Showing posts with label Eighties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eighties. Show all posts

Wednesday 13 March 2024

Eurovision - Telex

I have a big subcollection of Eurovision singles and within that subcollection there's another subcollection: 12" singles of Eurovision songs. You'd be surprised how many 12" singles of Eurovision songs actually exist, and many have already featured on this blog anyway. But one eluded me, and I consider it the ultimate Eurovision 12" single: it's 'Eurovision' by Telex.

It's quite a rare one, because it was only released in the USA as a promotional disc. But it contains an extended version of that song, and as far as I know this version has never been released anywhere else. I've had to search for this one for quite a long time, and I am really glad to finally have it. Even if I had to have it sent over from Canada!

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 March 2024
Tracks: 'Eurovision [extended]' / 'Dance to the music', 'Twist a Saint-Tropez'

Sunday 10 March 2024

Coming up (live at Glasgow) - Paul McCartney

In 1980 Paul McCartney released 'McCartney II', a solo album created almost entirely on his own, aided only by his wife Linda. When the album was released in the USA, it came with a free 7" single featuring one track: a live version of 'Coming up'. This live version also appeared on the 7" single of 'Coming up', actually. 

I only bought this single because it came with an order of a few 12" singles, and it is a nice curiosity. It's not often one gets to buy a McCartney promo for the price of half a bread.

My collection: 7" single no. 7155
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 March 2024
Tracks: 'Coming up (live at Glasgow)'

Open up the red box - Simply Red

I'm not entirely sure if I would have bought this single if it wasn't a double single. I am just a sucker for special editions. 'Open up the red box' was Simply Red's fifth and final single release from their debut album 'Picture book'. This double single features previous single 'Holding back the years' as a bonus. Smart move, as that one had just reached number 2 in the UK singles chart. On the other hand, most people probably already owned that single - and so 'Open up the red box' stalled at number 61 in that same chart. 

No need to panic: Simply Red continued their success with subsequent albums, with hits right into the new century.

My collection: 7" single no. 7150
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Open up the red box' / 'Look at you now' // 'Holding back the years' / 'Drowning in my own tears'

Amiga Quartett - Bangles

The GDR record company Amiga released so-called 'Amiga Quartett' EP's, featuring several tracks from a certain act. In this case, an EP from 1989 mopped up a few single and album tracks from the American band The Bangles. They were enjoying great success with 'Eternal flame' in 1989, something that didn't escape the attention of the Eastern German record company bosses. Their music was deemed suitable for the youth behind the iron curtain. The B-side of this EP features two tracks from the album 'Everything'. 

After Germany's reunification Amiga ceased to exist. In fact, it looks like this was the last interesting - to me at least - EP's from the label. Nine more followed, from artists like Monika Herz, Jürgen Hart, Neneh Cherry and Udo Jürgens. Amiga was sold to BMG National Berlin in 1994. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7153
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Eternal flame', 'In your room' / 'Something to believe in', 'Some dreams come true'

Hot hot hot !!! - Cure

'Hot hot hot!!!' was the fourth single released from the album 'Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me'. In early 1988, it spent three weeks in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 45 on 20 February of that year. In the United States, the song reached number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached its highest chart position in Spain, peaking at number 8. 

For this single release, both tracks were remixed by François Kevorkian. The B-side, 'Hey you!!!' was also a song from the album, but the original CD release of 'Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me' omitted this track as to facilitate a single CD. In 2006 the track did appear on CD1 of a deluxe 2CD edition of the album. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7154
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Hot hot hot !!!' / 'Hey you !!!'

West end girls - Pet Shop Boys

Now that the Pet Shop Boys have established themselves as one of the premier acts of UK pop, it's hard to imagine that there was once a time when these two gentlemen still had to fight their way into the recording industry. This single, 'West End Girls', comes right from the beginning of their career in 1984. It's a French release, because apparently there were some companies out there that believed in this Bobby O-produced slice of pop. It is not, of course, the hit version that followed in 1985. 

Orlando played most of the instruments on this version of the track, including the jazz riff at the end. Lowe played one chord and the bassline. It included a drum part lifted from Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean', and an arrangement involving what Tennant called "Barry White chords". Orlando was thrilled by the song's production; his idea was to make a rap record in a British accent. In April 1984, 'West end girls' was released, becoming a club hit in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and a minor dance hit in Belgium and France. In March 1985, after long negotiations, Pet Shop Boys cut their contractual ties with Orlando, and hired manager Tom Watkins, who signed them with EMI.

My collection: 7" single no. 7151
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'West end girls' / 'Pet Shop Boys'

Stop the world - Captain Sensible

After considerable success with the single 'Wot!', Captain Sensible's career stalled. The next single 'Croydon' didn't chart anywhere, and the single after that was 'Stop the world'. It only got to number 82 in the UK singles chart, and number 72 in Germany. His only other big hit would happen a year later with 'Glad it's all over'.

The biggest redeeming quality of all these singles was that they were produced by Tony Mansfield, of New Musik fame. You can his recognizable synth sounds on this single. Apparently there's a 12" single version as well - which will probably feature on this blog soon as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 7146
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Stop the world' / 'Back to school?'

Friday 8 March 2024

The love parade - Dream Academy

The Dream Academy never got much recognition beside their greatest hit 'Life in a northern town', but obviously there was more to the band than just the one song. They released three albums and twelve singles, but only three singles ever made the UK singles chart. 

One of them was 'The love parade', released in early 1986 as a track from their self-titled debut album. It reached number 68 in the UK singles chart but fared a bit better in Belgium where it peaked at number 30. In the American Adult Contemporary chart it even reached number 13. 

'The love parade' is the only song on the Dream Academy's eponymous album not to be produced by David Gilmour. Instead, the band recruited Alan Tarney to work with them on the track. Tarney was brought in at the suggestion of Rough Trade Records founder Geoff Travis to work on the song. "What happened was, we had a pretty good demo for 'Love Parade' and we loved it, and when we made the record with David, somehow we never got 'round to it". Lead vocalist Nick Laird-Clowes noted that Tarney brought some "real special techniques" to the table: he tracked the vocals "12 or 15 times" during certain portions of the song. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7144
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'The love parade' / 'Girl in a million (for Edie Sedgwick)'

Shaggy raggy - Jona Lewie

Released in 1981, 'Shaggy raggy' was one of Jona Lewie's lesser known singles. It never charted and in fact I have never seen this single before - even though I have scoured a lot of record shops and record fairs in my lifetime.

The single came after two of his more successful attempts: the 1980 Christmas hit 'Stop the cavalry' and 'Louise (We get it right)', which didn't chart in the UK but did reach number 2 in Australia. The B-side of this single is an interesting take on the same track; putting the two together could have made an interesting 12" single.

My collection: 7" single 7142
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Shaggy raggy' / 'Shaggy raggied'

Modern girl - Sheena Easton

It's quite funny to collect singles by Sheena Easton: usually they're not very expensive and they always pop up at record fairs, second hand shops and the like. Through the years I've bought quite a few of her singles and I never had to spend much money on them. 

And this is also how I got my hands on this single of 'Modern girl'. Dirt cheap, and as a bonus it isn't quite complete. At least, while the sleeve is Dutch, the record comes from the UK. Something tells me this single wasn't sold that way, but I'll take it nonetheless. There's no sense in spending more after all.

My collection: 7" single no. 7141
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Modern girl' / 'Paradox'

Saturday 2 March 2024

I'll come back - Dora

Another Spanish promotional single went into my collection, and it's an interesting one for sure. It's got only one playable side and it features the English version of 'Voltarei', titled 'I'll come back'.

'Voltarei', of course, was released in 1988 when Dora represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest. Quite why the Spanish decided to choose the English version instead of the Portuguese one is a mystery to me, especially because this promotional single is housed in the original sleeve - meaning that 'Voltarei' is announced at the front and 'I'll come back' at the back. Curiosities like this make me very happy.

My collection: 7" single no. 7140
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 February 2024
Tracks: 'I'll come back'

Thursday 29 February 2024

Boys and girls - Mandy Smith

It's an amazing coincidence that I should buy two singles named 'Boys and girls' from the same (online) dealer, but here it is: after 'Boys and girls' by the Human League I found this one by Mandy Smith. 

The level of success that Human League achieved during the Eighties could not be replicated by Mandy, however. This single was the third one taken from her debut, and only, album 'Mandy', and it failed to chart. That in itself was quite amazing since the single was produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman who at the same time had a lot of success with acts like Mel & Kim, Rick Astley, Kylie Minogue and countless others. Mandy was probably just unlucky. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7133
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 February 2024
Tracks: 'Boys and girls' / 'He's my boy'

Boys and girls - Human League

The Human League started out in 1977 as a group consisting of Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh, Philip Oakey and Adrian Wright. When Ware and Craig Marsh left the group in 1980 (subsequently forming B.E.F. and Heaven 17) the other two were left with the obligation to fulfill a tour and more releases. Recruiting the girls Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall they soldiered on, and 'Boys and girls' became their first single release in early 1981.

Amazingly, 'Girls and boys' went on to become the band's biggest hit since their debut 'Being Boiled', peaking at number 48, which in itself was a lowly chart placing, but it did offer the group some hope that things would turn around in their favour. Indeed it did: subsequent singles became bigger hits and between 1981 and 1983 they scored five top 10 hits, including one charttopper.

My collection: 7" single no. 7133
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 February 2024
Tracks: 'Boys and girls' / 'Tom Baker'

Tuesday 20 February 2024

On and on and on - Cashmere

Sometimes I buy singles out of curiosity. That can be a good thing at times, but sometimes it's not such a good thing. 

I guess it takes guts to cover an Abba song, even back in 1980, when the Swedish band wasn't as revered as it is now. Abba released 'On and on and on' on 12" single only, and so the Dutch duo Cashmere thought it was a clever idea to release that same song on a 7" single. It could have worked, but unfortunately the vocals are a bit rough and this version ends up being... not very good. And so the single failed to reach the charts.

My collection: 7" single no. 7124
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 February 2024
Tracks: 'On and on and on' / 'Hey you'

This is my night - Chaka Khan

After the phenomenal success of 'I feel for you', which topped the UK singles chart in late 1984, Chaka Khan followed that single up with 'This is my night', a comparatively weaker track. It's still got a funky hook, but other than that nothing spectacular happens. Hence, the single only reached number 14 in the UK singles chart. 

Still, it was the last time Chaka reached the UK top 20 for many years. Only remixes of her old hits, 'I'm every woman' and 'Ain't nobody', would help her back in the UK top 10 in 1989, but after that, she only managed to scrape the lower reaches of the chart. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7121
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 February 2024
Tracks: 'This is my night' / 'Caught in the act'

20/20 - George Benson

'20/20' was the title track of George Benson's 1985 album. The song was released as a single. In the UK, the single reached number 29 in the singles chart, but in the Netherlands the single did not chart at all.

I still remember the song from the many times that I watched Sky Channel and Music Box, the two premier satellite channels that used to play music videos for most of the day. Somehow the song crept back into my mind recently, and so I thought it would be nice to own the single after all these years. The B-side is a jazzy instrumental.

My collection: 7" single no. 7120
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 February 2024
Tracks: '20/20' / 'Shark bite'

Sunday 4 February 2024

Piano piano - Mariella Farré & Pino Gasparini

Switzerland won the very first Eurovision Song Contest, but after that... nothing. For decades they tried and tried, but nothing ever became as successful. When you listen to some of those entries, you understand why: it regularly borders on the inane.

This entry from 1985 is a good example. 'Piano piano' is a good show tune, but couldn't compete with some of the other songs in that year's edition (although it still amazes me that the boring 'La det swinge' won that year). The song was performed by Mariella Farré and Pino Gasparini. Gasparini was previously on the Eurovision stage with the Pepe Lienhard Band in 1977, and Farré in 1983 with 'Io così non-ci sto'. This new attempt was rewarded with a mediocre 12th place. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7118
Found: Discogs.com, received 30 January 2024
Tracks: 'Piano piano' / 'Donna'

Sunday 28 January 2024

Every breath you take - The Police

Record Store Day has been vilified on this blog a few times before, just like it should be. Singles one could buy for a few quid in the Eighties are sold for extortionate prices four decades later. Certainly the popularity of vinyl has grown since the turn of the century, but record companies are all too eager to earn money from vinyl discs, even going as far as declaring the CD dead, while that is still the format on which the most units are sold (but since CD's are much cheaper, record companies make more money from vinyl, get it?) 

Anyway, on last year's Record Store Day this double single of 'Every breath you take' was sold, featuring a second disc with the previously unreleased track 'Every bomb you make'. That track was recorded for Spitting Image in 1985 with new vocals by Sting. The instrumental version of 'Every breath you take' is an added bonus.

My collection: 7" single no. 7115
Found: Sounds, Delft, 27 January 2024
Tracks: 'Every breath you take' / 'Murder by numbers' // 'Every bomb you make' / 'Every breath you take (instrumental)'

Friday 5 January 2024

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl

Shane MacGowan, the illustrious frontman of the Pogues, passed away last year after an eventful drug- and drink-filled life. Whatever you might think of him, he certainly wasn't a boring character. On 30 November 2023, after receiving last rites, MacGowan died from pneumonia at his home in Dublin with his wife by his side; he was 65.

Warner Records thought it was a fitting idea to rush-release this vinyl single with the man's most famous performance, on the Christmas song 'Fairytale of New York'. It would of course have been great if this song was the UK's Christmas number 1 of 2023, but that honour went to another dead man: George Michael of Wham! Still, this single is a great item because it features an instrumental version of that famous Christmas tune. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7109
Found: Dig website, received 3 January 2024
Tracks: 'Fairytale of New York' / 'Fairytale of New York (instrumental)'

 

Thursday 28 December 2023

There's the girl - Heart

After the success of 'Alone' and 'Who will you run to', Heart released a third single from their 1987 album 'Bad Animals': 'There's the girl'. It wasn't quite as successful as the two previous singles, but still peaked at number 12 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, while it also rose to number 34 in the UK singles chart. The single version was remixed when compared to the original album version.

The B-side of the single features the title track of the album, 'Bad animals', which is also a strong track. Personally I feel the band were at their peak in 1987, but I recently read an article in which Ann and Nancy Wilson expressed some regret about this period, feeling they were being used as puppets by the record company. Still, the earnings must have made up for something, as they never equalled the success of 'Bad Animals' again.

My collection: 7" single no. 7102
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 December 2023
Tracks: 'There's the girl' / 'Bad animals'

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