Cambodia - Kim Wilde

Hard to believe, but it's 30 years ago today that Kim Wilde's fourth single 'Cambodia' was released. At the time, I was only 11 years old and although I liked the music, I was a few years away from becoming a Kim Wilde 'fan'. There was a lot of good music around at the time, but this song stood out because of the strange lyrics and the music that was so different from the two previous hits by Kim, 'Kids in America' and 'Chequered love' ('Water on glass' never got a full release in the Netherlands).

30 years later, 'Cambodia' has become a classic pop song. The song is still played regularly on the radio and it's one out of two songs by Kim that are always recalled by people from my generation - even those who don't listen to much pop at all. I have several copies of this single although I didn't buy the first one - a German pressing - until 1984, when I had found all the other Kim Wilde singles in the previous year. Back in 1981, I didn't buy new singles as they were too expensive....

My collection: 7" single no. 255
Found: Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Cambodia' / 'Watching for shapes'

You to me are everything (The decade remix) - The Real Thing

The Real Thing originally released 'You to me are everything' in 1976. It reached the top of the charts in the UK in July of that year.

In the Eighties, remixes of old hits were all the rage, and so this old number 1 was up for a remix treatment a decade after its original remix. The label mentions that the remix was created by Froggy, Simon Harris & KC, which makes you wonder how three people couldn't come up with anything more original. Still, even this version reached number 5 in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 5219
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, October 27, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'You to me are everything (The decade remix)' / 'Foot tappin''

Goodbye stranger - Pepsi & Shirlie

Helen "Pepsi" DeMacque (Born 10 December 1958, Paddington, London) and Shirlie Holliman (born 18 April 1962, Watford, Hertfordshire) made a name for themselves as backing vocalists for Wham! In 1986, when Wham! was about to split up, they started recording singles in their own right.

They released their debut single "Heartache", which was produced by Phil Fearon and Tambi Fernando and reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up single, "Goodbye Stranger", produced by Fernando and Pete Hammond, reached number 9. Subsequent singles and their debut album 'All right now', released later in the year, flopped.

My collection: 7" single no. 5218
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, October 27, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Goodbye stranger' / 'Dreaming'

Bad habits - Jenny Burton

Jenny Burton was born on November 18, 1957 in New York. She was lead singer of the dance music band C-Bank. In 1983 Burton went solo, releasing the album 'In black and white'.

She had her biggest success a year later with the release of her second self-titled album, featuring the hit single 'Bad habits'. This single reached number 68 in the UK Singles chart in March 1985.

My collection: 7" single no. 5217
Found: Kringloop, October 27, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Bad habits' / 'Let's get back to love'

Alone without you - King

I wonder if anyone knew what success King would have with their debut album 'Steps in time'. 'Love and pride' became a massive hit in 1984, and subsequent singles also reached the top 40 in the UK. 'Alone without you' was to be their last top 10 hit, a second album followed, and then it was all over for the boys.

'Alone without you' was released on this attractive 12" single with not one, but three remixes of tracks from the album 'Steps in time'. The aforementioned 'Love and pride' appears here in a 'USA Summer mix'.

My collection: 12" single no. 422
Found: Record Exchange, London, 1999
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Alone without you (Scorcher mix)' / 'Love & pride (USA Summer mix)', 'I kissed the spikey fridge (Rock hard mix)'

From a river to a sea - Private Lives

I'm still hoping for a cd release of Private Lives' only album 'Prejudice & Pride'. It has never been issued on cd and not only is it a great album, there are also such great remixes of the singles available.

Take for instance their third single, 'From a river to a sea': not only an extended version and a dub mix of the title track, but also a version of 'Because you're young', an earlier single of the duo. Let's hope Cherry Pop will pick up the hint and start asking for a license for these tracks.

My collection: 12" single no. 597
Found: Discogs.com, received 2010
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'From a river to a sea (version)' / 'Because you're young (version)', 'From a river to a sea (7" mix)', 'From a river to a sea (dub)'

Midnight man - Sandra

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'