(We don't need this) Fascist groove thang (Rapino Brothers remixes) - Heaven 17

I tend to think that the Nineties were the turning point for pop music. All the creativity of the Eighties seemed to have evaporated and made way for soulless dance music. Oddly enough, a lot of those Eighties acts disappeared or suffered from the tests of time. Record companies often felt it was a good idea to release remix versions of those songs that were popular a decade earlier.

'(We don't need this) Fascist Groove Thang' was a big hit for Heaven 17 in the UK in 1981. In 1993, the track was remixed by the Rapino Brothers, but unfortunately all the freshness and originality of the original version was not found in this new version. Still, it scraped to number 40 in the UK singles chart. Ironically, this was five places higher than the original's peak position. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6526
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: '(We don't need this) Fascist groove thang (Rapino edit)' / '(We don't need this) Fascist groove thang (Democratic edit)'

Vivre, vivre heisst leben - Carole Vinci

Carole Vinci initially wanted to be a sports teacher. At the end of 1977 she was approached to participate in the Swiss preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. With the song 'Vivre' she won the final, which allowed her to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, which was held in Paris. After her participation, she would soon disappear into anonymity again.

However, she also recorded her Eurovision song in German, and that version appears on this sought after single. You'd have a hard time finding a copy online for less than €10, and so finding this copy for a much more attractive price made my heart jump.

My collection: 7" single no. 6520
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Vivre, vivre heisst leben' / 'Leiden und trotzdem lachen' 

You'll always be a friend - Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate's career really took off with the song 'Emma' in 1974 - their first international hit. But before that, the band already had a string of hits in the UK. However, they were all non-album singles and nowadays pretty hard to find.

'You'll always be a friend' was released in 1972 and reached number 23 in the UK singles chart. The single was released in a RAK Records company sleeve, like all those early singles. Although it has to be noted that in some other territories - Italy and Germany - the record company gave the single an illustrated sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 6524
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'You'll always be a friend' / 'Go go girl'

Kick it out - Heart

The American band Heart has released some classic tracks like 'Magic Man', 'Alone' and, oddly, the one I always hear in the supermarket 'All I wanna do is make love to you', but some of their singles remain lesser known. Like this one.

'Kick it out' was taken from their 1977 album 'Little queen' and only charted in the USA (peaking at number 79) and Canada (peaking at number 67). This pressing comes from Germany, which is proof enough that it was released in Europe as well, but to no avail. In fact, their first hit in the UK was 'These dreams', whereas there is a gaping hole in the Netherlands between 1977's 'Barracuda' and 'These dreams' in 1986. I am quite pleased that I have a lot of singles by this band, although some are still missing. More to hunt for, I guess.

My collection: 7" single no. 6523
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Kick it out' / 'Dream of the archer'

Den dopper - De Strangers

Although the A-side of this single is De Strangers' take on 'Rivers of Babylon', a big hit for Boney M at the time, this single attracted me for its B-side: a version of 'A-ba-ni-bi', the song with which Izhar Cohen won the 1978 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

As always, the Belgian group made the song totally their own with a lyric in Antwerp dialect. What exactly 'Nie doeke-mieke doen, nee nee' means... I can't tell you.

My collection: 7" single no. 6518
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Den dopper' / 'Nie doeke-mieke doen, nee nee'

Wa d'hee die nen dikke nek - De Strangers

My collection of singles by the Belgian band De Strangers is still expanding, and it's all because they have recorded so many covers of Eurovision Song Contest songs. This single presents not one, but two songs from the annual songfest: versions of 'Lass die Sonne in dein Herz', the German entry, and the Belgian entry 'Soldiers of love'.

As always, they wrote new lyrics for these songs in Antwerp's dialect, full of Flemish expressions.

My collection: 7" single no. 6517
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Wa d'hee die nen dikke nek' / 'Eieren of joeng'

Non ho l'eta / Si - Gigliola Cinquetti

Released in 1977, this single combines the two Eurovision entries of Gigliola Cinquetti on one disc, with an attractive new sleeve. 'Non ho l'eta' was the 1964 entry with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest, whereas 'Si' was her attempt to win again in 1974, but she finished in second place... behind Abba's 'Waterloo'. 

In 1990, Gigliola released a new version of 'Non ho l'eta', which was equally unsuccessful in reaching the charts as this combined re-release single.

My collection: 7" single no. 6516
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Non ho l'eta' / 'Si'