While Nena was becoming a household name in all of Europe with English versions of her earlier singles '99 Luftballons' and 'Nur geträumt' ('99 red balloons' and 'Just a dream' respectively), she also released a German single from her debut album 'Nena'.
'Kiss of life' was the third single taken from Sade's fourth studio album 'Love deluxe' (1992). Released in May 1993, it was a minor hit in the USA, where it peaked at number 78. In the UK, the single reached number 44.
'Look hear?' was the seventh studio album by 10CC, released in 1980. The album was recorded at the band's Strawberry Studios South in Dorking, Surrey.
'My special child' was a single release by Sinéad O'Connor in 1991. The track was not included on any of the albums. Besides the rather bleak lyric, the song is made beautiful by the uillean pipes solo. The single raised money for 'the simple truth', a charity campaign for Kurdish refugees. The B-side is a live version of 'Nothing compares 2 u'.
Joe Leeway left the Thompson Twins in 1986, leaving Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie to continue as a duo. They carried on making music for another seven years. Their first release as a duo was 1987's 'Close to the bone'.
Although many people think this is Crowded House's debut single, it is actually the fourth single taken from their self-titled debut album. 'Don't dream it's over' was released in February 1987 in Australia, but it would take months for it to become a worldwide hit.
Although I was always a Kim Wilde fan during my teens, this single caused a bit of a controversy back in 1986, when it was released. My brother swore it was the worst cover version of any song he'd ever heard, while I wrote in to the fanclub saying that any track from the album 'Another step' would have been a better choice than this track.
'If I had you' was the Korgis' second single, released in June 1979. It reached number 13 in the UK singles chart, giving them their first hit single. Their self-titled debut album was released a month later, in July 1979.
'Stranded' was released as the third single from Heart's tenth studio album 'Brigade'. The song was written by J. Harrington and Jamie Kylie and produced by Richie Zito. It features Nancy Wilson on lead vocals.
Boz Scaggs was born as William Royce Scaggs in Canton, Ohio. He recorded his debut solo album in 1965. The biggest hit of his career was 'What can I say' in 1977.
'My name is Prince / And I am funky' has to be one of the immortal lines from the Nineties. It's a quote from the indispensable Prince song, 'My name is Prince'. Some might say that this single was the turning point for Prince. He'd recorded so many albums that he apparently suffered from a lack of inspiration, writing a song about himself and his musical abilities. It reeks of selfgratification.
'Wild is the wind' was written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington and originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the 1957 film of the same name. The song was covered by Nina Simone on her album 'Wild is the wind' (1966).
The Australian rock band INXS recorded 'Original sin' on their fourth album 'The swing' in 1984. The song was written by Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss, and produced by Nile Rodgers. Singer Daryl Hall sings the chorus along with Hutchence. Nile Rodgers called him up and asked him to sing on the song. Rodgers had produced 'Adult education' by Hall & Oates the previous year.
'Tears on my pillow' was written by Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis in 1958. The song was originally recorded by Little Anthony & The Imperials as their debut single.
I think this single is definite proof that I'm a sucker for special editions. The song 'Desire' was never really my cup of tea, but the gatefold sleeve was so nice, that in the end I still bought this single. I was very disappointed with U2 at this time, since they'd made such great singles before, and they were going down a very 'American-sounding' road with the album 'Rattle & Hum'. And everyone knows that British music always sounds better.
'Fly like an eagle' was originally a hit for the Steve Miller Band in 1976. Seal recorded a cover version of the song in 1997 for the soundtrack of the movie 'Space Jam', a live-action/animated film starring Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and many more Looney Tunes characters. His version was probably just as ill-advised as his current album 'Soul', but it's still a pretty listenable version. The single peaked at number 13 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and in the UK singles chart as well.
Duran Duran broke up in early 1985, in order to have a year for the members to pursue other musical interests. While John and Andy Taylor formed the Power Station, Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor formed Arcadia. They recorded one album, entitled 'So red the rose', described by Le Bon as 'the most pretentious album ever made'.
