Dancing in the city (Summer '92 remixes) - Marshall, Hain

'Who comes up with these things?' is a question I ask myself sometimes when I hear remixes of great old songs. Take for instance this 'Summer 92' take on Marshall & Hain's 'Dancing in the city'. Steve Proctor may have had a good time creating this (as evidenced on the title of the B-side: it's certainly self-indulgent but not a pleasure to listen to!) but the song suffers.

I must say that I am a fan of the British duo but these remixes don't really do them justice. One has to wonder what would have happened if they'd stayed together longer. Their music would certainly have been a joy to listen to with more eighties influences. As it stands, Kit Hain now lives in the USA and has become an author of novels, whereas Julian Marshall is a songwriter, composer, teacher, lecturer, mentor and musician.

My collection: 7" single no. 6288
Found: Discogs.com, received May 27, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Dancing in the city (Summer '92 remix)' / 'Dancing in the city (Steve's self-indulgent trumpet mix)'

Im Wartesaal zum grossen Gluck - Walter Andreas Schwarz

German singer Walter Andreas Schwarz was born on June 2, 1913. In 1956, he was one of two performers representing Germany during the first ever Eurovision Song Contest. His placing is not known, but it is rumoured that he finished second. The song was released as a single but commercially, it was not very successful. Other notable records were not released.

Schwarz went on to become a successful author of novels and especially radio dramas. One of his last contributions was an adaption of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' in 1990 and 1991. In 1985, he appeared – along with many other former German representatives – in the interval act of the German national final, which was a medley of all German entries until that year. For many years, he lived in London before he moved back to Germany. He died on April 1, 1992 in Heidelberg.

When you listen to this song, you can hear how different music for Eurovision Song Contests was at the time. It is one of the many attractions of getting a collection of Eurovision singles together.

My collection: 7" single no. 6287
Found: Discogs.com, received May 26, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Im Wartesaal zum grossen Gluck' / 'Fur 300 Francs'

Love is a lonely harbour - Fra Lippo Lippi

Although most people will remember 'Shouldn't have to be like that' as Fra Lippo Lippi's only achievement, they actually released several albums and singles. Their album 'Songs' (from which 'Shouldn't have to be like that' was taken) remains their best in my opinion, but 1989's 'The colour album' is a recent discovery and can almost compete with it.

This single, 'Love is a lonely harbour' is one of the best tracks on that album. With inspiring lyrics and beautiful music it grabbed me from the first listen. It begs for an extended version, but unfortunately, that doesn't exist.

My collection: 7" single no. 6286
Found: Discogs.com, received May 23, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Love is a lonely harbour' / 'Shouldn't have to be like that (live)'

Everyday I write the book - Elvis Costello and the Attractions

I recently re-discovered Elvis Costello's 'Everyday I write the book', a song that was regularly on TV back in 1983 and 1984, when MTV didn't yet exist in Europe and we still had the great Sky Channel and Music Box to provide us with daily doses of music videos. I was always waiting for my favourites to show up, so this video kindof got in the way of that.

I don't know, exactly, how this song suddenly crawled its way up from the dark corners of my memory, but I am glad it did. It's one of Elvis' finest pop songs. His career has taken many turns since then but the early pop stuff never loses its charm.

My collection: 7" single no. 6285
Found: Discogs.com, received May 23, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Everyday I write the book' / 'Heathen town'

Främling - Carola Haggkvist

Although I realise that I already had the A-side track of this single on the B-side of 'Je ogen hebben geen geheimen' by Carola, I couldn't resist buying the original Swedish release of her 1983 Eurovision Song Contest entry. With a different sleeve and the original Swedish version of 'Life' (on the B-side of 'Love isn't love') the set is now complete. Well, almost, because there is also the multi-language 12" version, which I am still looking for.

The song was a good success in various countries, thanks to the English (and Dutch!) version, but the original Swedish version remains the most charming one. Of course, Carola went on to win Eurovision by the end of the decade - but with a much less charming song.

My collection: 7" single no. 6284
Found: Discogs.com, received May 23, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Främling' / 'Liv'

Lost in your love - John Paul Young

John Paul Young will forever be remembered for that other single, 'Love is in the air', but that isn't the only single he ever released. In fact, between 1975 and 1983 he released ten studio albums and a multitude of singles.

'Lost in your love' was taken from the same album as 'Love is in the air', which explains why it sounds so similar. The single became a minor hit in the USA, Austria and the Netherlands only. The real pull of this particular single is that it is pressed on gold vinyl. Well.... gold in this case means a sort of oily brown, but it's still coloured vinyl.

My collection: 7" single 6283
Found: Discogs.com, received May 14, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Lost in your love' / 'Standing in the rain'

Summer kisses winter tears - Julee Cruise

Julee Cruise became a big star for a moment when she rode the wave of the phenomenon that was 'Twin Peaks' in the early 1990's. Her music was produced by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, giving the single 'Falling' the same mysterious atmosphere as the legendary TV series. When the series ended, Cruise had already been forgotten by most people.

But she still released one more interesting single: 'Summer kisses winter tears' was recorded for the motion picture 'Until the end of the world' and still produced by Lynch and Badalamenti. It's a short but engaging track, which I've had on CD for decades now. I was glad to find this 7" vinyl version.

My collection: 7" single no. 6282
Found: Discogs.com, received May 14, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Summer kisses winter tears' / 'Falling'