of Aspen magazine (VOL. 1 NO. 3). Loop is the B-side. The label says "Guitar and feedback", "First half of a 15-minute recording made with two monaural tape recorders" and "Final groove purposely left open". The credits went to John Cale who is supposedly the only person playing on Loop. The flexi has a closed-groove ending so the last groove repeats itself ad infinitum. This issue of Aspen magazine gets a large ad in January 26, 1967 issue of The Village Voice. Also in Evergreen Review, April 1967. Both reproduced in The Inevitable World of The Velvet Underground (p. 96 & 118). |
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untitled (aka Index) 7 inch cardboard-disc, mono, November 1967 Matrix: WARHOL One-sided 7 inch cardboard picture (portrait of Lou by Billy Name on the play side) record, part of Andy Warhol's Index book, a multimedia package. It offers the recording of some Factory regulars talking and reacting to the book. The Velvet Underground and Nico album can be heard in the background. Index resurfaces on Etc. bootleg LP (Plastic Inevitable FIRST 1, 1979) and it only official release is on the Australian What Goes On 3CD set (Raven RVCD-28, 1993). An ad (with a photo of Andy Warhol by Billy Name) for the book is available in EVERGREEN REVIEW NO. 50, DECEMBER 1967 (p. 106): "ANDY WARHOL'S INDEX (BOOK) | Featuring a pop-up Hunt's Tomato Paste can... a 3-D action cover... a do-it-yourself nose job... a silver balloon... a Bronx-cheer maker – and many other surprises. Cloth $12.95. Tinfoil-bound $4.95. Limited, signed edition, boxed, $50 | Now at your bookstore | RANDOM HOUSE"
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White Light/White Heat / Here She Comes Now Verve VK-10560, mono, November 1967 Side 1: VK10560 103541 No picture sleeve. Two different versions both with same matrix numbers.
That's the third and last Velvet Undergroud Verve single. This one was issued to "promote" White Light/White Heat LP. Some sources list that 45 as a February 1968 release but I have seen copies with "NOV 30 1967" stamped or "12/1/67" written on label. White Light/White Heat & I Heard Her Call My Name exist as acetates – they have a Mayfair Recording Studio (NYC) label, one with "White Light" (sic) hand-typed, the other with "I Heard Her Call My Name". Also white label test pressings I Heard Her b/w Here She Comes exist. Different sources list a Here She Comes Now / I Heard Her Call My Name 45 with the same VK-10560 catalog number, but no evidence that this was ever released has been found.
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What Goes On / Jesus MGM K-14057, mono, March 1969 Side 1: K14057 106163-1 No picture sleeve. Yellow M-G-M label, "SPECIAL DISC JOCKEY RECORD", "NOT FOR SALE". A press ad exists for this 45, published in May 10, 1969 issue of Cashbox. So existence of a stock copy of this record has been questioned, but no evidence that this was ever released has been found. Interviewer: You have a single out at present from the third album, "What Goes On." What Goes On is faded to 2:40. Jesus is listed as being 2:55 on the label, but is really 3:24, same as on the LP. These versions are the only mono mixes from the third LP available. Those mixes are also available on Ultra Rare Trax Vol. 4 bootleg CD. "SOMETHING DIFFERENT |
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The Velvet Underground MGM VU-1, mono, 1969 Side 1: VU-1 SIDE-1 Yellow M-G-M label, "SPECIAL DISC JOCKEY RECORD", "NOT FOR SALE". Both sides offer a radio ad for the third Velvet Underground album, read by Bill 'Rosko' Mercer with excerpts of I'm Set Free, What Goes On and Beginning To See The Light. This ad has been bootleged many times but the complete version is only available on Volume 1 of the Ultra Rare Trax series. A picture sleeve exists for this promo record - one of the rarest picture sleeve ever printed. It has a photograph by Billy Name (same as on third LP front cover, but with the Bazaar magazine unretouched). |
