The band Prefab Sprout debuted in 1982 with their self-released single 'Lions in my own garden: exit someone'. Two years later, they debuted on Kitchenware Records with this single, 'Don't sing'.
Taken from their debut album 'Swoon', released in March 1984. This album has a markedly different, and less accessible, musical feel than
their later works, featuring intricate guitar-based compositions that
drew comparisons with Aztec Camera and Steely Dan. My collection: 7" single no. 5438 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Don't sing' / 'Green Isaac II'
'Cross Your Heart' was the Irish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974, performed by Tina Reynolds.
The song is moderately up-tempo, with Reynolds using a number of childhood rhymes ("cross your heart and hope to die" and "sticks and stones wouldn't break my bones") to communicate to a would-be lover how serious she is about a potential relationship, with the contrast between the serious intention and the playful nature of the rhymes being drawn out throughout the lyrics.
The song was performed thirteenth on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 11 points, placing 7th in a field of 17 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5609 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Cross your heart' / 'What would I be'
'Jennie, Jennie' was the Swedish entry in the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Lasse Berghagen.
The song was performed eighteenth on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 72 points, placing 8th in a field of 19 competitors.
Berghagen has released this song also in his language native Swedish and in German, both with the same title "Jennie, Jennie".
A year later, Sweden opted out of the contest. Broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR) did not have enough money to host another contest if Sweden won again and in Sweden there were protests against the commercial character of Eurovision Song Contest.
My collection: 7" single no. 5585 Found: KEG records, Sweden, received August 1, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Jennie, Jennie' / 'Ett brev till dig'
'The height of the fighting' was the fifth and last single taken from Heaven 17's debut album 'Penthouse and pavement'. Three out of the four previous singles had reached the lower regions of the UK singles chart, but this one, like their second single 'I'm your money', failed to chart. This single only managed to get to number 20 in... New Zealand.
Glenn Gregory from the band said about this song and some others of their debut album: "Some things will always be relevant. We wrote about subjects that
touched our lives and our souls, things that mattered not just to us as
individuals but also to us as a part of a political or social system. We
never preached and always (I hope) ranted with wit and humour. They
were political times and the album reflected those
times and I believe as you say, some of those songs are still very
relevant today."
My collection: 7" single no. 5403 Found: unknown Tracks: 'The height of the fighting' / 'Penthouse and pavement'
Without a doubt, this 'Oldiethek' single is the 7" single with the longest playing time in my entire collection. The disc has to be played at 33rpm to accommodate the 11'35 minute epic 'The end' on side A and the slightly shorter, but still impressive 7'14 minute track 'Riders on the storm'. Released in 1988, this single was meant for all those who wanted to have a piece of classic Doors music on a little disc.
'Riders on the storm' was originally released in 1971 on the band's last album with Jim Morrison, 'L.A. Woman'. 'The End' was a track from their debut album, originally released in 1967. The song was recorded live in the studio without overdubbing. Two takes were done, the second take being the one that was used on the record.
My collection: 7" single no. 5389 Found: unknown Tracks: 'The End' / 'Riders on the storm'
When Linda Lepomme represented Belgium in the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, there was a feeling she would do well, apparently, because French and English versions of her song Laat me nu gaan were recorded and released as a single. English lyrics were provided by Ad Bear and French lyrics by Michel Detry.
In the end, Linda ended up in last place at the Contest and this single never became a chart hit outside of Belgium. And even in Belgium, the single only got to number 38.
My collection: 7" single no. 5597 Found: Marktplaats.nl, received August 2, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Just a charade' / 'Delivre-moi'
'Who wants to live forever' was a track on Queen's 1986 album 'A kind of magic', and was written by guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to the film Highlander. The song is used to frame the scenes in the film where Connor MacLeod
must endure his beloved wife Heather MacLeod growing old and dying while
he, as an Immortal, remains forever young. The song's title is taken from a line in another movie scored by Brian
May and Queen, Flash Gordon (the line can be heard on "Battle Theme"
from the Flash Gordon soundtrack album) and is based on May's personal
troubles (the death of May's father and failing first marriage).
Released as a single, the song peaked at number 24 in the UK singles chart. It did better in France and the Netherlands, peaking at number 5 and 6 respectively.
