Turn back the clock - Johnny hates Jazz

When you know that I collect records by Kim Wilde, you would think that I would have bought Johnny hates Jazz's single 'Turn back the clock' at the drop of a hat, since she's singing backing vocals on this track. But the embarrassing truth is: I didn't know this until a few years later! When I did find out, I had to really hunt for this single.

'Turn back the clock' was the title track of Johnny hates Jazz's debut album, released in 1987. The single peaked at number 12 in the UK and number 5 in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 1779
Found: Record fair, October 25, 1992
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Turn back the clock' / 'Cracking up'

Dancing in the dark - Kim Wilde

Kim Wilde always got a lot of criticism for singing the songs that were written and composed by her father Marty and her brother Ricky. So for 'Dancing in the dark', help was brought in. Nicky Chinn and Paul Gurvitz wrote the song, and it was included on Kim's third album 'Catch as catch can'.

The single was the biggest flop of her career so far, reaching only number 69 in the UK singles chart. It was still a top 10 hit in Denmark and Switzerland, but it didn't help matters much. Despite a pretty cover and a nice rocking B-side, this single was the first signal that there was a crisis at hand. And rather than just sit and wait, the Wilde team decided to take matters into their own hands. RAK Records was about to be abandoned.

My collection: 7" single no. 217
Found: LP top 100, Den Haag, 1983
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Dancing in the dark' / 'Back street driver'

Bette Davis Eyes EP - Various artists

The thing I like most about my record collection is that I've got some singles from strange countries. And this one is from a country that doesn't even exist anymore: the German Democratic Republic, otherwise known as East Germany. There have been some fascinating documentaries about life in that country recently, but there's not so much information about the state record company Amiga.

Which is why this EP is pretty hard to find background information on. It contains cover versions of four hits from the year 1981. 'Bette Davis Eyes', originally by Kim Carnes, Kim Wilde's 'Chequered love', 'Hands up' , originally by Ottawan and Abba's well-known song 'Lay all your love on me'. I bought this EP when I saw it because of the cover of 'Chequered love'. Interestingly, Petra Zieger is still in the music business these days as a singer of German Schlagers. That's a long way from this 'painting by numbers' cover of 'Chequered love'.

The quality of the vinyl leaves a bit to be desired, but the tracks are incredibly rare.

My collection: 7" single no. 2925

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 13, 1997

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Bette Davis Eyes' (Familie Silly), 'Chequered love' (Petra Zieger) / 'Hands up' (Cantus Chor), 'Lay all your love on me' (Cantus Chor)

Love blonde - Kim Wilde

In 1983, Kim Wilde reinvented herself as a 'Love blonde'. It was the title of her new single, the first to be taken from her third album 'Catch as catch can'. For the first time, I bought a Kim Wilde single while it was still in the charts. I was actually starting to collect her singles, although at that point I don't think I actually realised it.

Kim commented about the song: 'When my dad told me that he wanted to write a song called 'Love Blonde', I just looked at him and said, you know, give me a break, I don't think I could handle the sort of flack I'd get, making a record with a title like that. He just said, 'look, either you do it, or you don't', and that was it. I could see what he was getting at.'

My collection: 7" single no. 206

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1983

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Love blonde' / 'Can you hear it'

Download: here

Rockin' around the Christmas tree - Mel and Kim

'Rockin' around the Christmas Tree' is a Christmas song, written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958. Although Decca released it in both 1958 and again in 1959, it did not sell well until Lee became a popular star in 1960; that Christmas season, it hit #16 on the Billboard pop chart and turned into a perennial holiday favorite.

Kim Wilde recorded this track together with Mel Smith in order to raise money for Comic Relief. Some extra comedy material was added to the track, written by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones. The duo named themselves 'Mel & Kim' after the then popular duo Mel & Kim.

My collection: 7" single no. 604

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Rockin' around the Christmas tree' / 'Deck the blooming halls'

Download: here

Water on glass - Kim Wilde

I was still desperately searching for Kim Wilde's 'Cambodia', but I couldn't find it. Instead, one autumn day in 1982, I bumped into an unknown English single by her. I found 'Water on glass'. I didn't know the track, since I hadn't bought any album by Kim yet, but the sleeve was appealing enough and I had become interested enough to want to have this single.

'Water on glass' was the third single to be drawn from Kim's debut album. It was a hit in the UK, reaching no. 11, but by the time European countries had caught on to the phenomena 'Kids in America' and 'Chequered love', Kim had already recorded 'Cambodia', so in most countries that single was released instead. I did buy a Dutch pressing of 'Water on glass' in 1998, however, so maybe the record companies did try to get it in the chart. I just don't know...

My collection: 7" single no. 175 / no. 3036

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982 / Record fair, Utrecht, October 11, 1998

Cost: 2 guilders / 10 guilders

Tracks: 'Water on glass' / 'Boys'

Download: A selection of Kim Wilde songs, including both tracks

Child come away - Kim Wilde

The fourth Kim Wilde single I bought was Kim's sixth. By then, I thought all I was missing still was Kim's single 'Cambodia', but I hadn't been able to find that one. Otherwise, I was satisfied. I bought 'Child come away' pretty soon after it had been released. I loved the colourful cover, although I remember I thought her hair was a bit too big.

'Child come away' was a new track, not included on Kim's second album 'Select'. The B-side, 'Just another guy' was new as well. For the longest time I didn't know it, but the twelve inch version of this single is quite a rarity, because it was not a chart success and so a very limited quantity of it was pressed.

My collection: 7" single no. 163

Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Child come away' / 'Just another guy'

Download: here

Chequered love - Kim Wilde

'Chequered love' was Kim Wilde's second single and it was another big success. In the Netherlands, it did even better than Kim's debut Kids in America, reaching no. 2 in the charts where 'Kids' only made it to no. 6.

In 1982, I was going to Disco Market on a very regular basis, searching through the singles until I found one or two titles I could take home and play. It was a nice surprise to find 'Chequered love' only a few weeks after I'd found View from a bridge.

My collection: 7" single no. 129

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Chequered love' / 'Shane'

Download: here

View from a bridge - Kim Wilde

After buying Kids in America, I'd definitely become interested in owning more Kim Wilde singles. I didn't have a very great budget, though, so that made things difficult. Fortunately, my favourite second hand singles shop started to stock more Kim Wilde singles, which enabled me to have a few titles in a relatively short time.

I can't be sure now, but I think I bought 'View from a bridge' there as well. It was one of my favourite Kim Wilde tracks at the time and buying this made me very happy. I was kindof disappointed that the sleeve was made in black and white because I wanted to see colour photos of Kim even then...

My collection: 7" single no. 112
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'View from a bridge' / 'Take me tonight'
Download: Album 'Select', which includes both tracks

Kids in America - Kim Wilde

Did I mention that I have a complete collection of Kim Wilde records? I didn't? Well, okay, so I did now. And in this first installment of a series that will take some months to develop, I can tell you it all started with Kim's debut single: 'Kids in America'.

I bought my first copy of this single in 1982 in the shop I mentioned in my first post, Disco Market. It was a year after Kim made the charts with this track, and it took so long to get it because I was always buying older, thus cheaper, chart singles. When Kim burst onto the scene I was only 10 years old. The song stuck in my mind, which is why I still wanted to have it one year on.

The copy pictured here is not the one I bought then. I've got three copies: the tattered, torn first one, a third one I bought recently to have a pristine copy, and the one pictured here. I had it signed by Kim in 1997, when she ended her 11 month run with the musical Tommy.

My collection: 7" single no. 108
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Kids in America' / 'Tuning in tuning on'
Download: Album 'Kim Wilde, including both tracks