Soerabaya / Junge Komm Bald Wieder / Bachelor Boy - De Accordo's

Released in 1963, this single features two medley's of popular songs from that time, as performed by the Accordo's, apparently a Dutch group although this single seems to have been made in Germany.

Not that I suddenly became a fan of music played on accordeons, but the B-side medley features a bit of 'Uno per tutte', the song which was performed by Emilio Pericoli at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963. In other words, it's another cover version of a Eurovision song, and so an interesting addition to my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 7082
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 22 December 2023
Tracks: 'Soerabaya / Junge Komm Bald Wieder / Bachelor Boy' / 'Uno Per Tutte / Limbo Rock / Blame It On The Bossa Nova'

Atomic city - U2

It's been a while since I bought a U2 single, but it's also a while since I heard something interesting from the band. I sort of drifted off after 'All that you can't leave behind', and that's 2000. 

But the band has been making waves with their appearance in Las Vegas in a truly strange venue, and released a new song dedicated to the city to boot. It was released on a "photoluminescent transparent 7" vinyl with bespoke etching on side B', which is marketing speak for "we only have this one track and no B-side so we will try to make it appealing by throwing a lot of adjectives at you". Still, I like the track and so this single ended up in my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 7089
Found: A&O, Düsseldorf, 16 December 2023
Tracks: 'Atomic city'

Tainted love (demo) - Soft Cell

While the Dutch magazine scene is still boring as hell, more exciting things happen in the UK and Germany, where music magazines regularly come with free 7" singles. 

In this case, it's the UK magazine Electronic Sounds that came up with the goods. This single features two tracks by Soft Cell (you wouldn't have guessed it, looking at the sleeve) from 1981. The A-side is a demo of the duo's biggest hit, 'Tainted love', while the B-side is a version of 'Bedsitter' that was previously released on a flexidisc with the magazine Flexipop - yes, even four decades ago UK magazines were more interesting than Dutch ones. It's high time this country catches up.

My collection: 7" single no. 7088
Found: Electronic Sounds website, received 15 December 2023
Tracks: 'Tainted love (demo)' / 'Bedsitter (Flexipop version)'

Pocket calculator - Kraftwerk

Just four months ago I bought the German version of 'Pocket calculator' by Kraftwerk, 'Taschenrechner'. Besides that original version they also recorded the track in English, and that version appears on this single. 

'Pocket calculator' reached number 39 in the UK singles chart during a six week chart run in May and June 1981. At the same time, the album 'Computer world', from which this single was taken, reached number 15 in the albums chart in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 7087
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 December 2023
Tracks: 'Pocket calculator' / 'Dentaku'

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'