'Run to you' was released as the fourth single from Roxette's 1994 album 'Crash! Boom! Bang!'. The single reached number 27 in the UK singles chart and also reached the charts in Switzerland and Australia.
Yazoo made an impression in the pop world between 1982 and 1984. Their own singles and albums were successful, but there were also some acts that tried to profit from their success. The acapella group the Flying Pickets recorded a version of 'Only you', and this medley of Yazoo tracks is further proof of their influence at the time.
'It should have been me' is the sad tale of a woman who witnesses the wedding of the man of her dreams with someone else. The song was written by Stevenson and Whitfield and originally recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1968.
'Take my time' was the title of Sheena Easton's debut album, released in 1981. Produced by Christopher Neil, the album was a combination of pure pop songs and sentimental ballads. Besides the two hit singles Easton had already had in 1980, 'Morning train' and 'Modern girl', three more singles were taken from the album in 1981.
The lyric of 'Macho' by Doe Maar seemed to be a declaration of love to their main audience: girls. The singer declares that he never had many male friends, but played with girls instead. Basically, the members of Doe Maar declared that they were anything but macho.
After a few hit singles with 'Nothing rhymed' and 'Alone again (Naturally)', Gilbert O'Sullivan released 'Matrimony' in May 1972. The single was not released in the UK, but it was a big hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 4.
Mike Barson wrote 'Grey day', which was performed for the first time by Madness in 1978 at Acklam Hall, while the band were still known as 'The North London Invaders'. The song was finally recorded in 1981, when it was released as a single in April, the first single from Madness's third album '7'.
'Periscope life' was the title track from Kayak's 1980 album. The album yielded one hit single, 'Anne', but other singles taken from the album failed to reach the Dutch Top 40. This single is one of them.
I always regretted the fact that I discovered Yazoo too late to buy their debut single, 'Only you'. After their second single 'Don't go' became a hit, that debut was re-released, but with flipped sides: the B-side 'Situation' reached number 16 in the Dutch Top 40 in November 1982.
'Thunder in my heart' was the title track of Leo Sayer's 1977 album. It was released as a single in the autumn of 1977 and reached number 22 in the UK singles chart and number 11 in the Dutch Top 40.
Intaferon was a short-lived Eighties band, consisting of Simon Fellowes and Simon Gillham. Their only claim to fame was this 1983 single, 'Steamhammer Sam', which failed to reach the UK singles chart but did reach number 36 in the Dutch Top 40 that year.
According to co-producer Tony Visconti, 'Fashion' was the last song completed in the sessions for David Bowie's 1979 album 'Scary monsters'. The song borrowed some elements from the past: the bassline and some of the melody were inspired by Bowie's 1975 hit 'Golden years'. A phrase in the lyric that Bowie borrowed from his past was 'People from bad homes', the title track of a 1973 album he recorded with his proteges The Astronettes, which went unreleased until 1995.
The Dutch band I've got the bullets formed in 1985. The name of the band was taken from the movie 'Rebel without a cause' in which James Dean exclaims these words in the final scene. The band changes personnel regularly, which isn't strange with nine members . Lead vocalist Fréderique Spigt is the face of the group with her raw voice and dynamic stage persona.
'The crying game' was written by Geoff Stephens and first recorded by Dave Berry in July 1964. Then-unknown session guitarist Jimmy Page played rhythm guitar in this song while Big Jim Sullivan played the solo.
'The sound of the crowd' was the fifth single by the Human League and represents the band's commercial breakthrough, reaching number 12 in the UK singles chart in May 1981.
The third single from Elton John's 1983 album 'Too low for zero' was 'Kiss the bride'. Released in this limited edition double pack, a second disc included the old classic 'Song for Guy' from 1978 and another single from the same year, 'Ego'. Curiously, this package was not housed in a gatefold sleeve; the two discs were crammed into one sleeve instead.
Spandau Ballet released the second single from their second album 'Diamond' in November 1981. 'Paint me down' managed to reach number 30 in the UK singles chart, which was their lowest chart placing up to that point.
