Borderline
Promotional Items
For the full narrative of 'Borderline' please refer to the entry under the SINGLES tab
Borderline is the first single to be issued with its own 'white label'. White label promotional pressings were advanced copies issued to radio stations and as such do not come in picture sleeves. Some were manufactured with unique labels containing a 'SAM' catalogue number (presumable short for 'sample' - other record companies had their own systems) but most were pressed with just plain white labels, hence the name. They are generally rare and collectable but unfortunately due to both blankness of label and absence of customised sleeves, do not make for interesting viewing on a webpage such as this. Normally, the only way to distinguish such pressings, apart from playing them, is to check the catalogue number in the run-out grooves which can be notorious tricky to photograph. These catalogue numbers will either be the regular catalogue number of the standard release, or the 'SAM' number or in some cases both numbers.
The white label shown here is for the 7" single. As a general rule, 7" white labels are rarer than their 12" counterparts as DJs, to whom such promotional items were sent, preferred to work with 12" singles. Perhaps this is an indication of the record company wishes to broaden Madonna's appeal outside of the club scene by manufacturing a more commercial 7" single for promotion by radio stations. Of course another possibility is that this particular pressing could have been manufactured for the reissue in 1986 at a time when Madonna was already an established, commercial artist. However, as it is impossible to tell, it has been included here with the original release for chronological reasons.
This particular item sold for £100 when it was listed on Ebay which indicates the scarce nature of such items although this valuation may have been assisted by the fact that this item is also a mis-press as it lacks a paper label on the b-side.
The promotional advert that accompanied the realise is the first advert to be issued on a full page. It is also quite scarce as it only appeared in one publication - 'Record Mirror'. This would mark the end of Madonna's 'indie' period as all subsequent adverts (at least during the period this website covers) would only appear in the 'pop' publication of 'Smash Hits' and, to a lessor extent, 'No.1'.
Also included here are two so-called 'promotional' posters. It is not know if these are genuine. One of them could be the promo advert blown up into poster size. This could have been done by the record company but given that no other Madonna single was promoted this way, it would seem unlikely. But then again, this is also the first single to be promoted with a full page advert. As the provenance of these can not be stated definitely, it is up to collectors to take a view.
The white label shown here is for the 7" single. As a general rule, 7" white labels are rarer than their 12" counterparts as DJs, to whom such promotional items were sent, preferred to work with 12" singles. Perhaps this is an indication of the record company wishes to broaden Madonna's appeal outside of the club scene by manufacturing a more commercial 7" single for promotion by radio stations. Of course another possibility is that this particular pressing could have been manufactured for the reissue in 1986 at a time when Madonna was already an established, commercial artist. However, as it is impossible to tell, it has been included here with the original release for chronological reasons.
This particular item sold for £100 when it was listed on Ebay which indicates the scarce nature of such items although this valuation may have been assisted by the fact that this item is also a mis-press as it lacks a paper label on the b-side.
The promotional advert that accompanied the realise is the first advert to be issued on a full page. It is also quite scarce as it only appeared in one publication - 'Record Mirror'. This would mark the end of Madonna's 'indie' period as all subsequent adverts (at least during the period this website covers) would only appear in the 'pop' publication of 'Smash Hits' and, to a lessor extent, 'No.1'.
Also included here are two so-called 'promotional' posters. It is not know if these are genuine. One of them could be the promo advert blown up into poster size. This could have been done by the record company but given that no other Madonna single was promoted this way, it would seem unlikely. But then again, this is also the first single to be promoted with a full page advert. As the provenance of these can not be stated definitely, it is up to collectors to take a view.
7" Single - Promotional white label with missing label on b-side
Promotional Advert for original release (see 1986 for colour advert for reissue)
Promotional Posters - authenticity not proved as the second appears to be a copy of the above promo advert
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© madonna-decade 2013
© madonna-decade 2013
