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'

Julia - Eurythmics

Taken from the soundtrack of the movie '1984', for which Eurythmics provided the soundtrack, 'Julia' was the second single from that album. It couldn't be as successful as the catchy 'Sexcrime (1984)' but personally I find this track much more beautiful.

This 12" single features extended versions of both the A- and B-side of the single. Although 'Julia' is labelled as 'extended', it is actually the album version of the track, and not, like the B-side, a 'real' extended version.

My collection: 12" single no. 153
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 1992
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Julia (extended)' / 'Ministry of love (extended)'

Everybody's laughing - Phil Fearon and Galaxy

Some 12" singles only appear in my collection because they're cheap. I don't think I would have ever had this one if I'd had to pay more for it than I did back then. 'Everybody's laughing' is a nice pop song, but nothing spectacular.

Still, this 12" single is quite interesting, because it features an extended mix and two instrumental versions. One features Randy Muller (who?) and the other Tom Browne, who had a hit in the early Eighties with 'Funkin' for Jamaica'.

My collection: 12" single no. 273
Found: Spui Records, Den Haag, 1996
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Everybody's laughnig (Sangria mix)' / 'Everybody's laughing (Instrumental featuring Tom Browne)', 'Everybody's laughing (Instrumental featuring Randy Muller)'

Master and servant - Depeche Mode

'Master and servant' was Depeche Mode's 11th UK single and the second single from their album 'Some great reward'. The production and mixing process of "Master and Servant" are remembered by Alan Wilder, Daniel Miller, and Gareth Jones, as among the longest that Depeche Mode ever endured. One famous story about the song includes a mixing duration of seven days, and after all the reworking and final mastering of the mix, they realized they left the channel with the snare drum muted during the last chorus.

Despite controversy surrounding the song, it still managed to reach number 9 in the UK singles chart. The "Slavery Whip Mix" was the longest 12" Depeche Mode song at the time, with the outro being turned into a swing version of the refrain. This 12" disc, released in Germany, features a so-called 'marbled' vinyl in grey, white and brown. 

My collection: 12" single no. 34
Found: Free record shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks:  'Master and servant (Slavery whip mix)' / '(Set me free) Remotivate me (Release mix)', 'Master and servant (voxless)'

Touch dance - Eurythmics

'Touch Dance' is a remix album by the Eurythmics. This mini-album was released by RCA Records in May 1984, six months after the release of the album 'Touch'. It contains dance remixes of four tracks from Eurythmics' Touch album, by John 'Jellybean' Benitez and François Kevorkian, who were noted producers in the New York club scene. Amazingly, it omits all the hits from that album: 'Here comes the rain again', 'Right by your side' and 'Who's that girl'.

Annie Lennox has said in interviews that she disliked the record, as it was too much of a commercial product and was put together by RCA with little involvement from herself and Dave Stewart.

My collection: LP (unnumbered)
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'The first cut (François Kevorkian mix)', 'Cool blue (Jellybean remix)', 'Paint a rumour (Jellybean remix)', 'Regrets (François Kevorkian mix)' / 'The first cut (instrumental)', 'Cool blue (instrumental)', 'Paint a
rumour (instrumental)'

State of independence (New bass mix) - Donna Summer

I've already featured the Jon & Vangelis version and the Donna Summer version of 'State of independence' on this blog, so here is the version by Boilerhouse. Who? Boilerhouse, who remixed Donna Summer's version in 1990. Not a lot of spectacular things happen in this version: it apparently features a 'new bass' (whatever that is).

The single was released to promote a compilation album imaginatively titled 'The best of Donna Summer' and did a reasonable, if not great, job: it peaked at number 45 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5320
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'State of independence (new bass mix)' / 'State of independence (original version edit)'

In the springtime of his voodoo - Tori Amos

For a mere eight years I was well into Tori Amos. All that time she released five great albums, until the disastrous covers album 'Strange little girls' ended that great run and introduced a decade of wishy-washy albums, finally descending into that career nosedive called the - gasp - Christmas album.

