Stop the world - Captain Sensible

After considerable success with the single 'Wot!', Captain Sensible's career stalled. The next single 'Croydon' didn't chart anywhere, and the single after that was 'Stop the world'. It only got to number 82 in the UK singles chart, and number 72 in Germany. His only other big hit would happen a year later with 'Glad it's all over'.

The biggest redeeming quality of all these singles was that they were produced by Tony Mansfield, of New Musik fame. You can his recognizable synth sounds on this single. Apparently there's a 12" single version as well - which will probably feature on this blog soon as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 7146
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Stop the world' / 'Back to school?'

Cuba - Gibson Brothers

A year before the Gibson Brothers had a hit with 'Que sera mi vida', they had a hit with a similarly Latin America-oriented single called 'Cuba' in 1979. The single peaked at number 32 in the Dutch Top 40, and reached number 41 in the UK singles chart. It fared better in the UK in 1980 when it was re-released: it reached number 12.

They actually had two more hits in the UK: 'Mariana' (1980) and 'My heart's beating wild' (1983). Neither of those charted in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, my musical interests had shifted to other bands as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 7145
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Cuba' / 'Cuba (instrumental)'

The love parade - Dream Academy

The Dream Academy never got much recognition beside their greatest hit 'Life in a northern town', but obviously there was more to the band than just the one song. They released three albums and twelve singles, but only three singles ever made the UK singles chart. 

One of them was 'The love parade', released in early 1986 as a track from their self-titled debut album. It reached number 68 in the UK singles chart but fared a bit better in Belgium where it peaked at number 30. In the American Adult Contemporary chart it even reached number 13. 

'The love parade' is the only song on the Dream Academy's eponymous album not to be produced by David Gilmour. Instead, the band recruited Alan Tarney to work with them on the track. Tarney was brought in at the suggestion of Rough Trade Records founder Geoff Travis to work on the song. "What happened was, we had a pretty good demo for 'Love Parade' and we loved it, and when we made the record with David, somehow we never got 'round to it". Lead vocalist Nick Laird-Clowes noted that Tarney brought some "real special techniques" to the table: he tracked the vocals "12 or 15 times" during certain portions of the song. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7144
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'The love parade' / 'Girl in a million (for Edie Sedgwick)'

Shaggy raggy - Jona Lewie

Released in 1981, 'Shaggy raggy' was one of Jona Lewie's lesser known singles. It never charted and in fact I have never seen this single before - even though I have scoured a lot of record shops and record fairs in my lifetime.

The single came after two of his more successful attempts: the 1980 Christmas hit 'Stop the cavalry' and 'Louise (We get it right)', which didn't chart in the UK but did reach number 2 in Australia. The B-side of this single is an interesting take on the same track; putting the two together could have made an interesting 12" single.

My collection: 7" single 7142
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Shaggy raggy' / 'Shaggy raggied'

Modern girl - Sheena Easton

It's quite funny to collect singles by Sheena Easton: usually they're not very expensive and they always pop up at record fairs, second hand shops and the like. Through the years I've bought quite a few of her singles and I never had to spend much money on them. 

And this is also how I got my hands on this single of 'Modern girl'. Dirt cheap, and as a bonus it isn't quite complete. At least, while the sleeve is Dutch, the record comes from the UK. Something tells me this single wasn't sold that way, but I'll take it nonetheless. There's no sense in spending more after all.

My collection: 7" single no. 7141
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 3 March 2024
Tracks: 'Modern girl' / 'Paradox'

I'll come back - Dora

Another Spanish promotional single went into my collection, and it's an interesting one for sure. It's got only one playable side and it features the English version of 'Voltarei', titled 'I'll come back'.

'Voltarei', of course, was released in 1988 when Dora represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest. Quite why the Spanish decided to choose the English version instead of the Portuguese one is a mystery to me, especially because this promotional single is housed in the original sleeve - meaning that 'Voltarei' is announced at the front and 'I'll come back' at the back. Curiosities like this make me very happy.

My collection: 7" single no. 7140
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 February 2024
Tracks: 'I'll come back'

Love is stronger than death - The The

Why would I buy another copy of 'Love is stronger than death' by The The? After all, I already owned that single. I bought it in August 2021, and I still remember doing so.

True, but this is a special one. It's a Spanish promotional 7" single with only one playable side! I love promotional singles like that - and besides, it wsa part of a bigger order from a Spanish seller. Just one track then, and no picture sleeve. But it is in its original record company sleeve, and so it's still worth owning. A little curiosity to make me happy.

My collection: 7" single no.
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 February 2024
Tracks: 'Love is stronger than death'