A rather rare 45 rpm single: Alessandra Mussolini – “Love Is Love / Tears” (Japan 1982)

For those interested in curious discography, today I came across an unusual piece: the 7" Japanese by Alessandra Mussolini – “Love Is Love / Tears”, published in 1982 by Alfa Records of Tokyo, catalog ALR-755.

It is a single released only in Japan, linked to the period in which Mussolini lived in Osaka after her marriage to a local entrepreneur. It is not connected to the better-known LP “Amore”, but represents a separate production from the same city-pop environment of the time, with arrangements typical of Alfa Records releases of the early ’80s.

The vinyl contains two tracks:

A: Love Is Love

B: Tears

The format is 7"45 rpm, with Japanese idol style photo cover from the Showa era. The specimen wears the classic Alfa sleeve in thin paper and features the original ALFA/ALR print.

For those who follow the collecting of city-pop and “Japanese oddities”, this is one of the most particular lateral releases: not a very high circulation, low availability outside Japan, and frequent presence in the lists of “Japan-only curiosities” of the 80s together with the smaller productions of Western talents and idols active in Japan.

An object that combines Japanese pop culture, peripheral Italian-disco and 80s memorabilia.