When you see this sleeve, it's easy to conclude that this is the third single by the Mission. 'Stay with me' was the first single taken from the Mission's debut album 'God's own medicine', but two previous singles had already been released, reaching the lower regions of the UK singles chart.
The lyric of 'Tristana' was inspired by the film 'Tristana' featuring Catherine Deneuve, which tells the story of a mutilated woman. Originally, the song 'Au bout de la nuit' was scheduled to be released as Mylene Farmer's fifth single, but when the song 'Tristana' was completed, this one was preferred.
Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall wrote 'Holding back the years' when he was 17, while living at his father's house. The chorus did not come to him until many years later. His mother left him when he was three; the upheaval caused by this event inspired him to write the song. He recorded a version of the song with his first group The Frantic Elevators in 1982, but when he recorded it with Simply Red in 1985 it became a hit.
When you listen to this single, it's hard to believe that both tracks were composed and performed by the same man. The A-side is an exciting, upbeat affair, whereas the B-side is rather bland and middle of the road.
'When your heart is weak' was originally Cock Robin's debut single, taken from their self-titled debut album. It was re-released after their second single 'The promise you made' was a big success in Europe. This re-release proved fruitful, because the single got to number 9 in France, number 8 in Germany and number 35 in the US Billboard Hot 100.
'Tesla girls' was the third single to be taken from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's 1984 album 'Junk culture'. The accompanying music video was a parody on the style of American music videos who relied heavily on attractive young female models posing in them. Subsequently, the media slammed the music video as being 'sexist'.
These are the humble beginnings of Depeche Mode. 'New life' was their second single, released in June 1981. The song was composed by Vince Clarke, who at the time was the band's chief songwriter.
'Wonderwall' takes its name from the 1968 album 'Wonderwall music' by George Harrison. It is often claimed that the song was written for Gallagher's then-girlfriend, Meg Mathews. Gallagher married Mathews in 1997, but the couple divorced four years later. Gallagher now claims that the song was not about Mathews at all, but he felt he had to go along with the rumour, saying 'The meaning of that song was taken away from me by the media who jumped on it. How do you tell your Mrs it's not about her once she's read it is? It's a song about an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself.'
The Pet Shop Boys stated that they wanted to turn 'a mythic rock song into a stomping disco record'. They recorded their version of U2's stadiumfiller 'Where the streets have no name' in combination with the disco anthem 'Can't take my eyes off you'. Singer Neil Tennant performs the lyrics with no vocal exertion or stresses, in contrast to Bono's performance. Tennant claims that when this record was released, Bono of U2 heard it for the first time, and issued the statement, 'What have we done to deserve this?'.
Fleetwood Mac band member Lindsey Buckingham wrote 'Go your own way' with regard to his bandmate Stevie Nicks, with whom he had just ended a romantic relationship. It describes their breakup, with the most obvious line being, 'Packing up, shacking up is all you want to do.' Nicks insisted she never shacked up with anyone when they were together, and wanted Lindsey to take out the line, but he refused.
The Police's lead singer Sting wrote 'Roxanne', inspired by the prostitutes he saw near the band's seedy hotel while in Paris, France in October 1977 to perform at the Nashville Club. The title of the song comes from the name of the character in the play Cyrano de Bergerac, an old poster of which was hanging in the hotel foyer.
This is a very rare one-sided 12" promo from Israel, which I got to buy through eBay a few years ago. The disc contains an early version of the song 'Uri' as recorded by Achinoam Nini, or Noa as she is better known in the rest of the world. Although this version is very different from the 'Uri' that appeared on her subsequent cd's, when I reported this track to Noa's webmaster at the time, he replied that no earlier version of 'Uri' was ever recorded. Well, I think this is proof enough, don't you?
While I was going through the 12" singles today at the Kringloop, I suddenly found this one. And the first thought that came to mind was: 'Jos is going to love this!'. As regular readers of this blog know all too well, Jos is Puck's brother and he really loves Risqué.
'Why?' was the second single taken from Bronski Beat's debut album 'The age of consent'. I already own the 7" single since 1994, but it's been quite a search to get the 12" single as well.
