Showing out (Get fresh at the weekend) - Mel & Kim

Mel & Kim Appleby debuted in 1986 with 'Showing out (Get Fresh at the weekend)'. The Stock/Aitken/Waterman production was an immediate success and reached number 1 in various European countries.

This 12" single, released at the time, features an extended remix of the track, as well as a remix of 'System', a track that was originally planned as an A-side, but set aside when 'Showing out' was deemed to be a better track. The sleeve was, as with all Mel & Kim releases, another strong argument for buying this record.

My collection: 12" single no. 591
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'Showing out (Get fresh at the weekend) [extended]' / 'System (House mix)'

Like a dream - Freda Gothenburg

'World's first backward playing record' screams the sleeve of this 7" single, and with that, the subliminal message 'novelty item'. An irresistible thing for me, as I have more than 5000 7" singles, but all of them play from the outside in - and this one promised plays from the inside outwards. At least, the A-side does: the record company was wise enough to also include the same track on the B-side with a 'normal' groove. Most record players won't let you play from the centre, as they pick up the needle automatically when the centre is reached.

So is this the only interesting thing about this single? Indeed it is: Freda Gothenburg is not a good singer and the song isn't very much cop at all. I guess the record company thought that this would be the only thing to sell this particular track: a record that plays from the centre outwards.

See it in action in this video:



My collection: 7" single no. 5208
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Like a dream' / 'Like a dream'

Sweat in bullet - Simple Minds

'Sweat in bullet' was released in 1981 as the second single from Simple Minds' fourth album 'Sons and fascination'. The single was released as a special double single, featuring a second disc with two live recordings from a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon on September 25, 1981.

The single became a modest hit for the band, reaching number 52 in the UK singles chart, number 47 in New Zealand and number 17 in Sweden.

My collection: 7" single no. 5207
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Sweat in bullet' / '20th century promised land' // 'Premonition (live)' / 'League of nations (live)'

Crushed by the wheels of industry - Heaven 17

'Crushed by the wheels of industry' was the last single taken from Heaven 17's 1983 album 'The luxury gap'. It peaked at number 17 in the UK singles chart, spending 7 weeks in the chart. It would be the band's last top 20 hit until 1992, when a remix of 'Temptation' was released.

The name of the album 'The luxury gap' was another description of the divide between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' (just like the band's debut album, 'Penthouse and pavement') and this track described a lot of what was going on in Thatcher's England at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 5206
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Crushed by the wheels of industry (part 1)' / 'Crushed by the wheels of industry (part 2)'

Beautiful - Athlete

'Beautiful' was originally released as a single from Athlete's debut album 'Vehicles and animals' in 2002. It was re-released in 2010 when the band released their contract-fulfilling compilation album 'Singles 01-10'.

It's not entirely clear when this 7" single was made. The sleeve and label only state the year 2002, but I suspect this record was actually made in 2010. However, I can't be sure. I'm just glad I found this single as it's pretty difficult to find.

My collection: 7" single no. 5205
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Beautiful' / 'On and on'

Love is just the great pretender - Animal Nightlife

Animal Nightlife had a hit with 'Love is just the great pretender' in July 1985, reaching number 28 in the UK singles chart. That single was featured on this blog two years ago (here).

I found this single the other day, which features a rather different version of the song. It was released in 1982 on the Inner Vision label. Proof that the band existed a few years before they actually became better known.

My collection: 7" single no. 5204
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Love is just the great pretender' / 'The great pretender'

Little Jeannie - Elton John

Elton John and Gary Osborne wrote this song, which was released in 1980 as a single from Elton John's album '21 at 33'. The song can be described as an uptempo ballad. In the US, it would be Elton's highest-charting single co-written with Gary Osborne, while in the UK, where the song only reached number 33, 'Blue eyes' would eventually hold that honour.

Despite its impressive performance in the US charts, Elton has rarely performed 'Little Jeannie' live, doing so only on his 1980 tour and during 2000's One Night Only concerts.

