May: I Come Again - Fab, Trip 9

On February 9, 2024, during a trip-hop February, I told the story of the Portishead / Mandalay
Pearl bootleg here. 

 

Mahdalay was a short-lived duo from the UK consisting of Nicola Hitchcock - vocals & Saul Freeman - programming. For this revisit, I'm sharing these two CD singles with additional bonus CD single tracks...

 

Mandalay - This Life CD single, V2 VVR5000113, 1997.
decryption codes in comment

This Life
Please
Running Down

bonus tracks from This Life remixes CD single, V2 VVR500118, 1997.

This Life (album version)
This Life (Wagon Christ mix)
This Life (Boymerang mix)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mandalay - Not Seventeen CD single, V2 VVR5014153, 2000.

Not Seventeen (radio edit)
I Don't Want the Night to End
To See Her

bonus tracks from Not Seventeen CD single, V2 VVR5014158, 2000.

Not Seventeen (Next Men radio edit)
Not Seventeen (Attica Blues remix)
Not Seventeen (Tom Middleton's Cosmos mix)

 

 

 

Revisiting,

Fab, Trip 9

The Portishead / Mandalay - Pearl story: 

 

In 2003 I bought a disc called Portishead - Pearl on the Always Records label (a Russia, Ukraine, & Eastern European imprint) that stated it was copyrighted by Go! Beat, Portishead's label. 

 

But Portishead never released an album called Pearl. It turned out to be Mandalay, the Empathy album, an infamous bootleg. The album was actually a rip-off of Mandalay's Empathy album, expertly repackaged & credited to Portishead. Even the production & songwriting credits are attributed to Geoff Barrow / Beth Gibbons. The tracks were simply in a different order & the Mandalay song ''Opposites'' was renamed ''Pearl''. The rest of the song titles were identical.

Thank goodness for the Interweb & the likes of Discogs these days. Other than being a total rip-off of both bands, it is certainly high praise for Mandalay. 

 

Mandalay was formed in the 1995 by multi-instrumentalist / programmer Saul Freeman & vocalist Nicola Hitchcock. Their debut album Empathy featured appearances by former Japan / Rain Tree Crow member Steve Jansen, double bassist Danny Thompson, & trumpet player Jon Hassell. 

 

Mandalay - Empathy, V2, 1998.
decryption code in comments

This Life
Flowers Bloom
Insensible
Another
Enough Love
All My Sins
Opposites
This Time Last Year
Kissing the Day
Beautiful
About You

Enjoy the Trip,
NØ