Hal Lindes' post about Private dancer

[JF]

I know we already talked about that, but Hal posted this on FB :


"One of my favorite MK songs and nearly a Dire Straits’ song, which sadly didn't make it onto the LP along with at least another dozen or so stellar tunes originally recorded for the band’s 4th studio album, LOVE OVER GOLD.
The Dire Strait’s version was beautiful, but try as I might to persuade, MK wouldn’t have it included on the LP.
One fine morning with Tina Turner, and bandmates John Illsley, Terry Williams, Alan Clark and Mel Collins, we recorded Private Dancer and Steel Claw in London’s Wessex Studios. Tina nailed the vocal on her first take, and then delivered any equally magnificent second take as a back up in case any technical recording glitches."

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10222749589115198&set=a.2365995196162&type=3&theater

I wonder what are these "at least another dozen or so stellar tunes originally recorded" 

of course we know Badges, Private dancer, and the way it always start, but it's only 3, and if you add the ones from the record it makes 8... not 12 !
I asked him if he remember more

[Pierre]

Very interesting!
Maybe some of those gems made it to Brothers in Arms, but as MK is rather a not-looking-back type of artist, I doubt it.
I hope there are at least 1 or 2 songs from that period waiting to see the light somewhere. The sad things is we won't hear about them before someone other than Mark takes the decisions and we all know what that means. 

[TheTimeWasWrong]

From the comments:

Joop de Korte: Didn’t we do it live once or twice Hal ?
Hal Lindes: we certainly rehearsed it a good few times over at wood wharf. loved playing that tune. rehearsals were recorded on a 4 track portastudio if memory serves. hope you are keeping safe & well Joop. x H

[quizzaciously]

It would be strange to have Private Dancer on the Love Over Gold record, because it resembles the title track so much. Wise choice from Mark imo, also the song is hard to sing, so I really don't want to hear Mark's version

I think Hal may be overwhelmed with emotions and you always exaggerate the past, especially good things, so he could remember it as dozen of tunes. In reality Telegraph Road alone is like 3 songs in one

[qjamesfloyd]

Whether it's a dozen or not, it sounds like there could be several songs recorded and gathering dust in the vaults, and if he says they are stellar tunes, who are we to argue, could be more to add to the box set of unreleased tracks

I really want to hear Mark's version of Private Dancer, Tina has said she loves Mark's version.

[Brunno Nunes]

I wonder how the version of Private Dance with Dire Straits would be, in addition to the other songs that could have made the album Love Over Gold. I remember a 1981 interview in Oslo, where MK mentioned that the next album would be a double.

[jbaent]

I bet the version was quite similar, as it was Dire Straits without MK who recorded it with Tina Turner...

[KnopfleRick]

I really want to hear Mark's version of Private Dancer, Tina has said she loves Mark's version.

Whould love to hear Mark's version, too.

[JF]

I remember a 1981 interview in Oslo, where MK mentioned that the next album would be a double.

yes it's also mentionned in the Oldfield book. At the time Mark had enough stuff to make a double album

We know 3 songs that were left over : Badges..., private Dancer, and The way it always start who made up on Local Hero soundtrack

Maybe Twisting, Two young lovers and if I had you were intented to feature on the LOG album ?
 and finally they decided to re-recorded them in the fall 82 , after Pick left...

[Robson]

Oldfield writes: and now there were... twenty other songs.

[quizzaciously]

I remember a 1981 interview in Oslo, where MK mentioned that the next album would be a double.

yes it's also mentionned in the Oldfield book. At the time Mark had enough stuff to make a double album

We know 3 songs that were left over : Badges..., private Dancer, and The way it always start who made up on Local Hero soundtrack

Maybe Twisting, Two young lovers and if I had you were intented to feature on the LOG album ?
 and finally they decided to re-recorded them in the fall 82 , after Pick left...

Thank god Mark went with "quality over quantity" approach, just like the title "love over gold" dictates

[koobaa]

I bet the version was quite similar, as it was Dire Straits without MK who recorded it with Tina Turner...

Yes, but it would undoubtedly have a much better guitar solo with MK. That Jeff Beck thing is cringeworthy.

[wakeywakey]

I remember a 1981 interview in Oslo, where MK mentioned that the next album would be a double.

yes it's also mentionned in the Oldfield book. At the time Mark had enough stuff to make a double album

We know 3 songs that were left over : Badges..., private Dancer, and The way it always start who made up on Local Hero soundtrack

Maybe Twisting, Two young lovers and if I had you were intented to feature on the LOG album ?
 and finally they decided to re-recorded them in the fall 82 , after Pick left...

Thank god Mark went with "quality over quantity" approach, just like the title "love over gold" dictates

So you have heard the 20 other songs?
I reckon Hal's opinion is more valid on this subject.
Single albums sell/sold much better than double so in all likelihood it was solely commercial reasons why only 5 songs were on the album.
I would have preferred more songs as he was near his peak guitar wise.
Let's hope we get to hear some/all of them one day.

[jbaent]

I bet the version was quite similar, as it was Dire Straits without MK who recorded it with Tina Turner...

Yes, but it would undoubtedly have a much better guitar solo with MK. That Jeff Beck thing is cringeworthy.

Also with MK it would had been arranged slightly different but probably very similar, and the solo would had been better for sure.

So, the five songs released, the three on the ep, private dancer, the way it always starts and badges make 11 songs... Probably something more that ended in brothers, or years later on OES or MK records, or remained forgotten.

[ds1984]

I remember a 1981 interview in Oslo, where MK mentioned that the next album would be a double.

yes it's also mentionned in the Oldfield book. At the time Mark had enough stuff to make a double album

We know 3 songs that were left over : Badges..., private Dancer, and The way it always start who made up on Local Hero soundtrack

Maybe Twisting, Two young lovers and if I had you were intented to feature on the LOG album ?
 and finally they decided to re-recorded them in the fall 82 , after Pick left...

In my memory the double album in the Oldfield book was Making Movies, not LOG.
Twisting is not a LOG session song as that was already featured in the 1980 's BBC Arena doc.

We have several examples of song written many years ago before being published by mark so unless for the ones we have a good testimonial about them, we can generally not say if it is a real new one or not.
I guess on that subject Mark is more or less always looking back on what is in stock.