At the turn of the year I saw Stephanie in the audience of the annual Circus show from Montreux. She looked a bit old, much older than when she released her debut album back in 1986. That's logical, I guess. Back in 1986 the old comment 'she looks better than she sings' was very much in play. I wonder if that is still the case right now.
Anyway, I have most of the singles from that debut album, but this one is a rarity: a promotion single released in Germany, featuring both the English and French versions of the song 'Flash'.
My collection: 7" single no. 5351 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 24, 2013 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'One love to give' / 'Flash'
So when you have Ein Bisschen Frieden, A little peace, La paix sur terre, Een beetje vrede and En smule fred, there's only one more version of 'Ein Bisschen Frieden' to get hold of: 'Un poco de paz' of course. It's the Spanish version of the 1982 Eurovision winner, and I have searched for this one for years. Try it yourself: when you come across it online it's a pretty expensive item.
At the Record Fair in Utrecht, which takes place every six months, I never saw this single before either, but during the last edition I was finally lucky. If the price seems a bit high to you, you have to consider that shipping is usually part of the deal when ordering online. So I think I still got a good deal. Now I'll never have to buy a Nicole single anymore...
My collection: 7" single 5350 Found: Record fair, Utrecht Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Un poco de paz' / 'Thank you, merci, danke'
This single caught my attention because I own several singles which were written by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley. When I checked out the label, I found out that 'Love me love my dog' was another song written by the duo. Being quite interested in the Wilde dynasty, I had to buy this single of course!
Peter Shelley entered the UK music industry in 1965 working initially as a song plugger with the music publisher, Chappell & Co. He then joined EMI as personal assistant to their chief songwriter/record producer Norman Newell, his responsibilities covering various aspects of music co-ordination, production and administration. He later joined Decca Records as a talent scout, discovering for the label Amen Corner, Ten Years After and Giles, Giles and Fripp — the nucleus of a band later to be called King Crimson. He left Decca in 1968 to become an independent writer/producer, working with other writers such as Ben Findon and Marty Wilde. He had several minor European single hits during this period.
In 1973 Shelley co-founded Magnet Records with Michael Levy. Shelley's role was that of director of A&R and Levy's as president/general manager/administrator. Shelley wrote, produced and sang Magnet's first release "My Coo Ca Choo" which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and number 1 in many other countries. Magnet became one of the UK's most successful independent record labels under Shelley's creative direction. He also helped sign Guys 'n' Dolls and Chris Rea to the label. Shelley was presented with the Ivor Novello Award in 1975 for his services to the UK music industry. However, due to differences between Levy and himself, Shelley resigned from Magnet in late 1975 to pursue an independent career. He now lives in Canada and works primarily as a songwriter.
My collection: 7" single no. 5347 Found: Record fair, Den Haag, October 19, 2013 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Love me love my dog' / 'My sweet Deutsche friend'
Although Casablanca-born Frida Boccara was already a big star in France since her debut in 1960, she was introduced to an international audience with this single, 'Cent mille chansons'. A year later, she was one of four acts to win the Eurovision Song Contest when she sang 'Un jour, un enfant', but despite this, 'Cent mille chansons' remains her best known song. It makes an appearance in the Dutch Top 2000 of all times every year since 1999, with number 622 as its highest place back in 2006.
My collection: 7" single 5348 Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, October 19, 2013 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Cent mille chansons' / 'Je ne veux pas te dire adieu'
I was quite amazed to see this sleeve and not recognise it. It meant, under normal circumstances, that I didn't have this song (I have been fooled by my photographic memory many times, because some singles appeared in different sleeves). Viola Wills' 'Gonna get along without you now' is one of those late Seventies disco records that wasn't the biggest hit but still sounds so familiar because it was played a lot on the radio both in 1979 when it came out and in later years.
The song is actually a disco cover version of a song written by Milton Kellern in 1951. The original version was recorded by Teresa Brewer and released in early 1952. It was recorded as a big band 'swing' track. The track was subsequently covered by countless others, including Chet Atkins, Trini Lopez, Bad Manners and UB40.
My collection: 7" single no. 5349 Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, October 19, 2013 Cost: 0,25 euro Tracks: 'Gonna get along without you now' / 'Your love'
I don't buy a lot of 7" singles these days, but every now and again I find something online that I've been looking for. This single first came to my attention last year. It was another cover version of Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America' - and there are loads of cover versions of that song! - but this particular one has never surfaced online as an mp3 or anything. The single was for sale but upon ordering the seller found out he couldn't find the single he was offering. At the time, he was the only one.
Earlier this month, I looked again and there were actually three sellers for this single! I picked one, ordered it, and two weeks later it was in my mailbox. It turns out Radio Wendy was signed to an independent record company in San Diego, California. Not much more information than that, even the year of release can't be traced. It is a nice cover version, but nothing too spectacular I'm afraid. It's been done before.
My collection: 7" single no. 5346 Found: Discogs.com, received August 27, 2013 Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Kids in America' / 'Growing old'
I would describe my latest vinyl acquisition as a shocker. I never knew that 'Moments of pleasure' by Kate Bush, released in 1993 as the second single off her album 'The red shoes' was released on a 7" single. But it was, albeit only on this jukebox version and never commercially.
Having always thought that only 'Rubberband girl' got a 7" version (and there's a jukebox version of that one too) this is quite a revelation for me. I'm lucky to have found a copy on eBay and win the auction too at such a low price. You'd think that hordes of Kate Bush fans are after this great single, but apparently not...
My collection: 7" single no. 5345 Found: eBay.co.uk, received July 9, 2013 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: 'Moments of pleasure' / 'Moments of pleasure (instrumental)'
