Physical love - Beloved

The oft-neglected third album by the Beloved 'X' (1996) was not a commercial success, but there were many releases from the album - although most of them were so-called 'white label 12 inches', records pressed mainly for distribution among DJ's and clubs.

One of them was this release, 'Physical love' c/w 'Three steps to heaven'. Both tracks were remixed to almost 10 minute versions, well suited for nighttime club life. Whether these mixes are actually any good.... You be the judge. I do like them in a sort of strange way.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 2016
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Physical love' / 'Three steps to heaven'

No! Dance with me - Marty Wilde

Released in 1963, 'No! Dance with me' was one of the first singles released by Marty Wilde not to chart after his run of hit singles between 1958 and 1962. The song was written by Marty himself, as might well be the B-side, which is incorrectly credited to Gerald Goffin and Carole King. They did indeed write a song with a similar title, but it does not resemble this song here.

This single was one of five Marty Wilde singles I ordered back in May, but for your pleasure I've spread the posting of them a little bit. After all, this is not a Marty Wilde tribute website - although I am quickly completing my collection now. There's still a handful of - rather expensive - singles missing, but I'll get there eventually.

My collection: 7" single no. 5822
Found: Recordsale.de, received May 11, 2017
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'No! Dance with me' / 'Little miss Happiness'

Don't look now - Torch Song

It was becoming a bit weird: on the day I bought Ode to Billy Joe, I was quite shocked that I still didn't have a copy of the 7" of Torch Song's 'Don't look now'. Sure, I have the 12" single, but the single remained elusive. So I did what any sensible collector would do: I ordered a copy online. I immediately noticed that apparently no commercial copies were ever made: all I could find was a promotional version, with a radio edit of the song. Which is fine by me: if there is no commercial single to be had, I'll happily make do with a promotional version.

I finally received the single yesterday so here it is, in all its glory. And if you know the full length version of this track you will notice that this edit was cut quite randomly. Which might explain why it didn't become a hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 5856
Found: Discogs.com, received July 31, 2017
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Don't look now (radio edit)' / 'P2E (remix) (radio edit)'

Hollywood seven - Alides Hidding

Alides Hidding was born in Schoonoord, the Netherlands on January 30, 1954. He founded the Dutch band the Time Bandits that enjoyed international success. But before that, he released a solo single which even in the Netherlands is not so well known. This is surprising, because it was a hit.

'Hollywood seven' was released in June 1980 and reached number 25 in the Dutch top 40. It was a very American sounding song. I remember being very surprised when I found out this was actually a Dutchman.

My collection: 7" single no. 1820

Found: Record palace, Amsterdam, January 13, 1993

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: Hollywood seven / All alone

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)'