'Slow hand' is a pop ballad by the Pointer Sisters, released in the spring of 1981. It was also released on their album 'Black & White', released a few months later in 1981.
'Fading like a flower (Every time you leave)' was written in 1989 in Canada by Per Gessle and recorded by Roxette on their 1991 album 'Joyride'. It was released as the second single from the album, and promoted with a music video that was filmed in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden.
A track from Robert Palmer's 1988 album 'Heavy nova', 'Early in the morning' was only released as a single in America, Canada and Australia as far as I know. I knew the album and so when I spotted this single as an import, I bought it immediately.
'Love's Theme' is an instrumental piece recorded by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra and released in 1973. The recording, with a large string orchestra and wah-wah guitar, is considered to be an influence to the disco sound, which would explode in popularity the following year.
Kate Bush released 'Babooshka' in June 1980 as a single from her third album 'Never for ever'. The lyric of the song describes a wife's desire to test her husband's loyalty. She takes on the nom de plume of Babooshka and sends notes to her husband in the guise of a younger woman. The trap is set when, in her bitterness and paranoia, she arranges to meet her husband, who is attracted to the character that reminds him of his wife in earlier times.
'Life in one day' was released as the third single from Howard Jones' 1985 album 'Dream into action'. The lyric warned against wishing one's life away. The single reached number 14 in the UK Singles chart, and number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the Dutch Top 40, it reached number 27.
Paul Jabara wrote 'Last dance' in the mid-Seventies. It was recorded by Donna Summer for the soundtrack of the movie 'Thank God it's Friday', in which she also had a small part, singing the song. It was one of the first disco songs to also feature slow tempo parts. It starts off slow and the full-length version found on the film soundtrack also has a slow part in the middle.
Peter, Sue & Marc were a Swiss music group from Berne. The members were Peter Reber (born 1949), Sue Schell (born 1950) and Marc Dietrich (born 1948). They represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest four times and in four different languages.
Already in 1989, Mylene Farmer said that she liked Jean-Louis Murat's songwriting. They corresponded for two years until they finally recorded the duet 'Regrets' in 1991. It is a love song in which two lovers are answering tenderly and with melancholy, while they are separated by the death of one of them. Only memories allows the one that is left behind to savour the well-being of the past relationship.
'Lessons in love' was released in April 1986 as the first single from Level 42's seventh studio album 'Running in the family'. It was the first of five singles from that album, and paved the way for international success for the band.
When the British film '1984' was made in the UK, the Eurythmics were contacted to make the soundtrack. They agreed, and so the album of the same name came to be. 'Sexcrime (1984)' was the first single lifted from the album, released in October 1984.
'Arizona sky' was released in 1986 as the first single from China Crisis' fourth album 'What price paradise'. The single was a minor success in the UK, reaching number 47 in the singles chart.
Germany has been responsible for quite a few dodgy acts through the years, and Goombay Dance Band can be considered as one of them. They formed in the late Seventies, and styled their music to combine Caribbean soca and calypso with western pop.
Michael Jackson and his brothers formed the Jacksons, a successful group that made hit singles until the Eighties, after which solo careers took preference over the group effort. 'Can you feel it' is arguably the band's last big hit, released on the 1980 album 'Triumph' and released as a single in early 1981. It reached number 6 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40, while it only reached number 77 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Through the years I have heard some horrendous single edits, but none have been as monstrous as the 7" edit of Black's 'I'm not afraid'. Someone took a blunt knife and started hacking into this track, particularly during the last few minutes. You can hear the voice being cut during singing, each and every cut is audible. And all this to bring down the length of this track with one minute. Perhaps they should just have released the five minute version.
Chris Rea released his ninth studio album 'Dancing with strangers' in 1987. The single 'Let's dance' was taken from this album: a bouncy pop song about, well, dancing.
You can bet that there are loads of people in the Netherlands desperately searching for this single, willing to pay a small fortune for it too. Meanwhile, I accidentally found it in a second hand shop in 1991 for the equivalent of 1 euro.
