Ministry Discog (re Twelve-Inch Singles)

Discussion
1

In this site’s discography, it is listed that Twelve-Inch Singles was released in 1985 and that “Halloween” 12’ was released in 1985 also, but are you sure that is correct?

I picked up Halloween no earlier than 1986, and I thought it was a new release at that time. Included in my copy is an insert which lists a bunch of Wax Trax! records available for mail-order. The catalogue number for Halloween is WAX020. The release for WAX016 is Front 242’s Interception. Interception was released by Nettwerk in 1986. According to the info at discogs.com, it was also released by Red Rhino in 1986, so I would assume that it was also released by Wax Trax! in 1986.

Granted that releases aren’t always chronological as well as numerical, here are a couple of other comparisons:
WAX017 - RevCo’s Big Sexy Land was also released 1986.
WAX022 - RevCo You Often Forget, 1986.
WAX026 - Front 242 Official Version, 1986.
WAX035 - Ministry Twelve-Inch Singles, 198? (don’t think it is 1985)

I’m pretty sure both Halloween 12" and Twelve-Inch Singles were released after Twitch, which is also why on Twitch, All Day is listed as “All Day Remix” because it is a remix of the original 12" version. It also explains why on Twelve-Inch Singles, there is “All Day (Remix B)” because Remix A is the Twitch version.

The various contributors at discogs.com agree with me that Halloween was released in 1986:
http://www.discogs.com/release/95625
and they list that the Twelve-Inch Singles was 1987:
http://www.discogs.com/release/36703

Thanks for the website and all the info it contains!

PS. Just a quick suggestion for the discography: you may want to use the internet standard country codes (eg. DE for Germany, FR - France …)

2

Halloween 12" was absolutely before Twitch. Not sure about 12" Singles Collection, however, as I didn’t pick it up until years later. And Big Sexy Land was 1985, as my 12" and interviews from the period prove. Hence, they’re wrong.

3

Although it could be the compact discs they’re refering to…

4

And Big Sexy Land was 1985, as my 12" and interviews from the period prove. Hence, they’re wrong.

The vinyl doesn’t have a date but the CD has 1986 written on it. Maybe the CD was released later. This site’s discog lists the LP as 1986 too so maybe you’ve uncovered another error.

Just wondering, how are you so positive that Halloween came before Twitch? I guess both could be 1986 but Halloween coming first.

edit // Actually, checking out some other discogs, nobody seems to agree on when some of the releases were :D. Ministry’s official site states that “Twelve Inch Singles” was 1985. Somehow, I think it was later though, which also makes sense for it not being released on vinyl.

5

CD’s were released in 1985, which is one of the main reasons why 12" Singles was released in that form. It would have been pointless to put all the singles on one 12" record, I mean it could’ve been a compilation LP but it was to take advantage of the format.

If any of this can be completely proven, I’ll change it. That’s what you guys are here for, we’re all fans. :smiley: As far as country codes, I’m gonna change it…

6

I always thought it was like this:

1984 - Everyday/All Day 12"
1985 - Halloween Remix
1986 - Twitch (had to wait until friggin’ 1990 for the CD)

In regards to Front 242, their music was licensed from RRE in Belgium anyway, so their catalogue numbers probably wouldn’t have had any chronological significance.

1002

7

Didn’t they re-release Cold Life in 1986 with the Dub mix that appears on Twelve Inch Singles in it? I know that that single was originally released in 1981, but that particular remix wasn’t on it, to my understanding.

8

Actually, Cold Life Dub was originally released in England I think in 1982 under the label Situation 2 on the 12" version of it. The mix according to enough research finally made it to the U.S. when the re-release of the Cold Life EP came out in 1985 (WAX003). It then shortly joined the CD and cassette releases of Twelve Inch Singles (WAX035) most likely in 1987 since CDs were just kicking off around that time. Not sure about the exact release of TIS though, and I always wondered why Cold Life sounds a little diffrent of Twelve Inch SIngles than the original 12" releases.

9

I guess the only real contentious issue I have is when Twelve-Inch Singles was released.

Once again, I point out the “All Day Remix” and “All Day (Remix B)”, which makes more sense if the “Singles” album was released after Twitch.

BTW, I wonder which cover of Halloween was the original pressing (if one actually was first); the one with the hole cut out the middle or without. Mine doesn’t have the hole.

