Everybody
Released 01.12.82 Highest Chart Position: n/a Weeks on Chart: n/a Total Sales: n/a
In our current age of instant fame, it's easy to forget that Madonna did it the hard way, plugging her music for several years on the club circuit of New York.
'Everybody' was written by Madonna with Steve Bray, with whom she would later compose some of her most memorable and critically acclaimed hits. They met while Madonna was attending the University of Michigan, and years later after Madonna had moved to New York, she would get back in touch. In response, Bray moved to New York himself and joined the band Madonna was currently a drummer with - The Breakfast Club. The group had been signed by Gotham Records but the company was not impressed with their musical abilities and they were dropped. Now disillusioned with the band, and with no likely lead vocal vacancy which Madonna yearned for, they decided to leave and set up a new band, 'Emmy and the Emmys', with Bray now taking over drumming duties and Madonna finally in pole position as singer.
By this time Madonna had already been working on her own material and they now developed these three songs namely 'Everybody', 'Ain't No Big Deal' and 'Burning Up'. After recording a rough demo, Madonna now hawked the tracks around the club circuit including the Danceteria which she frequented at the time. She urged the resident DJ, Mark Kamins, with whom she was romantically involved with at that time, to take a chance on the new material and the response was positive enough for Kamins to introduce Madonna to Michael Rosenblatt, at Sire Records. Incidentally, this was only after he first took her to his own boss, Chris Blackwell, who owned Island Records, but Blackwell had declined to sign her. Rosenblatt was prepared to sign Madonna for a two-song deal and commented thus:
"Madonna is great. She will do anything to be a star, and that's exactly what I look for in an artist: total co-operation. With Madonna, I knew I had someone hot and co-operative, so I planned to build her career with singles, rather than just put an album right away and run the risk of disaster."
Rosenblatt offered Madonna $5,000 in advance plus $10,000 in royalties for each song she wrote although Madonna and Kamins had to record the single at their own cost. Madonna was ultimately signed for two 12 inch singles by the President of Sire, Seymour Stein, who was impressed by her singing, after listening to "Everybody" at a hospital in Lenox Hill where he was admitted.
The resulting 12 inch version of "Everybody" was produced by Mark Kamins and by incorporating R&B infused beats in the music and not including Madonna's image on the cover artwork - where a customised cover was issued at all - marketing for the song gave the impression of Madonna as a black artist. That impression did not last long as Madonna would convince Sire executives to shoot a music video. The result was a low-budget music video, basically a recording of Madonna's next performance at the Dancetaria, which was suitable for distribution to nightclubs across the US.
The UK was both oblivious to and excluded from this activity so while 'Everybody' did well on the US dance charts it met with a largely indifferent response here. This was not exactly unexpected - the UK release was not even deemed worthy of being housed in a picture sleeve. The single failed to chart.
'Everybody' was written by Madonna with Steve Bray, with whom she would later compose some of her most memorable and critically acclaimed hits. They met while Madonna was attending the University of Michigan, and years later after Madonna had moved to New York, she would get back in touch. In response, Bray moved to New York himself and joined the band Madonna was currently a drummer with - The Breakfast Club. The group had been signed by Gotham Records but the company was not impressed with their musical abilities and they were dropped. Now disillusioned with the band, and with no likely lead vocal vacancy which Madonna yearned for, they decided to leave and set up a new band, 'Emmy and the Emmys', with Bray now taking over drumming duties and Madonna finally in pole position as singer.
By this time Madonna had already been working on her own material and they now developed these three songs namely 'Everybody', 'Ain't No Big Deal' and 'Burning Up'. After recording a rough demo, Madonna now hawked the tracks around the club circuit including the Danceteria which she frequented at the time. She urged the resident DJ, Mark Kamins, with whom she was romantically involved with at that time, to take a chance on the new material and the response was positive enough for Kamins to introduce Madonna to Michael Rosenblatt, at Sire Records. Incidentally, this was only after he first took her to his own boss, Chris Blackwell, who owned Island Records, but Blackwell had declined to sign her. Rosenblatt was prepared to sign Madonna for a two-song deal and commented thus:
"Madonna is great. She will do anything to be a star, and that's exactly what I look for in an artist: total co-operation. With Madonna, I knew I had someone hot and co-operative, so I planned to build her career with singles, rather than just put an album right away and run the risk of disaster."
Rosenblatt offered Madonna $5,000 in advance plus $10,000 in royalties for each song she wrote although Madonna and Kamins had to record the single at their own cost. Madonna was ultimately signed for two 12 inch singles by the President of Sire, Seymour Stein, who was impressed by her singing, after listening to "Everybody" at a hospital in Lenox Hill where he was admitted.
