Love on the telephone - Foreigner

For the last few years, I have wanted to buy a complete compilation album by Foreigner. And by complete, I mean that it should contain all their hit singles. One of those hits - at least, in the Netherlands - was 'Love on the telephone'. It reached number 34 in the Dutch Top 40 in March 1980. Yet it's absent from every Foreigner compilation I have seen so far.

It came to a point where I started to doubt the existence of the single. But, lo and behold, I finally found a copy of the vinyl single this weekend. Still looking for a compilation cd though...

My collection: 7" single no. 3547

Found: All that music, Leiden, January 24, 2009

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Love on the telephone' / 'Women'

Download: Album 'Head games', including both tracks (password: Abe?79F+ )

Miss Otis regrets - Kirsty MacColl and the Pogues

The album 'Red hot and blue' was released in 1990 by the Red Hot Organization. Twenty artists contributed twenty songs for an album that would raise funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. The album was named after a 1936 musical by Cole Porter, and contained versions of songs written by him.

'Miss Otis regrets/Just one of those things' was a song released from that album as a single. Kirsty MacColl and the Pogues had worked together before, and they renewed their working relationship with this dynamic version of the Cole Porter track. The B-side was Aztec Camera's beautiful cover of 'Do I love you', which at the time of buying was one of my favourite tracks from the album, which I'd bought a few weeks earlier.

My collection: 7" single no. 1375

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, January 27, 1991

Cost: 6,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Miss Otis regrets' / 'Just one of those things'

Download: here

Tomorrow started (live) - Talk Talk

There is no way of knowing, but I always imagine that Talk Talk fans in other countries were quite envious of this single release. Dutch broadcaster Veronica organised an annual Rock Night, which in 1984 took place in Ahoy, Rotterdam on September 21. One of the acts performing was Talk Talk. Their live version of 'Tomorrow started' got so much attention that record company EMI released the track as a single in the Netherlands. Only to find that it didn't reach the Dutch Top 40 after all.

The version released on this single was an edit of the actual performance during the night. You can see the whole performance on this video.

My collection: 7" single no. 283

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Tomorrow started (live)' / 'My foolish friend (live)'

Download: here

When love breaks down - Prefab Sprout

As written earlier, 'When love breaks down' was released four times by CBS Records before it finally reached the UK Singles chart in November 1985. This is one of those attempts, with a different sleeve than the other releases. The B-side featured the track 'The yearning loins', whereas other releases feature the track 'Diana' on the B-side.

I bought this single because the sleeve reminded me of the video for this single, which I'd seen so many times back in 1984.

My collection: 7" single no. 2491

Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 30, 1995

Cost: 60p

Tracks: 'When love breaks down' / 'The yearning loins'

Download: here

Vacanze Romane - Matia Bazar

When Matia Bazar released their eighth album 'Tango' in 1983, the group consisted of Antonella Ruggiero, Aldo Stellita, Carlo Marrale and Mauro Sabbione. 'Vacanze Romane' was a very melodic song, synthbased and elegant. It barely missed the Dutch Top 40. I noticed the song immediately, but it would take me six years to finally buy the single.

My collection: 7" single no. 1133

Found: All that music, Leiden, December 28, 1989

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Vacanze Romane' / 'Palestina'

Download: Album 'Tango', including both tracks

Someday (I'm coming back) - Lisa Stansfield

Lisa Stansfield recorded 'Someday (I'm coming back)' for the soundtrack of 'The Bodyguard', the 1992 movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. Stansfield had just had a very successful year with her album 'Real love' reaching number 3 in the UK albums chart and top 10 in several other countries. The album spawned four hit singles, and when this one was released as a single, it went to number 10 in the UK singles chart.

The 12" single featured a remix not found on the cd-single. (Another piece of evidence that the vinyl format was still the most interesting of all.) I bought the 12" single in London, which in the Nineties was just about the only place where they were still to be found.

My collection: 12" single no. 215

Found: Record Exchange, London, 1992

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Someday (I'm coming back)', 'Live together/Young hearts run free (live)' / 'Someday (I'm coming back) (Absolute remix)', 'Tenderly (live)'

Download: here

Popcorn - Hot Butter

Hot Butter was an instrumental cover band consisting of Stan Free, Dave Mullaney, John Abbott, Bill Jerome, Steve Jerome and Danny Jordan. Their version of Gershon Kingsley's composition 'Popcorn' is one of the best known versions of the wave of versions that were released in 1972. Sales in the UK exceeded a quarter of a million, and worldwide Hot Butter sold two million copies of this single.

I bought my copy in London, after having searched for this version for years. Unfortunately it didn't have a picture sleeve. But sometimes you just take what you can get.

My collection: 7" single no. 2526

Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, November 1, 1995

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Popcorn' / 'At the movies'
Download: here