'Kissed you in the rain' was the second single taken from Freiheit's 1988 album 'Fantasy'. As always, the track was produced by Armand Volker. The single was a success in Germany but in other countries it did not chart.
The release of this single effectively ended the band's international career. They are still recording, but they have returned to German-language songs, as in their home country they remained popular.
My collection: 7" single no. 3309 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Kssed you in the rain' / 'Moonlight'
Leo Sayer was born as Gerard Hugh Sayer on May 21, 1948 in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England. A popular singer in the Seventies and early Eighties, he released his tenth studio album 'Have you ever been in love' in November 1983. The single of the same name was released a year earlier and reached number 19 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 10 in the UK singles chart.
In later years, Sayer has been maligned because of these ballads, that are perceived to be overly sentimental. Personally I think it is just within the boundaries of good taste - the melody is beautiful anyway.
My collection: 7" single no. 964 Found: All that music, Leiden, August 10, 1989 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Have you ever been in love' / 'I don't need dreaming anymore'
'Hands across the ocean' was in fact an ep, containing three songs that were all interesting to me for a variety of reasons. The title track featured backing vocals by Julianne Regan from All about Eve. 'Amelia' was an emotional track about child abuse, apparently written by the band after reading the story of a fan. And finally, 'Love' is a cover of the John Lennon track.
The single was released to promote the release of the 'outtakes' album 'Grains of sand' in 1990. It reached number 28 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2203 Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, October 8, 1994 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Hands across the ocean' / 'Amelia', 'Love'
Pino d'Angio was born as Giuseppe Chierchia in Pompeii, Italy in 1952. In 1981, he made a name for himself in Europe with his disco hit 'Ma quale idea', a track that could be seen as an Italian rap track, because of Pino's deep monotonous voice.
The single peaked at number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 and made a big impression on me, a 10 year old boy who was just forming his musical taste. Listening again to it now, it really isn't a bad track.
My collection: 7" single no. 124 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1981 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Ma quale idea' / 'Lezione d'amore'
It's a wellknown fact that Mike Oldfield reached his artistic peak right at the beginning of his career when he composed 'Tubular bells' in 1971, the debut album released two years later would be the career-defining work that is still celebrated nowadays - most recently with a luxury 'ultimate edition' comprising a cd with demos, a surround sound mix and a hardback book. Oldfield has milked it a bit too, releasing a 'Tubular Bells 2' and 'Tubular Bells 3', a 'Millennium bell' and a seemingly endless array of cd and dvd releases.
This single is a lesser known Tubular Bells rarity. This live version of 'Guilty' is taken from Oldfield's 1979 live album 'Exposed' and contains a short Tubular Bells theme within the song. What's more, the B-side is an abridged version of the live performance of Tubular Bells which is found on 'Exposed'. I was really happy to find this single, because at the time I was making my own cd compilation of Tubular Bells rare tracks, the so-called 'Tubular best'. Now why didn't any record company come up with that idea?
My collection: 7" single no. 3034 Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 26, 1998 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'Guilty (live)' / 'Extract from Tubular bells (live)'
'Dancing girls' was released as the third single from Nik Kershaw's debut album 'Human racing' (1984). The track was remixed for the single release. Also notable was the entertaining and funny music video, using the theme of the song very well.
The single peaked at number 13 in the UK singles chart, number 14 in Ireland and number 21 in Germany.
My collection: 7" single no. 2510 Found: Record Exchange, October 30, 1995 Cost: 80p Tracks: 'Dancing girls' / 'She cries'
El Debarge was born on June 4, 1961. He was the lead singer of the band Debarge, which scored their biggest hit in 1985 with the UK number 4 hit 'Rhythm of the night'. After this success, El left the group to start a solo career. His first break came in 1986 when he was asked to perform a song for the soundtrack of the movie 'Short circuit': 'Who's Johnny'.
Although this single only made number 60 in the UK singles chart, it reached number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 and the US Billboard Hot 100. This double single features the two hitsingles: 'Who's Johnny' and 'Rhythm of the night'. One of those delicious double singles. A great buy!
My collection: 7" single no. 2574 Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 16, 1995 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'Who's Johnny' / 'Love me in a special way' // 'Rhythm of the night' / 'Queen of my heart'
'Kissed you in the rain' was the second single taken from Freiheit's 1988 album 'Fantasy'. As always, the track was produced by Armand Volker. The single was a success in Germany but in other countries it did not chart.
