Shout - Tears for fears

Quite possibly the last 10" single by Tears for fears to feature on this blog, this is the legendary 'Shout', one of the band's biggest hits and also the song that I grew very tired of back in the Eighties. It is, of course, an anthemic song which I actually bought on 7" single while it was in the Dutch Top 40. 

This 10" single followed a couple of months later, when my interest in this format first started. It doesn't present much more than the 7" single, although the title track is 15 seconds longer!

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Free Record Shop, 1985
Tracks: 'Shout (full version)' / 'The big chair'

Every angel - All About Eve

Of course I have the 7" single of 'Every angel', but the 12" single offers an extended mix of the track and an extra track called 'Candy tree', which is actually one of the band's best offerings at that point in time. All About Eve often buried great tracks on 12" singles (and later CD-singles), and in fact their entire output pleased me a lot through the years.

Lead vocalist Julianne Regan confessed years ago that she couldn't take any credit for a song like 'Every angel', because such speedy little nuggets were usually the specialty of fellow band members Tim Bricheno or Andy Palmer.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 1989
Tracks: 'Every angel (extended version)' / 'Wild flowers', 'Candy tree'

Breaking glass - David Bowie

'Breaking glass' originally appeared on David Bowie's 1977 album Low. It was co-written by Bowie, bassist George Murray and drummer Dennis Davis in September 1976. A reworked version of the song was performed live and released as the lead track on a 7-inch EP to promote his second live album, Stage in 1978. 

The EP reached number 54 on the UK singles chart in December 1978. In the US, the track "Star" was chosen as the lead track for the live EP (with 'What in the world' and 'Breaking glass' as B-sides), but failed to chart. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7296
Found: Record hunter, Stockholm (Sweden), 21 August 2024
Tracks: 'Breaking glass' / 'Art decade', 'Ziggy Stardust'

Heartland / Slow train to dawn - The The

In order to get people to notice the band The The, a free single was distributed in America via various channels. One of them was the record shop Tower Records, although there were also versions for Nobody Beats The Wiz, J&R Music World and Record World, apparently. 

The single presents two tracks from the album Infected; 'Heartland' and 'Slow train to dawn'. I actually noticed the existence of this single on Discogs some time ago and it was on my wantlist, but finding a copy in a record store is always better of course - it saves postage. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7295
Found: Nostalgipalatset, Stockholm (Sweden), 21 August 2024
Tracks: 'Heartland' / 'Slow train to dawn'

Vad än sker - Ann-Louise Hanson

When in Sweden, it's always nice to find something Swedish. Especially when it's connected to the Eurovision Song Contest - an event that is very close to the Swedish hearts. This single isn't particularly rare, but it is a curiosity nonetheless: it features cover versions of two Eurovision songs from 1972. 

The A-side is taken up by Ann-Louise Hanson, a Swedish singer, born 4 April 1944 in Kristianstad, singing 'Vad än sker', which is a Swedish version of 'Apres toi'. The B-side is taken up by the Glenmarks, singing 'Ler, ber och bönar', a Swedish version of 'Beg, steal or borrow'. The interesting thing is that Ann-Louise was actually married to Bruno Glenmark, one of the members of the Glenmarks, along with Karin Glenmark and herself. And so this combined single starts to make even more sense.

My collection: 7" single no. 7294
Found: Nostalgipalatset, Stockholm (Sweden), 21 August 2024
Tracks: 'Vad än sker' / 'Ler, ber och bönar'

Dansevise - "Roy" Etzel Sextet

In 1963, a truly timeless classic won the Eurovision Song Contest. It was 'Dansevise' by Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann for Denmark. It was inevitable that other artists would want to profit from the success, and so several cover versions were released.

This one is an instrumental take on the song, performed by the Roy Etzel Sextet. It takes a few liberties in the arrangement, which makes it slightly more interesting. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7292
Found: Nostalgipalatset, Stockholm (Sweden), 21 August 2024
Tracks: 'Dansevise' / 'Trompeters afsked'

Glittering prize - Simple Minds

Sometimes buying singles is just something that 'has to happen'. You scour through the boxes in a record store and nothing decent comes up. Well... almost. I found this Simple Minds single, and although I never had a deep longing to own 'Glittering Prize' on 7" single this copy looked decent enough (and, to be honest, with beautiful artwork) to take home.

The song reached number 16 in the UK singles chart, but was more successful in Australia, New Zealand and Norway, where it reached the top 10. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7291
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 17 August 2024
Tracks: 'Glittering prize' / 'Glittering prize (theme)'