Mari Wilson - The Neasden Queen Of Soul (2022)

• Fantastic 3CD digipack collection that brings together Mari Wilson’s best loved material from her time signed to the Compact Organization spanning her studio album and 10 single releases over the period of 1980-85.

• Features a 24-page booklet with sleeve notes written by Mari Wilson and a UK discography, together with previously unseen photos. The newly designed front cover uses an iconic photograph taken by Adrian Boot.

CD 1 is centred around the 12-track debut album ‘Showpeople’, originally released in 1983 plus four bonus tracks, the 12” mixes of the singles, ‘Just What I Always Wanted’ her 1982 top 10 hit, ‘Cry Me A River’ a top 30 hit in 1983, ‘Baby It’s True’ and the soul classic ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ both available here on CD for the first time.

CD 2 features the single versions of eight A-sides, nine B-sides and five rarities, including seven non-album singles, ‘Love Man’, ‘Dance Card’, ‘Beat The Beat’, ‘Baby It’s True’, ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’, Let’s Make This Last’ and the theme tune to the 1985 film Dance With A Stranger ‘Would You Dance With A Stranger’.

CD 3 includes eight new remixes by the original writer/producer Tot Taylor, ably assisted by Joe Dworniak using the original multi-track tapes. Tracks remixed include the A-sides ‘Beat The Beat’ and ‘Baby It’s True’ plus the B-sides ‘Glamourpuss’, ‘Ecstasy’, ‘Rave’, ‘She’s Had Enough Of You’ and ‘You Look So Good’. Appearing on CD for the first time includes the U.S. Remix of ‘Just What I Always Wanted’, ‘One Day Is A Lifetime – Alternate Version’, a 7” DJ edit of ‘Wonderful’ and two versions of ‘Let’s Make This Last’.

Mari Wilson (The Neasden Queen Of Soul) first arrived on the scene in the early 80s with her skyscraper beehive, a bizarre sense of fashion and fully choreographed 12-piece band The Wilsations. Mariʼs live shows were an event – pure entertainment.

In 1982, Mariʼs records began entering the charts and she soon had six hit singles, the biggest being ʻJust What Iʼve Always Wantedʼ and ʻCry Me A Riverʼ, both taken from her album ʻShowpeopleʼ.