The resulting 12 inch version of "Everybody" was produced by Mark Kamins and by incorporating R&B infused beats in the music and not including Madonna's image on the cover artwork - where a customised cover was issued at all - marketing for the song gave the impression of Madonna as a black artist. That impression did not last long as Madonna would convince Sire executives to shoot a music video. The result was a low-budget music video, basically a recording of Madonna's next performance at the Dancetaria, which was suitable for distribution to nightclubs across the US.
The UK was both oblivious to and excluded from this activity so while 'Everybody' did well on the US dance charts it met with a largely indifferent response here. This was not exactly unexpected - the UK release was not even deemed worthy of being housed in a picture sleeve. The single failed to chart.
UK Variations and Collectables
'Everybody' is the most limited of all Madonna's UK singles being available only as standard 7" and 12" formats with just one variation.
To mark the 30th anniversary of Madonna's debut single, the specialist 'Record Collector' magazine recently ran a special feature on 'Everybody'. The comprehensive six page article covered everything from Madonna's early history ("My whole career started out with 12 inches... some girls have all the luck!") to a detailed analysis of the recording sessions. It concluding with a run-down of the most collectable world-wide variations of 'Everybody'.
For UK collectors, the article gives a fascinating insight into the history of the ill-fated UK remixes as provided by Rusty Egan, the resident DJ of the legendary 'Blitz' club in London, home of the New Romantic movement (with Boy George working the cloakroom). Interestingly, Madonna's first international promotional tour was arranged in March 1983 when Sire sent her on a short tour of the UK. The tour took place following 'Everybody's UK release in December '82, midway through the recording of her debut album. Madonna played London's Camden Palace, Le Beat Route, WAG and Heaven. Mark Kamins, the Dancetaria DJ, was also part of the entourage 'for the first and last time' and admitted "her first tour in England was a total disaster." Rusty Egan himself says:
"As I found Soft Cell, I had a relationship with Seymour Stein, who called me to say he had discovered this amazing girl. I was in New York for the New Music Seminar and got to meet Seymore and Madonna in Danceteria. Mark Kamins enthusiastically told me Madonna was brilliant and that I should book her in London. All I did was agree with them both.
Seymour sent me the master for a UK mix and I booked Madonna to do a PA at the club and to sing my mix. She declined, as she wasn't keen on my vesion. She did her own show and joked with me that I was a crap DJ from the stage. Later at Trident Studios, she said she wasn't joking and hated my mix."
It is these Trident sessions that would provide one of the rarest of all Madonna releases namely a UK 7" with both 'Rusty Egan' and 'Trident Studios' credits. This is not to be confused with the regular UK 7" release which, while a rare item in its own right, does appear periodically on Ebay. Neither the standard 7" nor the 12" make any mention of Rusty Egan's input which makes this particular 7" variation of enormous interest due to the interesting story behind it. It is not clear why the credits were subsequently omitted - either Madonna's contempt resulting in Egan not wishing to be associated with the project any further, or more likely, that this 7" variation is more akin to a promotional pressing. This would make sense as, unlike writers, producers are not normally credited on 7" record labels - and the studios never are. It would appear that a very limited batch were pressed up in order to be distributed to the US based record label, management and producers - showing who produced this particular version and where it was recorded - rather than as pressings intended for general sale to the UK public.
Everybody is, not surprisingly, the most limited of Madonna's UK singles in terms of format, being the only single issued only in basic 7" and 12" formats. Unlike subsequent, more commercial singles, the 7" format is the rarer of the two due to the 12" being aimed at club DJs and accordingly pressed in larger quantities. All the 7" singles have been pressed with a small logo, accompanied by a large 'A' in the centre of the label. This supposedly denotes a promotional 7" issued to DJs as the prominent 'A' is to assist in playing the correct side of the disc, particularly in the gloom of a club. While this may be the case, unfortunately these 'A' labels do not always indicate rarity as they are often pressed in such large quantities that they become the standard release which is the case with 'Everybody' as no other label variation appears to exist.
In terms of valuations, both the standard 7" and 12" appear periodically on Ebay. Expect to pay anything up to £100 for the 7" single, £25-40 for the 12". It is much harder to source the 'Rusty Egan' 7" due to its scarcity - it was sold on Ebay for just over £250.
This particular rarity also highlights the difference between what is 'rare' and what is 'valuable' as they are not always the same. The original 'Lucky Star' 7" in the 'sunglasses' sleeve is widely regarded as the 'rarest' of all Madonna 7". While there is no doubt that it is rare, it does appear periodically selling for anything from £500-£1800. Therefore it is the most 'valuable' Madonna 7" (in the world, no less) but the 'rarest' 7" is possibly this 'Trident/Egan' 7" variation of 'Everybody'. Indeed it is so very rare that it was not even included in Record Collector's own round-up of 'Everybody' collectables!