I should have suspected that Tori Amos was not entirely artistically correct when her third album 'Boys for Pele' spawned a few very bad remix efforts. The number one hit 'Professional widow', in which the original song was mangled beyond recognition, was an offence, and it was followed by this 12" single featuring four half-decent remixes of 'In the springtime of his voodoo'. I couldn't foresee what would happen next, I bought this one out of curiosity more than anything.

My collection: 12" single no. 636
Found: Delft, 1996
Cost: 20 guilders
Tracks: 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Hasbrouck Heights club mix)', 'In the springtime of his vooodo (Quiet mix)' / 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Sugar dub)', 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Hasbrouck heights single mix)'

I can't go for that (no can do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates

Daryl Hall & John Oates wrote some very fine pop tunes in the early Eighties, and this is one of them. This single from their 1981 album 'Private eyes' was also released on a 12" single, which features an extended version of the track. This wasn't a standard practice back in those days, in fact I have a few 12" singles from 1981 which only feature the normal single version.

The funky beat of this track has been misused by many hiphop "artists" through the years, and you can also hear it in Simply Red's 2003 hit 'Sunrise'.

My collection: 12" single no. 163
Found: Record fair, 1993
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'I can't go for that (no can do)' / 'Unguarded minute'

You are the one - A-ha

When you look at the sleeve of the 7" single of 'You are the one' and compare it with this one from the 12" single, you'll see that a different photograph was used from the same photo session. You'd wish this was done more often, because all too often the sleeve of the 12" single is an exact replica, if only a bigger one, of the 7" single.

Another attractive feature of this 12" single was the inclusion of an extended remix of 'You are the one', plus the instrumental version. Which in turn makes you wonder why these were never released on cd.

My collection: 12" single no. 229
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1994
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'You are the one (12" remix)' / 'You are the one (instrumental)', 'Out of blue comes green'

Love you more - Groovenut vs. Kim Wilde

When the duo Groovenut decided to remix Kim Wilde's 'You came', little did they know that there were actually plans to re-record and re-release this track. It was 2005, a full 17 years after the release of the original track, and the plan was simply to update the track for the new century.

When they asked for permission to use the samples of the track, they never got that permission. But in 2006, when 'You came (2006)' was released in Europe, they were asked to recreate the mix, using the new vocal tracks. The original mix was only ever released on white label 12" singles - and fortunately I found a copy.

My collection: 12" single no. 444
Found: unknown, 2005
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Love you more'

Come undone - Duran Duran

When the cd-single became the preferred format in the late Eighties, vinyl was quickly pronounced dead by the record companies, not realising they were digging their own graves at the time. But before they did, there were some efforts made to sell vinyl discs, for instance with exclusive tracks.

This 12" single of Duran Duran's 1993 single 'Come undone' for instance features the 'TV synth strings' mix of 'Come undone', which was not available on either of the two (!) cd-singles available in the UK. But it is suspicious that this 12" single was released in Italy in. So buying this in a shop in Amsterdam two years after its release was a bit of a fluke...

My collection: 12" single no. 237
Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, 1995
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Come undone (edit)', 'Ordinary world (acoustic version)' / 'Come undone (FGI Phumpin' 12"), 'Come undone (La fin de siecle)', 'Come undone (TV synth strings)'

Rubberband girl - Kate Bush

When Kate Bush finally released a new album in 1993, four years after the previous one, I was looking forward to it like never before. The world really needed new music from Kate Bush, as the music scene in 1993 had become boring and predictable. Kate Bush was never that: her new single showed an unexpected whimsical style.

'Rubberband girl' was released a month before a holiday in London, so I had to wait a while before I got my hands on this picture disc 12" single. Featuring the same tracks as the cd-single, the real treat was the picture disc itself which showed a still from the movie 'The line, the cross & the curve' which was released in 1994.

