BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984
“The Belle of St. Mark” is a song recorded by singer/percussionist Sheila E. The song was released in November 1984 in the United States and in the Netherlands, and in February 1985 in other markets. It peaked at #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in December 1984 and #68 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles Charts in 1985. It reached the top 10 in the Netherlands and New Zealand as well as the top 20 in Australia, the UK, and Ireland, and was an NME “Single of the Week”.
The song’s lyrics tell of an androgynous “frail but passionate creature”, referred to as “he” throughout, but called the feminine “Belle”. The song implies the Belle is French (viz. the lyrics, “His Paris hair, it blows in the warm Parisian air / That blows whenever his Paris hair is there”) but St. Mark is commonly known as a location in Venice, Italy, although it may be a reference to St Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery namesake of St. Mark’s Place in the East Village, Manhattan.
SIDE A:
The Belle Of St. Mark (Dance Remix) 7:40
Producer [Directed By] – Sheila E., The Starr * Company
Remix [Remixed By] – David Tickle
SIDE B:
Too Sexy 5:06
Producer [Produced By], Arranged By – Sheila E.
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | The Belle Of St. Mark | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #34 |
1984 | The Belle Of St. Mark | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | #68 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records – 0-20285, Warner Bros. Records – 9 20285-0 A
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Funk
CREDITS:
Written-By – Sheila E.
NOTES:
Special version from the LP “In The Glamorous Life”
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
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
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
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/Dither: 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)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Username: btg
Password: burningtheground
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Good to see you back, Paul 🙂 Oh this is a great return…I have the Uk 12″ – https://www.discogs.com/Sheila-E-The-Belle-Of-St-Mark-Too-Sexy/release/184121 – which only has a long/full-length version of the track (great sleeve though, huh). So this Dance Mix from the US Maxi is very welcome indeed!
EG.
Wow Paul. I forgot about this tune, it brings back good memories of a decade when I was young and nearly invincible, immortal-like in health and possibilities. I too have suffered several bouts of pneumonia, a few took me down with severe enough hypoxemia that I went into respiratory and cardiac failure. I have lost friends to it as well. When I got the email from here that you were not well, I kept you in my thoughts and prayers. Glad to see that you are up and about, we are blessed we live in a country with modern medicine… Read more »
Welcome back, Paul! Hope all’s well. I hope you know how much we value you as a person, not someone who share awesome music!
Hey- you’re back. Glad you’re doing better and hope all is well with you. BTW – this is one of my favorite Sheila E tunes. Thanks.
Hope you are feeling better!
I’ve been listening to Sheila E all week – and then this pops up!!!
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hola Paul, primero que nada, espero te hayas recuperado muy bien de salud, y que realices el cuidado post de manera adecuada.
Ahora a lo nuestro, gracias por aportar con otro clásico de Sheila E, percusionista que estuvo en el Festival de Viña del Mar, acá en Chile.
Saludos
Glad to know you are OK my friend. TAKE CARE!
Good to see you back Paul, and with another cool Sheila E post 🙂
Welcome back Paul, glad to see you’re in good health again!
First of all, welcome back, Paul! Glad to see you back. I know that many of us were a bit concerned. Hope that you are doing better! And secondly, thank you for the excellent post!!! Great track!
So glad you’re back! I hope you’ve recovered well and aren’t doing too much too soon.
And such a great track to be back with! Sheila E. is fantastic!
Just good to see you back Paul.
Thank you, Jon 🙂
Good to see you back Paul. 🙂
Thank you, Jermajesty 🙂
Whew!!!
🙂 🙂
Hey man, you really got your folks worried…. good you’re back!
Thank you, Andi 🙂
Good to have you back, I hope all is well?
Thank you, Christian 🙂
I’m so happy you’re back Paul. Thank you for this post and everything you have done.
Have a great day!
Jeff
Thank you, Jeff. Have a great day :0
Welcome back Paul! I didn´t expect a new post from you this year as I know pneumonia is really something serious. So if you are already feeling well it was a real kick recovery. That makes me feel very happy. Honestly I missed you a lot. There´s a big emptiness without your great posts.
I am feeling stronger although not completely back to my old self. I am taking it easy and posts might be slower than usual for a little bit.
Great to see you are feeling better!
Thank you, Seb 🙂
Welcome back Paul! We were all very worried about you. I hope you are getting stronger and stronger again. Take good care… and don’t strain yourself, doing too much too soon. Thank you for my particular Sheila E favourite !! <3
Thank you, Jay, I am taking it easy trying not to do too much at once. I missed you guys 🙂
First off… Glad to see that your well again.
As for this record, me personally never saw record when it was released (and I’m a big Shelia E fan.) After listening to this while not as good as “A Glamorous Life” its definitely a floor filler has a great rhythm to it and is a fun & enjoyable.
Thanks for this.
I love the sleigh bells on this record and thought it had a bit of a Christmas vibe. 🙂
Welcome back Paul! I think I speak for everyone when I say we were getting a bit worried. So glad you are on the mend and feeling better!
Thank you so much, Aaron. 🙂