Noel Harrison

The Windmills of Your Mind.com 

Singles


During his long career, Noel released a lot of singles. As far as we know, all of them are listed here.

EMI EP (1958)

The first record released by Noel Harrison, the San Francisco Bay Blues EP was published in the UK by EMI in 1958.

For more details, go to the EP's dedicated page.

Noel Harrison and his Calypso Band (1959)


Under the name Noel Harrison and his Calypso band, Noel released an EP and a number of singles in mainland Europe In 1959.


The EP featured the calypso standards Glory Mama, Banana Boat, Jamaica Farewell and Watermelon Spolin' in the Wine. 


Because of its limited release, this EP is now the hardest of all Noel's records to find. Copies have been known to sell for as much as £80.


To listen to the EP, go to its dedicate page.

The track Glory Mama was taken from the EP and released as a single in Italy. The record featured Italian pop singer Lety Devi on the A-side and Noel on the B-side.

Banana Boat was also taken from the EP and released as Noel's second Italian single.

The single was released as a flexi disc with only one track on it.

An Evening at the Blue Angel EP (1964)


The Evening at the Blue Angel EP features tracks by Noel Harrison as well as Blue Angel regular Peter Maxwell, and Julie Felix - who would break-out as a successful folk singer soon after this record was made.


An exact date for the recording is not known, but it is believed to come from 1964, shortly after Felix left America for the UK and before Noel left the UK for America the following year.


The song, which was recorded live, has a jazzy feel and is a really good example of Noel's early work. To listen to Noel's track, visit the Blue Angel page.

Decca/London singles (1965-1969)

Noel's first release for Decca was a four track EP which was put out in the UK in early 1965. It featured the single A Young Girl of Sixteen, the Bob Dylan cover, One Too Many Mornings, Barbara Allen and Bonsoir Dame.

All the tracks were later featured on the Decca compilation The World of Noel Harrison.


The record marked the move away from Noel's calypso songs into the more modern pop sound of the mid-1960s.

In May 1965, London Records released Noel's version of the folk song, Barbara Allen, with a cover of Bob Dylan's One Too Many Mornings as the B-side. Both were later included on the compilation album, The World of Noel Harrison.

 

Singles were released under the Decca name in Britain and Europe and on the London label in America, though both brands were owned by the same company.

In July 1965, Trees was released by Decca with a cover of Bob Dylan's To Ramona as the B-side. Trees later appeared on the World of Noel Harrison while To Ramona was on the Noel Harrison album. 

The American version of the single A Young Girl from November 1965 featured The Future Mrs Awkins as the B-side.

A Young Girl was the biggest chart hit of Noel's early career.

Both tracks here were included on The World of Noel Harrison.

In Canada, Noel released a version of A Young Girl using Charles Aznavour's French lyrics. (listen) 

The B-side was L'Amour C'est Comme Un Jour, the French version of Tomorrow Is My Turn from the album Noel Harrison. (listen)

From Holland is Decca's release of A Young Girl with Barbara Allen as the B-side.  This version of the single was also released in 1965. Barbara Allen appeared on the compilation the World of Noel Harrison.  

A 1965 four track EP from Decca featuring Over the Rainbow, Tomorrow Is My Turn, Mr Tambourine Man and To Ramona.

Three of the four tracks featured on the album Noel Harrison, but Noel's version of Over the Rainbow is only available on this EP. (listen)

A 1965 Decca release from Holland featuring the Dylan covers To Ramona and One Too Many Mornings.

To Ramona featured on Noel Harrison while One Too Many Mornings was on The World of Noel Harrison.

Decca released A Young Girl of Sixteen again in 1966, this time with Tomorrow is My Turn on the B-side.

Both tracks were taken from the Noel Harrison album.

Decca also released A Young Girl of Sixteen in Australia during 1966, again with Tomorrow is My Turn as the B-side.