Not surprisingly, it is this 'Trident' version of 'Everybody' 7" which is the centrepiece item for this release.
To mark the 30th anniversary of Madonna's debut single, the specialist 'Record Collector' magazine recently ran a special feature on 'Everybody'. The comprehensive six page article covered everything from Madonna's early history ("My whole career started out with 12 inches... some girls have all the luck!") to a detailed analysis of the recording sessions. It concluding with a run-down of the most collectable world-wide variations of 'Everybody'.
For UK collectors, the article gives a fascinating insight into the history of the ill-fated UK remixes as provided by Rusty Egan, the resident DJ of the legendary 'Blitz' club in London, home of the New Romantic movement (with Boy George working the cloakroom). Interestingly, Madonna's first international promotional tour was arranged in March 1983 when Sire sent her on a short tour of the UK. The tour took place following 'Everybody's UK release in December '82, midway through the recording of her debut album. Madonna played London's Camden Palace, Le Beat Route, WAG and Heaven. Mark Kamins, the Dancetaria DJ, was also part of the entourage 'for the first and last time' and admitted "her first tour in England was a total disaster." Rusty Egan himself says:
"As I found Soft Cell, I had a relationship with Seymour Stein, who called me to say he had discovered this amazing girl. I was in New York for the New Music Seminar and got to meet Seymore and Madonna in Danceteria. Mark Kamins enthusiastically told me Madonna was brilliant and that I should book her in London. All I did was agree with them both.
Seymour sent me the master for a UK mix and I booked Madonna to do a PA at the club and to sing my mix. She declined, as she wasn't keen on my vesion. She did her own show and joked with me that I was a crap DJ from the stage. Later at Trident Studios, she said she wasn't joking and hated my mix."
It is these Trident sessions that would provide one of the rarest of all Madonna releases namely a UK 7" with both 'Rusty Egan' and 'Trident Studios' credits. This is not to be confused with the regular UK 7" release which, while a rare item in its own right, does appear periodically on Ebay. Neither the standard 7" nor the 12" make any mention of Rusty Egan's input which makes this particular 7" variation of enormous interest due to the interesting story behind it. It is not clear why the credits were subsequently omitted - either Madonna's contempt resulting in Egan not wishing to be associated with the project any further, or more likely, that this 7" variation is more akin to a promotional pressing. This would make sense as, unlike writers, producers are not normally credited on 7" record labels - and the studios never are. It would appear that a very limited batch were pressed up in order to be distributed to the US based record label, management and producers - showing who produced this particular version and where it was recorded - rather than as pressings intended for general sale to the UK public.
Everybody is, not surprisingly, the most limited of Madonna's UK singles in terms of format, being the only single issued only in basic 7" and 12" formats. Unlike subsequent, more commercial singles, the 7" format is the rarer of the two due to the 12" being aimed at club DJs and accordingly pressed in larger quantities. All the 7" singles have been pressed with a small logo, accompanied by a large 'A' in the centre of the label. This supposedly denotes a promotional 7" issued to DJs as the prominent 'A' is to assist in playing the correct side of the disc, particularly in the gloom of a club. While this may be the case, unfortunately these 'A' labels do not always indicate rarity as they are often pressed in such large quantities that they become the standard release which is the case with 'Everybody' as no other label variation appears to exist.
In terms of valuations, both the standard 7" and 12" appear periodically on Ebay. Expect to pay anything up to £100 for the 7" single, £25-40 for the 12". It is much harder to source the 'Rusty Egan' 7" due to its scarcity - it was sold on Ebay for just over £250.
This particular rarity also highlights the difference between what is 'rare' and what is 'valuable' as they are not always the same. The original 'Lucky Star' 7" in the 'sunglasses' sleeve is widely regarded as the 'rarest' of all Madonna 7". While there is no doubt that it is rare, it does appear periodically selling for anything from £500-£1800. Therefore it is the most 'valuable' Madonna 7" (in the world, no less) but the 'rarest' 7" is possibly this 'Trident/Egan' 7" variation of 'Everybody'. Indeed it is so very rare that it was not even included in Record Collector's own round-up of 'Everybody' collectables!
Not surprisingly, it is this 'Trident' version of 'Everybody' 7" which is the centrepiece item for this release.
7" Single - Standard release (no picture sleeve)
7" Single - Possibly promo-only release with 'Rusty Egan' and 'Trident' credits
12" Single - Standard release (no picture sleeve)
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© madonna-decade 2013
© madonna-decade 2013
