After working with Julian Marshall for a few years as Marshall Hain, Kit Hain pursued a solo career. This resulted in two solo albums, the first one of which was 'Spirits walking out' (1981). This album featured the single 'Danny' plus this one, 'Looking for you'.
The best way to sum up this single is probably: great sleeve, unremarkable music. At least, the general public didn't buy this.
My collection: 7" single no. 4861 Found: Da Capo, Utrecht, May 14, 2010 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Looking for you' / 'Hundreds and thousands'
How times have changed. When the Eurovision Song Contest was just a new invention, the Netherlands were actually very successful. Between 1956 and 1975, the country won four times - and they never managed this after 1975. The first time the Netherlands won was in the second year of Eurovision, 1957.
Corry Brokken sang 'Net als toen' ('Just like the old days'), a song that featured a violin solo by Sem Nijveen and was almost three and a half minutes long. In this year's contest the Italian entry lasted for five minutes, whilst the UK's entry lasted for almost two minutes. It was because of songs like the former that a rule was eventually introduced restricting each song to a maximum of three minutes; this rule still applies today.
This single, meanwhile, is a true rarity. It simply cannot be found - although I did buy this copy in a shop without any trouble. I was very surprised with it, even if the vinyl wasn't pressed perfectly.
My collection: 7" single no. 4860 Found: Da Capo, Utrecht, May 14, 2010 Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Net als toen' / 'Wees maar niet boos'
Although the Time Bandits basically still exist (at least, frontman Alides Hidding still uses the name when he performs solo or with a band), they split up in 1989. 'Wildfire' was the last single to be released by the band, but it failed to reach the Dutch Top 40.
The single was taken from the band's 1987 album 'Can't wait for another world', which contained a few songs written by Alides Hidding with American singer/producer Dan Hartman. This single contains two of them.
My collection: 7" single no. 4856 Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, May 14, 2010 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Wildfire' / 'You're not at home'
After the breakup of the duo Dollar, Thereza Bazar released one solo album in 1985 called 'The big kiss', which she co-wrote. The album reportedly cost half a million pounds to produce and generated media attention, but according to Bazar, the album's circulation was poor due to a mix-up at the record company, with the album unavailable at the time of its advertised release. Today Bazar mentions the incident as the most upsetting of her career.
The first single from the album was the title track was released in the summer of 1985. It didn't chart in any territory.
My collection: 7" single no. 4855 Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, May 14, 2010 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'The big kiss' / 'Give yourself up'
For a little while in the Eighties, the Dutch group 'Toontje Lager' were very hot. After the very successful albums 'Erop of eronder' (1982) and 'Stiekem dansen' (1983) the band suddenly failed to attract lots of attention. Their singles flopped and they didn't even record an album anymore.
In 1985, the band decided to call it quits. 'Als ik 'n meisje was' ('If I were a girl') was their last single release - and this one too failed to reach the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 4853 Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, May 14, 2010 Cost: 1,5 euro Tracks: 'Als ik 'n meisje was' / 'Hart van goud'
Attentive readers of this blog will recall I posted a 1989 remix of M's 'Popmuzik' on this blog back in August 2009. I bought that one in the UK. It appears that the Netherlands also released a remix of 'Popmuzik' that same year, except this one was made by Ben Liebrand, the Dutch DJ who had become a household name during the Eighties.
Indeed, his remix is very different from the one on the other single - but less unsuccessful. While the UK version reached number 15 in the UK singles chart, this single did not chart in the Netherlands.
My collection: 7" single no. 4852 Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, May 14, 2010 Cost: 1,5 euro Tracks: 'Popmuzik (Ben Liebrand single edit)'
After working with Julian Marshall for a few years as Marshall Hain, Kit Hain pursued a solo career. This resulted in two solo albums, the first one of which was 'Spirits walking out' (1981). This album featured the single 'Danny' plus this one, 'Looking for you'.
