Many artists seemed to reach their creative peak in 1984. It's the year from which I remember so many great songs, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Paul Young's personal best was the single 'I'm gonna tear your playhouse down', also released in that year. I wanted to buy this single for a long time but had to wait until I found the limited edition with a poster sleeve. I finally have it now.
'I'm gonna tear your playhouse down' was the first single taken from Paul Young's second solo album 'The secret of association' and peaked at number 9 in the UK singles chart in October 1984.
My collection: 7" single no. 5322 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'I'm gonna tear your playhouse down' / 'One step forward'
'Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)' is the title track from David Bowie's 1980 album. It was also issued as the third single from that album in January 1981. The single didn't do as well as the previous two singles, 'Ashes to ashes' and 'Fashion', and peaked outside the UK top 10 at number 20.
Musically the track was notable for its lead guitar work by Robert Fripp and distinctive synthesized percussion. The lyrics, sung by Bowie in a mock-cockney accent, charted a woman's withdrawal from the world and descent into madness ('When I looked in her eyes they were blue but nobody home ... Now she's stupid in the street and she can't socialise'). Personally I prefer the B-side, also taken from the album, 'Because you're young'.
My collection: 7" single no. 5298 Found: Record fair, Utrecht Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Scary monsters (and super creeps)' / 'Because you're young'
Man 2 Man was founded by brothers Miki and Paul Zone, who had been known in the New York music scene since the mid-1970s. Paul participated in a band called The Fast during this period. After The Fast, the brothers spent the first half of the 1980s singing on a number of Hi-NRG and disco records for record producers such as Bobby Orlando (records like Divine's 'Native love' and The Flirts' 'Passion'). Soon after they formed a new band, which was originally called Man's Favourite Sports. However, another band had already claimed the right to use this name, so the Zone brothers became known as Man 2 Man.
Under this name the band scored their biggest hit, 'Male Stripper', teaming up with cult electro producer Man Parrish. Originally released in the United Kingdom in 1986 on the Bolts Records label, 'Male stripper' was a big club hit throughout the autumn and peaked at number 64 on the UK Singles Chart. In early 1987, the single charted again in the UK, and this time the song became an even bigger hit, spending five weeks in the Top 10 and two weeks at number 4. This success was barely seen by group member Miki Zone, who had died of spinal meningitis caused by AIDS on December 31, 1986.
My collection: 7" single no. 5304 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Male stripper (part 1)' / 'Male stripper (part 2)'
When I was younger, so much younger than today, Abba was my favourite band. I got an album of their greatest hits as a souvenir after a holiday because I really wanted it, and I played it over and over again. One of my favourite tracks on that album was 'So long', which to me sounded like the hardest kind of hardrock I could imagine.
Of course, Abba were never in the business of hardrock, but there is a certain rock edge to this song. It was released as a single in November 1974. Although musically similar to 'Waterloo', it was only a hit in Sweden, Germany and Austria, peaking at number 7, number 11 and number 3 respectively.
My collection: 7" single no. 5326 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'So long' / 'I've been waiting for you'
If you haven't seen the most recent Muppets movie yet, try to go and see it now because it's rather hilarious. Despite all the squeaky clean candyfloss production values, the writers have done their best to incorporate that good old Muppet anarchy in the story, and best of all: the movie uses the rich history of Jim Henson's creatures to full effect.
One of the great things about the movie is that the song 'Mah na mah na' is featured in it. This was used in the very first episode of the Muppet Show in 1976 and also appeared on the soundtrack album for the show. This single, released by PYE in 1977, features two classic Muppets song. Officially 'Halfway down the stairs' is the A-side, and it is this song which peaked at number 7 in the UK singles chart in June 1977. But who remembers this sweet little song performed by Kermit's nephew Robin?
My collection: 7" single no. 5313 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Halfway down the stairs' / 'Mah na mah na'
So these are the humble beginnings of Bananarama. Keren Woodward and Sara Dallan had been childhood friends in Bristol since the age of four, and attended St. George's School for Girls together. The pair became a trio when Dallin met Fahey while studying fashion journalism. They became friends because they both dressed more radically than the other students. The trio were ardent followers of the punk rock and post-punk music scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s and often performed impromptu sets or backing vocals at gigs for such bands as The Monochrome Set, Iggy Pop, The Jam, Department S and the Nipple Erectors.
In 1981, Bananarama's members were living above the rehearsal room that was used by former Sex Pistols members Steve Jones and Paul Cook. With their help, Bananarama recorded their first demo 'Aie a Mwana' (a cover of a song by Black Blood, sung in Swahili). The demo was heard at Demon Records, which offered Bananarama their first deal. The song was an underground hit and Bananarama were signed by Decca (later London Records) and remained on this label until 1993.
My collection: 7" single no. 5299 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Aie a mwana' / 'Dubwana'
Taken from Pink Floyd's 1987 album 'A momentary lapse of reason', 'One slip' was originally released as the B-side of the album's first single 'Learning to fly', but then re-released as its third single, after 'On the turning away'. The song was undoubtedly the least accessible of the three, but it still peaked at number 50 in the UK singles chart in the summer of 1988.