I'm really shocked! I found this single of 'Longer' earlier today and while doing research for this blog I found out that Dan Fogelberg died on December 16, 2007. I didn't know this - and it's always a bit of a shock when someone you admire passes away.
'Volare' is probably one of the Eurovision Song Contest's best known songs ever. Amazingly, it did not win the Contest when Domenico Modugno performed it in 1958, representing Italy. But the song has been covered by an impressive array of artists, including Dalida, Frank Zappa, Richard Clayderman and David Bowie.
'Heaven must be missing an angel' was written by Freddie Perren and Keni St. Lewis. It was recorded by Tavares in 1976. The song was released as a single from their album 'Sky high!' and was split into two parts for the single.
'Set me free' was the first single taken from Jaki Graham's second album 'Breaking away'. It is one of her better known songs, having reached number 7 in the UK singles chart and number 11 in the Dutch Top 40.
The idea for 'The wild boys' came from Duran Duran's video director Russell Mulcahy, who wanted to make a full-length feature film based on the 1971 novel 'The wild boys: a book of the dead' by William S. Burroughs. He suggested that the band might create a modern soundtrack for the film. Singer Simon Le Bon began writing some lyrics based on Mulcahy's quick synopsis of the book, and the band created a harsh-sounding instrumental backdrop for them.
'Wonderland' was the first single taken from Paul Young's third solo album 'Between two fires'. The song was written by Betsy Cook, who would record the track herself a few years later. That single has been in my collection for years now, so I decided to add this cover version as well.
Last month,Wess Johnson, one half of the duo Wess & Dori Ghezzi passed away. Wess and Dori were a very successful duo in Italy. They represented their country during the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Stockholm after Abba's historic victory the year before.
Level 42 released their third album 'The pursuit of accidents' in 1982. The first single from the album was 'Are you hearing (what I hear)?'. The song had a bouncy quality that the band would become famous for later on in their career.
All I can say is that my Spanish wasn't very good when I was eight years old. I always thought that 'Que sera mi vida' meant 'How are you, I'm okay', but it actually means 'How would my life be'. Oh well, lessons learned.
In the UK, 'Angeleyes' and 'Voulez-vous' were released as a double A side, because the record company believed 'Angeleyes' would appeal more to the record buying public than 'Voulez-vous', which was released as the A-side track in most other countries. They were not wrong: the single peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart.
'How are you' was released as the first single from the Kinks' 1986 album 'Think visual'. The title track from that album was an attack on the very MTV video culture the band seemed to be enjoying so much during the earlier part of the decade.
After their debut album was very successful, with four hit singles lifted off it, Go West's second album 'Dancing on the couch' paled in comparison. The first two singles 'True colours' and 'I want to hear it from you' landed just outside the UK top 40, and the singles 'Don't look down - The sequel' and 'From Baltimore to Paris' didn't chart at all.
Long before Aerosmith became The Most Irritating Band On Earth, they debuted in 1973 with 'Dream on'. The power ballad written by band leader Steven Tyler became their first major hit, reaching number 59 in the US chart. It was re-released in 1976 when it reached number 6.
Peter Tosh was born as Winston Hubert McIntosh on October 18, 1944. He became a core member of The Wailers, Bob Marley's backing band. In 1976 he launched a solo career with the debut solo album 'Legalize it'.
'James Cagney', a song named after the actor of the same name, was taken from Nik Kershaw's 1986 album 'Radio Musicola', and released as a single in Germany only in early 1987. The single did not chart.
'Don't let the sun go down on me' was originally a hit for Elton John in 1974. The single peaked at number 16 in the UK singles chart. However, it was this live version, performed together with George Michael, that made the song even more popular.
'Something's jumpin' in your shirt' was the second single taken from Malcolm McLaren's 1989 album 'Waltz darling'. The song comes with a peculiar lyric, which I'm sure is about tits. And I'm not sure there are that many hit singles about that particular subject (Well, excluding the whole hiphop genre, of course - I'm talking about music here).
