Amsterdam - Maggie MacNeal

I already own two copies of Maggie MacNeal's 'Amsterdam': the German version and the Dutch version. So I was pleasantly surprised to find yet another version: this time, the French version. Like the other two singles, this one has the English version on the B-side.

It looks like this one completes the set, as no other language versions of this song are known. At least, I don't see them listed on authorative websites. But who knows... a Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Icelandic or Arabian version might be lurking somewhere!

My collection: 7" single no. 5168
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Amsterdam (French version)' / 'Amsterdam (English version)'

My world - Bee Gees

'My world' was recorded and released while the Bee Gees were recording their new album 'To whom it may concern' during the winter of 1972. The single reached number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number 16 and number 41 in the UK and Germany charts, respectively.

As Robin Gibb states in the liner notes of Tales from the Brothers Gibb, 'One rollicking little jaunt that me and the lads came up with in downtown Birmingham, England, whilst doing a television show called Golden Shot, the ensuing results being that it went on to be a huge top 20 hit in the UK and the US that left the three of us 'drooling' with pleasure.'

My collection: 7" single no. 5128
Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'My world' / 'On time'

Can't get enough of your love - Taylor Dayne

With a big voice and big hair, Taylor Dayne managed to stay on the good side of grating, but only just. The first single from her third album was a cover of an old Barry White classic, 'Can't get enough of your love' and ever since its release I have been iffy about this track. Still, I had the cd-single, I had the album so the 7" single was missing from my collection.

I was never sure that a 7" single actually existed so it was a good surprise to find one. And in such good condition too! If nothing else, the sleeve is a thing of beauty.

My collection: 7" single no. 5121
Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Can't get enough of your love' / 'Let's spend the night together'

You don't have to say you love me - Guys 'n' Dolls

Guys 'n' Dolls were formed in 1974, after Ammo Productions held auditions for three girls and three boys to start the band. The six members of the group Paul Griggs, David Van Day, Thereza Bazar, Dominic Grant, Martine Howard, and Julie Forsyth (daughter of Bruce Forsyth), first met in November 1974. They released their first hit single, "There's a whole lot of loving' in January 1975 (this was actually recorded by session singers, and the group were later discovered not to have actually recorded the original). In the six years that followed, the group released several more hits

In 1976, they released a cover version of 'You don't have to say you love me', a song made famous ten years before by Dusty Springfield. Their version reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 10 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 5120
Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'You don't have to say you love me' / 'Lovely lady'

Better days - Supertramp

'Better days' was a single taken from Supertramp's 1985 album 'Brother where you bound'. It was their first album without Roger Hodgson. After the first single 'Cannonball' was a reasonable success, this second extract fared less well commercially.

The B-side featured an edited version of the title track of the album. It still clocked in at 7'44 minutes, but less than the original length, since on the album the track lasted for a whopping 16'30 minutes. Rick Davies from the band recalled: 'I remember saying to the guys, 'We need to find somebody that can play a bit like Gilmour' for the guitar stuff, and I think it was someone at A&M - it might have been Jordan Harris or somebody, one of those guys - and he said, 'Well, I know David - maybe he would like to come over and do it,' and he sent him a demo and he decided he'd like to do it and he was very reasonable. Came over, brought all his gear and straight to the studio. It was a home studio, my studio, and we did it.'

My collection: 7" single no. 5119
Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Better days (edit)' / 'Brother where you bound (edit)'

Shine a light - Audrey Landers

Audrey Landers made a name for herself in the early Eighties playing Afton Cooper in the legendary soap series 'Dallas'. After a few seasons she disappeared from the series, while launching a reasonably successful singing career in Europe. By the mid-Eighties she'd disappeared from the music scene, though.

By 1990, she returned both to 'Dallas' and to music. She reprised her role of Afton Cooper for one season and recorded this single, a quite dated slice of German schlagerpop.

My collection: 7" single no. 5118
Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Shine a light' / 'Pieces of my heart'

Dance Classics: the party mix - Various artists

The Arcade label was very successful with compilation albums of old hits. It made their albums chart hits and its boss, who would later go into politics for purely selfish reasons of course, very rich. One of their staples was the 'Dance Classics' series. In fact, it was such a hype that it spawned a few singles as well. The first two, released in 1990, were mixed by Ben Liebrand, and reached the Dutch Top 40.

This single was released two years later and didn't chart at all. The mixers, Koen Groeneveld and Addy van der Zwan weren't as wellknown as Liebrand, and by 1992, the concept was hardly new. Still, it included a few timeless dance classics by Dan Hartman and the Jacksons.

My collection: 7" single no. 5117
Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Dance Classics - The Party Mix' / 'Dance Classics - Party groove'