After the success of their debut single 'Too shy', Kajagoogoo's follow-up single 'Ooh to be ah' was released quickly. Although not topping the chart like its predecessor, the single still reached a respectable seventh place in the UK singles chart.
The nonsensical title hides a lyric about the showbiz and glamour world in which appearance is all-important. It is still a very topical song, then.
My collection: 7" single no. 1307 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 1990 Cost: 50p Tracks: 'Ooh to be ah' / 'Animal instincts'
'Smooth operator' was released as the third single from Sade's debut album 'Diamond life'. Ray St. John, who co-wrote the song with Sade Adu, was a member of Adu's former band Pride, although he was not a member of the band Sade. The pair had co-written the song in 1982 while still members of Pride, but they did not get around to recording it because St. John left Pride shortly after Sade joined.
The B-side of the single contained a non-album track, 'Spirit', whereas the A-side was an edited version of the album track. It reached number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 19 in both the UK singles chart and the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 1417 Found: April 7, 1991 Cost: 3 guilders Tracks: 'Smooth operator' / 'Spirit'
In 1992, All about Eve left their record company Phonogram and signed to MCA Records. They recorded a new album 'Ultraviolet', which was released in the autumn, with this EP preceding it. Well, it was... different. Gone was the romantic, goth-like All about Eve of the past: here was a modern, cold-sounding band, with Julianne Regan's vocals buried deep in the mix.
The Phased EP was a collection of two album tracks, one instrumental version of an album track and one non-album track ('Ascent/descent'). It barely caught on, but still managed to reach number 38 in the UK singles chart during its two week chart run.
My collection: 7" single no. 1726 Found: Tower Records, London, October 17, 1992 Cost: 2,3 pounds Tracks: 'Phased', 'Mine' / 'Infrared (instrumental version)', 'Ascent/descent'
'Set the fire to the third bar' was the third single taken from Snow Patrol's fourth album 'Eyes open'. It features guest vocals from Martha Wainwright, a Canadian-American folk-rock singer/songwriter. The lyric of the song is about a couple separated by a great distance and their longing to be together again. After their long journey to meet each they would settle down in front of an electric bar fire, hence the title, 'Set the fire to the third bar'.
The single reached number 18 in the UK singles chart and number 22 in the Irish chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 3580 Found: eBay, received February 2009 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Set the fire to the third bar' / 'Chasing cars (live)'
Released in 1988, 'Fat' by Weird Al Yankovic is a parody of Michael Jackson's 1987 single 'Bad'. In a way, Yankovic continued the theme set out by his parody of 'Beat it', entitled 'Eat it'. The music video for 'Fat' was shot in the same subway set as the music video for 'Bad' and parodies a host of elements from that video.
Although the music video was shown numerous times on Dutch television, it did not chart. In the UK singles chart, 'Fat' reached number 80, whereas in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart it peaked at number 99.
My collection: 7" single no. 3998 Found: Marktplaats.nl, received August 12, 2009 Cost: 3 euro Tracks: 'Fat' / 'You make me'
Vocalist Nick Van Eede founded Cutting Crew along with Canadian guitarist Kevin Scott MacMichael in 1985, and the two made demos that led to a recording contract, before bassist Colin Farley and drummer Martin Beadle joined in 1986. They recorded the debut album 'Broadcast', which was released that same year. Their debut single '(I just) Died in your arms' was a worldwide hit, but after that they had some trouble coming up with a satisfactory successor.
'I've been in love before' was released two times: the original single appeared in later 1986. A different version of the single appeared a year later, featuring a shorter and slightly remixed version of the A-side. I bought the 1987 version (pictured below) in 1995, but depending on my photographic memory once again, I bought the 1986 version (pictured above) last week. At first, I thought I'd struck out, but listening more closely to the tracks made me realise these are actually two different singles.
Both singles actually made the UK singles chart: the 1986 version reached number 31, whereas the 1987 version reached number 24.
My collection: 7" single no. 2519 (1987 version) / no. 3997 (1986 version) Found: Record Exchange, London, November 1, 1995 / August 5, 2009 Cost: 60p / 1 pound Tracks: 'I've been in love before' / 'Life in a dangerous time'
'Human racing' was the fifth and final single from Nik Kershaw's debut album of the same name. Kershaw suddenly showcased a certain Stevie Wonderesque quality in his voice while singing this song. While initially this song bored me - probably because of the music video accompanying it - it has grown into my alltime favourite Nik Kershaw tracks.
The single became a hit in the UK only, peaking at number 19 in the UK singles chart. To this day I don't know why this didn't appeal to international audiences.
I bought a double single edition of this a decade ago, featuring a second single with two live tracks. The gatefold sleeve showed a rather funny playing board based on Kershaw's songs. On August 5, I found a picture disc of this single (pictured below) for 50p at Revival Records.
My collection: 7" single no. 3056 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, May 8, 1999 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'Human racing' / 'Faces (remix)' // 'Cloak and dagger (live)' / 'Drum talk (live)'
After the success of their debut single 'Too shy', Kajagoogoo's follow-up single 'Ooh to be ah' was released quickly. Although not topping the chart like its predecessor, the single still reached a respectable seventh place in the UK singles chart.
