Brand new friend - Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

'Brand new friend' was the first single from Lloyd Cole & the Commotions' second album 'Easy pieces'. The title betrayed the content of the album: Lloyd Cole was never known for making 'easy' music. This single is a fine example of a carefully crafted song with subtle instrumentation.

The single actually did better than all of the singles before it, reaching number 19 in the UK singles chart, while also reaching the Irish singles chart for the first time, peaking at number 11.

My collection: 7" single no. 5195
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Brand new friend' / 'Her last fling'

The fame and fortune EP - Various

The UK magazine Record Mirror sometimes released a 7" single as a freebie, featuring rare and exclusive tracks. Fortunately, decades later, these EP's still pop up in second hand stores now and again - a great opportunity to still get your hands on these tracks.

In this case, it was the remix of the Beloved's 'Your love takes me higher' I was after. The other three tracks, unfortunately, aren't much to write home about.

My collection: 7" single no. 5194
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'I'll be with you' (Brother Delphi), 'Your love takes me higher (Depth & Desire mix)' (The Beloved) / 'Rave on' (Happy Mondays), 'I dream of you' (Adamski)

For America - Red Box

The biggest hit from the duo Red Box is undoubtledly 'For America'. For some reason, neither the 7" single nor the 12" single have made it onto this blog so far (but I am sure they will) - but this 10" single is quite a rare find.

It features a different mix of the track, although it is only slightly different from the album mix. Both B-sides also turn up on the 12" single.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'For America (Boys Own mix)' / 'Ain't got no... I got life', 'R 'n' A'

That's the way it is - Mel and Kim

The excellent remastered and expanded edition of Mel & Kim's only album, 'F.L.M.' by Cherry Pop, released last year, collected a lot of remixes of their singles, but these 'acid' remixes of their last hit single 'That's the way it is' were omitted.

Stylistically they're very different from most of the remixes on that package, so that could be an explanation for this, but it's also possible that they couldn't be found in the archives. They're probably never going to be released on cd, so enjoy these rare gems while you can.

My collection: 12" single no. 64
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1988
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'That's the way it is (Acid House remix)' / 'That's the way it is (Acid dub)', 'You changed my life'

Is this love - Alison Moyet

Alison Moyet released 'Is this love' as a single in 1986, and as evidenced by this 12" single, it was released in the USA too. Featuring an extended remix by Mike Shipley, it is a longer and slightly more exciting version of this pleasant pop song.

The B-side also features a long version of the non-album track 'Blow wind blow', which unfortunately is a less inspired affair.

My collection: 12" single no. 360
Found: Record fair, 2000
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Is this love? (LA mix)' / 'Is this love? (single version)', 'Blow wind blow (long version)'

Feel like change - Black

Apparently, Black's single 'Feel like change' became quite big in South Africa. At the time, the country was slowly getting rid of its Apartheid regime, and so a song called 'Feel like change' sung by a white guy called Black would have been quite apt.

This 12" single doesn't feature any remix, but instead it offers four tracks: the title track, a new track called 'Nice', a cover of a Michael McDonald track and of course the wellknown hit 'Wonderful life'.

My collection: 12" single no. 589
Found: Discogs.com, received October 8, 2011
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Feel like change', 'Nice' / 'I can let go now', 'Wonderful life'

Newborn friend - Seal

Not a very wellknown single, this 'Newborn friend' by Seal. Released after 'Kiss from a rose' as the third single from his second album in October 1994, it faded into obscurity almost everywhere. It still managed to reach number 45 in the UK singles chart and number 24 in New Zealand, but that was pretty much it.

The track was remixed by Brothers in Rhythm, Tom Elmhirst, Ronin and David Morales. This promotional 12" single features four remixes by David Morales, who actually created quite a few different remixes from this track. As I'm sure you'll hear, they sound pretty much the same though.

My collection: 12" single no. 218
Found: Big Company Records, London, October 1994
Cost: 4,5 pounds
Tracks: 'Newborn friend (Morales Club mix)', 'Newborn friend (Morales Dub)' / 'Newborn friend (Morales Radio mix)', 'Newborn friend (Mo-Mo's Bass mix)'