Let me be the one - The Shadows

The Shadows, who are best known for their work with Cliff Richard in the Sixties, represented the United Kingdom during the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Let me be the one'. The song finished second in the Contest, behind Teach-In from the Netherlands with 'Ding-a-dong'.

The single subsequently reached number 12 in the UK singles chart. It was also released in Europe, but without much chart success. This particular pressing comes from France.

My collection: 7" single no. 4365
Found: Record mania, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Let me be the one' / 'Stand up like a man'

Home on Monday - Little River Band

'Home on Monday' is one of those songs I heard on the radio quite regularly in the Eighties, without actually knowing the name of the band that performed the song. It turned out to be the Little River Band, an Australian rock band, that had a hit with this song in 1977.

The single reached number 13 in the Dutch Top 40, as well as scoring top 10 in Australia and the USA.

My collection: 7" single no. 4363
Found: Record mania, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Home on Monday' / 'The inner light'

Girl crazy - Hot Chocolate

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'

Obsession - Animotion

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'

What's another year - Johnny Logan

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 (part 2) - Enigma

'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)'

Shouldn't do that - Kaja

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'