Ragtime piano Joe - Peter Straker

One of the many tracks on the The best of the Top 40 of the year double album, which basically started my obsession with collecting music, was Peter Straker's 'Ragtime piano Joe'. Through the years I have bought almost all the tracks on single, but for some reason I never did buy this one. Even now I thought I already had it, strangely enough.

Peter Straker was born on November 7, 1943. The Jamaican singer and actor became best known for his appearances in the London production of the musical 'Hair', and in the 1979 series of Doctor Who. 'Ragtime piano Joe' was produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Peter's close friend Freddie Mercury. The single reached number 11 in the Dutch Top 40 but, weirdly enough, did not chart in the UK. The B-side of this single is also worth listening to, for its moving sentimentality.

My collection: 7" single no. 5951
Found: Velvet Vinyl outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Ragtime piano Joe' / 'The saddest clown'

The sun always shines on TV - Diva

In 1994, the Norwegian duo Diva released a cover version of A-ha's 'The sun always shines on TV'. Helene Sommer and Elene Nyborg did manage to attract some attention with their version of the song, although it didn't become a hit - except in Norway where it reached number 2 and in the UK where it got to number 53.

This double 12" single - housed in a rather anonymous black sleeve - was given to me by regular blog reader Puck some time ago, but I never got around to recording all the versions included in this package. I'm sure you'll agree that none of them can't hold a candle to A-ha's original version of the song.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Cost: free
Tracks: 'The sun always shines on TV (Crucial club mix)', 'The sun always shines on TV (original version)' / 'The sun always shines on TV (Crucial hard dub mix)', 'The sun always shines on TV (Crucial club edit)' // 'The sun always shines on TV (Perfecto mix)', 'The sun always shines on TV (Sunshine mix)' / 'The sun always shines on TV (Sexy disco dub)', 'The sun always shines on TV (Volcano club edit)'

Liverpool hello - Capricorn

The band Capricorn consisted of Sue Avory (lead vocals), Unwin Brown (drums), Colin Travers (guitar) and Steve Pryor (bass). They were much more popular in Japan than they were in the UK. Their first single was 'Hello Liverpool', a song written by Marty Wilde and Ronnie Scott. It features the song 'How did you find me', written by the same duo, on the B-side. In the UK, the single appeared in a record company sleeve, but the Japanese version was much prettier, featuring a picture sleeve. I was lucky enough to find a copy for a reasonable price some time ago.

The single was released in 1970 and reached number 1 in the Japanese singles chart. Two years later the band won the World Popular Song Festival in Japan, representing the UK with the song 'Feeling'. A couple of years later the band split up.

My collection: 7" single no. 5688
Found: Discogs.com, received August 2015
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'Liverpool hello' / 'How did you find me'

Ode to Billy Joe - Torch Song

I mentioned Torch Song once before on this blog, back in November 2008, describing my 12" single of  'Don't look now'. Since then I have found out that a 7" single does exist, because I recently ordered one. But then I went to Velvet Vinyl Outlet yesterday and suddenly found this single: 'Ode to Billy Joe'.

The song was taken from the band's debut album 'Wish thing' as well, and while it isn't the best track off that album, the B-side of this single contains a rather pleasant surprise. 'The Zebra Room' - a non-album track' - can be considered a sort of 'dub mix' of 'Don't look now'. And since that is one of my favourite tracks of the Eighties, this single turned out to be one of my best buys of the day.

My collection: 7" single no. 5848
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Ode to Billy Joe' / 'The Zebra Room'

20 fantastic bands - Dazzling All Night Rock Show

Try as you might, you can't find any information anywhere about a band called 'Dazzling All Night Rock Show'. There is every likelihood that it was simply used as a nom de plume by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley who released '20 fantastic bands' as a single on November 23, 1973.

Glamrock was the name of the game, you can easily hear the influences on this song. It isn't that hard to imagine that bands like The Sweet would record a similar kind of song. But they didn't, and this version didn't become a hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 5798
Found: Discogs.com, received March 2017
Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: '20 fantastic bands' / '20 fantastic bands (continued)'

Raindrops - Joey Dell

In 1975, Joey Dell appeared on the pop scene with a single that was produced by Frere Manston - a pseudonym of Marty Wilde. Dell had previously smelled at the music scene in 1962 with a single called 'Let's find out tonight'. This single was a comeback of sorts, although it didn't become a hit.

'Raindrops', the A-side, was written by Manston and Simmons, and takes cues from Buddy Holly in the vocals department. It's a charming little song of a lover who despairs at the disappearance of his partner. The B-side, 'A boy that's growing up' is written by Joey Dell himself, but also produced by Marty Wilde.

My collection: 7" single no. 5788
Found: Discogs.com, received January 24, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Raindrops' / 'A boy that's growing up'

Listen to the man with the golden voice - Time Bandits

During my last visit to Velvet Vinyl Outlet in Leiden I saw a row of 12" singles by the Time Bandits, a Dutch band that was pretty popular in the Eighties. I have some singles by this band, too. I didn't buy them at the time, because my budget wasn't big enough, although they definitely were interesting: none of these 12" remixes have ever been released on cd. (Some actually have been, but that was only a handful.)

After a recent donation I was very tempted to go back and get them - and so I did. Today's visit to the shop was successful within the first few minutes, because I had a stack of 'em before I even moved to the 7" singles department. You can expect a few Time Bandits remixes on this blog in the near future. The first of them is 'Listen to the man with the golden voice', a top 10 hit for the band in 1983.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Listen to the man with the golden voice (extended remixed version)' / 'Words'