When the wind blows - David Bowie

David Bowie recorded 'When the wind blows' for the animation movie of the same name. It was always one of my favourite Bowie tracks, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found this 12" single featuring an extended version of it.

Fortunately this extended version is well executed. The intro is intriguing and the many extra instrumental passages make sure that this extended version is indeed extended. It was a great find at the time, even if the vinyl quality left a bit to be desired.

My collection: 12" single no. 398
Found: Esprit Mailorder, 2000
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'When the wind blows (extended mix)' / 'When the wind blows (instrumental)'

Alright - Janet Jackson

Yesterday Jamaican-born American rapper Heavy D died. Apparently he collapsed outside his Beverly Hills home. After being taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, he died as a result from respiratory issues.

Heavy D did a performance both on Michael Jackson's hit single 'Jam' in 1991 and on Janet Jackson's 1990 hit single 'Alright'. Personally I felt that it was a bit of needless talking through otherwise pretty nice pop music, but there you go. This promotional 12" single features no less than eight remixes of 'Alright' - with Heavy D appearing on most of them - plus three versions of 'Come back to me'.

My collection: 12" single no. 604
Found: Discogs.com, received November 1, 2011
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Alright (12" house mix)', 'Alright (Hip house dub)', 'Alright (acappella)' / 'Alright (12" R&B mix)', 'Alright (House dub)' // 'Alright (7" house mix with rap)', 'Alright (7" house mix)', 'Alright (7" R&B mix)' / 'Come back to me (I'm beggin' you mix)', 'Come back to me (Abandoned heart mix)', 'Come back to me (instrumental)'

Just can't get enough - Depeche Mode

'Just can't get enough' was Depeche Mode's third single release, back in September 1981. It was the final single to be written by founder member Vince Clarke, who would leave the band in December 1981. The song was included on the band's first album, 'Speak and spell', which was released a month after the single.

The single reached number 8 on the UK singles chart. It also became the band's first (and biggest) hit in Australia, reaching number 4.

My collection: 7" single no. 5220
Found: Discogs.com, received November 1, 2011
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Just can't get enough' / 'Any second now'

Prayer for the dying - Seal

The later single 'Kiss from a rose', also from Seal's second album, became a hit after inclusion on the soundtrack of a Batman movie, but this first single, 'Prayer for the dying', went by almost unnoticed.

I was so impressed with the song that I was a bit suspicious of this 12" single featuring remixes of the track. By the early Nineties remixes were rarely an improvement on the original track. But I have to admit that these remixes are pretty good. Daniel Abraham is hardly a well-known remixer, but he really did a good job on this disc.

My collection: 12" single no. 214
Found: Big Company records, London, October 1994
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Prayer for the dying (Divine Spirit Radio edit)' / 'Prayer for the dying (Divine Spirit mix)', 'Prayer for the dying (Divine Spirit instrumental)'

Do it again, a little bit slower - Ricky Wilde

Today Ricky Wilde celebrates his 50th birthday. A good occasion to present one of the singles from his teen years, when he recorded tracks with his father Marty Wilde, under the guidance of record boss Jonathan King.

'Do it again, a little bit slower' was originally recorded in 1967 by Jon & Robin. Several other versions of the song exist, but Ricky recorded his version in 1973. This sleeve comes from the Swedish version of the single; Sweden being the only country where Ricky's singles actually charted despite releases all over Europe. I spotted this copy two weeks ago just in time for this birthday; and I was happy since this is the last Ricky Wilde single I didn't have!

My collection: 7" single no. 5221
Found: Discogs.com, received November 1, 2011
Cost: 12 euro
Tracks: 'Do it again, a little bit slower' / 'Love around'

Come back to me - Janet Jackson

When I ordered a copy of this 22 year old 12" single by Janet Jackson, I never in my wildest dreams suspected I would receive a mint copy, still sealed. That's quite rare. It's a consolation for the fact that I searched for the cd-single of this release for years but until now I haven't been able to locate a copy for a reasonable price.

'Come back to me' was released as a single from Janet's 1989 album 'Rhythm nation 1814' and it's one of the most beautiful melodies she has recorded. It's especially nice to hear the instrumental version on this disc. Unfortunately the previously unreleased track 'The skin game part 1' is a bit of a disappointment.

My collection: 12" single no. 598
Found: Discogs.com, received November 1, 2011
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Come back to me (7" I'm beggin' you mix)', 'Come back to me (I'm beggin' you mix)', 'Come back to me (instrumental)' / 'The skin game part 1', 'The skin game part 1 (instrumental)'

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'