'Star' was the fourth and last single taken from Erasure's 1989 album 'Wild!'. It is a straightforward dance track with disco elements, written by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke. The single version is a remix of the album version.
When I was six years old, I idolized the Gibson Brothers. They had a number one hit in the Netherlands with 'Non stop dance' in May 1977, and their performances in Seventies disco clothing were probably very interesting for young viewers like myself.
'Wham Rap!' was originally Wham!'s debut single. It failed to make any impact. After the duo had achieved their breakthrough with 'Young guns (go for it)', the single was re-released. This time around, it reached number 8 in the UK singles chart and number 9 in the Dutch Top 40.
Steven Spielberg directed the movie E.T., which was one of the box office hits of 1982. Longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams composed the musical score for the movie. Williams described his challenge as creating a score that would generate sympathy for such an odd-looking creature. As with their previous collaborations, Spielberg liked every theme Williams composed and had it included.
After having been in the Motels for over a decade, Martha Davis released her first solo album entitled 'Policy' in October 1987. Musicians who worked with her included Clarence Clemons, Kenny G and Charlie Sexton. In November 1987, she had a number 8 hit in Australia with 'Don't tell me the time'. In the US Billboard Hot 100 the single stalled at number 80.
I've made an earlier posting on Jeff Wayne's 'The eve of the war', but I'm so enthusiastic about today's purchase I simply have to do it once again. I went to a record shop in Rotterdam, where they had a few hundred singles for only 0,25 euro a piece. The last time I was there - a few years ago - it was a mess, and in a way it still was. But going through these singles I found 30 titles I wanted to have, and so I still did a great purchase there.
Since this blog is written with an international audience in mind, I deliberated some time with myself whether I should publish this single. But in the end I decided that since I am publishing my entire singles collection, I couldn't simply omit this one.
Alison Moyet released her second album 'Raindancing' in 1987. The track 'Sleep like breathing', a duet with David Freeman, was released as the third single. It was the least successful single by Moyet up to that point, stalling at number 80 in the UK singles chart.
At only twelve, I was getting into electronic music really fast. I was aided somewhat by my sister, who is six years older than me and was already buying loads of singles. That is how I heard 'Lost again' (1983) by Yello, a mysterious-sounding track that, although it did not chart, ended up high in my personal top 100.
'Thanks for the love' was another hit single for the Dutch band Earth & Fire. It reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.
Originally released as their debut single in 1987, 'I owe you nothing' flopped. After the success of their breakthrough single 'When will I be famous?' it was re-released. It was accepted by the teenage audience as Bros mania was at its height. The single became the band's only UK number one, spending two weeks at the top in June 1988.
World Party was essentially the project of Karl Wallinger, as he was the sole member of the band. The debut album 'Private revolution' was released in 1986 and contained the debut single 'Ship of fools', a retro-sounding track like most of the work on that album. The single reached number 42 in the UK singles chart and number 35 in the Dutch Top 40.
'Word up!' was released by Cameo as a single from their 1986 album of the same name. The single peaked at number 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 10 in the Dutch Top 40.
'Free your mind' was released after the uprising that took place in Los Angeles, California from April 29 to May 4, 1992 following the acquittal of the police officers who had beaten up Rodney King. The song used the chorus line of a George Clinton song with his permission.
After leaving Luv', Patty Brard had a solo career in the first half of the Eighties. She recorded three albums in Los Angeles, of which 'You're in the pocket' (1983) was the second one. The single 'You stole a little piece of my heart' was an unusually hardrock-sounding track, released as the first single from that album.
I never know what came first: the chicken or the egg. It's the same with this song: the lyric fits the music really well - or is it the other way around? The music sounds extremely 'wintery', but it might be because of the lyric that I think that.
Taken from the album 'Fantasy', 'Keeping the dream alive' is the English-language version of 'So lang' man Träume noch leben kann'. This single became the band's sole hit in the UK, reaching number 14 in the UK singles chart.
'Boom bang-a-bang' was the United Kingdom entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. It was sung by Lulu. The song famously became one of four winning entries. The single peaked at number 2 in the UK singles chart and at number 19 in the Dutch Top 40.
'Money, money, money' was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and at first had the working title 'Gypsy girl'. The dramatic structure of the song suited well for Anni-Frid Lyngstad's lead vocal. The song is an early indication of Björn and Benny's abilities to write dramatic music suitable for a musicals.
'Heaven must be missing an angel' was written by Freddie Perren and Keni St. Lewis. It was recorded by Tavares in 1976. The original version was a hit all over the world, at the height of 'disco fever'.