'Strong as steel' was released in 1987 as the second single of Five Star's third album 'Between the lines'. The song was written by acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren, who has also written hit songs for Cher, Tina Arena and Michael Bolton amongst others.
Written by Stevie Nicks, 'Silver springs' was originally intended for the Fleetwood Mac album 'Rumours'. Years after the fact, Nicks commented that in a way, its lack of inclusion on the effort marked a growing tension in the band. The group has three great writers, and only so many slots. The track's inherent longing reportedly came from the ending of the romantic relationship between Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
Norway won the Eurovision Song Contest for the very first time in 1985 with a very tired old song, 'La det swinge' was performed by the Bobbysocks. This duo, consisting of Hanne Krogh and Elisabeth Andreasson, sang a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard on the radio. The melody arrangement is in retro style, containing elements of contemporary Eighties music and throwbacks to the Fifties.
Jeff Lynne spent two weeks writing songs in Switzerland in 1977 for Electric Light Orchestra's double album 'Out of the blue'. One of the results was this song, 'Turn to stone', which became the opening track for the album. It was also released as the first single from the album.
'You have placed a chill in my heart' was written by Eurythmics members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, and appears on the duo's album 'Savage'. It was released as the fourth single from the album.
'Whiskey in the jar' is a famous Irish traditional song, set in the southern mountains of Ireland, with specific mention of Cork and Kerry counties, as well as Fenit, a village in Kerry county. It is about a highwayman, or perhaps a footpad, who is betrayed by his wife or lover, and is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs. It has been recorded by numerous professional artists since the Fifties.
The single 'Burn your boats' was the second single taken from Maarten Peters' second album of the same name. The single featured a live version of the song 'Get out of here' (a track on his debut album 'Hunting the queenbee') on the B-side.
When I bought this single, I hadn't actually heard it. I might have thought twice before buying it if I had, I think. 'Please forgive me' was written by Bryan Adams and Robert John 'Mutt' Lange and treads a much too often trodden path. According to an article in Wikipedia: 'the passion Adams sings the song with is breathtaking'. I would say instead that the lack of originality in this song is breathtaking, but there you go.
'Two hearts' was written by Phil Collins and Lamont Dozier (of Motown's Holland-Dozier-Holland) for the 1988 crime comedy film 'Buster'. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song alongside the Carly Simon song 'Let the river run' from 'Working girl'.
The Amsterdam-based Dutch band De Dijk released one of their better known songs 'Binnen zonder kloppen' ('Enter without knocking') in early 1985. The single failed to chart but is remembers within the Netherlands until this day.
'Just the way you are' is a love song from Billy Joel's 1977 album, 'The Stranger'. It was written as a birthday gift to Joel's first wife Elizabeth Weber. After they divorced, Joel said that when performing the song, he would imagine what he would eat for dinner or what he would do after the show, or even accidentally sing alternate lyrics written by Liberty DeVitto ('She took the dog, the house, the car').
'Still got the blues' is a 1990 album by guitarist Gary Moore. Prior to this album Moore's work had consisted of predominantly rock and hard rock styles including his work with Skid Row, Thin Lizzy, G-Force as well as a large repertoire of solo work. This album, as evidenced by its title, is a departure from hard rock to an electric blues style.
In 1994, the Mission released the compilation album 'Sum and substance'. The album was preceded by this single release, a remix of their biggest hit up until then: 'Tower of strength'. The 'East India Trans Cairo Mix' was created by Youth.
'Disappear' was released as the second single from INXS's album 'X'. The song was written by Jon Farriss and Michael Hutchence while they were living together in Hong Kong in 1989.
'Rapture' is a combination of New Wave pop, funk, jazz and rap music, with the rap section forming an extended coda. While it was not the first single involving rap to be successful, it was the first to top the charts in the USA. The lyrics of 'Rapture' included references to hip-hop pioneers Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash.
'Out of touch' was the lead single from Daryl Hall & John Oates' 1984 album 'Big Bam Boom'. It was their last Billboard Hot 100 number one, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in December 1984. The single also reached number 33 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 48 in the UK singles chart.
