MamaOFrontIntroduction

“Mama ‘O” is a one-time project by Vangelis, using several pseudonyms apparently for contractual reasons. Mama ‘O is of course a tongue-in-cheek reference to his middle and last name, while the single credits Richard Broadbaker for arranging and producing the songs.

The songs ‘Red Square’ and ‘When The Cat's Away’ were released on a 7” single both in the UK and Spain in 1978, and fortunately the Spanish single included a promotional sheet explaining that Richard Broadbaker is in fact a pseudonym for Vangelis. This insight would later also help to identify Vangelis’ involvement in earlier projects such as "The Yumas" and "Humanity" (1973), as well as Chrisma’s first single ‘Amore’ (1976).

‘Red Square’ is a 3-minute electronic disco tune based on the melody of Iosef Ivanovici’s ‘Valurile Dunării’ (also known as ‘Waves Of The Danube’ or ‘Donauwellen’), a classic waltz composed in 1880.

‘When The Cat's Away’ with 3:45 minutes in length is a rythmic disco instrumental piece, showcasing the playful experiment and fun that these songs must have been to produce.

 

 

MamaOBackTracklist and credits

  • ‘Red Square’
    Composed by Iosef Ivanovici (credited as Branovitch).
     
  • ‘When The Cat's Away’

Arranged and produced by Richard Broadbaker.

 

 


WhenTheCatsAwayUKLabelRedSquareUKLabelDiscography

7” single

Note that the Spanish single comes in a picture sleeve, where some copies include a press-sheet written in Spanish. The UK single has neither.

These songs were never issued on CD.

 

Recording studio

The single does not clarify where these songs were recorded, but considering the timing and arrangement likely Vangelis’ own Nemo Studios was used to record the songs.

 

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