Double Exposure ‎– Ten Per Cent

To answer a post below the first UK 12 inch (ie pressed and released in the UK) is indeed a tricky one....
Along with the US market there were a number of promo 12's pressed and released in the UK during the latter part of 1975 such as Ben E King's "Supernatural Thing" and Barrabas's Hijack" both very early releases on Atlantic/Sam. Candi Staton's "Young Hearts run free" was pressed on 12 inch early in 1976 but as this was a promo only it doesn't count.
I vaguely remember reading that the Moments/Rimshots 12 on All Platinum was the first commerically available UK 12 and also vaguely remember that the source of that information was the sadly departed and very respected James Hamilton of Record Mirror so that's probably as good as it gets in terms of a definative answer...

Just to clarify the musicians, Earl Young is on drums, Ron Baker is bass, and Norman Harris is lead guitar and arranger (the three formed Baker-Harris-Young Productions). According to Billboard magazine in May 1976 and Tom Moulton's weekly Disco Mix column in Billboard, this was the first commercially available 12" single in the U.S. Another interesting tidbit about this 12-inch is the Walter Gibbons Remix on the "A" side. Salsoul Records had a contest and invited all the New York DJs to submit remixes of the song before it was released; Walter Gibbons' version won. Ken Cayre, co-owner of Salsoul, mixed what is considered the "original" version on the B-side. Sadly, the album verison of "Ten Percent" was the Cayre mix.

It's been mentioned in some circles before that this record was the 1st commercially available 12". However assuming this to be true it should be noted that such a comment is a reference to the US market. This particular release was pressed in the US and not the UK. Refer to the label for further information. So I guess this leads to the question - what was the 1st commercially available 12" single available in the UK? By definition, I mean actually pressed in the UK, and released on a UK label? Anyway, 10 Per Cent (when subsequent releases were issued the gap disappeared to create the word Percent) should be remembered for being the godfather of all soul/disco records ever released. Backed by the MIGHTY Ron Baker on Drums, Norman Harris on guitar & general arrangement credentials and of course Earl Young on bass, this is nearly 10 minutes of pure 70's genius, combining strings, a strong bass line, lots of hi-hat and an infectious rhythm. An inspirational and never ever bettered groove if ever there was such a thing! Oh yeah - and this was also the very first 12" record I ever bought, from would you believe a lighting, lamps and light bulb shop in Petticoat Lane, London ... but it takes NOTHING away from the fact that this is THE master of its genre.

Yes. This is the first bonafied commercial "Giant Single" ever released. A few 12" DJ Disco Promos were pressed for promotional use prior to this 12", but none of them were ever considered to be something the public would have interest in. This started everything that we know about 12" singles.