Carmel was born as Carmel McCourt on November 24, 1958 in Wrawby, England. Together with Jim Parris and Gerry Darby she formed the band Carmel in Manchester. Their debut single 'Storm' reached number 1 in the UK independent chart and they were signed to London Records as a result.
In 1986, the Frank Boeijen Groep switched record labels before they released their sixth album, 'In natura'. The first single from the album was 'De beloning' ('The reward'), a track that sounded a bit like their second biggest hit, 'Kronenburg park'. Like that single, this track featured a group of black women on backing vocals, while the instrumentation relied less on synthesizers and more on acoustic instruments.
When I bought this single I wasn't sure whether I already had it or not. But I thought what the hell, it's a limited poster sleeve edition, and that alone warranted this acquisition. So I was really happy to find that I didn't actually have this single, which means that this is a genuine addition to my collection.
The fact that Dutch pop was at its highest artistic level in the first half of the Eighties is proved once more with this single, released by Toontje Lager in September 1982. 'Ben jij ook zo bang' ('Are you so afraid too') is a fast-paced, almost manic track in which a sombre image of the future is painted.
I was pretty surprised when I found this single. I thought it was a very obscure item, released possibly before Howard Jones' debut single 'New song'. Two live tracks recorded at the Marquee, of which one - the A-side, 'What can I say', written by Howard Jones and William Bryant - I didn't know at all.
'Goodnight tonight' began as an instrumental track which Paul McCartney had recorded in 1978. Needing a single for Wings to accompany the album 'Back to the egg', he took out the track and brought it into the studio, where the full Wings lineup completed it. Since the track was over seven minutes long, an edited version was used as the single, with the full version available as a 12" single.
'(Feels like) Heaven' is one of the big pop standards of the eighties. It was released by Fiction Factory in early 1984. It was the band's only big hit, reaching number 6 in the UK singles chart, and number 12 in the Dutch Top 40.
'Love's Theme' is an instrumental piece recorded by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra and released in 1973. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in the United States, in early 1974. In the Dutch Top 40, the single reached number 6 in March 1974. The recording, with a large string orchestra and wah-wah guitar, is considered to be an influence to the disco sound, which would become popular the following year.
The Dutch band Kayak was famous in the Seventies and early Eighties, but still their singles are very hard to find. So whenever I see one these days, I pick it up. In this case, I didn't even know the song - but I wasn't disappointed. Kayak makes very beautiful rock songs, sometimes with a hard edge, and sometimes it's just all peachy.
'Love is an ocean' was another single taken from Earth & Fire's 1981 album 'Andromeda girl'. The song was written by Bert Ruiter and lead singer Jerney Kaagman.
'Treat me like a lady' was recorded in Five Star's new high-tech studio in the grounds of their family home, Stone Court in Ascot, Berkshire. The studio reportedly cost them £2.5 million. It was their first single for their new record label, Epic.
When Daryl Hall & John Oates released the compilation album 'Rock 'n Soul part 1' in 1984, 'Adult education' was a new track on that album, and released as a single to promote the compilation.
The song 'I want to break free' is more famous for its music video than for its music. Directed by David Mallet, the video was a parody of the northern British soap opera 'Coronation Street'. In it, the band members of Queen dressed in drag, as mildly similar characters found in the soap at the time. The video also featured a ballet piece with the Royal Ballet.
The lyric of 'Rag doll' was primarily written by Steven Tyler and Jim Vallance. The song was originally titled 'Rag time' but when Holly Knight was called in to help change the lyric, she suggested 'Rag doll'. This was actually another title Steven and Jim thought of, but Holly ended up getting credits just for two words. Steven was horrified about this and often complained to his manager.
'Baggy trousers' was included on Madness' 1980 album 'Absolutely' and released as a single in September 1980. Written by lead singer Suggs, the lyric of the song reminisces on school days. The band first began performing the song at live shows in April 1980.
Heaven 17 recorded 'Tempation' in 1983 on their album 'The luxury gap'. Carol Kenyon provided backing vocals on this track as well as lead vocals in the bridge and chorus. The song also featured an orchestra, arranged and conducted by John Wesley Barker.