The 12" single of Oran 'Juice' Jones' 'The rain' featured the album version, and as such the longest version that exists of this track. Both sides were taken from his debut album 'Juice', which was a modest success in America but failed to make much of an impression in Europe.
Oran 'Juice' Jones was born in 1959 in Houston, Texas and raised in Harlem, New York. He was the first artist who was signed to OBR Records, a subsidiary of Def Jam. In 1986 he released his debut album 'Juice', which spawned the hit single 'The rain'. This single was promoted with a music video that was based on the album version of the song, even though the single was shortened by two minutes, omitting a speech to a girl who has committed foul play.
'Only when you leave' was the first single from Spandau Ballet's fourth album 'Parade'. The previous album, 'True', had brought the band a lot of success, and so the new album explored the territory of smooth and commercial pop songs a little further, without taking too many chances.
Hot Chocolate was very popular in the Seventies with several top 3 hits, but in the Eighties, things weren't as good for them. 'It started with a kiss', released in the summer of 1982, would turn out to be their last big hit, after which they would still have several chart hits in the UK, but the majority would land outside the top 10.
This single has the unique distinction to be the inspiration for two very recognisable women in music: Kate Bush and Tori Amos. Kate Bush recorded a cover of 'Rocket man' in 1994, whereas Tori Amos performed 'Tiny dancer' during her concert tour in the same year.
'Thin line between love and hate' was written by the brothers Robert and Richard Poindexter with Jackie Members and first performed in 1971 by the New York City-based vocal group The Persuaders. It became the group's biggest hit in the autumn of 1971, reaching number 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Kim Wilde recorded 'Never trust a stranger' as a track on her sixth album 'Close'. It was released as the third single from the album in the autumn of 1988 in a remixed version, made by Ricky Wilde, Kim's brother.
The Irish girlgroup Sheeba was formed in 1977 by Maxi, Marion Fossett and Frances Campbell. In 1981 they represented Ireland during the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Horoscopes'. It finished fifth in a field of 20 contestants.
Having released singles and albums as Bolland & Bolland and as Bolland throughout the Seventies and Eighties, Rob and Ferdi Bolland renamed themselves The Bolland Project for their 1991 album 'Darwin - the evolution'.
'Bumped!' was the first single from Right said Fred's second album 'Sex and travel'. It combined Nineties rhythms with a rather forgettable melody and lyric. I mainly bought this single out of curiosity - but I have to say I haven't played it much since I bought it.
'Everywhere' was the fifth single taken from Fleetwood Mac's 1987 album 'Tango in the night'. Released in February 1988, it reached number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 3 in the Dutch Top 40. In the USA, where the single was released in November 1987, it reached number 14 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich explained that the band wanted to try something new with the idea of a ballad - instead of the standard melodic verse and heavy chorus, the band opted to reverse the dynamic, with heavy, distorted verses and a softer, melodic chorus, played with classical guitars. The song describes a man who never took risks and ultimately regretted it.
The proceeds of the very successful album and movie 'Purple rain' enabled Prince to build his recording studio Paisley Park Studios. So what came first, the studio or this song? Well, the song was recorded before 'Purple rain' was completed, so you do the math.
I've always considered this EP to be great value for money: not only did you get a double A-side with 'Somebody' and 'Blasphemous rumours', this disc also contained two live tracks, of which especially 'Everything counts' is quite fabulous. The single reached number 16 in the UK singles chart and number 27 in the Dutch Top 40.
Here's another nice track from the Netherlands for your listening pleasure. 'Laat mij maar alleen' ('Just leave me alone') by the Klein orkest ('Little orchestra') is a charming piece of pop from the summer of 1982. Stating 'Even if loneliness is hard, sometimes it's worse when you're together', it's one of those 'Can't live with you, can't live without you' statements, set to upbeat music.
