Chance for a lifetime - Kayak

A few years ago, I saw a documentary on Kayak's 1975 album 'Royal bed bouncer'. I was very impressed with the music I heard. Nowadays, almost all music made in the Netherlands is substandard and pathetic, but this was rock music worthy of worldwide recognition.

I bought the cd not long after that, and I thought I would find singles from the album soon enough. I didn't actively search for them - and now I've finally found 'Chance for a lifetime'. It's one of the standout tracks from 'Royal bed bouncer', but it only reached number 31 in the Dutch Top 40.

By the way: the copy I bought was covered in dust and grease. I decided to wash it along with the dishes, and voila: the single is as good as new.

My collection: 7" single no. 4039
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Chance for a lifetime' / 'My heart never changed'

Was ist schon ein Jahr - Johnny Logan

In 1980, Johnny Logan represented Ireland during the Eurovision Song Contest, singing the song 'What's another year'. When the song, written by Shay Healy, won the Contest, Logan's career took off.

'What's another year' became an international hit. In Germany, Logan released a special version of the song, with German lyrics written by Michael Kunze. 'Was ist schon ein Jahr' sounds very familiar, and yet very strange to non-Germans. Personally, I prefer this version for its interesting lyric. To hear an Irish man sing 'Eines Tages wirst du wissen / dass diesen Abschied nur ein Irrtum war' is priceless.

My collection: 7" single no. 4038
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Was ist schon ein Jahr' / 'One night stand'

Feuer und Flamme - Nena

'Feuer und Flamme' was the title of Nena's fourth album, released in 1984. It was the first album of the band to be reproduced in English in its entirity. The English version 'It's all in the game' was released in 1985.

The title track was released as a single, with the English version of the track, 'Woman on fire', on the B-side.

My collection: 7" single no. 4037
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Feuer und Flamme' / 'Woman on fire'

Soul street - Jolley and Swain

Steve Jolley and Tony Swain produced the music of bands like Imagination, Bananarama and many others. In 1985 they decided to release a single of their own, the instrumental track 'Soul street'. It sounds a lot like the music of the aforementioned bands. The single was taken from the album 'Backtrackin', also released in 1985.

They continued to produce artists like Diana Ross, Tom Robinson and Wang Chung, until they split up in 1987. Swain went on to produce Kim Wilde's 1988 album 'Close' and became head A&R consultant for Universal Records. Jolley set up his own record label and in 2001 ended up in jail for sexually assaulting a 12 year old boy. I guess you could say 'each to their own'...

My collection: 7" single no. 4036
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Soul street' / 'Autumn leaves'

Where did your heart go - Wham

'Where did your heart go' was originally released as part of the double single 'The edge of heaven', released to signal the end of the duo Wham! in June 1986. Always in need of 'milking it', the record company decided to release the track separately as a single in October 1986. The setup didn't work as most people already had the track - only the most avid fans still bought the single despite the absence of anything new on it. The single peaked at number 50 in the USA and number 54 in Australia.

The song was not written by George Michael, like most of Wham!'s material, but instead was a cover of the 1981 track by Was Not Was. It was written by David and Don Was.

My collection: 7" single no. 4034
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Where did your heart go?' / 'Wham! Rap '86'

Wake me up before you go-go - Wham!

One of the Eighties' ultimate pop tracks was Wham!'s 'Wake me up before you go-go'. George Michael was inspired to write the song when his Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley left a scribbled note to his parents reading 'Wake me up before you go', but accidentally wrote the word 'up' twice - so he decided to repeat the word 'go' as well.

Released in May 1984, Wham! presented themselves as a sunnier, less pretentious band, moving away from their politically charged songs from their previous album. The song reached number 1 in both the UK, the USA and the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 4035
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Wake me up before you go-go' / 'Wake me up before you go-go (instrumental)'

Japanese lovesong - Ten Sharp

The early career of Ten Shap was a bit odd. They released four singles to little or no success. The one that was the least interesting in my opinion was 'Japanese lovesong'. And yet, this was the only single of the four to reach the Dutch Top 40, in the summer of 1985. It had a chart run of four weeks and reached number 30.

'Japanese lovesong' was the second single released by Ten Sharp, and after the third and fourth singles 'Last words' and 'Way of the west' did not chart, the band disbanded for four years, only to resurrect with the international smash hit 'You'.

My collection: 7" single no. 4033
Found: Vinylfabriek, Haaksbergen, September 14, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Japanese lovesong' / 'Goin' on'