PS. If you have the Singles CD (not the Ryko remaster), can you check the disc’s matrix to see if there is a year/date on there? Mine (Wax Trax!, no TVT) has 03/16/92B, so I would assume I have the 1992 repressing. It’s a long shot but you never know.

10

Didn’t they re-release Cold Life in 1986 with the Dub mix that appears on Twelve Inch Singles in it?
WaxTrax! did a reissue of “Cold Life” in 1985, as I also have that version - it does have the Dub mix, and Primental, a fave! It’s simply “I Wanted to Tell Her” as an instrumental…

11

“Everyday is Halloween” was released at least twice by Wax Trax! The first release was the original 12" single (Wax 007) with “All Day” as the b-side. This release was in 1984 and features a close-up photo of Al with sunglasses.

The Halloween remix was released much later with “The Nature of Outakes” as the b-side. Although I don’t a copy of this release, I have seen it in user vinyl stores, and I believe it was a 1987 release. The sleeve was die-cut had a sticker and did not have any band photos from what I recall.

12

PS. If you have the Singles CD (not the Ryko remaster), can you check the disc’s matrix to see if there is a year/date on there? Mine (Wax Trax!, no TVT) has 03/16/92B, so I would assume I have the 1992 repressing. It’s a long shot but you never know.

how do yo do that?

my twelve inch singles cd is TVT 7035. it has both tvt records and waxtrax logos.

on the cd spines it says:

TVT 7035 MINISTRY TWELVE INCH SIGLES WAX TRAX RECORDS INC.

the cd has

MADE IN USA TVT 7035-2 MANUFACTURED AND DISTRIBUTED BY TVT RECORDS

all the other numbers that can be found on playing side of cd do not resemle any dates or years whatsoever.

the 2page “booklet” says (excerpts)

EVERYDAY IS HALLOWEEN - 1984
(so it was originally 1984 release)

THE NATURE OF LOVE - 1984
(seems it also was 1984)

ALL DAY - 1984
(u get the idea)

COLD LIFE - 1981

HALLOWEEN REMIX
mixed in chicago 1985

N.O.L. CRUELTY MIX B 1984

ALL DAY REMIX B
remixed 1985

COLD LIFE DUB 1981

if that’s any useful info…

funny how CD is called MINISTRY TWELVE INCH SINGLES 1981-1984 and has two remixes from 1985!!

the discogs says this is 1994 release.

also, on some sites the cover art is upper half grey, lower half black. my cd has the reversed artwork - upper half is black and lower half is gray.

13

The matrix number is the very, very tiny letters on the actual CD itself, and it is near the hub of the disc. It’s very difficult to read as the print is small and it’s basically silver writing on shiny silver.

Since you have the TVT release, you don’t need to look at it since that one you have is definitely a re-issue. The one I have is grey on top and black on the bottom, for both the cover artwork and CD. I saw a used TVT release today, but didn’t take note if it was black/grey.

Dwelling more into the “date” on my copy and the discog … according to wikipedia, TVT bought Wax Trax! in 92 or 93. However, the discography here lists:
CD 1988 TVT/WaxTrax! TVT 7035? US
Was TVT already distributing Wax Trax! in 88 or …?

The Halloween remix was released much later with “The Nature of Outakes” as the b-side. Although I don’t a copy of this release, I have seen it in user vinyl stores, and I believe it was a 1987 release. The sleeve was die-cut had a sticker and did not have any band photos from what I recall.

Yeah, this is the release I was trying to figure out. If the die-cut or non-cut cover was definitely the original release, it would help in determining when Halloween Remix was released. As mentioned, my copy is not cut but in the catalogue/insert, the picture of the cover is slightly different than mine. It doesn’t look cut but has a circle on it that is a bit smaller than the size of a record label/sticker.

Anyways, we’ve now seen mentioned here and other places, that Halloween Remix 12" was released in 1985, 1986, and 1987, so which one is correct? :slight_smile: I wish that anyone making claims to the release date would elaborate why they think it was released when.

I’m not trying to say that I’m correct nor am I suggesting that the discography is lousy (especially when I know how much work it is to compile a discog and that’s when the releases have dates written on them!), but I’m just interested in getting the info accurate. Yeah, yeah, there’s more important things, I know … :slight_smile: