Falling - D. Twins

Five years ago you met the D. Twins on this blog, with a 12" single of 'Falling', which was a cover version of Julee Cruise's theme song for 'Twin Peaks'. It turns out that besides cd-singles and this 12" single there was also actually a 7" single! And since I collect 7" singles (avidly), I had to buy this copy the first time I saw it - which was this time five weeks ago. Fortunately it came cheap, too.

My friend Puck and I have had a lot of fun about this version because of the silliness of certain versions, but I guess you had to be there to fully appreciate the fun of it. So for now, just enjoy these cover versions for yourself if you can.

My collection: 7" single no. 5812
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, December 26, 2015
Cost: 0,8 euro
Tracks: 'Falling (Peaks version)' / 'Falling (Twin Club mix)'

Listen to the Peaks version / Listen to the Twin Club mix

Don Quichotte (The remixes) - Magazine 60

Once you get that line 'No señor, Don Quichotte y Sancho Panza no están aqui', you may fall victim to actually liking this song. The original single of Don Quichotte, released in 1985, has already been in my collection for almost 15 years, but this version was a new find for me.

Released in 1992, this single features two remixes of the track created by Yannick Rosco, a remixer and producer who was most active in the early Nineties. The cd-single, also released at the time, features two further versions: the original mix and a remix from 1990.

My collection: 7" single no. 5805
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2015
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Don Quichotte (Underground mix)' / 'Don Quichotte (Espagna mix)'

Listen to the song & Listen to the B-side

Runner in the night - Ryder

I wrote about the disappointment of the United Kingdom's 1986 Eurovision Song Contest entry 'Runner in the night' before, and how its tinny sound and unruly synthesizers ruined what could theoretically have been a good song.

So why extend the horror even more? Well, there was a maxi single release at the time, and it features an extended version that, because of its approach of the song, manages to make it slightly more enjoyable than it was. There aren't many remixes of Eurovision entries, even from the Eighties, so this makes a rather interesting release after all.

My collection: 12" single no. 656
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Runner in the night (extended)' / 'Runner in the night', 'Runner in the night (ballad)'

...

I love the nightlife (Disco 'round) - Alicia Bridges

The original single of Alicia Bridges' I love the nightlife was featured on this blog a few months ago, but I also own a copy of a remix of this track. It was released in 1994, after having been used in the movie 'The adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the desert'. The music video that accompanied this release featured Hugo Weaving, star of the movie.

The original track was a disco classic, and these remixes are less memorable. Typical Nineties fare, I would say, as many remixes from that decade have unfortunately turned out to be rather forgettable.

My collection: 7" single no. 5469
Found: HMV, London
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'I love the nightlife (Real Rapino 7" mix)' / 'I love the nightlife (Phillip Damien 7" mix)'

Weekend (Remix '88) - Earth & Fire

Some time ago, I bought a compilation cd of Earth & Fire's greatest hits, and it came with a remix of their biggest hit 'Weekend'. I didn't realise - although I probably should have - that this remix version was released as a single at the time of that album release.

The remix sounds decent enough, it certainly updates the sound to the year 1988, but it wasn't a chart success for the band. Not that they were still together: Earth & Fire disbanded in 1983. After this single release the band regrouped a year later, releasing just one more album: 'Phoenix'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5393
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Weekend (Remix '88)' / 'Weekend'

This time - INXS

Only in the UK you would have double single packages, sometimes at the price of a single 7", featuring extra tracks that made the purchase of a certain future hit that much more attractive. This 'two record set' of INXS's 'This time' is a great attractive, as it features two extended versions of previous singles plus a glossy gatefold sleeve. What's not to like?

'This time' was taken from INXS's fifth studio album 'Listen like thieves' (1985). The album was a charttopper in Australia and did fairly well in Canada and the USA, as well as peaking at number 46 in the UK albums chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5452
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'This time' / 'Original sin (extended version)' //  'Burn for you (extended remix)' / 'Dancing on the jetty'

Close to me (remix) - The Cure

The Cure were at their most popular by the end of the Eighties, but what happened after their album 'Disintegration' almost seemed like a deliberate self-destruct mechanism: they released an iffy live album ('Entreat'), then a remix album, and no new music until 1992 - and even that album was quite a departure from the doom and gloom they'd demonstrated until then.

From the remix album came this single, 'Close to me (remix)', in 1990. Let's just say that this remix came from Paul Oakenfold's less inspired periods. On the other hand, the remix of 'Just like heaven' on the B-side is a deconstructed piece of bliss, created by Bryan 'Chuck' New. Who?...

My collection: 7" single no. 5381
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Close to me (Closest mix)' / 'Just like heaven (Dizzy mix)'

Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel

There was a bit of excitement recently when a compilation album of Eighties 12" remixes - you know the ones - suddenly included a rare remix. It was the dance mix by John Potoker of Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer', released only once previously on this limited edition 12" single. The regular 12" single simply contained the album version of the track, so this remix was a bit of a rarity.

Now that the track has finally been released on cd, it was time to dig out my own crackly vinyl copy, so you can listen to 'the real thing', so to speak. Music on vinyl is what it's all about, after all...

My collection: 12" single no. 652
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Sledgehammer (dance mix by John Potoker)', 'Don't break this rhythm' // 'Biko (12" extended version)', 'I have the touch ('85 remix)'

Love like blood - Killing Joke

Sometimes there are these surprises when you're going through a stack of records. And finding this 12" single of Killing Joke's 'Love like blood' is a good example. I found this and for a moment I couldn't believe this disc actually contained a 'version' of the song. It isn't that strange in itself, since the single was released in the Eighties, but somehow I never thought there would be an extended version of this excellent track. Don't know why.

As it turns out, this extended version is excellent. A worthy addition to my collection.

My collection: 12" single no. 651
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Love like blood (version)' / 'Love like blood'

Slave to the rhythm - Grace Jones

A deluxe cd version of her career-overshadowing album 'Slave to the rhythm' has still not been issued, so all we can do in the mean time is pick up all the releases and rip the tracks from vinyl. Such as this one, the 12" single of Grace Jones' album's title track. I couldn't find it for a long time, but I finally found a good copy today - and for a very reasonable price, too.

The sleeve doesn't give you much information about the tracks contained on this disc, so I turned to Discogs.com for help. Fortunately, there is a decent listing for this disc. The 'blooded' version on the A-side is probably the best version of 'Slave to the rhythm' I've heard in a long time, as it adds much interesting things to the all too familiar single version. As for the B-side... Well, experimentation can be fruitful sometimes.

My collection: 12" single no. 648
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Slave to the rhythm (blooded)' / 'Junk yard', 'Annihilated rhythm'

Lover come back to me - Dead or Alive

Nobody suspected that Stock, Aitken and Waterman would dominate the pop charts for the next half of the Eighties when this single, 'Lover come back to me' was released back in 1985. It was the second big hit for the UK group Dead or Alive, which, like the previous single 'You spin me round', was produced by the infamous trio.

'Lover come back to me' packs a good punch and it is demonstrated even more firmly in this extended 12" version. The '7" bonus mix' included on the B-side is different from the 7" single version, so basically fans got two remixes for their money. Which was never a bad thing in those days.

My collection: 12" single no. 649
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Lover come back to me (extended version)' / 'Far too hard', 'Lover come back to me (7" bonus mix)'

It ain't necessarily so - Bronski Beat

Bronski Beat had already had two hits in 1984 when they released 'It ain't necessarily so', a cover of the George and Ira Gerschwin classic. The song questions the authenticity of biblical tales; the song is a metaphor for African-Americans questioning slavery, Jim Crow and oppression in the USA as the natural order of things. The single reached the UK Top 20.

This 12" single features a slightly longer version of the track as well as two more dance-oriented B-side tracks.

My collection: 12" single no. 647
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'It ain't necessarily so' / 'Close to the edge', 'Red dance'

Da da da ich lieb dich nicht du liebst mich nicht aha aha aha - Trio

The German band Trio constructed the early synthpop hit 'Da da da' with a Casio VI-Tone and some bits of German dialogue. It was a hit not only in Germany, where the 'Neue Deutsche Welle' was making waves, but also in other European countries and even in UK, where German acts were rarely found in the charts (although Boney M had considerable success in the Seventies...)

This 12" single presents a six minute remix (or 'extended version') of the track and two quite funny, almost punk-inspired, B-sides.

My collection: 12" single no. 646
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Da da da ich lieb dich nicht du liebst mich nicht aha aha aha', 'Frau A spricht ich lieb dich nicht du liebst mich nicht' / 'Halt mich fest ich werd verrückt', 'Lady-o-lady'

Hiroshima - Wishful Thinking

Here's another track I already had on 7", but with added Nineties pleasure. 'Hiroshima' by Wishful Thinking was re-released with a 90's mix after German singer Sandra had released her cover version of the song as a single. This single - which comes with a promotional fact sheet, by the way - presents both the original version of the song plus a remix by Dave Morgan.

Who's Dave Morgan, you ask? He was a guitarist with Electric Light Orchestra from 1981 to 1986 and also the original writer of the song, recorded by Wishful Thinking back in 1970.

My collection: 7" single no. 5354
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 24, 2013
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Hiroshima (originalversion)' / 'Hiroshima (90er mix)'

Running up that hill - Sweep featuring Linda Carriere

Not content with just one disc, Sweep and Linda Carriere released several 12" singles of their cover of 'Running up that hill'. This second 12" features just two remixes of the track, featuring a sort of budget Shaggy clone (as if Shaggy himself isn't cheap enough already).

Repetitive and a bit of an insult to the original track, it's no wonder Sweep disappeared from the music scene directly after this one release.

My collection: 12" single no. 645
Found: unknown, 199X
Cost: unknown
Tracks: "Running up that hill (Running status mix)' / 'Running up that hill (Killer Bee mix)'

Running up that hill - Sweep featuring Linda Carriere

Most people who are fan of a certain artist don't have much interest for cover versions of their favourite artist. I tend to act differently: for most of the acts that I have more than a passing interest in, I like to collect as much cover versions as I can. It does mean that you need a lot of perseverance and in some cases lots of endurance too. Some cover versions are dreadful, others can turn out to be quite nice.

Unfortunately, Sweep's 1993 version of Kate Bush's 'Running up that hill' does not fall into the latter category. It's a rather unimaginative take on what was a very innovative pop song back in 1985. The vocals by Linda Carriere are sometimes ridiculous, but she does manage to hold a few notes. Which I guess is a positive point.

My collection: 12" single no. 644
Found: unknown, 199X
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Running up that hill (Jam's Labyrinth mix)', 'Running up that hill (1993 mix)' / 'Running up that hill (laser mix)', 'Running up that hill (radio edit)'

Magic dance - David Bowie

Now that everybody's in awe of the new album by David Bowie, I thought it would be fun to showcase on of his less critically acclaimed moments. So I dug out this 12" single of 'Magic dance', released in the USA in 1986. Bowie recorded this song, as well as a handful of others, for the soundtrack of the Jim Henson movie 'Labyrinth', in which he also played the role of the Goblin king, wearing a strange wig and performing magic tricks. Even on the sleeve of this record he appears to be doing a silly walk.

The remixes of the track are typical mid-Eighties fare: lots of drums and sampled sounds. Some people would argue that Bowie wasn't at his creative peak in the Eighties, personally I do prefer his work during this decade over his acclaimed early Sixties rock. But each to their own...

My collection: 12" single no. 643
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Magic dance (dance mix)' / 'Magic dance (dub)', 'Within you'

If you could read my mind - Aurora

Sung by Marcella Detroit (of Shakespear's Sister fame), 'If you could read my mind' was a pretty nice cover version of a song originally performed by Gordon Lightfoot (and also covered by Viola Wills in 1980). Aurora released only one album in 2001, from which several singles were released. Three singles were a hit, but this, the fourth single drawn from the album, failed to chart.

Upon hearing these remixes I wasn't too impressed. The Roksolid dub in particular has nothing to do with the original track, and that's a shame. But still, it's good to have this disc, as it represents a full collection of remixes of a pretty much forgotten gem.

My collection: 12" single no. 642
Found: Discogs.com, received March 1, 2013
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'If you could read my mind (Coloursound club mix)' / 'If you could read my mind (If you could funk my head mix)', 'If you could read my mind (Roksolid dub)'

You only tell me you love me when you're drunk - Pet Shop Boys

I don't have many Pet Shop Boys 12" singles, even though I really like their music. Most of their remixes have been released on cd - I think - so whenever I see a 12" single by them I cross off my list: 'Do I have all the tracks?'. If not, I go to the next question: 'Is it cheap'? If not, I have no trouble leaving it be.

So this double 12" set ended up in my collection because it contained one remix I didn't have yet and because it was dirt cheap. When I finally received it today I concluded that it was a good buy: the outer sleeve looks a bit boring (see the picture) but the two inner sleeve are actually quite attractive, featuring a photograph on one side each (picturing one member of the duo each) and the same dark brown colour on the other side. Well designed. But then, all of the Pet Shop Boys sleeves have been well designed.

My collection: 12" single no. 641
Found: Discogs.com, received March 1, 2013
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk (Brother Brown's newt mix)' / 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk (Attaboy still love you when we're sober mix)' // 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk (The T-Total mix)' / 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk (Brother Brown's newt dub)'

One step ahead - Nik Kershaw

The end of the Eighties was a strange time. Many idols who were very successful in the mid-Eighties were declared 'yesterday's news' and suddenly didn't the charts anymore. One of them was Nik Kershaw, who had been very successful with his first two albums, but the third and fourth one were not so popular.

'One step ahead' was taken from his fourth album 'The works', which left the album charts even before it entered it. Not that the music was bad: personally I think this single is one of his finest tracks. And the remix included on this 12" single is very impressive indeed.

My collection: 12" single no. 356
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, circa 2000
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'One step ahead (Industrial mix)' / 'One step ahead', 'When I grow up'