Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Hold on my heart - Genesis

'Hold on my heart' is one of the few ballads released as a single by Genesis. Taken from their 1991 album 'We can't dance', it was released as the third single in April 1992.

The single reached number 16 in the UK singles chart and number 12 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the Dutch Top 40, 'Hold on my heart' reached number 11.

My collection: 7" single no. 2278
Found: May 6, 1995
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Hold on my heart' / 'Way of the world'

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Wat een geluk - Rudi Carrell

Rudi Carrell was born on December 19, 1934 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands as Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar. In 1960, he represented his country in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Wat een geluk' ('Such luck'), becoming the first male singer to represent the Netherlands.

At the close of voting, the song had received just 2 points, placing it twelfth in a field of 13 competitors. The single did manage to reach number 9 in the Dutch charts.

My collection: 7" single no. 4631
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received March 12, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Wat een geluk' / 'Panama-kanaal'

Tijd - Saskia en Serge

Saskia & Serge are a Dutch vocal duo consisting of singer Trudy van den Berg (born April 23, 1947, Grootebroek) and singer-guitarist Ruud Schaap (born March 22, 1946, Den Helder). They first attracted attention when they won a talent contest in 1967, performing as Trudy & Ruud. They married in 1969 and changed their professional name to Saskia & Serge, as their gentle, folksy style began to attract favourable attention.

In 1970, Saskia & Serge took part in the national final for Eurovision with the song 'Het spinnewiel' ('The spinning-wheel'), which was narrowly beaten into second place. They returned in 1971, this time singing all six songs in the selection, and 'Tijd' ('Time') was chosen to represent the Netherlands during the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest. Although Saskia suffered a microphone malfunction at the start of the song, they finished in joint sixth place in a field of 18 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 4630
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received March 12, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Tijd' / 'Vandaag begint de toekomst'

Someday - Mariah Carey

'Someday' was one of the five songs on the demo tape, handed by Brenda K. Starr to record executive Tommy Mottola, that led to Carey being given a recording contract. Sony made alterations to the version on the demo tape because they thought it was too rough—the horn melodies were taken out and replaced with electric guitar melodies, and the ending was shortened by about eight seconds. Reportedly, Carey was unhappy with the final version of 'Someday', because she thought it had been too 'polished'.

It was released as the third single from Carey's debut album in December 1990 and reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 38 in the UK singles chart and number 29 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2028
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 19, 1993
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Someday' / 'Alone in love'

Circle of one (remix) - Oleta Adams

Although Oleta Adams' debut album 'Circle of one' was a big seller in 1991, the singles seemed to be less popular. Although the title track was released as a single earlier on, the record company tried re-releasing the track in remixed form in a bid to get it higher up in the charts. The remix was made by one Yvonne Turner and sounded very different from the original version.

Still, the single was equally unsuccessful and did not chart in any territory. Meanwhile, the album kept selling...

My collection: 7" single no. 1805
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 19, 1992
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Circle of one (remix)' / 'Circle of one'

Rain or shine - Five Star

Five Star's biggest single hit was the mid-tempo ballad 'Rain or shine', released in the autumn of 1986.

It sold over 250,000 copies and peaked at number 2 in the UK singles chart, held off the top spot for three weeks by British pop band The Communards with the year's biggest selling song, 'Don't leave me this way'. In the Dutch Top 40, the single peaked at number 16 during a six week chart run.

My collection: 7" single no. 2576
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 16, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Rain or shine' / 'Summer groove'

Phantom of the night - Kayak

By the end of the Seventies, the Dutch band Kayak were wellknown for their brand of symphonic rock, but that didn't mean they were consistently successful. Having had their first top 10 hit in February 1979 with 'Ruthless queen', two subsequent singles failed to chart.

The first of those two was 'Phantom of the night', the title track of their 1979 album. Personally, I'm more fond of the instrumental B-side, but having found this single is a miracle in itself: Kayak singles are very hard to come by these days.

My collection: 7" single no. 4629
Found: Deurmekaarspul, Den Haag, March 12, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Phantom of the night' / 'Ivory dance'

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