London Records released Noel's cover of Bob Dylan's It's All Over Now Baby Blue in February 1966.

The single featured Much as I Love You on the B-side.

Both tracks featured on the album Noel Harrison.

Decca's UK version of It's All Over Now Baby Blue, from February 1966.

This version also features Much As I Love You as the B-side.

The Italian version of the Baby Blue single, also from 1966, still featured Baby Blue and Much as I Love You, but this time came with a picture sleeve, featuring the same image used on the front of the Noel Harrison album. 

From 1966, Marieke with the bizarre The Man Behind The Red Balloon as the B-side. Both tracks are only available on this single. (listen)

Marieke

The Man Behind The Red Balloon

The 1966 single In a Dusty Old Room later featured on Decca's The World of Noel Harrison compilation.

The B-side, Noel's funky version of the Bob Lind song Cheryl's Going Home, was only available on this single (listen) 

Following the launch of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E television show in September 1966, In a Dusty Old Room was re-released in America with a picture sleeve.

The cover included a line highlighting the role Noel played in the show.

A rare London single from March 1967 featuring two tracks not released anywhere else. (listen) 

Out for the Day

Fly Sing Song

In January 1969, Decca release A Young Girl of 16 again, this time with the Beatles track She's A Woman from the Noel Harrison album as the B-side.

Love Minus Zero also featuring I Just Can't Wait. A July 1969 single with both tracks included on The World of Noel Harrison

Reprise singles (1967-1970)

Almost all the Reprise singles and B-sides feature on the compilation CD Life is a Dream.

From the album Collage, Noel's cover of the Leonard Cohen song, Suzanne, featured Life is a Dream on the B-side.

The record was Noel's second biggest selling single after The Windmills of Your Mind. 

In Germany, Suzanne came with a picture sleeve.

The track was released by Reprise in 1967.

In Spain, Suzanne also had a picture sleeve, but this time the B-side was Noel's cover of the Donovan song Museum.

In France, Suzanne had a funky, psychedelic cover.

The B-side was Life is a Dream.

In Italy, the Suzanne single unusually featured a picture of a model on the cover, rather than one of Noel. The B-side was Life is a Dream.

Mrs Williams' Rose with Sign Of The Queen as the B-side from 1967. Both tracks are taken from Collage and also feature on Life is a Dream.

Written by Noel, the title track from the album Santa Monica Pier featured In Your Childhood on the B-side. It was released as a single in March 1968.

The Windmills of Your Mind was released in July 1968 by Reprise.

The song reached number eight in the British charts.

For more on the song go to The Windmills of Your Mind page.

The Great Electric Experiment is Over single featured a cover of Bob Dylan's I'll Be Your Baby Tonight on the B-side. The Dylan cover did not make it onto the Life is a Dream compilation, but is included on the Great Electric Experiment album. The single came out in November 1968.

Released in 1969, the single Sparrow features California Weekend on the B-side. Neither were originally included on an album but were later released on the CD Life is a Dream. Noel was encouraged to cover Sparrow by Paul McCartney.

Neither Another Virgin Spring or the B-side Tin Wedding were included on an album at the time, but both tracks are included on the CD Life is a Dream. Tin Wedding was written by Noel in 1969. The single was released in April 1970. It was the last single Noel recorded for Reprise.

Promotional Single (1968)

To promote the television show Noel Harrison is Where the Girls Are, the show's sponsors, fabric makers Celanese, released this single in April 1968.

The track, which is also called Where the Girls are, veers from music hall, to rag-time and was one of Noel's weakest performances in the show.

Posterity single (1979)

In 1979, Canadian record company, Posterity Records, released the single Spread it Around, with Do What You Do as the B-side. Both songs were taken from the album Mount Hanley Song.

Independent single (2009)

On March 4, 2009, Noel released his first single in almost 40 years. The song Avalon was taken from the album Hold Back Time. It was put out through the Amazon website and is available for download only.