Reach out - Time Bandits

When a 12" single announces that a special re-mix is provided by Ben Liebrand, you know you're in for a treat. During the Eighties, Ben Liebrand made a name for himself by making remixes of chart hits on a weekly basis for a Dutch radio programme. Also, at the end of the year he would make a 60 minute remix containing much of the best and biggest hits of the year.

'Reach out' was released by the Time Bandits in 1984, when they had their biggest success with previous singles 'Listen to the man with the golden voice' and 'I'm only shooting love'. 'Reach out' doesn't quite have the same impact but this remix does make the song that much more attractive.


My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Reach out (special re-mix by Ben Liebrand)' / 'Ushi girl'

More than the sun - Black

Despite keeping rather up to date on what happened in the UK in the Eighties, partially thanks to a local radio station I listened to on a daily basis and the satellite TV channel Music Box, I didn't know about this single when it came out. I had seen and heard its predecessor 'Hey presto' numerous times so I knew about the band Black already, but I would only find out about Black again in 1987, when 'Sweetest smile' hit the TV screen.

The tracks on this 12" single came to me via a compilation album released by WEA in 1987 after 'Wonderful life' was such a success. After buying that album, the hunt for this 12" single was on, but it would take me some years to get hold of it. Best track on this one? Without a doubt, 'Butterfly man'. A mysterious piece of music that wouldn't be out of place in the current (third) season of Twin Peaks.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'More than the sun', 'Butterfly man' / 'I could kill you', 'Widemouth', 'Stephen'

Duel - Propaganda

It took Propaganda a year to release a follow-up to Dr Mabuse. Or rather, their record company because after the phenomenal success of Frankie goes to Hollywood they seemed a little fazed.But when 'Duel' was finally released, it was a big success, especially in the Netherlands where the single peaked at number 5. In the UK, the single only reached number 21.

The 12" single featured extended versions of both the A- and B-side. 'Jewel', on the B-side, was simply a different, more industrial-sounding version of 'Duel'. As always, the record company ZTT made the sleeve of the 12" single look very different from the 7" version, creating a very interesting item for fans and collectors.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: unknown
Cost: 7,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Duel (Bittersweet)' / 'Jewel (Cut rough)'

Elizabeth's eyes - Nik Kershaw

Released in 1989, Nik Kershaw's fourth album 'The Works' wasn't the commercial success it might (or should) have been. Only two singles were taken from the album, of which 'Elizabeth's eyes' was the second. This 12" single features an extended version of the track as well as a dub version.

According to Nik: "The single is a song written from the point of view a guy called Willie Darden, who was America's longest serving death row prisoner. He was on death row for fifteen years and during the last twelve years of his life he corresponded with a lady in Essex called Elisabeth Allen who's a school teacher. The two never met and they sort of developed a relationship over the years, which is very strange 'cause they never actually existed, a lot of it existed in the mind of Darden. I was trying to imagine how he felt - I've read some of the letters which are absolutely unbelievable - they're poetry, they're love letters, they're incredible things." The song's final line of the third verse reads "Tuesday at seven I will find my heaven, and I'll see you there", which is accurate to the time and death of Darden in reality, on Tuesday, 15 March 1988 at 7am.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Elisabeth's eyes (extended version)' / 'My friend John', 'Elisabeth's eyes (club dub)'

Sweet release - Trouser Enthusiasts

Through the years you will have seen a few remixes by Trouser Enthusiasts on this blog, but so far I didn't write about their only single, 'Sweet release'. Released in 1999 as a limited edition, it has been hard to find a copy at a reasonable price but I finally succeeded last year, in combination with a couple of other 12" singles ordered online.

Ian Masterson and David Green formed Trouser Enthusiasts in the mid-1990's. They were best known as producers of pop and dance remixes, having worked for, most prominently, Pet Shop Boys, Dannii Minogue, and Saint Etienne. 'Sweet release' was their only original single, which didn't trouble the singles charts.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 2016
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Sweet release (Trouser Enthusiasts' Full On Mix)' / 'Sweet release (Olmec Heads remix)', 'Sweet release ('Trouser Enthusiasts Second Coming)'

Hon går rakt fram - Leyla

'Hon går rakt fram', backed with 'En enda rad' are actually Swedish-language covers of Kim Wilde's 'Love blonde' and Yazoo's 'Nobody's diary' respectively. They were originally released on an album by the band Cotton Club in 1984. The album featured more cover versions, such as Thompson Twins' 'Hold me now' and Eurythmics' 'Sweet dreams' - all in Swedish.

For some reason, when this single was released, the band name was dropped and the single was credited to Leyla, which is Leyla Yilbar-Norgren, who was the lead singer on these two tracks. She released two more singles but then faded into anonymity.

My collection: 7" single no. 5770
Found: Discogs.com, received July 27, 2016
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Hon går rakt fram' / 'En enda rad'

Wonderful life - Black

I can't claim to have had a deep personal relationship with Colin Vearncombe, the man behind Black, but still his death in January 2016 hit me harder than any other musician's death ever did. And speaking of death: his 'Wonderful life' will probably end up being played when my funeral comes up. And you never know when that is.

'Wonderful life' was originally released in 1986 on the Ugly Man label. It was on the strength of this release and its indie chart success that Black ended up being signed on A&M Records. This song was their third single release on A&M and that version ended up being a worldwide hit. When you listen to the version of this 12" single, from 1986, you can hear subtle differences. The B-side contains the track 'Birthday night' which was never re-recorded, and an early version of 'Everything's coming up roses', which ended up being re-recorded and released as Black's first single for A&M. I was not even that keen on buying the 12" single when I did some 25 years ago - after all, I already had the double 7" single version - but now I'm very glad to own it.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: early 1990's
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Wonderful life' / 'Birthday night', 'Everything's coming up roses'