'Look out, there's a bonsai tree on your head!', that's what I always think when I see this sleeve. Why some artists choose to look so strange from time to time is beyond me. Besides all that, 'Together again' is actually quite a serious song. It was a tribute from Janet to friends who had recently passed from AIDS, as stated on album booklet of her 1997 album 'The velvet rope'. Originally written as a ballad, the track was re-arranged as a dance song.
Released as the second single from the album, 'Together again' reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Dutch Top 40, peaking at number 4 in the UK singles chart. This 7" single was made in the USA, and is as far as I know the only 7" release worldwide.
My collection: 7" single no. 2984 Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, 1998 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Together again' / 'Got 'til it's gone (Ummah Jay Dee's Revenge mix)'
Clannad consists of siblings Máire and Ciarán Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They started making music together in 1970, initially having only some success in Ireland, where the band was based. In 1981, the other sibling Enya left the band to pursue a successful, if somewhat monotonous solo career.
A year later, Clannad recorded the song that would launch their international career: 'Theme from Harry's Game', and the accompanying album 'Magical ring'. The album was on the UK album charts for over six months, earning the group their first gold record award. The single 'I see red' was released as the follow-up to 'Harry's Game', but this single, although it was an appealing song as well, did not chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2661 Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, June 30, 1996 Cost: 1,5 pounds Tracks: 'I see red' / 'Tá 'mé mo shui'
The innovative music video for the Cars' 'You might think' is what prompted me to remember this song for years until I finally bought it in 1989, five years after its release. It was a single from their fifth studio album 'Heartbeat City', produced by Mutt Lange and the Cars. The music video was one of the first videos to use computerized effects. The video features band leader Ric Ocasek and model Susan Gallagher in a series of encounters. Ocasek appears in her bathroom mirror, in her mouth, as a fly, and as the Robot Monster, among other incarnations.
The single reached number 7 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 8 in Canada. In the UK, however, the single only reached number 88.
My collection: 7" single no. 741 Found: All that music, Leiden, February 9, 1989 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'You might think' / 'Heartbeat City'
'Wuthering heights' was Kate Bush's debut single, released in January 1978. She'd written the song in 1976, aged just 18. The song came to her after watching the last ten minutes of the 1970 film version based on the book by Emily Brontë on television. Lyrically, 'Wuthering heights' uses several quotations from Catherine Earnshaw, most notably in the chorus - 'Let me in! I'm so cold!' - as well as in the verses, with Catherine's confession to her servant of 'bad dreams in the night.; It is sung from Catherine's point of view, as she pleads at Heathcliff's window to be allowed in. This romantic scene takes a sinister turn if one considers the events of the book, as Catherine may well be a ghost, calling Heathcliff to join her in death.
The guitar solo at the end of the song is played by Ian Bairnson, best known for his work with Alan Parsons. It is often mistakenly said that David Gilmour played the solo. It is placed rather unobtrusively in the mix, something engineer Jon Kelly now regrets.
When presented with the material for Kate Bush's debut album 'The kick inside', record company EMI originally wanted to release 'James and the cold gun' as its first single. Kate was determined that 'Wuthering heights' would be the better choice, and she didn't relent until the record company finally gave in. Originally, the single would have been released in November 1977, but when Kate Bush didn't approve of the single's artwork, the single was withdrawn and the release was put back until January 1978.
The single became a huge success, peaking at number 1 in the charts in the UK, Australia, Belgium, Italy, France, Ireland and New Zealand. It reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40. It was a phenomenal start of a career that fortunately continues to this day - although the gaps between albums have been increasingly hard to bear.
As an avid fan of Kate Bush, I ended up owning several copies of 'Wuthering heights'.The first copy I bought was a sleeveless one for 2 guilders, which is not the most beautiful item of my collection, so it is not shown here. A few years later, I bought a Belgian copy in Brussels. Then a few years after that I found a flawless copy from the UK in a standard EMI sleeve. Since it was made in 1977, it must have been one of the earliest copies of this single. Then I found a Dutch copy, with a sleeve printed in only a few colours. And finally, in 1992, I found a Spanish copy with a totally different sleeve. The classic Gered Mankowitz photograph was a good reason to buy that copy.
My collection: 7" single no. 210 (2) / no 210 (3) / no. 210 (4) / no. 1710 Found: Brussels, 1990 / Record fair, 1994 / Record fair, 1994 / Bea Records, September 19, 1992 Cost: 30 Francs / 5 guilders / 5 guilders / 12,5 guilders Tracks: 'Wuthering heights' / 'Kite'
'Run like hell' was the second single taken from Pink Floyd's classic album 'The wall'. The song is from the point of view of anti-hero Pink during a hallucination, in which he becomes a fascist dictator and turns a concert audience into an angry mob. He sends the mob out to raid nearby neighborhoods that are full of minorities. The song was originally much longer, however it had to be cut because of the time limitations on the original vinyl record format. Although the lyrics 'Run like hell' appear several times in the liner notes, they are never actually heard in the song.
