The Skye Boat song - Willy Finlayson

Tori Amos' debut album 'Y Kant Tori Read', released before she hit the big time with 'Little earthquakes', contained an instrumental excerpt of 'The Skye Boat song', a Scottish traditional from the 19th century. Since I liked the melody, I was quite curious when I found this single, on which the traditional is performed by Willy Finlayson. Remember him? He also recorded 'On the air tonight' in 1985.

Finlayson's solo career has been short: none of his singles reached the UK singles chart and no other singles of his are known.

My collection: 7" single no. 2173
Found: House of Rhythm, London, September 27, 1994
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'The Skye Boat Song' / 'Cash'

Holding out for a hero - Bonnie Tyler

When you hear this song you will probably recognise the production values of Jim Steinman immediately: with its backing vocals and high speed music, it's an almost hysteric piece of music. 'Holding out for a hero' was originally released in 1984 and included on the soundtrack of the movie 'Footloose'. It later appeared on Tyler's 'Secret dreams and forbidden fire' album.

The single peaked at number 2 in the UK singles chart and number 34 in the US Billboard Hot 100. In the Netherlands, the single flopped mercilessly.

My collection: 7" single no. 3291
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Holding out for a hero' / 'Faster than the speed of night'

Crystal ball - Keane

Tim Rice-Oxley from Keane commented about 'Crystal ball': 'That was a really scary for me, because I've always had lots to say, and lots of opinions whether right or wrong. We then ended up having a massive row about something a couple of days later and it came out of that that we were all feeling this sense of numbness, this feeling of kinda fading away as people. I struggled to find one last song to complete the album, and found I could not write. I was left looking around song directories written by the sheer desperates of London, thus explaining how I discovered Crystal Ball...'

The track was released as the second single of Keane's second album 'Under the iron sea'. It reached number 20 in the Dutch Top 40 and the UK singles chart. This 7" single is a numbered limited edition; this is number 30.

My collection: 7" single no. 3490
Found: eBay.co.uk, received December 20, 2008
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Crystal ball' / 'Maybe I can change'

Love house - Samantha Fox

Honestly, I have no idea why I bought this single. It's a long time ago when I did. Even then, I was not impressed with the output of Page 3 girl Samantha Fox and house music in general. This track was produced by the Dutch brothers Bolland, but that in itself is no reason for me to buy a single - quite the contrary.

Mysteries have a right to survive, and so I won't guess any more. The only thing I do know that this single reached number 10 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 32 on the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2410
Found: Leiden, 1995
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Love house' / 'Don't cheat on me'

Cannonball - Supertramp

Without Roger Hodgson, but with a reputation that was very good, Supertramp soldiered on after 1983. Rick Davies took over lead vocals, and the 1985 album 'Brother where you bound' was promoted with the first single 'Cannonball'.

On the album and on thie 12" single, the track lasted for well over 7 minutes, whereas the 7" single contained an edit. Impressive also is the 10 minute instrumental version on the B-side of this 12" single.

My collection: 12" single no. 285
Found: Record Exchange, London, 1996
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Cannonball (Direct to disc version)' / 'Cannonball (instrumental)'

Heartbreaker - Dionne Warwick

When Barry Gibb is producing, or even co-producing, any song takes on a decidedly 'Bee Gees sound'. So when Dionne Warwick had her 1982 album 'Heartbreaker' co-produced by Gibb, it was almost as if she was doing backing vocals to Bee Gees tracks. Warwick later commented that she didn't like the album's title track, but recorded it because she trusted the judgement of the three Gibb brothers, who wrote the song, that it would be a hit.

And it was: Warwick reached the charts all over the world when 'Heartbreaker' was released as a single. It reached number 5 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 2 in the UK singles chart. Warwick commented: 'I cried all the way to the bank'.

My collection: 7" single no. 3088
Found: Record Exchange, London, May 12, 1999
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Heartbreaker' / 'I can't see anything but you'

Ever so lonely - Monsoon

To be honest, I'd completely forgotten that I owned this 12" single of 'Ever so lonely'. The single has been on this blog in an earlier entry. So when I was going through my 12 inch singles, I was pleasantly surprised.

This extended version of 'Ever so lonely' is made in the best of the Eighties traditions: it's just longer, it features a few extra instrumental and vocal passages, and no irritating beats and out of key synth loops. How refreshing!

My collection: 12" single no. 338
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 1998
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Ever so lonely (extended version)' / 'Sunset over the Ganges'