Question regarding Bellaphon 45s

[daviddesper]

I have recently come across a couple of German 45s from the 1980s on the Bellaphon label. One is a two-sided "hit" featuring Dancing in the Street and In My Lonely Room. The others I have seen featured non-Motown artists but I figured mentioning Martha would catch your attention.

What can you guys tell me about this 45 or the series in general? Would some of these be considered collector's items or are they just run-of-the-mill 45s in terms of value?

[1382hitsville]

Hi David,

My guess is that it could be a licensed re-release on the Bellaphon label. I guess it will be in the same league as the later CD compilations made by K-tel and BMG.

More about the label:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellaphon_Records

But my gut feeling is incorrect and they could be worth millions, I will be happy for you.

[mysterysinger]

Is this related to the series of Motown Oldies from around 1982 - which ran to at least 40 releases and included Shorty Long etc?

See this
https://www.discogs.com/release/3099...U6NTY3NzUwOA==

[daviddesper]

Exactly!!!! The artwork must have been the same for each of them but I am guessing each one had a different color scheme. This Martha one that I referenced, which shows up on that list, is bright red. The appeal was that each side had been a hit at least to some degree.

[jsmith]

RE: German 45s from the 1980s on the Bellaphon label ...
Bellaphon reissued lots of old soul tracks from the 60's in the 80's, not just Motown ones.
I believe many were re-recordings & not the original tracks. Such as ...
The Drifters–Sweets For My Sweet; Joey Dee –Peppermint Twist; Major Lance–Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um; Percy Sledge–When A Man Loves A Woman; Johnny Otis–Willie And The Hand Jive; Mary Wells–My Guy; ETC.

[daviddesper]

Can't speak for all of the ones on this label, but the Dancing in the Street 45 I have is definitely the original version.

[jsmith]

As the Motown logo is shown on the Bellaphon sheet, those Motown tracks must all be sourced directly from Motown in the US. Mind you, with mistakes made on lots of occasions when UK T/Mot requested original tapes [[different versions / mixes sent) ... I don't think it's guaranteed that all will feature the originally released version.
I was talking about other soul tracks they put out around the same time [[re-recordings). I guess the "My Guy" could easily be a later version.

[mysterysinger]

None of the Motown releases are re-recordings since they seem to be the German version pf the Motown Yesteryear releases.