The single was a commercial disappointment after the huge success of its predecessor 'Another brick in the wall'. Still, copies of the single are wanted by collectors and change hands for anything upwards of 10 euro. I'm lucky to find a cheaper, if somewhat damaged, copy.
My collection: 7" single no. 4042 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Run like hell' / 'Don't leave me now'
'Get it on' was written by Marc Bolan and recorded by his band T-Rex in 1971. The Power Station recorded a cover version of the track in 1985. It was released as the second single from their debut album.
The track was a hit in the UK, where it reached number 22, and America, where it peaked at number 9. When Robert Palmer heard that the other Power Station members had recorded demos for the song, he asked to try out vocals for it. Before long, the band had decided to record the entire album with Palmer.
My collection: 7" single no. 4041 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Get it on' / 'Go to zero'
'Total loss' is a track from Kayak's 1980 album 'Periscope life'. Moving away from their rock roots after the ballad 'Ruthless queen' (1979), this single was a bit of a return to form: a straightforward rock track.
Unfortunately, the Dutch audience weren't impressed, as the single did not reach the chart. Their next single, 'Seagull', would become their last hit single.
My collection: 7" single no. 4040 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Total loss' / 'What's done is done'
A few years ago, I saw a documentary on Kayak's 1975 album 'Royal bed bouncer'. I was very impressed with the music I heard. Nowadays, almost all music made in the Netherlands is substandard and pathetic, but this was rock music worthy of worldwide recognition.
I bought the cd not long after that, and I thought I would find singles from the album soon enough. I didn't actively search for them - and now I've finally found 'Chance for a lifetime'. It's one of the standout tracks from 'Royal bed bouncer', but it only reached number 31 in the Dutch Top 40.
By the way: the copy I bought was covered in dust and grease. I decided to wash it along with the dishes, and voila: the single is as good as new.
My collection: 7" single no. 4039 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Chance for a lifetime' / 'My heart never changed'
In 1980, Johnny Logan represented Ireland during the Eurovision Song Contest, singing the song 'What's another year'. When the song, written by Shay Healy, won the Contest, Logan's career took off.
'What's another year' became an international hit. In Germany, Logan released a special version of the song, with German lyrics written by Michael Kunze. 'Was ist schon ein Jahr' sounds very familiar, and yet very strange to non-Germans. Personally, I prefer this version for its interesting lyric. To hear an Irish man sing 'Eines Tages wirst du wissen / dass diesen Abschied nur ein Irrtum war' is priceless.
My collection: 7" single no. 4038 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Was ist schon ein Jahr' / 'One night stand'
'Feuer und Flamme' was the title of Nena's fourth album, released in 1984. It was the first album of the band to be reproduced in English in its entirity. The English version 'It's all in the game' was released in 1985.
The title track was released as a single, with the English version of the track, 'Woman on fire', on the B-side.
My collection: 7" single no. 4037 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Feuer und Flamme' / 'Woman on fire'
Steve Jolley and Tony Swain produced the music of bands like Imagination, Bananarama and many others. In 1985 they decided to release a single of their own, the instrumental track 'Soul street'. It sounds a lot like the music of the aforementioned bands. The single was taken from the album 'Backtrackin', also released in 1985.
They continued to produce artists like Diana Ross, Tom Robinson and Wang Chung, until they split up in 1987. Swain went on to produce Kim Wilde's 1988 album 'Close' and became head A&R consultant for Universal Records. Jolley set up his own record label and in 2001 ended up in jail for sexually assaulting a 12 year old boy. I guess you could say 'each to their own'...
My collection: 7" single no. 4036 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Soul street' / 'Autumn leaves'
'Where did your heart go' was originally released as part of the double single 'The edge of heaven', released to signal the end of the duo Wham! in June 1986. Always in need of 'milking it', the record company decided to release the track separately as a single in October 1986. The setup didn't work as most people already had the track - only the most avid fans still bought the single despite the absence of anything new on it. The single peaked at number 50 in the USA and number 54 in Australia.
The song was not written by George Michael, like most of Wham!'s material, but instead was a cover of the 1981 track by Was Not Was. It was written by David and Don Was.
My collection: 7" single no. 4034 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Where did your heart go?' / 'Wham! Rap '86'
One of the Eighties' ultimate pop tracks was Wham!'s 'Wake me up before you go-go'. George Michael was inspired to write the song when his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley left a scribbled note to his parents reading 'Wake me up before you go', but accidentally wrote the word 'up' twice - so he decided to repeat the word 'go' as well.