'Pink cashmere' was written by Prince for his then-girlfriend, Anna Fantastic (Anna Garcia), for her 18th birthday. The song references the actual gift he presented to her, a coat made of pink cashmere with a black mink collar and cuff, the name Anna Fantastic embroidered on the sleeve, and '89' on the back. The coat was valued at $15,000, being custom made by his personal staff designer.
Sailing safely between beautiful and downright irritating, John Hiatt's 'Have a little faith in me' would never have become part of my collection if it wasn't played on the radio so often after it came out. The first few dozen times I heard it, I couldn't listen to the song, but in time I gradually warmed to it. When I listen to it now, I still don't know whether to keep listening or to throw the single out the window.
Nobody in 1981 could foresee the enormous popularity the Dutch band Doe Maar would have later on in their career, when they had their first hit single with this, '32 jaar' ('32 years'). The unassuming song about a man who is in love at the age of 32 reached number 29 in the Dutch Top 40 when it was first released in May 1981.
'Träume sind für alle da' ('Dreams are there for everyone') was the German entry in the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Wind. This was Wind's third Eurovision entry, they had previously represented Germany at the 1985 and 1987 contests with 'Für alle' and 'Lass die Sonne in dein Herz', both times finishing in 2nd position.
David Bowie's 'Never let me down' is seen as a homage to Bowie's late friend John Lennon, and is one of the more respected songs on a much-maligned album. The track is often complimented for its simple, straightforward arrangement. Despite comparisons to Lennon, Bowie at the time dedicated the track to his long-serving personal assistant Corinne 'Coco' Schwab.
'Too much love will kill you' was written by Queen guitarist Brian May, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers. The lyric is about May's feelings during his divorce, and the choice one must make between two women that one loves equally.
The fifth studio album by Howard Jones, 'In the running', was his least successful one in commercial terms. The album failed to chart in all territories, and the singles didn't do much to raise its profile either.
'Sleeping in my car' was written by Per Gessle and recording by Roxette on their 1994 album 'Crash! Boom! Bang!'. It was also released as the first single from that album. It reached number 1 in Sweden, number 14 on the UK singles chart and number 50 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the Dutch Top 40, the single reached number 15.
The lyric of the song 'Cannonball' by Supertramp may have been seen as a veiled message to former member Roger Hodgson - who left Supertramp a year before - but writer Rick Davies revealed in a French radio interview that the lyric to 'Cannonball' was inspired by a less than perfect concert promoter whom he refused to name but added that the guy knew who he was.
'Here comes the rain again' was performed by the Eurythmics on their 1983 album 'Touch' and written by its members, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. Dave Stewart commented: 'The whole song was about that undecided thing, like here comes depression, or here comes that downward spiral. But then it goes, 'so talk to me like lovers do.' It's the wandering in and out of melancholy, a dark beauty that sort of is like the rose that's when it's darkest unfolding and bloodred just before the garden, dies. And capturing that in kind of oblique statements and sentiments.' He also revealed that the lyric to the song came into being after an argument between himself and Lennox while they were doing some songwriting in New York City's Columbus Hotel. The basic melody had already been written and Lennox looked out the window after their fight and noticed it was starting to rain. She announced, 'Here comes the rain again'.
Depeche Mode released 'Personal Jesus' in the autumn of 1989 as the first single from their album 'Violator'. According to Martin Gore, the song was inspired by the book 'Elvis and me' by Priscilla Presley: 'It's a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It's about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships; how everybody's heart is like a god in some way, and that's not a very balanced view of someone, is it?'
Five Star's single 'With every heartbeat' was released in 1989. It was their last single for RCA, the label they signed with in 1983. It proved a failure for the group, stalling at number 49 in the UK singles chart. The song never appeared on a studio album, but was included on the group's 'Greatest hits' album, released later in 1989.
With 'This time I know it's for real', Donna Summer presented herself as a Stock Aitken & Waterman protege for the first time. It was the first single to be taken from her 1989 album 'Another place and time', which was entirely written and produced by the infamous trio.
Although it is not the band's biggest hit, my favourite song of Matia Bazar is 'Noi', released in 1987 from the band's album 'Melo'. Unfortunately, the track was edited for the single release, leaving out an interesting guitar solo. Even more unfortunate is the fact that I could only find this single without a picture sleeve at the time.
It wasn't easy for Maarten Peters to get some commercial success. All of his single releases between 1985 and 1987 failed to reach the Dutch Top 40, with one exception. It must have been a relief that his eighth single 'Factory man' managed to get to number 35 in May 1987.
