Linia zycia - Kombi

I recently got a present from Poland: a stack of singles by various Polish artists from the Eighties. Any perceptions I might have had of the lands behind the iron curtain were immediately shattered. This first single is a good example. 

Kombi was a successful pop rock music band from Poland, founded in 1976 in Gdańsk by Sławomir Łosowski. In the beginning group played mostly rock music, later their style turned towards synth pop. Kombi was the first Polish band to use the Commodore 64 as a MIDI sequencer, a Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer, Simmons SDS-V electronic drum kit and Yamaha RX-11 drum machine. This single, 'Linia zycia' stands the tests of time very well and could easily be compared to superior bands like Ultravox who were active in the West at the time.

 My collection: 7" single no. 6808R

Found: Received 21 November 2022
Tracks: 'Lynia zycia' / 'Komputerowe serce'

Come along - Duo Datz

A long time ago, I bought the single 'Come along' by the Israeli Duo Datz, just two months after they represented their country at the Eurovision Song Contest with the Hebrew version of that song, 'Kan'. I didn't know then that there was also a 12" single of the song. How could I know? The world was very different in 1991, there was no internet to find out about Israeli releases.

All that has changed. I found out about this 12" single earlier this year - now it was just a question of getting a copy. And a copy at a reasonable price, of course. All the 12" singles are available from Israeli sellers only, it seems no copies made it to other countries since 1991. (Well, they must have, but people are obviously not selling them here.) I was lucky enough to find a copy recently, and now I am the proud owner of five remixes of the track; three in Hebrew and two in English. It's just a shame that same old James Brown sample is overused. 

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 November 2022
Tracks: 'כאן (12" dance mix)', 'כאן (12" instrumental mix)', 'כאן (a capella)' / 'Come along (The Two Inch Remix)', 'Come along (The Two Inch Edit)'

Tubular bells - Keyboards affair

When you look at this sleeve you probably notice the amusing spelling mistake in the title. Fortunately the label of this 12" single shows the correct title, i.e. 'Tubular bells'. 

I found this record in a collection of a German seller, and he had two different versions of this 12" - the other sleeve doesn't feature the picture that is nicked from Mike's original album. Of course I found this one more attractive.

The version created by Keyboards Affair offers all the things you would expect from a production in the early 1980's: big drums, electronic music and a straightforward copy of the melody. It is kitsch, but still very nice.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'Tubular bells' / 'Commando'

You win again - Bee Gees

In another installment of 'unexpected surprises', there's this 12" single of the Bee Gees' 'You win again'. For me this was a strong comeback of the Gibb brothers, back in 1987, and a very different sound compared to what they produced in the late Seventies.

The thought occured that there was never a Bee Gees 12" singles compilation on CD - this could be a great idea. But as we know, record companies are not big on great ideas lately.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'You win again (extended version)' / 'You win again', 'Backtafunk'

Three times a lady / Brick house - Commodores

It's fair to say that the Commodores had one of the coolest logos of any band ever, and with 'Three times a lady' they had one of the best ballads of the late Seventies in their repertoire. This 12" single features extended versions of that song and the previous hit 'Brick house', a beautiful soul/disco stomper that made the band a household name. 

I found this 12" single during a record fair - one of those unexpected purchases that you wouldn't find online, simply because I never even knew there were extended versions of these tracks. It's what I always say: with the disappearance of record shops and the occurance of record fairs also getting ever more rare, these chance encounters will become more difficult as time goes by.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'Three times a lady' / 'Brick house'

Pretty boys and pretty girls - Book of love

Friends since high school, Ted and Susan Ottaviano (who share the same last name but are not related) initially worked musically with Jade Lee, Susan's classmate at the Philadelphia College of Art, in the early 80s. In 1983, the trio began recording as Book Of Love; the following year, Ted recruited New York’s School of Visual Arts fellow student Lauren Roselli to round out the quartet. 

In 1988 they released 'Pretty boys and pretty girls', a nice pop song, but I bought it for the B-side: a cover of Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular bells'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6807
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 November 2022
Tracks: 'Pretty boys and pretty girls' / 'Tubular bells'

Vienna - Ultravox

If I had to buy promotional copies of all my singles, I would be bankrupt. However, this particular promotional single is something special, because it contains an edit of Ultravox's 'Vienna' which I've never heard before. It is shorter than the single version we all know, which is called 'album version' on the B-side of this single (I guess it was too hard to include the actual album version of the song). 

I think that with this single I've bought all the versions of 'Vienna' that exist in the world, but you never know what happens in the future...

My collection: 7" single no. 6804
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'Vienna [edit]' / 'Vienna (album version)'