I guess you could call this the Find Of The Day: during a record fair I found this single today, and it is one that I was aware of, but never found until now. 'Brave new world' was the third single taken from Jeff Wayne's impressive 'War of the worlds' album, released in the autumn of 1978.
The second single from Maarten Peters' third and most successful album 'White horses in the snow' was the ballad 'Heart of stone (Leave me alone)'. Although the single did not chart, it certainly gave him some exposure, as he played in many television shows at the time.
'Here we are' was the third single from the album 'Cuts both ways' by Gloria Estefan. It was one of her successful ballads that followed the fomula of previous ballads and was rewarded with the same amount of commercial success.
I hated the song 'Nikita' by Elton John. I thought it was a sentimental piece of drivel with a much too repetitive chorus. This made it hard to like 'Cry to heaven', released a few months later. Still, I did buy the single a few years later, realising that this song actually had an interesting melody.
'I wish it would rain down' was released in 1989 as the second single from Phil Collins' album 'But seriously'. Phil Collins commented that it was as close as he had ever gotten at the time to writing a blues song. He asked Eric Clapton to provide the guitar playing throughout the song. As Collins recalls, 'I said 'Eric, have I never asked you to play? Come on, I've got a song right up your street'.
From the information I could gather online, the Tiptops were a Belgian group. This single, 'Ducks', was their first release in the summer of 1962. I bought this single in Denmark on the strength of the title: I am not a duckophile for nothing.
Not to be confused with the Madonna track that was released four years later, 'Who's that girl' was released by the Eurythmics in 1983. The music video featured Annie Lennox appearing in a male and female version. She appeared as a nightclub singer performing the song and also as a man who is a member of the audience. The video features cameo appearances by Bananarama, Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston of Bucks Fizz, Kiki Dee, Hazel O'Connor, Kate Garner of Haysi Fantayzee, Thereza Bazar of Dollar and Marilyn. In the end of the clip, the female-Lennox is shown kissing the male-Lennox.
'How am I supposed to live without you' was originally recorded in 1983 by Laura Branigan. The song was written by Michael Bolton. He wrote several songs for various artists, during a gap of seven years in which he didn't release records of his own. His first two albums, 'Michael Bolton' (1975) and 'Everyday of my life' (1976) had failed to chart, but after he wrote some hit singles for others, his own career started once more from 1983 onwards.
In 1986 Frank Boeijen and his group left his old record company Telstar to sign with BMG. Around that time, the old label decided to released the fourth and final single from the fifth album 'Foto van een mooie dag'.
Black faced the 'difficult second album' syndrome in 1988. After a very successful 1987, it was time to come up with a second album that would match the success of his debut 'Wonderful life'. 'Comedy' certainly met all the artistic demands, but commercially it was less fortunate.
'The dreaming' was released in July 1982 as the second single from Kate Bush's fourth album of the same name. The first single, 'Sat in your lap', had been released thirteen months earlier, but was still included on the album as well. The song is about the destruction of Aboriginal homelands by white Australians in their quest for weapons-grade uranium. Musical guest Rolf Harris plays the didgeridoo on the recording. Bird impersonator Percy Edwards provided sheep noises.
Clouseau were already big in their native Belgium, but their international career took off in early 1990 when they released 'Daar gaat ze' ('There she goes') as a single from their debut album 'Hoezo'. It rocketed up the charts in the Netherlands, peaking at number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 in March. From then on, they became almost as popular in the Netherlands as they already were in Belgium.
'One vision' was released as the first single from Queen's 1986 album 'A kind of magic', released in 1985. Queen were inspired to write and record this song because of the euphoric feeling that came from their performance at Live Aid. The track contains mysterious and distorted beginning vocals, most prominently the vocals retained in the single version. The reversed vocals at the start of the song relay new lyrics when played forwards—they say, 'God works in mysterious ways... mysterious ways...'.
'Fireworks' was released as the third single from Roxette's 1994 album 'Crash! Boom! Bang!'. The song was written by Per Gessle and used all the now familiar trademark Roxette sounds.
After Rubberen Robbie discovered chart success with 'De Nederlandse sterre die strale overal', the band decided to make a sequel. For the second time, they glued together bits and pieces of famous Dutch songs and wrote their own funny lyrics for these songs.
