Dirty ol' man - Three Degrees

This year, the self-titled debut album by the Three Degrees will finally be released on cd. The UK label Big Break Records has taken up the project, releasing an album that originally saw the light of day in 1973 on the Philadelphia International label.

The album spawned three hits, the first of them being 'Dirty ol' man'. This single reached number 1 in the Dutch Top 40 and was awarded a gold record in both Belgium and the Netherlands. The other two hits were 'Year of decision' and 'When will I see you again'. Hearing the whole album should be interesting.

My collection: 7" single no. 4663
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Dirty ol' man' / 'Can't you see what you're doing to me'

Habadaba riwikidi - Urban Heroes

In 1981, the Dutch band Urban Heroes record and release their second album: 'The age of Urban Heroes'. The track 'Habadaba riwikidi' is released as a single and reaches number 21 in the Dutch Top 40. It remains their biggest hit.

That same year, they released a live album, produced by Rinus Gerritsen from the Golden Earring.

My collection: 7" single no. 4662
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Habadaba riwikidi' / 'Chips'

Night owl - Gerry Rafferty

In 1979, Gerry Rafferty had to come up with a follow-up to his very successful debut solo album 'City to city' (1978), which featured his best known hit 'Baker Street'. The result was 'Night owl', released in June 1979.

The title track was released as a single ahead of the album. In the UK singles chart, the single reached number 5, becoming Rafferty's second and last top 10 hit. In Europe, however, the single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4658
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Night owl' / 'Why won't you talk to me'

Man to man - Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate's 1976 single 'Man to man' was remarkable for its lyric: it's about a man who confronts the new lover of his wife and mother of their two children, asking him to 'love her' and 'love our children too'. It's a remarkable thing to do, especially for men at that time.

The single managed to reach number 14 in the UK singles chart as the third single from Hot Chocolate's 1975 self-titled album.

My collection: 7" single no. 4651
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Man to man' / 'Eyes of a growing child'

Autostop - Patty Pravo

Patty Pravo was born on April 9, 1948 in Venice, Italy as Nicoletta Strambelli. She studied at the conservatory institute of Benedetto Marcello. At the age of fifteen, she left home to live in London and then Rome where she began her career singing in the Piper Club. In 1966 she made her first single, 'Ragazzo triste' ('Sad Boy'), an Italian version of the song 'But you're mine' by Sonny & Cher.

In 1970 Patty hosted her own programme called 'Bravo Pravo', broadcast on French television, and in 1978 appeared in the highly controversial Italian TV show, Stryx, where she wore provocative clothing which attracted much attention. 'Autostop' was released in 1979 and reached number 13 in the Italian chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4647
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Autostop' / 'New York'

Play to win - Heaven 17

One of the synthpop bands of the early Eighties was Heaven 17, formed by Glenn Gregory, Ian Craig-Marsh and Martyn Ware, after the latter two had left Human League.

'Play to win' was their third single and the second one to be taken from their debut album 'Penthouse and pavement'. It reached number 46 in the UK singles chart. This single is a Dutch pressing which also includes their next UK single, 'Penthouse and pavement'. You guessed it: the title track from their debut album.

My collection: 7" single no. 4649
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Play to win' / 'Penthouse and pavement'

Just one cornetto - Pookiesnackenburger

The song 'Just one cornetto' started out as an adaptation of the Italian traditional 'O sole mio' in this television advert. It was slightly rewritten and recorded by the Brighton retro/busker band Pookiesnackenburger, released as a single on Stiff records in 1982.

Pookiesnackenburger consisted of Steve McNicholas, Sue Bradley, Paul Clark, John Helmer and Nick Dwyer. Although chart success eluded the band, they later morphed into Stomp, who went on to have international success with their theatre shows.

My collection: 7" single no. 4646
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Just one cornetto' / 'Turkish bath'

Criticize - Alexander O'Neal

Contrary to all the R&B and hiphop dross they make today, black artists used to actually come up with good songs every once in a while, back in the Eighties. Alexander O'Neal's 'Criticize' is a good example: a catchy tune with aggressively delivered vocals. The track was produced by Jellybean, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, which makes it sound almost like a Janet Jackson track.