'A groovy kind of love' was written by Toni Wine and Carol Bayer Sager. It is heavily based on the Rondo movement of Sonatina in G major, op. 36 no. 5 by Muzio Clementi. The song was first recorded by Diane & Annita in 1965.
Tina Turner was famous for her big hits in the Sixties, but by 1984, she was totally forgotten. She released a new album 'Private dancer' in 1984, from which this single, 'What's love got to do with it' was taken. The song was originally written for the R&B singer Phyllis Hyman.
Duran Duran's guitarist at the time, Warren Cuccurullo, is credited with developing the instrumentation for 'Come undone', most importantly its guitar hook, which he developed while trying to do a re-interpretation of 'First Impression' from their 1990 album Liberty. The lyrics were written by vocalist Simon Le Bon as a birthday gift for his wife, Yasmin le Bon.
Although the rebel yell was a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War, Billy Idol reportedly refers to the whiskey brand of the same name, a brand of bourbon whiskey distilled and bottled at the Bernheim distillery in Louisville, Kentucky. During an event he attended, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones were taking swigs of 'Rebel Yell'; Billy decided and stated that he would set off to write a 'Rebel Yell' song.
As the years went by, it was easy to accuse Janet Jackson of using a formula for her albums: there were always a few ballads, some dance songs and one obligatory rock-oriented track. In the case of her 1989 album 'Rhythm Nation 1814', it was 'Black cat', released as the sixth single from the album.
'Hello, you fool, I love you'. It was the message Per Gessle's girlfriend left on his piano - and a chorus was born. 'Joyride' was the first single release from Roxette's 1991 album 'Joyride'. The single topped the charts across Europe (including the Netherlands), Australia, Canada and the United States. In the UK, 'Joyride' peaked at number 4.
'Change of heart' was the second single taken from Cyndi Lauper's second album, 'True colours' (1986). The Bangles sang background vocals on the track. In the US Billboard Hot 100 chart the single reached number 3. In Europe, audience reaction was much less enthousiastic: in the UK singles chart the single stalled at number 67, whereas it didn't chart in the Netherlands at all.
Exactly a year ago, I wrote about the 12" single of 'Un fait divers et rien de plus' by Le Club. As I said then, Le Club was a very anonymous group, which according to the credits of the song consisted of André Monet, Jacky Dieme and Olaf Zalcman.
In the second half of the Eighties, the Dutch band The Nits was lauded by critics and bought by the audience: a perfect combination.
'So far away' was released as the first single from Dire Straits' 1985 album 'Brothers in arms'. The single reached number 19 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 20 in the UK singles chart and number 31 in the Dutch Top 40.
'If I say yes' was released in 1986 as the fourth single from Five Star's second album 'Silk and steel'. The single reached number 15 in the UK singles chart, but failed to chart in other territories.
Albert Hammond was born in London on May 18, 1944. He is one of the more successful songwriters to come out of England during the Sixties and Seventies, and has also enjoyed a long career as a recording artist.
'Hungry eyes' is a rather unknown single by the British band Sniff 'n' the Tears. Core member of the band is Paul Roberts, who is also a noted painter. He is responsible for much of the band's singles, and it was the sleeve of this single more than anything else that made me buy this single. I liked the picture, and in fact I still do.
'Run for your life' was one of the single releases from Bucks Fizz's third album 'Hand cut'. It suffers from all the hallmarks of Eighties production values: loads of synths, loads of echos and a much too busy arrangement. And still it is a nice pop song, somehow.
It didn't happen very often - even in the UK - that a single was released in two different limited editions, but in the case of the Bangles, it did happen. 'Walking down your street' was first released as a double single featuring the previous single 'Walk like an Egyptian' as disc number 2, but then there was also this edition: a gatefold sleeve with a 'highlights of the year' foldout.
Foreigner had a worldwide number 1 hit with 'I want to know what love is', a powerballad written by Mick Jones, with some degree of uncredited contribution by Lou Gramm. It was the first single from their 1984 album 'Agent provocateur'.
