Aurora - Nova

The Dutch instrumental synthpop band Nova was founded in 1982 by Rob Papen, Ruud van Es and Peter Kommers. They started out as Peru (The first two letters of the names of original band members Peter Kommers and Ruud van Es) but decided to also start Nova as the commercial side of their music projects.

'Aurora' was originally a music theme in the track 'Sons of dawn' by Peru. The song got discovered by Willem van Kooten, who was the boss of record company Red Bullet. The single was released in March 82 and shot to number 1 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 3554

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

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Aurora' / 'Reel'

Download: here

Shangri-la - Gerard Joling

Dutch singer Gerard Joling debuted in 1985 as a contestant of the Soundmix show on television, singing 'Crying' from Don McLean. A few number one hits in the Netherlands followed, and so it came to pass that he was asked to represent the country during the 1988 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. One of the factors that caused this was his distinctive high voice. The song included a high note at the end of the track, which many felt would stun the international juries and make them vote for the Netherlands.

It worked out differently: Joling decided to do a live performance in the Netherlands during rehearsal week, caught a cold during the flight back, and wasn't able to sing that high note. Opting to sing a lower note instead, he felt he'd done the right thing, but many were outraged at his 'wimping out'. Victory went to Celine Dion and the Netherlands ended ninth in the competition.

Joling would have come back to the 2009 edition of the Contest as part of a three man group overconfidently called 'the Toppers', but again he's wimped out, claiming that he can't work with the other members of that group after disagreements.

My collection: 7" single no. 3553

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

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Shangri-la (English version)' / 'Shangri-la (Nederlandse versie)'

Download: here

Rock 'n' Roll clown - Harpo

After his Europe-wide success with 'Moviestar', Swedish singer followed this single up with 'Motorcycle mama' in Decembe 1975. It didn't reach the Dutch Top 40, and for a year, Harpo went silent. He came back in January 1977 with 'Rock 'n' Roll clown', which showed signs of it being a novelty song, with its 'Hee haw haw' chorus.

Barely missing the Dutch Top 40 again, Harpo disappeared from view in the Netherlands. Apparently, he went on to have great success in his homeland Sweden. I remembered this single from my childhood, and so I didn't pass up the opportunity to buy this after all these years.

My collection: 7" single no. 3552

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

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Rock 'n' Roll clown' / 'Chelsea Lady'

Download: here

Window shopping - Peter Godwin

It should come as no surprise, that writing about my record collection makes me realise that there are still holes in that collection. Having written several articles about Peter Godwin, I knew that the single 'Window shopping' was still missing. So I was very glad to find that single yesterday.

Like most of his singles, 'Window shopping' is a synth-oriented affair, with nice melody lines and a catchy chorus. The single was taken from his 1983 album 'Correspondence', and, like most of his releases, commercially unsuccessful.

My collection: 7" single no. 3551

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

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Window shopping' / 'The art of love'

Download: Album 'Correspondence', including both tracks

Bend me shape me - Gilla

Gisela Wuchinger was born on February 7, 1950 in Austria. She was discovered by German producer Frank Farian in 1974. He signed her to Hansa Records and gave her the stage name Gilla. After an unsuccessful German cover version of an Italian song, Farian had her record a German disco version of 'Lady Marmalade'. Still singing in German, she caused some commotion for singing explicit lyrics: 'Willst du mit mir schlafen gehn?' was a direct translation of the song's famous line 'Voulez vous coucher avec moi'.

Gilla released her first international album, 'Help help', in 1977. On her second international album, this single appeared. It was a disco cover of The American Breed's 'Bend me, shape me'. My copy of the single comes from Spain, hence the translated title on the cover.

My collection: 7" single no. 3550

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

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Bend me shape me' / 'The river sings'

Download: Album 'Bend me shape me', including both tracks

Waiting for a train '89 - Flash and the Pan

Flash and the Pan was an Australian new wave band, formed in the late Seventies by Harry Vanda and George Young. They had several hits in Europe, although in the UK they only had a minor hit with 'And the band played on (Down among the dead men)' in 1978 and a top 10 hit with 'Waiting for a train' in 1983.

When Flash and the Pan released a compilation album of their singles in 1989, this remix of 'Waiting for a train' was released as a single to promote it. It was very different when compared to the single released in 1983, but still it didn't achieve any commercial success.

My collection: 7" single no. 3549

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

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Waiting for a train '89' / 'Hey St. Peter'

Download: here

Popcorn - Fresh Cream

There's always a tingle of excitement when I spot a version of Gershon Kingsley's 'Popcorn' that I don't have yet. My most recent tingle came about when I saw this single by Fresh Cream. Apparently, it's a French group, which released one album of classical melodies played on the Moog synthesizer, and this single, released in various countries in 1972, when a lot of other versions of this instrumental favourite came out. The Japanese version portrays a topless woman throwing popcorn in the air. By comparison, this is a rather dull sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 3548

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

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Popcorn' / 'Cap horn'

Download: here