This single is one of the big mysteries of my life. I bought it in 1980, not long after it came out. Then, some months later, it simply disappeared. I know I had it, but it was gone. To this day I suspect my brother, who nicked singles whenever and wherever he could when we lived at our parents's house. The single never reappeared. I bought this copy in 1994. In a way, I was satisfied: it was an English pressing after all. But the mystery was never resolved.
'Echo beach' is one of the best tracks of that year, 1980. Recorded by the Canadian band Martha and the Muffins, it was elected the 35th greatest Canadian song of all time in 2005 by CBC Radio One. Although Mark Gane was not aware of a real Echo Beach when he wrote the song in 1978, several people wrote to him asking if it was about a beach in their local area. However, Echo Beach, as mentioned in the song, does not refer to a real beach but is rather a symbolic notion of somewhere the narrator would rather be, somewhere 'far away in time'. The song was covered later by Dimestars, the band of Kim Wilde's sister Roxanne, and by
Toyah.
My collection: 7" single no. 2178
Found: House of Rhythm, London, September 27, 1994
Cost: 1,2 pounds
Tracks: 'Echo beach' / 'Teddy the dink'
It's never clear to me why some singles are not a bigger success. Peter Godwin's 'Baby's in the mountains' is a good example. It's a catchy song, it's got most of the electronic sounds that were popular in 1983, and yet, it didn't sell.
