Hot Chocolate have had several big hits during their 15 year career, and 'Girl crazy' is one of them. It reached number 7 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40. At the time, I was not impressed with the song, but these days it's at least a lot better than most current chart hits.
'Girl crazy' was produced by the late great Mickie Most and released on his RAK record label, as with all of Hot Chocolate's output between 1970 and 1984.
My collection: 7" single no. 4362 Found: Record mania, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Girl crazy' / 'Bed games'
Animotion was formed in 1983 by Astrid Plane, Paul Antonelli, Charles Ottavio, Frenchy O'Brien, Bill Wadhams and Don Kirkpatrick. They released their self-titled debut album in 1984. A few months later, in early 1985, 'Obsesison' gave the band international success.
The song was originally written and recorded as a duet by songwriter Holly Knight and musician Michael Des Barres in 1983, but this version did not meet with commercial success. Animotion's version reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 6 in Canada and the USA. In the Netherlands, the single was not a hit, but it was prominently featured in a TV programme. I forget which one...
My collection: 7" single no. 4361 Found: Record mania, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Obsession' / 'Turn around'
After almost thirty years, I think it's time to concede that 'What's another year' is actually a briliant, if someone melodramatic, pop song. I listened to it today and couldn't help but feel impressed by the melody and even the lyric. It was of course the song that launched Johnny Logan's career as Eurovision celebrity - even if in 1980 it wasn't yet obvious that he would win the Contest twice again: in 1987 with 'Hold me now' and in 1992 as a songwriter with 'Why me', performed by Linda Martin.
'What's another year' was written by Shay Healy about watching his father coming to terms with the death of his wife and companion, Mairin. After winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980, the single reached number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 1 in the UK singles chart.
I bought the Irish pressing of 'What's another year', which amazingly is a few seconds longer than the Dutch pressing which I've had for a couple of years. You can hear that the song fades out slightly earlier on the Dutch pressing.
My collection: 7" single no. 3487 / no. 4364 Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2003 / Record mania, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 1 euro / 0,5 euro Tracks: 'What's another year' / 'One night stand'
'Mea culpa' was released as the second single from Enigma's debut album 'MCMXD a.D.'. The title of the song comes from the Latin phrase for 'My fault'. The origin of the expression is from a traditional prayer in the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church known as Confiteor (Latin for 'I confess'), in which the individual recognizes his or her flaws before God.
The single reached number 4 in France, number 7 in Germany and Italy, and number 16 in the Dutch Top 40. My collection: 7" single no. 4360 Found: Record mania, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Mea culpa (Orthodox version)' / 'Mea culpa (Catholic version)'
I always am a bit miffed when I find out that there's a special edition of a record or cd I already have. And so, just a few weeks after buying Kaja's 'Shouldn't do that', I found out there was a limited edition double single edition - and I was rather irritated by that. Fortunately, I didn't spend a fortune on the single I bought in April, and this double single version wasn't particularly expensive either, so I've got three discs for the price of one, so to speak.
'Shouldn't do that' was only a minor hit in the UK, peaking at number 63. No further singles by Kaja, as the band named themselves in 1985 when they tried to shed the image of the teen idol band Kajagoogoo, charted.
My collection: 7" single no. 4359 Found: Record mania, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 4 euro Tracks: 'Shouldn't do that' / 'Charm of a gun' // 'Huricane' / 'What ever you want'
The single 'Runaway' by the Thompson Twins was the second single from their second album 'Set', and the follow-up to the American hit single 'In the name of love'. At the time of release, Thompson Twins was a seven piece band, consisting of later core members Alannah Currie, Tom Baily and Joe Leeway, along with Chris Bell, Peter Dodd, John Roog and Matthew Seligman.
The single was released as a limited edition double single in the UK, featuring two live tracks on the second disc. It didn't help: the single flopped.
My collection: 7" single no. 4358 Found: Record mania, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Runaway' / 'Open your eyes' // 'Living in Europe' / 'Make believe'
Taken from her debut album 'The glamorous life', 'The belle of St. Mark' was a 1984 hit single for Sheila E., written and produced by herself. The single reached number 34 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 5 in the Dutch Top 40.
The single came out during a time when Sheila E. was still part of Prince's entourage. Around the same time, the duo had a brief romantic relationship, although Prince was also still involved with Susannah Melvoin, twin sister of Wendy Melvoin of Wendy & Lisa fame.
My collection: 7" single no. 4357 Found: Record mania, Amterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'The belle of St. Mark' / 'Too sexy'
Hot Chocolate have had several big hits during their 15 year career, and 'Girl crazy' is one of them. It reached number 7 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40. At the time, I was not impressed with the song, but these days it's at least a lot better than most current chart hits.
