The wild places - Duncan Browne

Duncan Browne was born on March 25, 1947. Together with Peter Godwin he formed the band Metro in the mid-70s. In 1978, he released his solo album 'The Wild Places'. Having had a hit in the UK in 1972 with 'Journey', much was expected from the title track, but surprisingly, it was only a hit in the Netherlands. Duncan Browne died of cancer on May 28, 1993.

I found the picture disc in 1989 in London. Contrary to a previous copy I had, pressed in Holland, this picture disc features an edited version of 'The wild places'. I didn't know this when I bought this single - the fact that this was a picture disc was reason enough for me.

My collection: 7" single no. 87

Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'The wild places' / 'Camino Real parts 2 & 3'

Download: here

The sweetest taboo - Sade

Sade released their second album 'Promise' in 1985, after the very successful debut album 'Diamond life'. The 'difficult second album' syndrome didn't apply to the band: the second album did just as well as its predecessor.

Lead single was the catchy 'The Sweetest Taboo'. The 12" single featured an extended mix of the track, which kept the tension of the original version intact. I loved the single, so I bought the 12" single pretty soon afterward. It's strange that the extended versions of Sade have never been released on cd.

My collection: 12" single no. 22

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 14,95 guilders

Tracks: 'The sweetest taboo (extended version)' / 'You're not the man'

Download: here

Chain reaction - Diana Ross

Diana Ross employed a few big names for her 1985 album 'Eaten alive'. All of the songs were written by the Bee Gees, while the title track was written by Michael Jackson - and he provided backing vocals too. 'Chain reaction' was Ross's first number one hit in the UK since 'I'm still waiting' (1971). According to the Gibbs biography, the brothers had initial reservations about offering the song to Diana in case it was too Motown for her.

In 2001, the British pop group Steps recorded a cover version of 'Chain reaction', which made it to no. 2 in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 3502

Found: Record Mania, Amsterdam, December 27, 2008

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Chain reaction' / 'More and more'

Download: Album 'Eaten alive', including both tracks

Love pains - Liza Minelli

Liza Minelli recorded an album with the Pet Shop Boys entitled 'Results' in 1989. From this album, four singles were drawn. This was the third one: 'Love pains', a cover version of a song performed previously by Yvonne Elliman in 1982. Steve 'Silk' Hurley was commissioned to create several mixes for 'Love pains', all of which were released on this American 12" single.

As a fan of the Pet Shop Boys, it's easy to like Liza Minelli's 'Results' album. And once I bought that album, I had to have the singles and remixes as well. I found my copy during a holiday in London.

My collection: 12" single no. 283

Found: Record Exchange, London, 1994

Cost: 6 pounds

Tracks: 'Love pains (Hurley's Remix)', 'Love pains (Hurley's Radio Edit)', 'Love pains (Hurley's Instrumental)' / 'Love pains (Deep House Pains)', 'Love pains (Deep Dub)'

Download: here

Tragedy - John Hunter

From what little I have found on the web, I can gather that John Hunter used to be a member of the American band The Hounds, before he released his solo album 'Tragedy'. From that album comes this single, the title track.

I bought this single in 1984 soon after I heard it often on local radio. They were playing it before it became a hit - the only problem was that it didn't become a hit. And it didn't become a hit in the UK, either. These days, John Hunter has faded into anonymity, but when you hear this you have to wonder why.

My collection: 7" single no. 275

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1984

Cost: 3,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Tragedy' / 'Aphrodisia here'

Download: here

Chenko - Red Box

Simon Toulson-Clarke formed his first band at age thirteen with school friend Paddy Talbot, playing covers of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple as well as some self-penned material. On leaving school he moved to Middlesborough and formed another band in the vein of the New York Dolls. In the late Seventies he went to study at The Polytechnic of Central London, where he formed a band with Julian Close. This band took on the name Red Box after a while and included further band members Paddy Talbot, Rob Legge and Martin Nickson. The group released their debut single 'Chenko' on the Cherry Red label in 1983.

I bought the single in 1996, after having collected all the later releases on WEA Records. This version is very different from the one that ended up on their 1986 debut album 'The circle and the square', which makes it all the more interesting.

My collection: 7" single no. 2783

Found: London, November 1, 1996

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Chenko' / 'Valley'

Download: here

Ain't no sunshine - Michael Jackson

'Ain't no sunshine' is best known by most people in the version of Bill Withers. A young Michael Jackson recorded his version in the summer of 1972 and had a hit with it too. Despite his age (Michael was only 13 years oid when he recorded this), the song is performed in a believable way.

I actually didn't know Michael Jackson's version until I bought this single, which is pretty recently.

My collection: 7" single no. 3505

Found: Record Mania, Amsterdam, December 27, 2008

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Ain't no sunshine' / 'In our small way'

Download: here