'Criticize' peaked at number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 17 in the Dutch Top 40 in the autumn of 1987.

My collection: 7" single no. 4644
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Criticize' / 'A broken heart can mend'

Oh... Young people - Mo

After their second single 'Fred Astaire' reached number 18 in the Dutch Top 40, attention for the Dutch synthpop group Mo was growing. They do a tour around the country, with mixes responses from the audience.

'Oh... Young people' is released as the third single from their debut album 'Mo' in early 1981, but it does not chart. Meanwhile, three members of the band, including woman singer Heili Helder, leave the band. After the summer of 1981, only drummer Harm Bieger remains from the original line-up. Ton van der Meer and Hans Nieuwint are recruited, as well as the new frontwoman Linda Bloemhardt. This new line-up records the second Mo album, which is released later on in 1981.

My collection: 7" single no. 4638
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Oh... Young people' / 'TV Talks'

Keine Mauern mehr - Simone

The impact of the fall of the Berlin wall was so big, that even Austria delivered a song about the subject on the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was performed by Simone Stelzer, who was born on October 1, 1969 in Vienna.

The lyric of the song speaks about the freedom brought about through the fall of the Wall. In keeping with the multi-national theme, she sung the song in German, English, French and Serbo-Croatian. The song finished tenth in a field of 22 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 4409
Found: Second Life Music, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Keine Mauern mehr' / 'No walls anywhere'

Gotta pull myself together - The Nolans

The Nolans released their album 'Making waves' in 1980. While it only peaked at number 11 in the albums chart, it had the longest chart run of their career, spanning 33 weeks. Four singles were taken from the album, of which 'Attention to me' was the best known.

'Gotta pull myself together' was released as the third single from the album in the autumn of 1980. It reached number 9 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in Ireland. It was also their first Australian chart hit, peaking at number 3 in 1981.

My collection: 7" single no. 4641
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Gotta pull myself together' / 'Directions of love'

Landslide - Olivia Newton-John

Not to be confused with the 1975 track by Fleetwood Mac, 'Landslide' was written by Olivia Newton-John's producer John Farrar for her 1981 album 'Physical'. It was released as the third single from the album in early 1982.

Although the single did not chart in the Netherlands, it was a success in the UK, where it peaked at number 18. In the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, 'Landslide' peaked at number 52.

My collection: 7" single no. 4639
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Landslide' / 'Falling'

Wonderful - Patty and Shift

Dutch broadcaster Veronica had some success in the late Eighties with the weekly drama 'Spijkerhoek'. The story focused on two families with children in their late puberty. The son of one family was a biker and the daughter of the other family wanted to make it big in the music scene. Actress Mary-Lou van Steenis played Patty, who got to record a song called 'Wonderful'. It's no surprise that this song was released as a single to promote the television series even further. It turned out to be a hit, too, peaking at number 2 in the Dutch Top 40.

The song itself is a cliched, tacky affair, so the real treat on this single is the B-side, as it contains the theme of 'Spijkerhoek'. It's an attractive instrumental, sounding a bit like Harold Faltermeyer meets Jan Hammer. And I guess that's what the producers were aiming for anyway, since both 'Miami Vice' and the 'Beverley Hills Cop' movies were broadcast by Veronica as well back then.

My collection: 7" single no. 789
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, April 7, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Wonderful' / 'Theme from 'Spijkerhoek''

Song from Moulin Rouge - Peters and Lee

My brother mentioned last week that he was looking for this song. The title and performer stuck in my head for some reason, and when I went shopping the next day, imagine my surprise when I came across this single. I figured I could take it with me. If I didn't like it at least he would have an addition to his collection. As it turns out, I like the track a lot - bad luck for him.

