The Long Play is the debut studio album by a German pop singer Sandra, released on 9 December 1985. The album was a great commercial success.
The lead single "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" was released in March 1985 and went on to top the charts in 21 countries worldwide. It stayed in the German top 20 for 16 weeks, remaining her Sandra's only chart-topper in her home country, and is now considered her signature song.
"In the Heat of the Night" was chosen as the follow-up single to the very successful "Maria Magdalena" in late 1985. The song was another commercial triumph, peaking within top 5 in a number of European countries, later earning Sandra second place at the Tokyo Music Festival in 1986.
The third and final commercial single taken from The Long Play was "Little Girl", released in early 1986. The song's music video was filmed entirely on location in Venice, Italy. "Little Girl" met with modest success in international music market.
"Sisters and Brothers" was released in 1988 as a promotional single in Japan only. The song, dedicated to Sandra's brother Gaston, is a cover version of Michael Cretu's song "Zeitlose Reise" from his 1983 solo album Legionäre.