BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984
“When the Lady Smiles” is a 1984 song by Dutch band Golden Earring. It was the first single from their album N.E.W.S. (NorthEastWestSouth). Following their top 10 “Twilight Zone”, “When the Lady Smiles” was a U.S. chart disappointment, only reaching #76 on The Billboard Hot 100 chart. With a total of 5 “Hot 100”-releases, Golden Earring are by far the most successful Dutch band on the international charts. Dutch actor Huub Stapel has a cameo in the music video as an elevator mechanic, referencing the movie De Lift. Also appearing in several scenes (metro car, window washer) is Hans Vandenburg, lead singer of Gruppo Sportivo.
The video for this song, shot by Dick Maas, was controversial. In one scene, a man attempts to rape a nun. This particular scene was quickly removed from the video (the full cut was only shown after midnight). The bold video may have hurt the sales of the single in the New World, although it climbed to the number 3 position in the charts in Canada. In the Netherlands “When the Lady Smiles” became Golden Earring’s fifth number one.
Hillary Clinton used this song during her campaign for the US presidency of 2008, baffling the band given the song’s lyrics and controversial video.
SIDE A:
When The Lady Smiles 6:16
SIDE B:
Orwell’s Year 4:22
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | When The Lady Smiles | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #76 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: 21 Records – 2.120
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Pop Rock
CREDITS:
Engineer – John Kriek
Producer – Shell Schellekens
Written-By – B. Hay*, G. Kooymans*
NOTES:
Made In Holland
From the film of the same name
From the album “N.E.W.S.”
Find the 12″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
🙂
Great to have the full 12 inch version in Paulity. Never been released on CD, so this one is utterly rare!
Love your blog DJPaul! I added your link to my new blog. Wondering if you could do the same for me? Would appreciate it.
My blog is http://retromories.blogspot.ca
thanks!
Excellent! Never expected to see this here, Golden Earring had some of the best music videos, they were dark, stylish and theatrical mini movies. Here is the video for this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKohOpvao8s
Thank you!
The original video had some scenes that were too controversial for the time, here is the uncensored version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ixPD3LP8Hs
David I am happy I was able to post this rarity. Enjoy! 🙂
I so trust your tastes Paul!! Just finished listening to this and I’m hooked. Thank you for presenting this to us. Although not as catchy as “Twilight Zone” I still really enjoyed the record. And what David said up above, it’s great to have an extended version that was only available on vinyl. You always bring us the best and the rare. Hey, I really liked the flip-side too. You amaze me Paul with your choices. You keep us on our toes and guessing what is next. I LOVE YOUR DISCOGRAPHY!!!
Jeff
Thank you Jeff. It makes me very happy to hear that you like this record because you have impeccable taste 🙂
I do have this 12inch but hadn´t heard the long version for ages.
Now I am hoping for “Something Heavy Going Down” 🙂
I have another 12″ by them but I will have to look and see which one it is Song_and_Dance 🙂
I think it’s so cool of you to dig up songs a lot of us may have missed, like myself. Never heard this track, but I really like Golden Earring so I’m jazzed about listening to it. Thank you Paul for introducing me to another potentially great song.
Jeff
You’re very, very welcome Jeff 🙂