Released in May 1984, Wham! presented themselves as a sunnier, less pretentious band, moving away from their politically charged songs from their previous album. The song reached number 1 in both the UK, the USA and the Netherlands.
My collection: 7" single no. 4035 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Wake me up before you go-go' / 'Wake me up before you go-go (instrumental)'
The early career of Ten Shap was a bit odd. They released four singles to little or no success. The one that was the least interesting in my opinion was 'Japanese lovesong'. And yet, this was the only single of the four to reach the Dutch Top 40, in the summer of 1985. It had a chart run of four weeks and reached number 30.
'Japanese lovesong' was the second single released by Ten Sharp, and after the third and fourth singles 'Last words' and 'Way of the west' did not chart, the band disbanded for four years, only to resurrect with the international smash hit 'You'.
My collection: 7" single no. 4033 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Japanese lovesong' / 'Goin' on'
'Pleasure' was released as the fifth and last single from Spandau Ballet's 1983 album 'True'. After the massive hits 'True' and 'Gold', this single was a commercial disappointment, failing to reach the chart almost everywhere.
The single did chart in Germany, where it reached number 61. It was the lowest chart placing for any Spandau Ballet single in that country.
My collection: 7" single no. 4032 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Pleasure' / 'Pleasure (live)'
'Anyone who had a heart' was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and originally performed by Dionne Warwick in 1963. Outside of America, the song is better known in a version by Cilla Black, released in 1964 and a number 1 hit for her in the UK. Black later commented: 'Dionne was dead choked, and she's never forgiven me, to this day'.
Sandie Shaw was one of the few British girl singers who did not cover the song in the Sixties. In 1982, she was introduced to the British Electric Foundation by future husband Nik Powell. The B.E.F. (Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who would go on to form Heaven 17 with Glenn Gregory) asked Shaw to record a song for their album 'Music of Quality and Distinction Volume 1', on which they intended people to cover old songs and give them an updated electronic sound. Shaw was particularly proud of her emotional vocals on the song, which was subsequently released as a single. This proved to be the beginning of her 1980s comeback.
My collection: 7" single no. 4031 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Anyone who had a heart' / 'Anyone who had a heart (instrumental)'
As I was a fan of the Sparks back in 1974, I must have heard this song a few times back then. As I was only four years old at the time, I cannot remember that at all. So the first time I can actually recall hearing this song was in 1989, on Martin Gore's 'Counterfeit EP', an EP of six cover versions as performed by the Depeche Mode band member.
Since I really love that version, I got curious about the original. And so I bought this single the first time I saw it - which was yesterday. The single reached number 13 in the UK singles chart, but did not chart in the Netherlands.
My collection: 7" single no. 4030 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Never turn your back on mother earth' / 'Alabamy right'
According to Prince, he wrote the song 'Cream' while he was standing in front of a mirror. It was included on Prince & the New Power Generation's 1991 album 'Diamonds and pearls'.
Released as the second single from the album, it reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 15 in the UK singles chart and number 4 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 4029 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Cream' / 'Horny pony'
One More Time formed in the early Nineties. The band consisted of Peter Grönvall (son of Abba's Benny Andersson) and his wife Nanne, with Maria Rådsten and Therese Löf. In 1992 they began their international career with the release of the single and album 'Highland'. The single became an international success, hitting number 1 in ten countries, peaking at number 18 in the Dutch Top 40.
'Highland' was released on 7" vinyl at a time when most record companies were abandoning the format. As such, you could almost consider it a collectors item.
My collection: 7" single no. 4028 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Highland' / 'Vitality'
'Raspberry beret' was released as the second single from Prince & the Revolution's 1985 album 'Around the world in a day'. Back then, Prince was a Big Thing, and after the phenomenal success of 'Purple rain', this new album was highly anticipated. Although the song was originally recorded in 1982, Prince drastically reworked it with The Revolution to give it more of an international sound.
The lyric of the song tells of a teenage romance and first sexual experience with a girl who wears the titular hat. The single peaked at number 25 in the UK singles chart and number 19 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 4027 Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Raspberry beret' / 'She's always in my hair'
'Look out, there's a bonsai tree on your head!', that's what I always think when I see this sleeve. Why some artists choose to look so strange from time to time is beyond me. Besides all that, 'Together again' is actually quite a serious song. It was a tribute from Janet to friends who had recently passed from AIDS, as stated on album booklet of her 1997 album 'The velvet rope'. Originally written as a ballad, the track was re-arranged as a dance song.