My collection: 12" single no. 174
Found: HMV, London, October 1993
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Rubberband girl (extended version)' / 'Rubberband girl', 'Big stripey lie'

Radio Musicola - Nik Kershaw

Nik Kershaw got through his first two albums okay, but when the 'difficult third album' came up, he was out of luck: although his music was still very interesting, it proved 'too difficult' for the record-buying audience. Hence, 'Radio Musicola', as the album was called, never got the attention it deserved.

The title track was one of the tracks to be released as a single and this 12" single features an extended version of it, which is not spectacular, but nice nonetheless.

My collection: 12" single no. 425
Found: Record Exchange, London, 2000
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Radio Musicola (extended version)' / 'L.A.B.A.T.Y.D.', 'Radio Musicola'

Mothers talk - Tears for fears

As written before, there is a difference between the extended version of Tears for Fears' 1984 single 'Mothers talk' and the so-called 'Beat of the drum mix' of that track. This 12" single is the only one that contains the latter mix, although a German pressing with the sleeve shown here claims to feature it as well.

Now if you expect to get a really good remix, you're bound to be disappointed. Personally I find this remix noisy and a bit 'too much'. But any collector of Tears for Fears will be delighted to hear this mix nonetheless, as it's pretty rare. It only found its way onto cd in 2006 when Mercury released the 'Deluxe edition' of 'Songs from the big chair'.

My collection: 12" single no. 632
Found: All that music, Leiden
Cost: 14,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Mothers talk (Beat of the drum mix)' / 'Empire building'

Break the chains - Private lives

Although the British band Private Lives never hit it big, they certainly had their chances since three different singles were taken from their only album release. 'Break the chains' is probably the least wellknown of the three, but it was still released on 7" and 12".

This 12" version features both the radio mix of the track and an extended version - although the latter is not announced as such on the sleeve. While it's a mystery to me why other singles 'Living in a world (turned upside down)' and 'From a river to a sea' did so bad, I can understand it better for this one. Although I like the tune, it certainly isn't spectacular by any standard.

My collection: 12" single no. 635
Found: Discogs.com, received 2009
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Break the chains [extended]' / 'Break the chains (radio mix)', 'You've got to win'

Cambodia - Nobody

Nobody covered Kim Wilde's 1981 hit, 'Cambodia'. Well, there were actually quite a few of them (including a Swedish death metal band, an American dance queen, a pop singer from Luxembourg and a Norwegian electro-band), but this 12" single was released by Nobody.

A strange name for an act, but then the Belgians usually have a tendency to be quirky. Vocals on this version were by one Loredana and the track was produced by Starfighter & Club Genius. If that still doesn't tell you anything, you know just as much as me.

My collection: 12" single no. 447
Found: German website, 2007
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Cambodia (original extended mix)' / 'Cambodia (Ion rmx)'

That's the way it is - Mel and Kim

The last single by Mel & Kim was released when Mel was already receiving treatment for cancer, a battle she ultimately lost on January 18, 1990. Her illness was made public at the time of the release of this single.

This 12" was the first of a series and includes the original version of the B-side 'You changed my life' plus an extended version of the title track. The content of this 12" single is identical to the cd-single released at the time, which is why I never bought this one. But at 1 euro, I simply had to snap it up.

My collection: 12" single no. 634
Found: Haarlemmerstraat, Leiden
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'That's the way it is [extended]' / 'I'm the one who really loves you (US remix)', 'You changed my life'

Mothers talk - Tears for fears

Released some time before the album, 'Mothers talk' was actually the first single from Tears for Fears' second album 'Songs from the big chair'. Little did they know then that it would become such a successful album. And although the single did reasonably well in the UK (peaking at no. 14 in the chart) other countries weren't convinced until the next single, 'Shout', was released.

This 12" single was released as one of two different versions. It featured the original extended version. In Germany, a 12" single - which I also have - was released with the very same sleeve, but announcing this extended version as the 'Beat of the drum mix'. But that was actually a different mix, one that I will write about in the next blog about Tears for Fears...

My collection: 12" single no. 22 / no. 631
Found: Free Record Shop, 1985 / All that music, Leiden, unknown date
Cost: 7 guilders / 12,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Mothers talk (extended mix)' / 'Empire building'