On the beach (Summer '88) - Chris Rea

I scored a hattrick last week when I bought three singles by Chris Rea. The last of the three, after Giverny and You can go your own way, was the 'Summer '88' version of 'On the beach'. It is one of my favourite songs by Chris Rea - although there are more - and this version is a bit more up-tempo than the original. It was taken from the album 'New light through old windows', a collection of re-recordings of his older songs.

The original version of 'On the beach' only reached number 57, so it must have been a surprise to find that this new version peaked at number 12 in the UK. In other territories, the single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 6083
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'On the beach (Summer '88)' / 'I'm taking the day out'

And then there were none - The Enid

The British rock band The Enid was formed in 1973 by former Barclay James Harvest member Robert John Godfrey. Despite several album and single releases, commercial success always eluded the band. In 1981, they played most of the music for Kim Wilde's debut album, which probably is their biggest claim to fame.

After this, they released the single 'And then there were none' in early 1982. It was interesting enough for me to check this out. At the time of release, the band consisted of Godfrey with Steve Stewart and Chris North - the latter would also drum with Kim Wilde on subsequent tours. 'And then there were none' is a great single, but wasn't exactly chart material at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 6087
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'And then there were none' / 'Letter from America'

Brown girl in the ring (remix '93) - Boney M

Having grown up with Boney M it's hard to withstand the German lipsynch band produced by the infamous Frank Farian. After Bobby Farrell left the band they never recovered, and even without personnel Farian tried to earn more money from the Boney M reputation. In short: there is a bit of controversy surrounding those later releases.

'Brown girl in the ring' was originally released in 1978. It was based on a traditional Jamaican children's song and ring game. The 1993 remix is uncredited but is thought to have been created by Frank Farian. It featured new lead vocals by Liz Mitchell and reached number 6 in Denmark and 38 in the UK, while failing to chart in Germany.

My collection: 7" single no. 6086
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Brown girl in the ring (radio version)' / 'Brown girl in the ring (radio rap version)'

Lost without your love - Bread

To be honest, I had forgotten that I already owned a copy of Bread's 'Lost without your love', so you might argue that I wasted some money on this one. On the other hand, the sleeve of this French edition is a lot more beautiful than the other one.

'Lost without your love' was the product of a reunion. Bread had broken up in 1974 but reconvened in 1976 to record one more album. It was to be the band's last hit. Through the years it has become a real classic and a surefire tearjerker. Perhaps that's what I like about this song. It's worth owning it twice at least.

My collection: 7" single no. 6085
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Lost without your love' / 'Change of heart'

I need a man - Eurythmics

A long time ago, when I was working at the public library, I had the opportunity to borrow cd's for free. During that time I listened to a lot of music I didn't (yet) own - and I do mean A LOT. One of the bands that I listened to was Eurythmics. In the end I wasn't that impressed with their albums, which is why I never bought them. But there were a lot of good singles, and I did buy those.

'I need a man' somehow escaped my attention and that must be because of the frankly horrible sleeve of that single in Europe. The American sleeve looks a lot nicer, as you can see here. The best track on this single actually isn't the A-side: I prefer the album track that is included on the flipside. 'Heaven' is a weird, but great track.

My collection: 7" single no. 6084
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I need a man' / 'Heaven'

You can go your own way - Chris Rea

Not the famous Fleetwood Mac song, but a Chris Rea original. This single was released in 1994 to promote one of his greatest hits albums, 'The best of Chris Rea'. I already knew the track because of a cd-single I bought eons ago, but as you know, 7" vinyl is still my preferred format.

Equally interesting is the B-side, a calm Chris Rea track called 'Ruby blue'. This is a specially recorded B-side, not on any album. Which makes this single more interesting.

My collection: 7" single no. 6082
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'You can go your own way' / 'Ruby blue'

Det' lige det - Hot Eyes

Kirsten Siggard (born 7 September 1954 in Slagelse) and Søren Bundgaard (born 4 March 1956 in Glostrup) formed Hot Eyes and represented Denmark at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest for the first time - and certainly not the last time. 'Det' lige det' ended up in fourth place, in a field of 19 competitors.

This single presents both the Danish and the English version of the song. The song is sung from the perspective of a woman waiting for her lover to come to her. She tells him that his presence brightens the day considerably and that he shouldn't be afraid of loving her, as he appears to be.

My collection: 7" single no. 6078
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Det' lige det' / 'Waiting in the rain'