Scottish rain - The Silencers

The Silencers were a Scottish rock band formed in London in 1986, consisting of Jimme O'Neill, Cha Burns, Joseph Donnelly and Martin Hanlin. Their debut single was 'Painted moon', written by O'Neill about his reaction to the Falklands war. Their first album 'A Letter from St. Paul' was released soon after. The Pretenders invited the band to support them on their European tour.

In 1988 The Silencers toured Europe with The Alarm and 'Painted Moon' became a radio hit in Britain. The band moved back to Scotland and recorded second album 'A Blues for Buddha', with Flood producing. The first single drawn from that album was 'Scottish rain', a song about love and fallout from Chernobyl. The band then toured Europe with Simple Minds for four months, culminating with a stadium show at Wembley in front of 80,000.

It was my sister who'd discovered the Silencers and bought this single. I bought it soon after and was pleasantly surprised that it came in a gatefold sleeve - always a nice item. My sister actually saw them play live in Rotterdam, supporting the Simple Minds - my interest waned after this one single.

My collection: 7" single no. 972
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, August 29, 1989
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Scottish rain' / 'A blues for buddha', 'Gimme shelter'

About this DMCA nonsense

Readers of this blog know that I write entries about various 7" and 12" single with an image of the sleeve, some random facts and memories, plus the information about that single - and whenever possible a link to a soundfile. Blogger has been deleting random posts over the last few months, without stating what the hell the problem was with those particular posts. I've been writing messages to them but they are as responsive as my deaf and insane neighbour.

Their actions are based on the DMCA, they write. Has any reader got any understanding of this? Since when is it illegal to link to stuff that's already out there on the web? And what does Blogger want - that I stop blogging? Your responses are welcome here. God knows that big corporations don't listen to reason, but it would be nice to hear from some people out there who do give a f***.

What's more, this blog will feature divshare from now on - I've noticed that they host a lot of music as well and it allows me to stream music instead of letting people download the stuff. Perhaps this is more acceptable to the DMCA people? We'll find out.

Door de wind - Ingeborg

In the 1989 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, Belgium was represented by Ingeborg Sergeant and the song 'Door de wind' ('Through the wind'). The song was written by Stef Bos, who also performed backing vocals on the track.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a big success for Belgium: the song ended up on 19th place in the Contest. The single features the normal and acoustic version of 'Door de wind'. It's a charming little song, but probably not Song Contest material.

My collection: 7" single no. 873

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, June 3, 1989

Cost: 6,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Door de wind' / 'Door de wind (acoustische versie)'

Download: here

This is welfare - The Dutch

The Dutch band aptly named The Dutch is formed in Amstelveen in 1979. Singer Hans Croon writes mostly politically inspired lyrics for their songs. In 1983 they have their first and only hit with 'This is welfare', a beautiful piano-based popsong. I remember recording the song from the radio and playing it over and over again.

In 1989 I finally buy my own copy of the single. The band has already disbanded by then: the have gone on to form Siobhan in 1987.

My collection: 7" single no. 1098
Found: All that music, Leiden, November 11, 1989
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'This is welfare' / 'Heimat vorbei'
Download: here

Morning dew - Long John Baldry

John William Baldry was born on January 12, 1941. He was commonly known as Long John Baldry, as he grew 2m (6ft 7 in) tall. His career started in the early sixties. He recorded mainly blues songs, but in 1967, he recorded a pop song 'Let the heartaches begin' that went to number one in Britain.

In the seventies Baldry had mental health problems and was institutionalised. The 1979 album 'Baldry's Out' was recorded after his release. From the follow-up, the 1980 album 'Long John Baldry' came this single, 'Morning dew'. It was another impressive pop song, which made number 18 in the Dutch Top 40. In the UK, it didn't chart.

Baldry died on July 21, 2005, in a Vancouver hospital of a chest infection.

My collection: 7" single no. 2124

Found: Record fair, July 30, 1994

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Morning dew' / ' I want you, I love you'

Download: here

Just the two of us - Grover Washington Jr.

'Just the two of us' was recorded by jazz musician Grover Washington Jr. (1943-1999) with vocals by Bill Withers. It was released as a single in June 1980, and rewarded with a Grammy Award on February 24, 1982.

My collection: 7" single no. 2255
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, March 22, 1995
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Just the two of us' / 'Make me a memory (Sad Samba)'
Download: Album 'Winelight', including both tracks

Typical! - Frazier Chorus

Not only do I have the 10" single of 'Typical!', I've got the 7" single too. It contains the title track plus the B-side 'String'.

I bought this single in Beanos, the big second hand record shop in East Croydon, London, along with three other singles by Frazier Chorus. I'd discovered the band a few years earlier, but it was only when I bought a cd ('Sue') that I realised I had to have all the singles, and not just 'Dream kitchen'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2523

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

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Typical!' / 'String'

Download: here