Babooshka - UK 7" Single: Reissue

The colour printing on this sleeve is inferior to the first issue. It's lighter and more noticeably washed out, especially on the back portion of the sleeve. On the back of the sleeve, the opening is a small circular cut-out, which is more rectangular in shape on the first issue. The folds of the sleeve run straight down to the bottom edge, whereas on the first issue they have angled cuts. Also, the fold on the right obscures the very tip of Kate's guitar, which is not the case on the first issue.

As the records are virtually identical to each other, you can really only tell them apart by the number of indented rings on the record label. If you pay close attention to the whole label, you will see what I'm talking about. On the first issue there are three indented rings. One is located on the outer perimeter of the punch out hole, the second (and more prominent one) is located at the inner part of the main portion of the label (closest to the punch out hole) and the last one is located at the outer edge of the label. The reissue only has one indented ring, which is located at the outer perimeter of the punch out hole. This is pretty much the only way you can identify the reissue from the first issue.

This reissue is also found in the Single File box set.

Babooshka - UK 7" Single: First Issue

I probably should have waited until I found my better copy of the first issue, but since I have no idea where I've poked it at the moment, this copy is good enough.

Babooshka really is one of those singles where it gets more tricky trying to figure out the first issue from the reissue because they're almost indistinguishable from one another. It's further complicated by the fact that both releases were issued in paper sleeves, and the first issue release doesn't have an inscription on the run off vinyl at all.

Telling both releases apart mainly lies in the sleeves. If you take a look at the first issue back sleeve, there are three main things to look at. The first one is the opening of the sleeve. It has a sort of long rectangular shaped opening with curved edges, whereas on the reissue it's a smaller circular cut-out. The next thing you need to look at are the folds of the sleeve. On the bottom of the first issue, these folds have angled cuts, but on the reissue there are no cuts. The reissue folds run straight down to the bottom edge. The final thing you need to look at is the very tip of the guitar that Kate is holding. On the first issue there's a very clear space between it and the fold. However, on the reissue, the very tip of the guitar is obscured by the fold.

It's also important to note that there is a significant colour difference between the sleeves. The first issue sleeve has darker, richer colour, and the reissue has a much lighter printing.

As for the records, it's near impossible to tell them apart - but there is a way. It's easy enough to miss if you aren't looking for it, so you need to look at the full record label to see it. Either side will do. If you pay close attention to the whole label, you will see there are three indented rings. One is located on the outer perimeter of the punch out hole, the second (and more prominent one) is located at the inner part of the main portion of the label (closest to the punch out hole) and the last one is located at the outer edge of the label. The reissue only has one indented ring, which is located at the outer perimeter of the punch out hole.

Babooshka - France 7" Single: Second Issue

This is the second issue pressing of Babooshka for France. You can check out the first issue pressing right “here” if you haven’t already.

Apart from one obvious design difference on the front of the sleeve, everything else about both releases is exactly the same. Same catalogue number, same distribution information on the back – same everything.

The record is also identical and even has the same silver injection moulded labels as the first issue.

Babooshka - France 7" Single: First Issue

The single for Babooshka was issued twice in France. This is the first pressing of it. The second issue features a much larger white oval title design shape, which also has much thicker lettering. Apart from that, everything else about both releases is pretty much the same, including the catalogue numbers on both sleeves.

The sleeve artwork on this release is pretty much identical to the UK release. The only real differences are the addition of the circular white stamp to the front cover, catalogue number in the upper corner and the distribution information on the back. The sleeve itself is a card sleeve, but not overly thick like some tend to be.

Unlike the UK release, this one does not have any paper picture labels on the record itself, but rather a large centre hole with silver injection moulded labels.

Babooshka - Canada 7" Single

The Canadian 7” single release for Babooshka came in one of these cheap generic company sleeves with the Harvest logo on it - both sides.

I never collected very many singles that came in company logo sleeves, despite its country of origin, because I thought they were unflattering and just plain ugly.

There isn't a whole lot more to say about this one. The cheap paper labels are pretty typical. You can see how rough around the edges they look closest to the centre hole.

Babooshka - Japanese 7" Single

By this time, the Japanese 7" singles began to mimic the UK releases by dropping the loose picture inserts/Toshiba EMI sleeves in favour of full picture sleeves. The Japanese writing on the front of these sleeves started to get smaller and less bold as well.

This release does come with an additional paper insert. A black and white photo of Kate is featured on the front and on the reverse are the lyrics to Babooshka and Ran Tan Waltz in both English and Japanese. There is some additional Japanese text on the back, but I have no idea what any of it says. I'm presuming it's information about the album Never For Ever as it shows a small photo of it here.

You might spot how some of the lyrics to Ran Tan Waltz are terribly incorrect. This seems to be a common trait with these inserts.

The vinyl record has the exact same solid centre as the UK release. Japanese releases usually have large centre holes - the same kind you would find on U.S. or Canadian 7" singles. It also features the same UK picture labels with English text only.