Another single taken from his 1984 album 'The secret of association', 'Everything must change' is for all intents and purposes a 'black' soul song. It's one of the few hits by Paul Young which he himself co-wrote (Most of his hits are cover versions).
The single peaked at number 9 in the UK singles chart and number 25 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 3868 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Everything must change' / 'Give me my freedom'
I heard this song on a television series (I'm not saying which) and found out what it was because I remembered some of the lyrics. These days with Google, it ain't hard. Adele's 'Hometown glory' is a great piano-based track, with the voice of Adele not distracting too much from the beautiful music.
Adele wrote 'Hometown glory' when she was just 16 years old. She was born on May 5, 1988 in Enfield, North London and released her debut album '19' in 2008. The single reached number 19 in the UK singles chart, after flopping on its initial release in 2007.
My collection: 7" single no. 3617 Found: La La Land, April 2009 Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Hometown glory' / 'Fool that I am (live)'
Not content with one hit single, 'Farewell my summer love', from their archive-plundering album of the same name, Motown released a second single, 'Girl you're so together'. While the previous single charted in several countries, this one only made the charts in the UK and Ireland, peaking at number 33 and 29 respectively.
I'm still curious what Motown will come up with, now that Michael Jackson is no longer with us. There still must be a lot of material in those vaults...
My collection: 7" single no. 3850 Found: eBay.co.uk, received July 15, 2009 Cost: 3 pounds Tracks: 'Girl you're so together' / 'Touch the one you love'
'Mirror mirror' was released as a single from Diana Ross's 1982 album 'Why do fools fall in love'. Having hit number 1 in the Netherlands with the title track, 'Mirror mirror' was a relative disappointed, peaking at number 27.
The song is notable as one of the few songs Ross sung both lead and background vocals.
My collection: 7" single no. 3887 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Mirror, mirror' / 'Sweet nothings'
'The racing rats' was the third single taken from the Editors' album 'An end has a start'. In the UK, the single was released, unusually, on one cd-single and two different 7" singles. This is the second one, featuring a demo version of the track and a new B-side track.
'The racing rats' reached number 26 in the UK singles chart and number 12 in the Netherlands.
My collection: 7" single no. 3899 Found: 7inchsingles.nl, received July 24, 2009 Cost: 4 euro Tracks: 'The racing rats (original demo)' / 'A thousand pieces'
Ladyhawke was born as Philippa "Pip" Brown in Wellington, New Zealand. During her childhood various illnesses and allergies kept her in and out of the hospital. In 2008 she debuted with her self-titled album, from which several singles have been taken.
Her biggest hit so far is 'My delirium', a catchy synthpop anthem which led to comparisons with Kim Wilde in various media. The single peaked at number 33 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in Australia. This picture disc edition comes on extremely heavy vinyl.
My collection: 7" single no. 3903 Found: 7inchsingles.nl, received July 24, 2009 Cost: 4 euro Tracks: 'My delirium' / 'My delirium (Toddla T& Ross Orton Remix)'
'Instinctual' was the last (minor) hit for Imagination. It was released in 1987 as a single from their album 'Closer'. The song was written by Arthur Baker and Paul Gurvitz. The single reached number 62 on the UK singles chart.
While on the album the band was pictured with three members, only two of them featured on this sleeve: Leee John and Ashley Ingram. I've no idea where Errol Kennedy went back then...
My collection: 7" single no. 3886 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Instinctual' / 'Touch (part 2)'
'Shame for you', a double A-side with 'Alfie', was the fourth single taken from Lily Allen's debut album 'Alright, still', released in 2007. The vocal melody is loosely based on a horn line of a Jackie Mittoo song titled "Loving You" off the album "Evening Time". The single did not come with a music video, but it was released on 7" vinyl.
I was aware of this release, but it was always exceedingly expensive to get a hold of. Now I ordered it online together with some other recent singles (soon on this blog), the price was more reasonable.
My collection: 7" single no. 3902 Found: 7inchsingles.nl, received July 24, 2009 Cost: 4 euro Tracks: 'Shame for you' / 'Alfie'
'Fall in love with me' was written by Wayne Vaughn and Wanda Vaughn. It was released in 1982 as a single from Earth Wind & Fire's 1983 album 'Powerlight'. The single peaked at number 47 in the UK singles chart and number 11 in the Dutch Top 40.
'Fall in love with me' was also nominated for a Grammy in the category Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
My collection: 7" single no. 3889 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Fall in love with me' / 'Lady sun'
Sometimes my memory plays dirty tricks on me. I remembered 'I need you' by B.V.S.M.P. as a nice popsong with some regrettable hip hop elements, but listening to it now I have to conclude that it was a dull hip hop song after all. Nothing can be worse than a song starting with the words 'Yo, hey, check this out'. The only thing missing here is the 'bitch' and 'motherfucker'.
The band consisted of Percy Nathan Rodgers, Calvin Williams and Frederick Eugene Byrd. 'I need you' reached number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 3895 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'I need you' / 'I need you (Radio instrumental)'
Paul Young's 1983 hit single 'Come back and stay' was written by American musician Jack Lee. The song may have been written about one of his two teen sweethearts (with whom he fathered respectively a son and a daughter) or to his wife and mother of his two youngest daughters. This theme of loss of love, heartbreak and abandonment was derived from his life experiences that kept repeating.
