I never really see this song discuseed here on the org Wonder why? It is a nice song-the synths are great and dammitt you gotta like it just cuz it's Sheila it tears me apart whenever I hear him cry Love it

I have a friend who isn't a particular fan of Prince or Sheila--truth be told, I just always assumed he wouldn't have even known who Sheila was--and one day he told me how he loved The Belle of St. Mark. He particularly loved that it was a song about male beauty, which made me appreciate the song even more.

I love the song too. The lyrics express real longing, the sexual tension of an older woman seducing a younger man is a rock'n'roll staple done right, and the blending of Jill's vocals with Sheila's is perfectly executed. I like the extended version tons as well. And even though there's no real reason for this, the song always has a Christmas feel (in a good way).

I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit for Sheila. Perhaps if there had been a real video for it, it would have been.

I love the 12 Inch.

vainandy said:

I bet you've loved many 12 inches.

Love this song!

Great song.

Favorite song of mine from great album. Really catchy melody. My ex-girlfriend hated this song and the whole The Glamorous Life album...so I had it always on repeat

zaza said:

squirrelgrease said:

Man, I swear after what she did to me I should kill her

zaza said:

Break your heart, did she?

squirrelgrease said:

Not just that. To make very long story short: In the end I had to apologize to her for all HER mistakes. But after our break up I could play The Glamorous Life without hearing "Stop that shit!"

I've got a Japanese 45 w/"Toy Box" as the B-Side!!!!!

Great song. Yeah, she should've done a video for it.

Efan said:

I agree....with a really good video,this would have been a Top 10 smash.I was surprised that there was no video for it.This song screams "MTV hit".

Songs like this actually make Romance 1600 the better of the two Prince written albums.

squirrelgrease said:

Wait, what? According to post #9, you think this is a great song.

Efan said:

#6, but yes.....I'm confused.

Efan said:

Why did I think Belle Of St. Mark was on Romance 1600 (probably because it has that Romance 1600 feel). Brain-fart, I guess. Romance 1600 is the better of the two albums though, in my opinion. Belle, Glamorous, Noon Rendezvous and especially Oliver's House are classic, so it's still a close race.

ernestsewell said:

Not as confused as me, I guess.

Are u absolutely sure there was no video 4 it? I remember watching the Chart Show UK many years ago and I could have sworn they played a video to go with that song. It was her only hit here, reaching number 18 in 1985.

lipstick said:

Maybe. But we couldn't post it here if it existed.

So... how 'bout these gems:

woogiebear said:

I think you mean "Too Sexy" as the B-side as "Toy Box" wasn't released until 1985.

By the way, there was a video for this, a live video taped from Sheila's support act during the Purple Rain tour in Landover (I assume because sheila says "DC can you do this" to the crowd). I have always loved the live version more than the album version- and didn't care much for the 12".

The cover of the US 12" is very nice by the way, better than the Euro 12" (which contained the album version and not the remix).

OK found the video:

http://www.dailymotion.co...live_music

The song went top 10 in Holland.
[Edited 1/15/10 2:38am]

squirrelgrease said:

whitesockedfunk said:

ur RIGHT!!!!! My Bad!!!!!

love this song and Ms.E! I have such mad respect for her. She's come along way!

what's the synth used in this song? I've always loved it

BlaqueKnight said:

Really? I didn't hear about that, but it's possible that he did.

great song!