Peters & Lee was a British duo consisting of Lennie Peters (November 22, 1931 - October 10, 1992) and Dianne Lee (born in 1950). Their first performance was with Rolf Harris on April 30 1970 at a concert in Bournemouth. They remained popular all through the Seventies. 'Song from Moulin Rouge' was recorded in the Netherlands with the Harry van Hoof Orchestra, with Will Hoebee producing. It was their only hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 23 in the Dutch Top 40 in the summer of 1977.

My collection: 7" single no. 4645
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Song from Moulin Rouge' / 'Don't lay your head'

Good golly Miss Molly - De Tamara's

Every now and again, one has to take into account all the strong points of a particular single. As you can see on this sleeve, this single by the Dutch band the Tamara's has at least two strong points. I became interested enough anyway to find out what this single was all about.

Turns out that the Tamara's is a group of studio musicians which performs Dutch versions of wellknown rock and roll tracks. 'Good golly Miss Molly' was originally recorded in 1958 by Little Richard. This cover version was never a hit - but I do have to wonder why.

My collection: 7" single no. 4664
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Good golly Miss Molly' / 'Donna Donna'

Cry - Godley and Creme

Trevor Horn must be one of the most impressive producers out there, as he's been responsible for so many great records. I am certainly not the only person to think this, since when he produced Godley & Creme's 1985 single 'Cry', it was played to death on radio and television at the time. So much so, that I became sick of the track altogether. Now, 25 years later, I finally brought myself to the point where I could buy and listen to it again.

The single reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40, number 16 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 19 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4637
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Cry' / 'Love bombs'

Lorilee - David Gates

After the breakup of his band Bread, David Gates recorded a solo album entitled 'First', which in my book is definitely a classic album. I never really knew how many singles were taken from that album, but I came across another one, and despite the state it was in, I knew I had to have it.

'Lorilee' was released in early 1974 and featured two tracks from the album: 'Lorilee' (the last track on the album) and 'Sail around the world' (The first track on the album). The single did not chart in any territory.

My collection: 7" single no. 4636
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Lorilee' / 'Sail around the world'

Mi amor - Audrey Landers and Camilo Sesto

In 1984, Audrey Landers recorded 'Mi Amor' as a duet with Camilo Sesto. He was born on September 16, 1946 as Camilo Blanes Cortés and became a prominent performer of Spanish pop music in the Seventies and Eighties.

The duo recorded the duet for Landers' album 'Holiday dreams', which was mainly a success in Germany. The production sounds a lot like German schlagers, and this went down well in Germany: the album was certified Gold within weeks of its release. The single also managed to reach number 30 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 4635
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Mi amor' / 'Guantanamera'

Don't say that it's over - The Korgis

Over the past year, I have made an effort in completing some artist discographies. One of those artists was the British band the Korgis. They have released many singles in the first half of the Eighties, and most of them turn up in second hand shops for really good prices.

One of the singles I couldn't find last year was 'Don't say that it's over'. So I was glad to finally add that one to my collection last weekend. The picture sleeve is a bit boring, but the two tracks on this disc more than make up for that.

My collection: 7" single no. 4633
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1,25 euro
Tracks: 'Don't say that it's over' / 'Drawn and quartered'

Sound and vision - David Bowie

'Sound and vision' was recorded by David Bowie on his 1977 album 'Low'. The track features a lengthy introduction with guitar and synthesizer, followed by withdrawn lyrics, inspired by the cocaine-fueled paranoia the singer had lived in while residing in Los Angeles. In keeping with the minimalist approach of Low, Visconti and Bowie originally recorded the track as an instrumental, bar the backing vocal (performed by Visconti’s wife, Mary Hopkin). Bowie then recorded his vocal after the rest of the band had left the studio, before trimming verses off the lyric.

Released as a first single from the album, the song was used by the BBC on trailers at the time. This provided considerable exposure, which was much needed as Bowie opted to do nothing to promote the single himself, and helped the song to number 3. In the Dutch Top 40, it even made number 2.

My collection: 7" single no. 1412
Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, April 3, 1991
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Sound and vision' / 'A new career in a new town'