My collection: 7" single no. 5461 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Who wants to live forever' / 'Killer Queen'
There's not much to write about the Moody Blues' 'Nights in white satin' that hasn't already been written about hundreds or thousands of times. The single reached number 19 in the UK singles chart in 1967, number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 in 1968 and number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1972. The single was re-released in the UK that same year, and reached number 9 on that occasion.
But the real surprise on this disc - and we know record collecting is full of surprises - is the B-side. 'Cities' is a bit of a doomy look on cities, where 'rivers are sewers' and 'flowers don't grow'. I never heard this track before buying this single, and so it is a real discovery.
My collection: 7" single no. 5455 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Nights in white satin' / 'Cities'
'Comé-comédie' ('Come-Comedy') was the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, performed by Betty Mars.
The song was performed second on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 81 points, placing 11th in a field of 18 contestants.
The song is a moderately up-tempo number, with Mars singing about the joy which will come when she and her lover say that they love each other. Mars also recorded the song in German, under the title 'Komödiant der Liebe' ('Comedian of love').
My collection: 7" single no. 5613 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Comé-comédie' / 'Mon café russe'
"(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" is a song written and
performed by British synthpop band Heaven 17. It reached number 45 in the
UK singles chart in 1981, despite being banned by the BBC. It was also a minor dance
hit in the US.
The song was written by members Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh and Glenn
Gregory and included on their 1981 debut album 'Penthouse and
Pavement'
In the lyrics fascism and racism are described in an ironic fashion,
using the lexicon of funk music. The lyrics of the song also reference
the UK and US political leaders of the time, Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan, respectively, and include
denunciations of both racism and fascism. The song was
banned by the BBC due to concerns by Radio 1's legal department that it
libeled President Reagan.
My collection: 7" single no. 5402 Found: unknown Tracks: '(We don't need this) Fascist groove thang' / 'The decline of the west'
The Belgian band 'De Strangers' (introduced in an earlier post here) delivered possibly the strangest single of their lengthy career with this 'Al da d'Haar... krijde cadeau'. It rougly translates into 'You get all that hair as a gift' and it is a cover of the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest winner 'Si la vie est cadeau', performed by Corinne Hermes.
And, as if that year's Belgian entry wasn't already weird enough (the legendary 'Rendez-vous' by Pas de deux), they included a cover entitled 'Parlez-vous' on the B-side. Amazingly, this single did not get into the Belgian chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 5616 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Al da d'haar... krijde cadeau' / 'Parlez-vous'
'Tug of war' is the title track from Paul McCartney’s 1982 album.
Rolling Stone described the song as McCartney's equivalent to John Lennon's 'Imagine'. The song has a clear division between the verses featuring sad lyrics about the struggle to survive, the necessity of conflict (pushing and pulling) and the hopeful refrain, in which McCartney looks for a future where these struggles are no longer necessary.
The lyrics are seen as describing his complex relationship with Lennon, who was killed two years prior.
The single reached number 53 in both the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, It failed to chart everywhere else.
My collection: 7" single no. 5437 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Tug of war' / 'Get it' (duet with Carl Perkins)
Somehow, the music press and media were taking guitar bands from Seattle very seriously at the beginning of the Nineties. The previous obsession with drugs-fuelled dance music was forgotten, everyone suddenly had to listen to screaming bipolar maniacs who'd just come from rehearsal studios without ever seriously studying things like melody or lyrics.
It was refreshing, therefore, that 'Weird Al' Yankovic came with his parody on Nirvana's 'Smells like teen spirit'. Entitled 'Smells like Nirvana', it pokes fun at the socalled 'grunge' band from Seattle and their largely atrocious music. The single reached number 35 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, number 48 in Canada, number 38 in Sweden, number 24 in Australia and a rather surprising number 4 in New Zealand!
My collection: 7" single no. 5417 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Smells like Nirvana' / 'Waffle king'
'Always on the run' was the first single released from Lenny Kravitz's 1991 album 'Mama said'. by Lenny Kravitz. It features a contribution from former Guns N' Roses guitarist, Slash. Slash had written the music for the song with the original intention of releasing it on a Guns N' Roses studio album but since former drummer Steven Adler had difficulty playing the song, he saved it for this eventual collaboration with Kravitz.