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Who Loves The Sun / Oh! Sweet Nuthin' Cotillion 44107, mono, April 1971 No picture sleeve. Cotillion red label. This single is sometimes listed as stereo but both sides are true mono. Also exists as white label promo copy with both mono and stereo versions of Who Loves The Sun (see just below). Possibly the rarest Velvet Underground stock single. This is the only single taken from the Loaded album. Oh! Sweet Nuthin' is an uncut 7:23 version (!) so this record stands as one of the most artistically uncompromising 45s ever. There is actually (at least) two different editions: Speciality Records Corporation, Olyphant, Pennsylvania pressing Side 1: label: CO-19727 SP | etch: CO-19727-1 4-28-71 AT/DK x DK stands for Dennis King, mastering and lacquer-cutting engineer at Atlantic Studios. Monarch Records, Los Angeles, California pressing Side 1: label: CO-19727-MO | etch: CO-19727-3 AT/DK Δ84867 Alternate lettering and matrix numbers.. |
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Who Loves The Sun / Who Loves The Sun Cotillion 44107, mono/stereo, April 1971 No picture sleeve. Cotillion white promo label. It has Who Loves The Sun twice, one side is stereo and the other is mono. Mono side has exactly the same matrix numbers as the stock pressing. That promo edition is not as rare as the stock copies. There is actually (at least) three different editions: Speciality Records Corporation, Olyphant, Pennsylvania pressing Side 1: label: CO-19727 SP | etch: CO-19727-1 4-28-71 AT/DK No "PLUG SIDE" on label. Plastic Products, Memphis, Tenessee pressing Side 1: label: CO-19727-PL | etch: CO-19727-1 AT/DK "PLUG SIDE" printed on the left part of the label. Monarch Records, Los Angeles, California pressing Side 1: label: CO-19727-MO | etch: CO-19727-3 AT/DK Δ84867 Label with bolder letters, "PLUG SIDE" printed on the right, and "PROMOTION COPY" on the left and "NOT FOR SALE" on the right. There is also another version of that 45 with both mono and stereo mixes of Who Loves The Sun, but mislabeled with the stock copy red Cotillion label. Matrix numbers are CO-19727-3 and ST-CO-19727-3. |
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Foggy Notion (Edit) / I Can't Stand It 12 inch promo 33 RPM, Verve/Polygram PRO 349-1, stereo, February 1985 Side 1: B-21075-ALD Black sleeve, "Promotion Copy - Not For Sale", "Taken From the Historic, Best Selling Album". Black Verve label with silver T. Promo companion to the VU - A Collection Of Previously Unreleased Recordings album. Foggy Notion is faded to 3:50. |
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Singles 1966-69 7 x 7 inch single box set, Sundazed S 7002, September 15, 2009 Single One - All Tomorrow's Parties / I'll Be Your Mirror - Verve VK-104027 The complete 1960s singles, faithfully reproduced in mono mixes with original artwork, with exact repros of the 2 rare VU picture sleeves, liner notes by David Fricke, rare photos, and an exclusive Sundazed postcard. Reissued in 2013 as "Limited Edition Pressing on Colored Vinyl". Same box with additional "SUNDAZED COLORED VINYL" sticker on shrink wrap. |
![Rizzoli Universal B0013582-21 [picture sleeve]](vu_45_us_rizzoli_universal_B0013582-21_ps.jpg)
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We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together / If You Close The Door (After Hours) Rizzoli / Universal Music Special Markets B0013582-21, 2009 Side A: U 00135582-21 A2 MASTERDISK Part of Deluxe Edition of The Velvet Underground - New York Art book. Two tracks from Moe Tucker's acetate collection. We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together is a demo version issued from the 4-song acetate supposedly recorded late 1969 or early 1970 (also known as the 'Honeymoon' acetate). If You Close The Door (working title for After Hours) is the acetate version of the track recorded during the 3rd album sessions late 1968 at Sunset and Highland Sound in Hollywood CA. A few copies given away at special events promoting the release of the book came with in a picture sleeve. |
