Right on - Zappo

You will recognise the track 'Right on', the A-side of this single, as the B-side of Yellow Bird's 'Attack Attack'. No, it's not a cover version: it's the exact same recording. So who is this Zappo person? Well, it's a nickname of Marty Wilde. On different pressings of this single he appears on the sleeve in a strange superhero suit - but since those singles are quite expensive I opted for this French pressing instead.

Most editions have 'Rock and roll crazy' (which is the B-side on this single) as the A-side. Like 'Right on', that song is written by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley.

My collection: 7" single no. 5792
Found: Ebay, received February 10, 2017
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Right on' / 'Rock and roll crazy'

Attack attack - Yellow Bird

The band Yellow Bird only ever released one single. 'Attack Attack' was written and produced by Peter Shelley and Marty Wilde. The couple worked together intensively as songwriters and producers during the Seventies, while Marty was no longer successful as a pop star in his own right. In 1974, when this single was released, he was also trying to launch his son Ricky's career, but it would be Kim, his daughter, who would find success in the next decade.

Yellow Bird was a five man band, as you can see on the sleeve on this single, but I don't know who they are. The B-side is an instrumental track that you will also find on another single, soon on this blog...

My collection: 7" single no. 5790
Found: Ebay, February 10, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Attack attack' / 'Right on'

Your love takes me higher - Beloved

There are several 12" singles of the Beloved's 'Your love takes me higher' and this one must be one of the more interesting ones. It features two lengthy remixes of the track. Of these two, the 'Chillum Willum' version contains the most elements of the original songs, while the 'Calyx of Isis' version is an improvisation on a continuous beat, clocking in at almost 11 minutes.

I bought this 12" single online and it was filthy. I cleaned up the disc and it sounded a lot better - although the B-side is still a bit damaged at the end, unfortunately.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received October 2016.
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Your love takes me higher (Chillum Willum)' / 'Your love takes me higher (Calyx of Isis)'

Life - Matia Bazar

My favourite track by the Italian band Matia Bazar is 'Noi', which I have on 7" single and 12" single. I didn't know that they recorded this song in English, however. I found out because I spotted this 12" single in a shop, and because it was pressed on clear orange vinyl I suddenly had two good reasons to buy this disc.

As far as I can tell, there is no 7" single of 'Life', which seems strange. Anyway, this 12" single is a good package, because it also contains the extended and instrumental versions of 'Noi'. Three good tracks, then, on coloured vinyl. It doesn't get much better than this.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 16, 2015
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Life [extended]' / 'Noi [extended]', 'Noi (instrumental)'

Runaway / When I think of you - Janet Jackson

It's not the first time that I described Janet Jackson's 'Runaway' on this blog. I already have the 7" single, a promotional double 12" package and a double 12" single of 'Runaway' and 'When I think of you' remixes.

But still the double 12" package I found while shopping online a few months ago contained other remixes of 'Runaway' and 'When I think of you'. Do we really need that many versions of two songs? I'm not sure. I do quite like some of these remixes. At the same time I wonder why they were never released on cd....

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 August 2017
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'Runaway (Junior's Factory mix)', 'Runaway (Junior's Tribal dub mix)' / 'Runaway (Steve's "Silk" House mix)', 'Runaway (Torin's radio edit)' // 'Runaway (Junior's Factory dub)', 'Runaway (Junior's Factory Mix w/ vocal sample)' / 'When I think of you (Deep Dish Chocolate City mix)', 'When I think of you (Deep Dish Quite Storm dub)'

I´m only shooting love - Time Bandits

The American remix of the Time Bandits song 'I'm only shooting love' by Steve Thompson has become rather famous, and rightfully so, because it's a great remix.

However, when the single was originally released, the 12" single featured a rather different remix. It was an extended version of the single, much like many extended versions in the Eighties: a bit longer but not essentially different from the album version. And that's the kind of remix I like best. It's quite a shame they're not made like this anymore.



My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'I'm only shooting love [extended]' / 'Only lovers will survive'

Ease the pressure - Beloved

The Beloved's third album 'X' was not a commercial success. Perhaps the audience was no longer interested in their brand of emotionally charged lyrics on pumping beats. I must admit that I had a hard time liking the album myself - it was only a few years ago when I made another attempt to like the package. But when I did, I really did.

Obviously I became interested in the remixes as well. And there were remixes aplenty. 'Ease the pressure', for instance, comes in a double 12" single package with no less than six remixes. It takes a bit of stamina to actually like them all, but there's something for everyone in this stack of tracks.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, August 2016
Cost: 2,5 pounds
Tracks: 'Ease the pressure (Club Vocal mix)' / 'Ease the pressure (Suction mix)', 'Ease the pressure (Motion sickness mix)' // 'Ease the pressure (Surge mix)', 'Ease the pressure (Backroom vocal mix)' / 'Ease the pressure (Switchback mix)'