By the time German singer Sandra released 'Midnight man', her success had become limited to Central Europe only. She was still making melodious pop songs, but they sounded too much like her early hits, 'Maria Magdalena' and 'In the heat of the night'.
The 12" singles also offered much of the same: extended versions that were simply, well, extended. I have to say that I quite like these mixes, but I guess it wasn't everyone's cup of tea.
My collection: 12" single no. 202 Found: Marik, Vienna, July 1994 Cost: 99 Schilling Tracks: 'Midnight man (extended)' / 'Mirror of love'
When you read articles in the 'serious' music press, there's always a kind of disdain for David Bowie's work in the Eighties. Commercially successful, yes, but artistically doubtful. I happen to disagree: during the Eighties he made some of his most beautiful work, especially the songs created for movie soundtracks such as 'Absolute beginners' and 'When the wind blows', but also this track, 'Loving the alien' from his 1985 album 'Tonight'.
The 12" single was released in a gatefold sleeve that covered in images from the video. A limited edition also included a fold-out poster. The extended dance mix on this disc is actually identical to the album version, but with an added drum break.
My collection: 12" single no. 371 Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 2000 Cost: 3 guilders Tracks: 'Loving the alien (extended dance mix)' / 'Don't look down (extended dance mix)', 'Loving the alien (extended dub mix)'
I first heard of this single in the mid-Eighties, when a picture of it appeared in a magazine. The writer of the piece mentioned that this single could be found in the sale bins in Japan. That's nice, I thought, but how the hell do I get my hands on it? This proved to be a problem. I had to wait for almost five years until I saw a copy. When I did, I nearly froze. I considered whether I could shell out the amount the seller wanted for it, and in the end, I did. Caution to the wind, eyes closed, and just do it. Of course, in the 20 years since then I've seen this disc for fractions of the price. I can console myself with the thought that this is still a mint copy. But I'd never pay this much for a single ever again.
'Bitter is better' was released to coincide with an ad campaign for a Bitter Lemon softdrink in Japan. The track was written by Masami Tsuchiya (from the Japanese pop group Ippu Do) and Bill Crunchfield. The single was only released in Japan, in early 1982. I'm still curious whether it was a hit there - but there's no way to find out I'm afraid. My collection: 7" single no. 1517 Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 21, 1991 Cost: 100 guilders Tracks: 'Bitter is better' / 'Boys'
Released in 1985, this remixed re-release of Belouis Some's debut single 'Target practice' came after the chart success of 'Imagination'. In an effort to try and sell more copies this time around, a live version of that hit was included on the B-side.
Unfortunately, the plan didn't work out: just like the first time around in 1984, this single did not chart in any territory.
My collection: 7" single no. 5216 Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, October 22, 2011 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Target practice' / 'Imagination (live)'
'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)'
By the time German singer Sandra released 'Midnight man', her success had become limited to Central Europe only. She was still making melodious pop songs, but they sounded too much like her early hits, 'Maria Magdalena' and 'In the heat of the night'.
