Oh... Young people - Mo

After their second single 'Fred Astaire' reached number 18 in the Dutch Top 40, attention for the Dutch synthpop group Mo was growing. They do a tour around the country, with mixes responses from the audience.

'Oh... Young people' is released as the third single from their debut album 'Mo' in early 1981, but it does not chart. Meanwhile, three members of the band, including woman singer Heili Helder, leave the band. After the summer of 1981, only drummer Harm Bieger remains from the original line-up. Ton van der Meer and Hans Nieuwint are recruited, as well as the new frontwoman Linda Bloemhardt. This new line-up records the second Mo album, which is released later on in 1981.

My collection: 7" single no. 4638
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Oh... Young people' / 'TV Talks'

Keine Mauern mehr - Simone

The impact of the fall of the Berlin wall was so big, that even Austria delivered a song about the subject on the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest. The song was performed by Simone Stelzer, who was born on October 1, 1969 in Vienna.

The lyric of the song speaks about the freedom brought about through the fall of the Wall. In keeping with the multi-national theme, she sung the song in German, English, French and Serbo-Croatian. The song finished tenth in a field of 22 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 4409
Found: Second Life Music, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Keine Mauern mehr' / 'No walls anywhere'

Gotta pull myself together - The Nolans

The Nolans released their album 'Making waves' in 1980. While it only peaked at number 11 in the albums chart, it had the longest chart run of their career, spanning 33 weeks. Four singles were taken from the album, of which 'Attention to me' was the best known.

'Gotta pull myself together' was released as the third single from the album in the autumn of 1980. It reached number 9 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in Ireland. It was also their first Australian chart hit, peaking at number 3 in 1981.

My collection: 7" single no. 4641
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Gotta pull myself together' / 'Directions of love'

Landslide - Olivia Newton-John

Not to be confused with the 1975 track by Fleetwood Mac, 'Landslide' was written by Olivia Newton-John's producer John Farrar for her 1981 album 'Physical'. It was released as the third single from the album in early 1982.

Although the single did not chart in the Netherlands, it was a success in the UK, where it peaked at number 18. In the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, 'Landslide' peaked at number 52.

My collection: 7" single no. 4639
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Landslide' / 'Falling'

Wonderful - Patty and Shift

Dutch broadcaster Veronica had some success in the late Eighties with the weekly drama 'Spijkerhoek'. The story focused on two families with children in their late puberty. The son of one family was a biker and the daughter of the other family wanted to make it big in the music scene. Actress Mary-Lou van Steenis played Patty, who got to record a song called 'Wonderful'. It's no surprise that this song was released as a single to promote the television series even further. It turned out to be a hit, too, peaking at number 2 in the Dutch Top 40.

The song itself is a cliched, tacky affair, so the real treat on this single is the B-side, as it contains the theme of 'Spijkerhoek'. It's an attractive instrumental, sounding a bit like Harold Faltermeyer meets Jan Hammer. And I guess that's what the producers were aiming for anyway, since both 'Miami Vice' and the 'Beverley Hills Cop' movies were broadcast by Veronica as well back then.

My collection: 7" single no. 789
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, April 7, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Wonderful' / 'Theme from 'Spijkerhoek''

Song from Moulin Rouge - Peters and Lee

My brother mentioned last week that he was looking for this song. The title and performer stuck in my head for some reason, and when I went shopping the next day, imagine my surprise when I came across this single. I figured I could take it with me. If I didn't like it at least he would have an addition to his collection. As it turns out, I like the track a lot - bad luck for him.

Peters & Lee was a British duo consisting of Lennie Peters (November 22, 1931 - October 10, 1992) and Dianne Lee (born in 1950). Their first performance was with Rolf Harris on April 30 1970 at a concert in Bournemouth. They remained popular all through the Seventies. 'Song from Moulin Rouge' was recorded in the Netherlands with the Harry van Hoof Orchestra, with Will Hoebee producing. It was their only hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 23 in the Dutch Top 40 in the summer of 1977.

My collection: 7" single no. 4645
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Song from Moulin Rouge' / 'Don't lay your head'

Good golly Miss Molly - De Tamara's

Every now and again, one has to take into account all the strong points of a particular single. As you can see on this sleeve, this single by the Dutch band the Tamara's has at least two strong points. I became interested enough anyway to find out what this single was all about.

Turns out that the Tamara's is a group of studio musicians which performs Dutch versions of wellknown rock and roll tracks. 'Good golly Miss Molly' was originally recorded in 1958 by Little Richard. This cover version was never a hit - but I do have to wonder why.

My collection: 7" single no. 4664
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Good golly Miss Molly' / 'Donna Donna'