When Siobhan Fahey left Bananarama some might have thought she would disappear into nothingness, but nothing was further from the truth: within months she set up Shakespear's sister together with Marcella Detroit and the duo released a couple of very successful and artistically interestig albums.
Their debut single, released in 1988, was 'Break my heart', a track that would also appear on their debut album in 1989. Siobhan Fahey wanted 'Heroine' to be the group's debut single, but her label was not convinced it was a strong enough single, and instead opted for 'Break my heart'. It didn't matter much: the single flopped anyway. Thankfully, later singles would be more successful.
My collection: 7" single no. 5055 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Break my heart' / 'Heroine'
In August 1981, Bowie had begun rehearsals to appear in the BBC version of Bertolt Brecht's play 'Baal'. The lyrics to the songs were all translated by Ralph Manheim and John Willett. Dominic Muldowney provided all new musical settings, except for 'The drowned girl', which was a setting by Kurt Weill done originally for Das Berliner Requiem. In September 1981, Bowie and Tony Visconti returned to the Hansa studios in Berlin to re-record the five songs Baal performed in the play.
'Baal’s Hymn' is a combination of the vignettes spread throughout the play, and establishes Baal’s amoral character. 'Remembering Marie A' concerns Baal’s reminiscences of a past conquest, where he can remember a cloud drifting overhead, but not the face of the girl he was with. 'Ballad of the Adventurers' is Baal’s aggressive lament to the death of his mother. 'The Drowned Girl' relates the suicide of one of Baal’s conquests. 'The Dirty Song' is a short number, with Baal humiliating his lover Sophie.
Bowie's performance as Baal was broadcast on February 2, 1982, and RCA issued the EP to coincide with this. Both the play and EP were well received, with the latter reaching number 29 in the UK chart, which was a high placing considering the unconventional tracks. The 7" single comes packaged in a double gatefold sleeve containing extensive notes pertaining to the musical content and a short biography of Bertolt Brecht. This EP was Bowie’s final new release for RCA Records. Bowie's next release was issued by EMI. The EP was re-released as a digital download in 2007.
My collection: 7" single no. 5054 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Baal's hymn', 'Remembering Marie A.' / 'Ballad of the adventurers', 'The drowned girl', 'The dirty song'
Giorgio Moroder made a restoration and new edit of 'Metropolis', the 1927 movie by Fritz Lang. Moroder’s version of the film introduced a new contemporary pop music soundtrack for the film. Although it restored a number of previously missing scenes and plot details from the original release (in particular, Moroder's version restores the character of Hel, who was omitted from the original release version of the film), his version of the film runs to only 80 minutes in length, compared to the original 153 minute version.
The lead single for the soundtrack was Freddie Mercury's 'Love kills', a Moroder-produced track that sounded very similar to Queen tracks that were released around the same time. The single reached number 10 in the UK singles chart and number 4 in Ireland. It also reached the charts around Europe, but peaking at lower positions.
My collection: 7" single no. 5053 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Love kills' / 'Rotwang's party (Robot dance)' (Giorgio Moroder)
In 1992, Erasure released the Abba-esque EP, featuring four covers of Abba songs. All formats were released with four tracks on them, so one would think no other formats would exist.
But here it is: a Spanish promotional one-track single, featuring the track 'Take a chance on me'. Probably worth something to a Erasure fan, but I just happened to stumble across this copy while browsing the racks.
My collection: 7" single no. 5052 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Take a chance on me'
Freda Charcilia Payne was born on September 19, 1945. She's an American singer and actress best known for her million selling, 1970 hit single, 'Band of Gold'. The song, written by the famous writing team Holland-Dozier-Holland, tells a story of a recently married woman whose husband is incapable of loving her (even though he tried), resulting in the couple sleeping in separate rooms on their honeymoon, to her dismay. It would appear that the marriage ended in the husband's abandoning his bride, leaving her with no more than the titular 'band of gold'.
The single reached number 1 in the UK singles chart and remains a wellknown classic to this day.
My collection: 7" single no. 5051 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Band of gold' / 'The easiest way to fall'
'We'll live it all again' (Italian title: 'Noi lo rivivremo di nuovo') was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, performed in Italian and English by Al Bano & Romina Power. So far, this the country's only ever entry not to be sung entirely in Italian (although this year's entry will also be in English, I understand).
Bano and Power also recorded the song in French, entitled 'T'aimer encore une fois'. This single contains the original English/Italian version and the French version. At the close of voting, the duo's song had received 69 points, placing 7th in a field of 18 contenders.
My collection: 7" single no. 5050 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'T'aimer encore une fois' / 'We'll live it all again'
In 1974, France did not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. Still, here it is: a single of the 1974 entry by Dani. How come?
France had been going to enter the contest with the song 'La vie à vingt-cinq ans' by Dani, but they withdrew after the French President, Georges Pompidou, died during the week before the contest. Since his funeral was held the day of the contest, it was deemed inappropriate for the French to take part. Dani was seen by viewers in the audience at the point the French song should have been performed, after the Irish and before the German entry.
My collection: 7" single no. 5049 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'La vie a 25 ans' / 'Pour que ça dure'
When Siobhan Fahey left Bananarama some might have thought she would disappear into nothingness, but nothing was further from the truth: within months she set up Shakespear's sister together with Marcella Detroit and the duo released a couple of very successful and artistically interestig albums.