The song was co-written by David Gilmour and Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera. This copy was taken from the library of London Weekend Television music services, and sold at the record fair in Utrecht this weekend. Hence the sticker on the sleeve...
My collection: 7" single no. 5296 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'One slip' / 'Terminal frost'
This single is not the original release of 'I only want to be with you', but a re-release from 1987. Dusty Springfield had just had a big hit with the Pet Shop Boys ('What have I done to deserve this') and her old record company decided to cash in with a compilation album of Dusty's old hits. Did they think this single would become a hit as well?
Back in November 1963, Dusty Springfield had her first hit with this song, which peaked at number 4 in the UK singles chart. In 1987, this success was not matched: the single didn't even reach the chart. But then, the people who wanted to have it already had it in their collection most probably.
My collection: 7" single no. 5309 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'I only want to be with you' / 'Breakfast in bed'
The band Leisure Process never had much success, so its only claim to fame was the inclusion of band members Ross Middleton and Gary Barnacle, who have always been successful session artists.
'Cashflow' was one of their singles and when you listen to the two tracks on this single you can hear a great instrumental on the B-side. In my opinion, it's the best track the band have recorded.
My collection: 7" single no. 5297 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 12, 2012 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Cashflow' / 'The emigré'
Most people seem to think that Paul Young landed an immediate number 1 hit with his debut solo single 'Wherever I lay my hat' in the summer of 1983, but in fact, it was this single, released in 1982, which started it all. Paul Young left his band the Q Tips and released 'Iron out the rough spots' as his debut single. The single was not successful, in fact it didn't chart in any territory.
Up next was 'Love of the common people', which was equally unsuccessful upon its first release. It was only when the third single was released, the aforementioned 'Wherever I lay my hat', when Paul reached number 1 in the UK and Ireland. 'Love of the common people', of course, still became a hit after fourth single 'Come back and stay' had gone top 10 almost everywhere. But this single remained unknown for most people - although the track still does appear on Paul Young's debut solo album, 'No parlez'.
My collection: 7" single no. 5295 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Iron out the rough spots' / 'Behind your smile'
Although it was already 1981, the band Racey were still recording rock and roll tracks as if no two decades had passed. An anachronism in a way, but it was kindof charming nonetheless. 'Little darlin'' was one of their later offerings, which didn't dent the charts.
Racey's last hit, 'Runaround Sue', was released the year before. The band formally split in 1985, and since then two separate groups
named Racey exist, one featuring band member Richard Gower and the other
featuring Clive Wilson, Phil Fursdon and Pete Miller.
My collection: 7" single no. 5302 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Little darlin'' / 'Rock it'
Today Marty Wilde celebrates his 73rd birthday. That in itself is a great achievement, but even more so when you start to realise that 55 years after starting his career with a string of top 10 hits in the UK, he is still performing across that country.
'Rubber ball', released in January 1961, was his last top 10 hit, peaking at number 9 in the UK singles chart. I was quite stunned to find this mint copy yesterday, in the stall of a dealer who was selling everything for just 1 euro. Normally one is expected to pay much more for old gems like this.
My collection: 7" single no. 5316 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Rubber ball' / 'Like makin' love'
For a mere eight years I was well into Tori Amos. All that time she released five great albums, until the disastrous covers album 'Strange little girls' ended that great run and introduced a decade of wishy-washy albums, finally descending into that career nosedive called the - gasp - Christmas album.
I should have suspected that Tori Amos was not entirely artistically correct when her third album 'Boys for Pele' spawned a few very bad remix efforts. The number one hit 'Professional widow', in which the original song was mangled beyond recognition, was an offence, and it was followed by this 12" single featuring four half-decent remixes of 'In the springtime of his voodoo'. I couldn't foresee what would happen next, I bought this one out of curiosity more than anything.
My collection: 12" single no. 636 Found: Delft, 1996 Cost: 20 guilders Tracks: 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Hasbrouck Heights club mix)', 'In the springtime of his vooodo (Quiet mix)' / 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Sugar dub)', 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Hasbrouck heights single mix)'
Daryl Hall & John Oates wrote some very fine pop tunes in the early Eighties, and this is one of them. This single from their 1981 album 'Private eyes' was also released on a 12" single, which features an extended version of the track. This wasn't a standard practice back in those days, in fact I have a few 12" singles from 1981 which only feature the normal single version.
The funky beat of this track has been misused by many hiphop "artists" through the years, and you can also hear it in Simply Red's 2003 hit 'Sunrise'.
My collection: 12" single no. 163
Found: Record fair, 1993
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'I can't go for that (no can do)' / 'Unguarded minute'
When Frida went solo in 1982, nobody suspected that it signalled the end of Abba, the band she'd been part of for the last ten years. And when the first single, 'I know there's something going on', produced by Phil Collins, became a big hit, nobody knew that the rest of her solo career would be less successful. Her career as a solo artist became comparatively insignificant, although artistically it had some interesting moments nonetheless.
This 12" single features the full length version of the track, as it was found on the album 'Something's going on'.