This limited edition 7" single pack features a hand written lyric sheet (well, Lenny's handwriting printed on a piece of paper, that is), a postcard and a European Tour Map. It didn't help sales in the UK: the single only reached number 41 in the singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 5434 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Always on the run' / 'Always on the run (instrumental)'
'Just nu!' ('Right now!') was the Swedish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, performed by Tomas Ledin.
The song talks about a man tired of the monotonous life in the city, in that moment he wants to live his life, he wants to feel the air in his lungs and perhaps to travel to Paris. During the performance at Eurovision, the cable was accidentally plugged out of Tomas
Ledin's microphone. He was able to plug it in again, just in time before the start of
the second verse.
The song was performed 8th on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 47 points, placing 10th in a field of 19 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5587 Found: KEG Records, Sweden, received August 1, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Just nu!' / 'Det är säkert värt ett försök'
'Is this love' was originally released by Bob Marley on his 1978 album 'Kaya'. The song became one of the best known Marley songs and the studio version was part of the compilation 'Legend'. It peaked at number 9 in the UK charts upon its release in 1978.
This single was released a year later, featuring the live version taken from the album 'Babylon by bus', recorded in Paris in 1978.
My collection: 7" single no. 5454
Found: unknown
Tracks: 'Is this love [live]' / 'Kinky reggae [live]'
I got to know The Doors thanks to a TV documentary by Dutch broadcaster Veronica in the mid-Eighties. I missed the band when they were around due to being born in 1970, but the age of 15 is a great time to get in touch with the moody ramblings of Jim Morrison, I guess.
And so I hope that many more youngsters were around in 1991 when the movie 'The Doors', starring Val Kilmer, was released in cinemas worldwide. Oliver Stone directed this movie loosely based on Morrison's life and career, and although I have virtually no recollection of that movie, the music of course stood up firmly. The record company even released this single to coincide with the cinema release. 'Break on through' is nice enough, but one of my favourite Doors-tracks graces the B-side: 'Love street', taken from their most engaging album 'Waiting for the sun'.
My collection: 7" single no. 5387 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Break on through' / 'Love street'
'Come to my aid' was released as the second single from their debut album 'Picture book'. Five singles were taken from the album, of which this one was the least successful one, peaking at number 66 in the UK singles chart. It did manage to reach number 11 in Italy and number 24 in New Zealand as well, but in other countries, this single did not chart.
According to Wikipedia, 'Picture book' was included in Robert Dimery's '1001 Albums you must hear before you die'. I wouldn't go quite that far, personally, but the singles from this album are nice enough.
My collection: 7" single no. 5444 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Come to my aid' / 'Valentine'
I'm not exactly thrilled when I buy a damaged 7" single (the pronged center is missing) without a picture sleeve (although this single was not released in a picture sleeve, apparently). However, in this case, the single was very cheap, and so I just decided to order it along with a couple of other discs that were, fortunately, in better shape. Sometimes collecting records is just about the music contained on the disc...
So what is this? The English version of Gigliola Cinquetti's 1974 Eurovision entry, 'Si'. Entitled 'Go (before you break my heart)'. This version actually got to number 8 in the UK singles chart, which is a remarkable achievement for any non-winning song from the Contest.
My collection: 7" single no. 5599 Found: Discogs.com, received August 5, 2014 Cost: 40 pence Tracks: 'Go (before you break my heart)' / 'Si'
'Dressed for success' was released on June 28, 1988 as the third single from the Swedish pop duo Roxette's 1988 album 'Look Sharp!'. Originally, 'Dressed for success' was their first Swedish single to promote that album in 1988. It was re-released after 'The look' had become a worldwide hit.
The recording of the song was marked by a dispute between the band members but this apparently contributed to the strength of Marie's performance. According to her: "I was so mad when I did it. Everything about that session went wrong, we argued about the arrangement, we changed the key, I was dead tired of the song when I went in to do a guide vocal. Did it in one blast and suddenly realized, "hmm... this is it"."
My collection: 7" single no. 5465 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Dressed for success' / 'The voice'
