Shoes (Reparata Song) - Release, Distribution Problems

Release, Distribution Problems

The single was released in the UK for promotional purposes only on 18 October 1974 on Surrey International Records as SIT 5013, with "A Song for All" as the B-side.

Reparata and the Delrons had disbanded in the previous year of 1973, some four years after Reparata herself had stopped performing with the group and handed lead vocal duties to bandmate Lorraine Mazzola. Mazzola eventually adopted the Reparata name herself, and continued to use it after the group disbanded, working with Barry Manilow in the group Lady Flash. When "Shoes" started attracting positive reveiws, Mazzola launched a lawsuit for sole use of the name Reparata, and in a 2005 radio interview, Mary O'Leary explained that this seriously affected the success of the record because the single had to be removed from sale during the case: "When the record came out, being done by Reparata, the record was squashed because, quote unquote, Reparata was with Barry Manilow. Believe me, it's a whole big megillah..." Mary O'Leary won the case when Lorraine Mazzola did not show up at the hearing, but in an interesting if disingenuous twist, Mazzola legally changed her given name from Lorraine to Reparata, and therefore has legitimately used the name ever since.

A High Court injunction brought by Reparata's former record label, Dart Records, also affected promotion and distribution. Billboard magazine reported the matter at the time:

"Dart claims that it has sole UK rights in master tapes of recordings made by Reparata under a 3-year contract signed in 1972. Although it is true the agreement expired in February, the opinion of Dart managing director Clive Stanhope is that the master tapes of "Shoes", and the flipside "A Song For All", must have been made before then, and were therefore covered by the agreement.".

Clive Stanhope has explained "When "Shoes" was released by Polydor and became Tony Blackburn's Record of the Week, we approached Polydor but as we had nil response we slapped on the injunction...".

The judge, Mr Justice Oliver, later decided that no-one would benefit from an injunction, so he lifted it. In the end, Polydor and Dart settled out of court. Polydor pressed and distributed two identical versions of "Shoes" in August 1975: one had a Dart label (although in the Polydor format), and the other had a regular Polydor label. Both releases had the same catalogue number, 2066 652, and the same picture sleeve, which used the logos of both labels. Sales were combined for chart purposes, but "Shoes" had now missed its moment. Clive Stanhope reflects that "The result of the injunction was that BBC Radio One ceased playing Shoes and what would almost certainly have been a Top Ten record languished in the lower regions of the Top Fifty for a week before dropping out."

In South Africa it reached #6 in January 1976. but as Stanhope says, in the UK "Shoes" only reached #43 in in October 1975. That same month, in the US it reached #92 on the Hot 100.

"Shoes" was included on the 1975 Ronco compilation 20 Blazing Bullets and on the 1976 Polydor compilation Super Disco, also released as 20 Original Top Hits.