My collection: 7" single no. 5203
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Little Jeannie' / 'Conquer the sun'

Covers EP - Everything but the girl

Those who know Everything but the girl from their big hit 'Missing' will be surprised to hear this intimate set of covers, recorded entirely acoustic. But of course, the first decade and a half of their career was almost entirely centered about such intimate material.

According to the blurb on the sleeve: 'In October 1991 we played two concerts at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London made up largely of cover versions - we had no band, just a guitar, a piano and two voices. Many people asked us to record some of the songs.' The four track EP reached number 13 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5202
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Love is strange', 'Tougher than the rest' / 'Time after time', 'Alison'

Runaway / When I think of you - Janet Jackson

As readers of this blog may have realised, I have been hunting down old Janet Jackson 12" singles over recent months. American promotional double 12" singles were quite hard to get - I thought they were only available via mail order these days.

Imagine my surprise when I found not one, but two of these double 12" single sets in a second hand shop in London this weekend. This is the first of them: a package of remixes of Janet's 1996 single 'Runaway' backed with three slightly disappointing remixes of 'When I think of you'.

My collection: 12" single no. 592
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Runaway (JR Factory Mix)', 'Runaway (JR Tribal mix)' / 'When I think of you (Deep Dish Chocolate City mix)' // 'When I think of you (Deep Dish Quiet Storm dub)' / 'When I think of you (Dished out dub)'

Stop stop stop - Lisa

When I saw this single, I thought it was an early release by Lisa Stansfield. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a single from 1978 featuring a track called 'Sagoland', subtitled 'Fairytale'. I immediately thought of the Dana hit from 1976, and as it turns out, it is indeed a translated version of that song.

Looking for more information, I couldn't find much more information about Lisa than this single and the accompanying album, released in 1978 too, featuring 12 tracks, more than half of them in Swedish. Forget the A-side of this single. 'Fairytale' in Swedish: it still sounds good.

My collection: 7" single no. 5201
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 10p
Tracks: 'Stop stop stop' / 'Sagoland (Fairytale)'

Too late - Junior

In 1987, Junior Giscombe had a hit in the UK together with Kim Wilde, singing 'Another step (closer to you)'. In 1992, Kim Wilde recorded a song called 'Too late' on her album 'Love is'. And Junior recorded a song called 'Too late' ten years previous, released as a single in 1982.

It may be a bit farfetched but it was curiosity that drove me to buy this single. I wondered how this song would sound, knowing that Junior was in the business of creating funky dance tracks, and not - as was the case with Kim's 1992 track - plaintive ballads. This single does not disappoint. No-one does funk like Junior Giscombe.

My collection: 7" single no. 5200
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 10p
Tracks: 'Too late' / 'In words'

An everlasting love - Andy Gibb

'An everlasting love' was released in the summer of 1978 as the second single from Andy Gibb's second solo album 'Shadow dancing'. At the time of the Bee Gees biggest success 'Saturday Night Fever' it was perhaps no surprise that their brother would also have considerable success with the famous Gibb sound.

The single reached number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. This UK single features his two previous American number 1 hits, '(Love is) Thicker than water' and 'I just want to be your everything'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5199
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'An everlasting love' / 'I just want to be your everything', '(Love is) Thicker than water'

A child's prayer - Hot Chocolate

Released in the summer of 1975, 'A child's prayer' was Hot Chocolate's fifth top 10 hit in the UK and the last single release before one of the band's best known hits, 'You sexy thing'. This song is very different from that one, however, with quite 'deep' lyrics.

The B-side, by contrast, has a very simple message: 'Everything should be funky'. Well maybe.