My collection: 12" single no. 144 Found: Record fair, 1993 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'I know there's something going on (full length version)' / 'Threnody'
When you look at the sleeve of the 7" single of 'You are the one' and compare it with this one from the 12" single, you'll see that a different photograph was used from the same photo session. You'd wish this was done more often, because all too often the sleeve of the 12" single is an exact replica, if only a bigger one, of the 7" single.
Another attractive feature of this 12" single was the inclusion of an extended remix of 'You are the one', plus the instrumental version. Which in turn makes you wonder why these were never released on cd.
My collection: 12" single no. 229 Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1994 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'You are the one (12" remix)' / 'You are the one (instrumental)', 'Out of blue comes green'
When the duo Groovenut decided to remix Kim Wilde's 'You came', little did they know that there were actually plans to re-record and re-release this track. It was 2005, a full 17 years after the release of the original track, and the plan was simply to update the track for the new century.
When they asked for permission to use the samples of the track, they never got that permission. But in 2006, when 'You came (2006)' was released in Europe, they were asked to recreate the mix, using the new vocal tracks. The original mix was only ever released on white label 12" singles - and fortunately I found a copy.
My collection: 12" single no. 444 Found: unknown, 2005 Cost: unknown Tracks: 'Love you more'
When the cd-single became the preferred format in the late Eighties, vinyl was quickly pronounced dead by the record companies, not realising they were digging their own graves at the time. But before they did, there were some efforts made to sell vinyl discs, for instance with exclusive tracks.
This 12" single of Duran Duran's 1993 single 'Come undone' for instance features the 'TV synth strings' mix of 'Come undone', which was not available on either of the two (!) cd-singles available in the UK. But it is suspicious that this 12" single was released in Italy in. So buying this in a shop in Amsterdam two years after its release was a bit of a fluke...
My collection: 12" single no. 237 Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, 1995 Cost: 2,5 guilders Tracks: 'Come undone (edit)', 'Ordinary world (acoustic version)' / 'Come undone (FGI Phumpin' 12"), 'Come undone (La fin de siecle)', 'Come undone (TV synth strings)'
When Kate Bush finally released a new album in 1993, four years after the previous one, I was looking forward to it like never before. The world really needed new music from Kate Bush, as the music scene in 1993 had become boring and predictable. Kate Bush was never that: her new single showed an unexpected whimsical style.
'Rubberband girl' was released a month before a holiday in London, so I had to wait a while before I got my hands on this picture disc 12" single. Featuring the same tracks as the cd-single, the real treat was the picture disc itself which showed a still from the movie 'The line, the cross & the curve' which was released in 1994.
My collection: 12" single no. 174 Found: HMV, London, October 1993 Cost: 4 pounds Tracks: 'Rubberband girl (extended version)' / 'Rubberband girl', 'Big stripey lie'
Nik Kershaw got through his first two albums okay, but when the 'difficult third album' came up, he was out of luck: although his music was still very interesting, it proved 'too difficult' for the record-buying audience. Hence, 'Radio Musicola', as the album was called, never got the attention it deserved.
The title track was one of the tracks to be released as a single and this 12" single features an extended version of it, which is not spectacular, but nice nonetheless.
My collection: 12" single no. 425 Found: Record Exchange, London, 2000 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: 'Radio Musicola (extended version)' / 'L.A.B.A.T.Y.D.', 'Radio Musicola'
For a mere eight years I was well into Tori Amos. All that time she released five great albums, until the disastrous covers album 'Strange little girls' ended that great run and introduced a decade of wishy-washy albums, finally descending into that career nosedive called the - gasp - Christmas album.
When Frida went solo in 1982, nobody suspected that it signalled the end of Abba, the band she'd been part of for the last ten years. And when the first single, 'I know there's something going on', produced by Phil Collins, became a big hit, nobody knew that the rest of her solo career would be less successful. Her career as a solo artist became comparatively insignificant, although artistically it had some interesting moments nonetheless.
When you look at the sleeve of the 7" single of 'You are the one' and compare it with this one from the 12" single, you'll see that a different photograph was used from the same photo session. You'd wish this was done more often, because all too often the sleeve of the 12" single is an exact replica, if only a bigger one, of the 7" single.
When the duo Groovenut decided to remix Kim Wilde's 'You came', little did they know that there were actually plans to re-record and re-release this track. It was 2005, a full 17 years after the release of the original track, and the plan was simply to update the track for the new century.
When the cd-single became the preferred format in the late Eighties, vinyl was quickly pronounced dead by the record companies, not realising they were digging their own graves at the time. But before they did, there were some efforts made to sell vinyl discs, for instance with exclusive tracks.
When Kate Bush finally released a new album in 1993, four years after the previous one, I was looking forward to it like never before. The world really needed new music from Kate Bush, as the music scene in 1993 had become boring and predictable. Kate Bush was never that: her new single showed an unexpected whimsical style.
Nik Kershaw got through his first two albums okay, but when the 'difficult third album' came up, he was out of luck: although his music was still very interesting, it proved 'too difficult' for the record-buying audience. Hence, 'Radio Musicola', as the album was called, never got the attention it deserved.
