'Ik ben verkouwe' ('I have a cold') is a Dutch parody on the famous 1990 hit 'The power' by Snap, released in the same year. The track was created by the team behind Rubberen Robbie, seven years after they stopped releasing tracks under that name.
The B-side featured a story by a new character called 'Ome Henk' ('Uncle Henk'), who would become a regular visitor of the Dutch Top 40 between 1991 and 1999.
My collection: 7" single no. 5215 Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, October 22, 2011 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Ik ben verkouwe!' / 'De spannende verhalen van Ome Henk'
The Bluebells was a Scotting band, performing jangly guitar based pop. Their single 'Young at heart', originally released in 1984, was written by guitarist and founder member Bobby Bluebell with Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama (and originally recorded on Bananarama's album 'Deep sea skiving') and made it to number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.
The band split up in the mid 1980s, but enjoyed an unexpected revival in 1993 when 'Young at heart" was used in a Volkswagen television advertisement. Re-issued as a single, it was number 1 in the UK for four weeks and led to the band reforming temporarily to perform the song on BBC Television's Top of the Pops. In the Netherlands, where the Bluebells never had a hit, the re-released single reached number 20.
My collection: 7" single no. 5214 Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, October 22, 2011 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Young at heart' / 'Tendy mercy'
I bought Big Fun's cover of the Jackson's 'Blame it on the boogie' last year, a single that was released in 1989.
This 12" single features three remixes of the track, as well as a free giant poster of the boys. The remixes were made by Phil Harding, who was one of the big names from the Stock Aitken & Waterman stable.
My collection: 12" single no. 596 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011 Cost: 10p Tracks: 'Blame it on the boogie (PWL mix)' / 'Blame it on the boogie (dub mix)', 'Blame it on the boogie (instrumental mix)'
'King of the mountain' was released on October 24, 2005, 12 years after Kate Bush's previous single, 'And so is love'. Written about ten years before most of the songs on the album 'Aerial', the lyrics enquire whether Elvis Presley might still be alive someplace, '...looking like a happy man...' and playing with 'Rosebud', Kane's childhood's sledge, and comment on the pressures of extreme fame and wealth. In a November 2005 interview with BBC4's 'Front Row' Bush said, "I don't think human beings are really built to withstand that kind of fame.'
The B-side of the UK single is a cover version of Marvin Gaye's 'Sexual healing', which features Irish musician Davy Spillane on uilleann pipes, originally recorded for his 1994 'A place among the stones' album. The track was left off the Spillane album as it didn't fit with the sound of the rest of the record. Before the 2005 release, Kate's version of 'Sexual Healing' had only been heard publicly once, at the 1994 Kate Bush fan club convention in the Hippodrome, London.
As for this 7" single, it was a picture disc release only, featuring a drawing by Kate's son Bertie on the A-side. The quality of the vinyl left much to be desire as you can clearly hear below. Despite all this, the single reached number 4 in the UK singles chart. It is the only single from the album 'Aerial'.
My collection: 7" single no. 3417 Found: HMV, London, received November 2005 Cost: 3 pounds Tracks: 'King of the mountain' / 'Sexual healing'
Regular readers of this blog will have seen another 12" single of the Beloved's 'Your love takes me higher' some time ago. When I bought this 12" single I'd frankly forgotten about that other one.
Fortunately, I didn't buy this disc for nothing: two different tracks appear on this disc, i.e. the 7" version and the 'Rise up higher' remix. Whether it was truly worth the price of this disc, I'll let you decide.
My collection: 12" single no. 594 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'Your love takes me higher (Deep joy)', 'Your love takes me higher (7" mix)' / 'Your love takes me higher (Simply divine)', 'Your love takes me higher (Rise up higher)'
'Sexdrive' is a 1993 single by Grace Jones, which was due to be featured on her now shelved album, 'Black Marilyn'. It was released on September 23, 1993 by Island Records, and it is a cover version of the Sheep on Drugs song 'Track X'. The song was eventually included in a French version of Island Life, called 'Island Life 2' in the form of two remixes.
This American promotional 12" single was released on see-through red vinyl. The track reached number 82 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 12" single no. 595 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 2011 Cost: 50p Tracks: 'Sex drive (Sex pitch mix)', 'Sex drive (Sexstrumental)' / 'Sex drive (Hard drive mix)'
'Red frame/White light' is the second single of the synthpop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The song is about the red telephone box that was used by the band to make calls to organise their gigs. The single reached number 67 in the UK singles chart.
The telephone box is located at the crossing of Birkenhead Road and Greenwood Road in Meols. In the nearby pub 'The Railway Inn' the band would meet. In the songs lyrics the phone number is mentioned: 6323003[3]. Fans would ring the number expecting to get one of the band members, but got a confused home owner in their own area code. Over the years it has become a bit of a sacred place for OMD fans. In 2004 OMD fan Stephen Cork started a successful campaign to get the telephone box repainted in time for a fan tour on April 10, 2005.
My collection: 7" single no. 5213 Found: Sister Ray, London, October 16, 2011 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'Red frame/White light' / 'I betray my friends'
'Ik ben verkouwe' ('I have a cold') is a Dutch parody on the famous 1990 hit 'The power' by Snap, released in the same year. The track was created by the team behind Rubberen Robbie, seven years after they stopped releasing tracks under that name.