My collection: 7" single no. 5198
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'A child's prayer' / 'Everything should be funky'

Woman of the 80's - Julia Fordham

Kim Wilde. Kate Bush. Cyndi Lauper. Sam Brown. Sade. Judie Tzuke. Hazel O'Connor. Thereza Bazar. Cheryl Baker. Naomi Campbel. Carol Decker. Margaret Thatcher. Cindy Crawford. Olivia Newton-John. Julianne Regan. Tracey Thorn. Sonia. Kylie Minogue. Toyah Willcox. Tracey Ullman. Belinda Carlisle. Samantha Fox. Sabrina.

But what, exactly, is a woman of the 80's? Julia Fordham explains...

My collection: 7" single no. 5197
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 10p
Tracks: 'Woman of the 80s' / 'Behind closed doors'

Rubber bullets - 10CC

Written and sung by Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and Graham Gouldman and produced by 10CC, "Rubber Bullets" was the band's first number 1 hit in the United Kingdom, spending one week at the top in June 1973. The track is a tongue in cheek homage to 'Jailhouse Rock' with a Beach Boys influence.

Band member Eric Stewart recalled: 'I was amazed, but pleased that the BBC never banned the track, although they limited its airplay, because they thought it was about the ongoing Northern Ireland conflicts. In fact, it was about an Attica State Prison riot like the ones in the old James Cagney films.'

My collection: 7" single no. 5196
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Rubber bullets' / 'Waterfall'

Brand new friend - Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

'Brand new friend' was the first single from Lloyd Cole & the Commotions' second album 'Easy pieces'. The title betrayed the content of the album: Lloyd Cole was never known for making 'easy' music. This single is a fine example of a carefully crafted song with subtle instrumentation.

The single actually did better than all of the singles before it, reaching number 19 in the UK singles chart, while also reaching the Irish singles chart for the first time, peaking at number 11.

My collection: 7" single no. 5195
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Brand new friend' / 'Her last fling'

The fame and fortune EP - Various

The UK magazine Record Mirror sometimes released a 7" single as a freebie, featuring rare and exclusive tracks. Fortunately, decades later, these EP's still pop up in second hand stores now and again - a great opportunity to still get your hands on these tracks.

In this case, it was the remix of the Beloved's 'Your love takes me higher' I was after. The other three tracks, unfortunately, aren't much to write home about.

My collection: 7" single no. 5194
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'I'll be with you' (Brother Delphi), 'Your love takes me higher (Depth & Desire mix)' (The Beloved) / 'Rave on' (Happy Mondays), 'I dream of you' (Adamski)

For America - Red Box

The biggest hit from the duo Red Box is undoubtledly 'For America'. For some reason, neither the 7" single nor the 12" single have made it onto this blog so far (but I am sure they will) - but this 10" single is quite a rare find.

It features a different mix of the track, although it is only slightly different from the album mix. Both B-sides also turn up on the 12" single.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'For America (Boys Own mix)' / 'Ain't got no... I got life', 'R 'n' A'

That's the way it is - Mel and Kim

The excellent remastered and expanded edition of Mel & Kim's only album, 'F.L.M.' by Cherry Pop, released last year, collected a lot of remixes of their singles, but these 'acid' remixes of their last hit single 'That's the way it is' were omitted.

Stylistically they're very different from most of the remixes on that package, so that could be an explanation for this, but it's also possible that they couldn't be found in the archives. They're probably never going to be released on cd, so enjoy these rare gems while you can.

My collection: 12" single no. 64
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1988
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'That's the way it is (Acid House remix)' / 'That's the way it is (Acid dub)', 'You changed my life'

Is this love - Alison Moyet

Alison Moyet released 'Is this love' as a single in 1986, and as evidenced by this 12" single, it was released in the USA too. Featuring an extended remix by Mike Shipley, it is a longer and slightly more exciting version of this pleasant pop song.

The B-side also features a long version of the non-album track 'Blow wind blow', which unfortunately is a less inspired affair.

My collection: 12" single no. 360
Found: Record fair, 2000
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Is this love? (LA mix)' / 'Is this love? (single version)', 'Blow wind blow (long version)'