Zimne kino - Kapitan Nemo

Kapitan Nemo is the stage name of the Polish singer Bogdan Tadeusz Gajkowski. Having released his first singles in 1983, the year 1984 brought the greatest success in his career, when the compositions 'Zimne kino' and 'Twoja Lorelei' were released on a single. The latter was actually the B-side of the single but became his best known song.

The single actually features two very accessible synthpop songs that were probably unknown to most people on the western side of the iron curtain. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6813
Found: Received 21 November 2022
Tracks: 'Zimne kino' / 'Tvoja Lorelei'

Jezu Jak Się Cieszę - Klaus Mitffoch

Contrary to what you might think, Klaus Mitffoch is not the name of a male singer. It is the name of a Polish rock band. It was founded in 1979 by Lech Janerka and split in 1984. In those five years they only released one album and three singles. The second one was this one: 'Jezu Jak Się Cieszę' ('Jesus I'm So Happy'). 

The band consisted of Lech Janerka (bass guitar/vocals), Krzysztof Pociecha (guitar/backing vocals), Wiesław Mrozik (guitar/backing vocals) and Marek Puchała (drums/backing vocals). Janerka went on to a long-term solo career; Pociecha collaborated with Janerka on two more albums. From 1986 to 1989 Mrozik and Puchała, joined by Paweł Chyliński (guitar/vocals), Jacek Fedorowicz (bass guitar) and Zbigniew Kapturski (guitar/vocals), continued to perform under the name 'Klaus Mit Foch'; this latter line-up released the album 'Mordoplan' in 1988.

My collection: 7" single no. 6812
Found: Received 21 November 2022
Tracks: 'Jezu Jak Się Cieszę' / 'O glowie'

Brylanty - Izabela Trojanowska

Izabela Trojanowska was born on 22 April 1955 in Olsztyn (Poland). She managed to create two successful careers almost synchronously: as an actress and as a singer. Her debut album 'Iza' was released in 1981, followed by 'Układy' the next year. This single, 'Brylanty', is taken from that second album, which is described as synthpop and new wave - an accurate description as far as I can tell.

What's amazing, is that this lady is still going strong. She still plays live, performs in movies and TV series and acts as a coach in the Polish version of The Voice Senior. From what I can gather online, she still has the looks too. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6811
Found: Received 21 November 2022
Tracks: 'Brylanty' / 'Nic naprawdę'

Chcemy Być Sobą - Perfect

Although the official founding date of Perfect is considered to be 1980, its beginnings date back to the turn of 1977-1978. The group was founded in Warsaw on the initiative of drummer Wojciech Morawski and bass guitarist Zdzisław Zawadzki. The group's original name, suggested by Tabaka, was Perfect Super Show and Disco Band. It came from the name of Christine Perfect-McVie, who sang and played keyboards in the band Fleetwood Mac. 

This EP is their first release, featuring four tracks. Of the four tracks included her, I mostly prefer 'Bla Bla Bla', an aggressive piece of rock with impressive vocals. It is pretty standard rock fare that wasn't unusual before 1981, the year of this EP's release.

My collection: 7" single no. 6810
Found: Received 21 November 2022
Tracks: 'Chcemy Być Sobą', 'Coś Dzieje Się W Mej Biednej Głowie' / 'Bla, Bla, Bla', 'Nie Płacz Ewka'

Hi-fi - Wanda i Banda

Wanda i Banda (also known as Banda i Wanda) is a Polish rock band, founded in 1982. They debuted at the turn of 1982 and 1983 in the New Year's Eve broadcast on Polish Radio. Their debut album, released in 1984, turned out to be a success. It included hits such as 'Nie będę Julią' ('I will not be Julia'), 'Hi-Fi' and 'Chcę zapomnieć' ('I want to forget') and it was certified gold. 

This single, 'Hi-Fi', was actually their debut single. Interestingly they pronounce the title as 'High-fee', but the lyrics are obviously about the wellknown sounds system.  The chorus goes: "Hi-Fi super star super hit / Discjockey szczerzy kły znad konsolety / Hi-Fi super star super hit / Na zwariowane sny świat ma apetyt" ("Hi-Fi super star super hit / The discjockey bares its fangs from above the console / Hi-Fi super star super hit / The world has an appetite for crazy dreams"). 

My collection: 7" single no. 6809
Found: Received 21 November 2022
Tracks: 'Hi-fi' / 'Nie będę Julią'

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)'