Rockin' around the Christmas tree - Mel & Kim

Mel Smith and Kim Wilde were asked to record a song for Comic Relief, to be released just in time for Christmas 1987. At the time, Mel and Kim Appleby were storming the charts as Mel & Kim, so this 'Mel & Kim' release was quite an original invention.

The 12" single features extra comedy dialogues by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones, who were wellknown for their comedy TV series 'Alas Smith & Jones'. Kim Wilde still sings 'Rockin' around the Christmas tree' live whenever an appropriate occasion comes up, such as this month's Quofestive tour together with Roy Wood and Status Quo.

My collection: 12" single no. 61
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'Rockin' around the Christmas tree (The Mega Merry Magimix)' / 'Deck the blooming halls' (The Mel Smith Yuletide Choir)

Experiment IV - Kate Bush

Kate Bush released 'Experiment IV' in October 1986 as a single from the compilation album 'The whole story'. The song tells a story about a secret military plan to create a sound that is horrific enough to kill people. The ending of the story is unclear, but in the music video nearly every person working on the project is killed by the horrific sound, which is personified by Bush herself as she changed from an angelic woman into a banshee (a horrifying screaming apparition of Irish lore).

The 12" single features an extended mix which highlights the violin solos by Nigel Kennedy even more than in the single version. An extra bonus is the track 'December will be magic again' on the B-side, which gives this disc some relevance for Christmas.

My collection: 12" single no. 37
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'Experiment IV (12" mix)' / 'Wuthering heights (new vocal)', 'December will be magic again'

Cheers then - Bananarama

'Cheers then' appears on Bananarama's 1983 debut album 'Deep sea skiving' and was released as its third single. The song was the first Bananarama single to be written by group members Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward and also their first ballad release.

The 12" single remix has a decidedly seasonal flavour to it, with added jingle bells. The song was originally recorded in January 1982, but the single was released in December of that year.

My collection: 12" single no. 611
Found: Plaatboef, Den Haag, December 5, 2011
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Cheers then (extended version)' / 'Girl about town (extended version)'

Merry Christmas darling - The Carpenters

The voice of Karen Carpenter is almost universally lauded as one of the loveliest ever recorded. No wonder, then, that the Carpenters tried their hand at a Christmas recording. 'Merry Christmas darling' was originally recorded in 1970. The single reached number 45 in the UK singles chart.

In 1978, The Carpenters issued their 'Christmas Portrait' album, which contained a new remix of 'Merry Christmas Darling'. The original 1970 mix continued to be used for all single releases, however. The major difference between it and the 1978 version is a newly recorded vocal by Karen Carpenter on the latter. Richard Carpenter himself calls the original recording one of his sister's very best.

My collection: 7" single no. 5008
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Merry Christmas darling' / 'Ticket to ride', 'Saturday'

Christmas through your eyes - Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan was very popular in the second half of the Eighties, but it seemed she lost her touch in the Nineties somehow. She remained popular for her solid fanbase, of course, but the rest of the world didn't seem to care as much anymore.

Maybe her music became too predictable. Even 'Christmas through your eyes', released in 1992 in time for the Christmas season, never became a seasonal classic, which for most artists is very easy once they have become a household name. The song is nice enough, but the Megamix on the B-side is a nice treat, too.

My collection: 7" single no. 4996
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, January 15, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Christmas through your eyes' / 'Megamix'

Saturday night - The Blue Nile

I bought this 12" single of 'Saturday night' a few years after its release. When I spotted it, I wasn't entirely sure whether a cd-single of this release also existed - and so I snapped it up. Of course, a few years later I would find the cd-single with exactly the same track listing. Still, it is nice to showcase this disc here - and on a Saturday too.

On the B-side an instrumental piece called 'Our lives' appears, divided in three parts, entited 'Lost', 'Bolivia' and 'New York'.

My collection: 12" single no. 209
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 1994
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Saturday night (edit)', 'Saturday night (album version)' / 'Our lives'

The big sky - Kate Bush

The last release from Kate Bush's milestone album 'Hounds of love' was 'The big sky'. The track was remixed for the single release and the 12" single featured an extended remix of the track plus a previously unreleased B-side called 'Not this time', a euphoric singalong track that remains quite rare in Kate's musical output.

I remember having a hard time deciding to buy this disc. Of course I was very much into Kate Bush but the constant flow of singles meant a drain on my pocket money. In the end, I bought this disc a few months after its release - just before it became unavailable in fact.

My collection: 12" single no. 31
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'The big sky (Metereological mix)' / 'Not this time', 'The morning fog'