When Meat Loaf sang that he would do anything for love but he won't do 'that', a lot of people were left with the question: what, exactly, is 'that'? At the song's conclusion, the female vocalist predicts two things that the protagonist will do: 'You'll see that it's time to move on and you'll be screwing around'. To both of these, he replies, 'I won't do that!'. Although Meat Loaf believed that the lyrics were unambiguous, the singer recalls that Steinman predicted that they would cause confusion. Meat Loaf says that the question, 'What is 'that'?' is one of the most popular questions he is asked.
'New beginning' was released in May 1986 and was considered to be a comeback single, since the band hadn't released anything in eight months. The single featured new member Shelley Preston who had replaced Jay Aston a year earlier. It was also their first release on new record label, Polydor after their five-year contract with RCA had finished.
The song 'Kronenburg park' is named after the park in Nijmegen, the city where Frank Boeijen grew up. The park is known for its prostitutes hunting for work. Boeijen apparently wrote the song after recognising one of the women in the park from his childhood. The subtitle 'Ga die wereld uit' ('Get out of that world') can be interpreted as a plea to women to leave this profession.
Released in July 1980, 'Are you getting enough of what makes you happy?' was the second single from Hot Chocolate's 1980 album 'Class'. During a seven week chart run in the UK singles chart, it reached number 17.
It doesn't sound very romantic, a 'Landslide of love', but there you have it: it's the title of Transvision Vamp's eighth single.
In 1984, Pussycat released the album 'After all' on their new label Ariola. 'Light of a gypsy' is released as the first single from the album. Both however fail to make an impact on the album and singles chart.
Released as the first single from his 1984 album 'Wired to the moon', Chris Rea was unable to get chart success with 'I don't know what it is but I love it'.
The 1979 album by Olivia Newton-John was called 'Totally hot', and the title track was released as a single. Featuring a more aggressive sound, the single failed to impress the audience who had come to know her as the sweet Sandy from the 'Grease' movie.
Jon Anderson released 'Animation' in 1982 during the Yes hiatus following the release of their album 'Drama'. At the time, Anderson was collaborating with Vangelis and Mike Oldfield and exploring new age and electronic pop.
'Love is the seventh wave' was the second single from Sting's 1985 solo debut album 'The dream of the blue turtles'. The song is supposedly about love being the seventh wave, or the strongest wave in a series of waves, thus wiping out any sort of problems. It concludes with a brief, self-mocking reference to Sting's biggest hit song with The Police, 'Every breath you take', which had been about the dark side of love that leads to sexual jealousy and obsession.
The Dutch band Lois Lane released the second single from their second album 'Fortune fairytales' in the spring of 1990. 'I wanna be' was a straightforward pop song.
'Sanctify yourself' was released as the second single from the Simple Minds' 1986 album 'Once upon a time', their seventh studio album. Released in the wake of their biggest hit 'Don't you (forget about me)' (1985), the band were able to ride the wave of success for some time. This single reached number 10 in the UK singles chart, number 11 in the Dutc hTop 40 and number 14 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
'Mike + the Mechanics' is the debut album released by Genesis bassist and guitarist Mike Rutherford's side project 'Mike and the Mechanics' in 1985. The album featured two hit singles: 'Silent running', featuring lead vocals by Paul Carrack, and the up-tempo 'All I need is a miracle'.
'A kind of magic' was originally written by Roger Taylor before Freddie Mercury took it over, added the bassline, some connectors and re-arranged the structure. Regardless, it was still credited to Taylor. The new version was featured on the album of the same name and released as its first single. An alternate version plays during the credits of the movie 'Highlander'.
'I'm sorry' is one of the lesser known Hot Chocolate singles, released in November 1983. It was a commercial disappointment. After 'Tears on the telephone' reached number 37 in the UK singles chart, this single stalled at number 89.
'I hang on to my vertigo' was released as a single in 1981. Like all of his solo work, it failed to reach the singles chart in any territory.
'You to me are everything' was released in 1976 as the debut single by The Real Thing. Written by Ken Gold and Michael Denne and produced by Ken Gold, it became the band's only number 1 single in the UK, spending three weeks at the top in July 1976.