| Foggy Notion (edit) / I Can't Stand It Universal Music Special Markets / Sundazed S 227, April 16, 2011 Side A: S 227-A B00154082-1 Limited Edition Record Store Day Release. 1000 copies. Picture sleeve. Mono. Foggy Notion is edited to 4:59. Reissued in 2013 on clear 'gold' vinyl. |
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Femme Fatale (by Ty Segall) / Femme Fatale 7 inch one-sided flexi, Verve Universal, 2012 One-sided clear blue flexi "FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY". Femme Fatale is the 2012 remaster stereo version from the 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico. |
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Booker T. 7 inch one-sided flexi, Verve Universal, 2013 One-sided white flexi "For Promotional Purposes Only". "LIMITED EDITION FLEXI | ONLY 1500 MANUFACTURED". Booker T. is the Live at the Gymnasium, New York City, April 30, 1967 version from the 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of White Light/White Heat. |
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Lou Reed | I'm Waiting For The Man May 1965 Demo 7 inch one-sided flexi, Light In The Attic LITA 45-061, 2022 One-sided clear yellow flexi (33 1/3 RPM) "Previously unreleased | Taken from the forthcoming release WORDS & MUSIC (LITA 188/189)". ℗ & © 2022 Canal Street Communications, Inc. Under Exclusive License to Light In The Attic Records & Distribution, LLC. LighinTheAttic.net LITA 45-061 ©1967, EMI Music Publishing, Ltd. Oakfield Avenue Music, Ltd. All rights for Oakfield Avenue Music , Ltd. administered by EMI Music Publishing, Ltd. Advance promo flexi, coming with a US letter format LIGHT IN THE ATTIC sheet. |
![Rizzoli Universal B0013582-21 [A-side label]](vu_45_us_rizzoli_universal_B0013582-21.jpg)
AUSTRALIA | |
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Sunday Morning / Femme Fatale Verve V-5138, mono, 1967 Side A: V-5138-A No picture sleeve. Orange Verve label with yellow T. "APOLLO MUSIC" Unique Australian 45. Femme Fatale / All Tomorrow's Parties and Sunday Morning / I'll Be Your Mirror singles are listed in The Velvet Underground Handbook but this is actually a mistake. |
CANADA | |
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Sunday Morning / Femme Fatale Quality Verve V-10466X, mono, January 1967 Side 1: V-10466-S1 No picture sleeve. Stock copy with black Verve label which reads "Manufactured by Quality records Limited under license from Metro Goldwyn Mayer Inc, the owner of the trade mark Verve". A Canadian edition of All Tomorrow's Parties b/w I'll Be Your Mirror is listed in The Velvet Underground Handbook by Mike Kostek. However no evidence that this single exists has been found yet. |
U.K. | |
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Who Loves The Sun / Sweet Jane Atlantic Polydor 2091-088, stereo, April 1971 Side 1: 2091088 A//1 No picture sleeve. Polydor catalog number, released under license from Atlantic Recording Corp.. Red Atlantic label, which reads "From the LP "Loaded" 2400-111" (original UK edition). |
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Sweet Jane / Rock And Roll Atlantic K 10339, stereo, August 1973 Side 1: K 10339 A1 First record to use the 'Velvet Underground featuring Lou Reed' billing. "Taken from the album "LOADED" K 40113". Atlantic company sleeve. 3 different editions - all with the same matrix numbers:
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I'm Waiting For The Man / Run Run Run / Candy Says 7 inch maxi single, MGM 2006 283, stereo, June 1973 Side A: 2006283 A//1-420 No picture sleeve. Blue MGM label, "from the LP "Andy Warhol's VelvetUnderground" 2683-006". |
