Dreamland News: Divine

Discography

Divine recorded a whole mess of singles. Starting out with a punk sound on the legendary Wax Trax label, she quickly switched gears to electro. Working with the seminal producer Bobby Orlando, who is also famous for producing The Flirts and the first Pet Shop Boys songs. Divine scored many hits in gay clubs and in the charts in Europe.

See below for what's available on CD.

	1979 Born To Be Cheap/The Name Game produced by David Plattner Wax Trax Records (US) Beggar's Banquet (UK) 1981 Native Love/T-Shirts and Tight Blue Jeans produced by Bobby Orlando O Records 1982 Shoot Your Shot/Jungle Jezebel produced by Bobby Orlando O Records/Vanguard This single was very successful in clubs and actually was issued a gold single in Holland (100,000 copies) in 1983. 1983 Shake It Up produced by Bobby Orlando O Records/Vanguard Love Reaction/Kick Your Butt/Alphabet Rap produced by Bobby Orlando O Records/Vanguard Love Reaction was recorded twice upon the suggestion of Divine's Dutch record company, the second version modeled after New Order's successful Blue Monday single. A suit was threatened against Bobby Orlando for audio plagiarism, but never materialized. The single reached #65 on the UK Record Mirror's Top 100 in October 1983.
	1984 You Think You're A Man produced by Pete Waterman with Stock, Aitken and Ware. In Tune Music Ltd/Proto Records After the mild success of Love Reaction, Divine scored big with this single. It reached #16 on the UK Record Mirror's Top 100 in July 1984 and #8 on the Billboard Hits of the World chart for Australia. The popular UK television program, Top of the Pops, featured Divine in performance on July 19, 1984, [right] resulting in a barrage of complaints.
	1985 I'm So Beautiful produced by Stock, Aitken, Waterman In Tune Music Ltd/Proto Records A video was filmed for this single, as well as a promotional tour through clubs in Europe. The Story So Far In Tune Music Ltd/Proto Records A compilation of the two Proto Records singles recorded so far, as well as several O Records tracks.
	Walk Like A Man/Man Talk Twistin' The Night Away/Hard Magic produced by Barry Evangeli, Nick Titchener and Pete Ware. In Tune Music Ltd/Proto Records There was a picture disc in the shape of men's briefs for the single, Walk Like A Man. Also, videos were made for the single, and for Hard Magic, the only original song written for Divine at this session. 1986 Receiver Records reissues several of the In Tune Ltd songs on 12". Little Baby produced by Bruce Woolley Don't Panic Productions Hey, You! Produced by everyone and their mother, as described by biographer Bernard Jay. Don't Panic Productions re-released on a 3" compact disc single through ZYX. Cha-Cha Heels Written by Steve Bronski and Larry Steinbachek from Bronski Beat for Divine. Although never recorded by Divine, it was by the incomparable Eartha Kitt.
AVAILABLE ON CD: Since her catalog is scattered on various labels, it can be difficult to track down a decent compilation of Divine's music on CD. Here are a few currently available: THE BEST OF DIVINE: NATIVE LOVE This seems to be the most comprehensive collection available these days. JUNGLE JEZEBEL A six-track EP of Bobby O produced tracks UNFORGETTABLE HITS A ten-track compilation including a couple I'm unfamiliar with THE BEST OF DIVINE THE 12" COLLECTION
	Divine Live at the Hacienda This live performance captures of one of Divine's many club appearances, this time at the famous Manchester, UK club, Hacienda, on February 16, 1983. Songs performed include Jungle Jezebel, Born To Be Cheap, Alphabet Rap, Native Love, Shoot Your Shot and Shake It Up. It's available on CD, or DVD. Get the DVD: Live at the Hacienda Get the CD: Born to Be Cheap