Paul Young reached number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 with this track. The album version, which lasted for seven minutes, was edited to a 4'23 minute single remix version.
My collection: 7" single no. 3878 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Come back and stay (single remix version)' / 'Yours'
Alides Hidding started the band Time Bandits in the early Eighties. Their debut single 'Live it up' was a big hit in the Netherlands and the start of a career that would span the entire decade.
'Listen to the man with the golden voice' is released in April 1983 and reaches number 7 in the Dutch Top 40 - but also becomes a hit in other European countries. The track is sung with Hidding's distinctive falsetto voice.
My collection: 7" single no. 3877 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Listen to the man with the golden voice' / 'Words'
Hue and Cry are a pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by the brothers Pat and Greg Kane. Their biggest hit was the 1987 single 'Labour of love', which peaked at number 6 in the UK singles chart. It was released as their second single after their first single 'I refuse' had failed to make the UK top 75.
The song is written from the perspective of a disillusioned working-class Conservative voter of the mid-Eighties who has worked hard to believe in Margaret Thatcher's story of a new proud, individualist Britain and who is now realising that there is less "gain" than "pain" in doing so.
My collection: 7" single no. 3888 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Labour of love' / 'Wide screen'
'Singin' in the rain' was originally written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown in 1929. It was prominently featured in the movie of the same name from 1952, starring Gene Kelly.
Sheila B. Devotion recorded this disco version of the track in 1977. It was a big hit, peaking at number 3 in the Netherlands and number 11 in the UK singles chart. The most interesting bit in the song is Sheila's pronunciation of the word 'Rain'.
My collection: 7" single no. 3884 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Singin' in the rain part 1' / 'Singin' in the rain part 2'
'Same old scene' was released as the second single from Roxy Music's 1980 album 'Flesh & Blood'. It peaked at number 12 on the UK charts and number 34 in the Netherlands.
The song plays during the opening credits of the 1980 film 'Times Square' and is included on the soundtrack album. The song was also used for the ending credits of the first episode of the 2008 series 'Ashes to Ashes', causing it to jump to the No.1 most downloaded Roxy Music song on iTunes for a short period.
My collection: 7" single no. 3890 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'The same old scene' / 'My only love'
In 1979, Barbra Streisand, famous for her easy listening songs, and disco queen Donna Summer got together to record a duet. Entitled 'Enough is enough', it almost never made it onto Streisand's album 'Wet', because the lyric did not contain any reference to water (the theme of the album). Streisand really wanted the song on the album and thus changed the title of the song to 'No more tears (Enough is enough)', upon which the ballad introduction was written, to give more of an explanation of water to the song. 'It's raining, it's pouring, my love life is boring me to tears after all these years'.
During the recording of the song, Summer is said to have passed out and fallen off her chair having been out partying the night before. Streisand supposedly carried on singing her long note and waited until she had finished it before stopping and asking Summer if she was okay. Another rumour regarding the song is that Streisand's son, Jason Gould, is the one who talked his mother into recording the duet as he was a fan of Summer's work. The single became a number one hit in the USA and Canada, peaking at number 3 in the UK and number 20 in the Netherlands.
My collection: 7" single no. 3896 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'No more tears (Enough is enough)' / 'Wet' (Barbra Streisand)
After a break from recording, during which the Kemp brothers Gary and Martin established themselves as credible actors in the gangster film 'The Krays', Spandau Ballet released the album 'Heart Like a Sky' in 1989.
'Raw' was released as the first single in September 1988. It reached number 47 in the UK singles chart and number 27 in the Dutch Top 40, but in other territories the single flopped. Meanwhile, internal conflicts caused the band to split up in early 1990.
My collection: 7" single no. 3881 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 1989 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Raw' / 'Raw (Flip)'
'Total eclipse of the heart' is one of those singles I thought I had for years, and then one day I discovered I didn't have it. It still didn't get to the top of my want list, because it's also one of those songs that have been played to death on radio and television in the mid-Eighties, the time when I was actually hooked on those media.
The song remains Bonnie Tyler's most successful song, peaking at number 1 in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands, surprisingly, it didn't do so well, peaking at number 24 in the Dutch Top 40. It's still a radio favourite these days.
My collection: 7" single no. 3893 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Total eclipse of the heart' / 'Take me back'
The single 'It hurts' is an excellent track, and one of my (many) favourites of the Eighties. Finding this 12" single was a happy catch. It features not so much a remix of the song as it is a re-recording, featuring a few added lines. Hence the subtitle: 'There must be a taste of murder in it'.
With 12" singles like this, you have to wonder why remixes are so boring these days.
My collection: 12" single no. 502 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 2,5 euro Tracks: 'It hurts (There must be a taste of murder in it)' / 'The evidence', 'It hurts (7" version)'
According to the Dutch duo Maywood, Rio is a 'land of sun, samba and wine'. But of course, Rio de Janeiro is a city in Brazil. It does make you wonder what Alice May (one half of the duo) was thinking while she was composing the song.
Despite this ignorance, the single became Maywood's second biggest hit, peaking at number 3 in the Dutch Top 40. Most people don't listen to lyrics anyway...
My collection: 7" single no. 3869 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Rio' / 'It's a different world'