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Heroin / Venus In Furs / I'm Waiting For The Man / Run Run Run 12 inch 45 RPM, Polydor POSPX 603, stereo, November 1982 Side A: POSPX603 A//1 Picture sleeve. Blue/gold MGM label. Original stereo mixes. |
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I'm Waiting For The Man / Heroin 12 inch, Old Gold OG 4049, stereo, February 1988 Side 1: OG-4049-A1 Part of "Discs Tapes Old Gold" series. "Manufactured under licence from Polygram Special Products". 1988 edition with green/blue/white cover; 1989 edition with green/grey/white cover. Yellow Old Gold label. |
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Venus In Furs / All Tomorrow's Parties 12 inch, Old Gold OG 4051, stereo, March 1988 Side 1: OG-4051-A1 Part of "Discs Tapes Old Gold" series. "Manufactured under licence from Polygram Special Products". 1988 edition with green/blue/white cover; 1989 edition with green/grey/white cover. Yellow Old Gold label. All Tomorrow's Parties is the 'single-voice' version. |
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I'm Waiting For The Man / Pale Blue Eyes / White Light/White Heat / Sweet Jane 12 inch promo 45 RPM, Polydor/Polygram, VUPRO-1, UK, 1993 Side A: VUPRO-1-A Black sleeve with promo sticker "Promo Copy - Not For resale". White Polydor label. |
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Venus In Furs / I'm Waiting For The Man Sire/Warner Bros. W0224 (5439-18231-7), UK, February 1994 Side A: W0224 A "Live version of the track featured in the Dunlop tyres TV commercial". Both tracks taken from the album Live MCMXCIII, recorded live at L'Olympia Theater, Paris, June 1993. Picture sleeve. Yellow Sire label. |
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Sweet Jane / Rock And Roll Atlantic Rhino UK 8122797366, April 21, 2012 Side A: MPO 8122797366 A Limited edition of 800 copies. Picture sleeve, replica of 1974 German single, with "Record Store Day 2012" sticker. Green/orange Atlantic label. Some copies with "FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY NOT FOR SALE" round sticker over the "Record Store Day" sticker. |
Lou Reed's singles & EPs with VU tracks | |
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Street Hassle / I'm Waiting For The Man / Venus In Furs 12 inch EP, Arista ARIST 12198, stereo, UK, July 1978 Side 1: ARISTA 12198 A//2 TO A-side carries the full version of Street Hassle. Original stereo mixes. Black Arista label. |
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Street Hassle / I'm Waiting For The Man Arista ARIST 198, stereo, UK, July 1978 Street Hassle is edited to 4:02. |
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Street Hassle / I'm Waiting For The Man / Venus In Furs 12 inch EP, Arista 1C 062-61 468 YZ, Germany, 1978 Picture sleeve with same black and white "Lou Reed" design as UK issue. Black Arista label, slightly different from UK pressing. The cardboard sleeve is also thicker as compared with the UK issue. |
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Street Hassle / I'm Waiting For The Man / Venus In Furs 12 inch EP, Arista/EMI ED.13, Australia, 1978 Side 1: ED.13A Picture sleeve with same black and white "Lou Reed" design as UK issue. Black Arista label, slightly different from UK pressing. The cardboard sleeve is also thicker as compared with the UK issue. |
Street Hassle / I'm Waiting For The Man / Venus In Furs 12 inch EP, New Zealand, 1978 Same picture sleeve as UK edition but it has "SPECIAL 45R.P.M 12INCH SINGLE PLAY LOUD" printed under STREET HASSLE on front picture. | |
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Street Hassle / I'm Waiting For The Man / Venus In Furs 12 inch EP, Arista/EMI Italiana 3C 052-61468 Z, Italy, 1978 Side 1: 61468-Z-A - 8-9-78 Picture sleeve with same black and white "Lou Reed" design as UK issue. Black label. The cardboard sleeve is also thicker as compared with the UK issue and has the opening on the right side. |
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