Pianos, strings and some other things - Jeff Wayne

Recently Jeff Wayne announced another live tour of his 'War of the worlds' epic, planned for 2025. It's both impressive and a little sad that the entire career of the man has become synonymous with this one double album, originally released in 1978 - a whopping 45 years ago. 

Another example of his enduring obsession with the project is this Record Store Day release from 2019. 'Pianos, strings and some other things' is, and I am being irreverent here, an elevator music adaptation of four of the tracks from that very same album, 'War of the worlds'. After remix albums and a 'new generation' version this was the latest new take on the music. Well, at least the tracks are very well done, I have to admit. So I am still glad I managed to pick up a copy of this 12" single.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 26 August 2023
Tracks: 'The eve of the war', 'Forever autumn' / 'The red weed', 'Brave new world'

Two to the power - Janet Jackson & Cliff Richard

While Janet Jackson was still a relatively unknown pop star back in 1984, releasing quite run-of-the-mill dance music, she did manage to rope in an unlikely duet partner on her second album 'Dream street': Cliff Richard. You have to wonder why he participated in this song, because it doesn't sound like anything else he recorded until then. But maybe that was part of the fun for him.

Like the rest of Janet's material on her first two albums, the song isn't spectacular and just seems to pass the listener by without making much of an impression. It's obvious that the record company believed in the track, though: there's even a 12" single - although it doesn't contain an extended or remixed version of the song. 

'Did it chart, though?', I hear you ask. Well, it reached number 83 in the UK and number 7 in South Africa. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7085
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 December 2023
Tracks: 'Two to the power' (Janet Jackson & Cliff Richard) / 'Fast girls' (Janet Jackson)

Vi gratulerer - Kirsti, Oddvar og Arne

1968 was a famous year in Eurovision history: Cliff Richard, who seemed destined to win the competition with his song 'Congratulations', was beaten by a young singer called Massiel with the deceptively simple-sounding 'La, la, la'. This single by Kirsti, Oddvar and Arne presents both songs, with Norwegian lyrics provided by Arne Bendiksen.

The trio Kirsti Sparboe, Oddvar Sanne and Arne Bendiksen didn't just record this single: they also released the singles 'Hver Lördag En Fest' (1967) and 'Du Er Det Aller Kjæreste Jeg Har' (1965), the latter of which contained a Norwegian version of the Beatles' 'Yesterday'.

My collection: 7" single no. 7084
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 December 2023
Tracks: 'Vi gratulerer' / 'La, la, la'

Jeg er en astronaut - Anne Mette Torp

It's almost eight years ago that I found a copy of 'Jag är en astronaut' by Anne Mette Torp, the Swedish cover version of 'I am an astronaut', recorded by Ricky Wilde in 1972. Back then I already found out that Anne Mette originally recorded the song in Norwegian, but the single, officially with 'En sang jeg har laert av min bestemor' on the A-side, was very hard to get hold of.

But I was finally successful last month. A Norwegian seller had this single on offer and luckily I was the first one to find out about it. It's not that I am a particular fan of songs recorded by children, but one of my (many) subcollections is, of course, cover versions of songs by Marty Wilde. And so, here it is: the second and last Anne Mette Torp single in my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 7083
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 December 2023
Tracks: 'En sang jeg har laert av min bestemor' / 'Jeg er en astronaut'

Now and then - The Beatles

It feels a bit odd to say that the Beatles released a new single in 2023, but here we are. 'Now and then' was originally recorded on a tape by John Lennon before his untimely death, and with the latest developments in sound restoration the remaining members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr finally had the opportunity to make a decent song out of it. 

'Now and then' was released on three different 7" singles: in black, blue and clear vinyl. I opted for the clear vinyl version. I would have bought all three if those singles weren't as insanely expensive as they are right now. As for those "updated" red and blue compilations: what a waste. I think they were quite perfect the way they were. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7082
Found: Amazon, received 17 November 2023
Tracks: 'Now and then' / 'Love me do (2023 mix)'

Sei ehrlich - Teddy Scholten

In 1959, Teddy Scholten represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest with ''n Beetje' ('A little bit'). She won the contest, and an interesting time began: besides doing theatre shows with her husband she also found time to record her song in other languages.

'Sei ehrlich' ('Be honest') is the German version of the song. She also recorded Italian and French versions, and even performed the song in English and Swedish, apparently - both those versions were never released on a record. The song was recorded with the orchestra led by Jack Bulterman; the orchestra also performs the B-side, an instrumental version of the UK entry, 'Sing little birdie'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7081
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 November 2023
Tracks: 'Sei ehrlich' / 'Sing little birdie'

Gross Gerau 3 June 1994 - Kim Wilde

I'm not a fan of bootleg singles, mainly because they're illegal and always released without the artist's consent. On the other hand, I have every single item ever released by Kim Wilde (or am still trying to get my hands on them) so I don't feel too guilty about buying one every once in a while.

This single, pressed on clear vinyl, features two live tracks taken from a TV broadcast. Apparently there were only 30 copies pressed; this is number 8. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7080
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'View from a bridge (live)' / 'Water on glass (live)'