A hard day's night - Peter Sellers

It's probably 30 years ago when I first heard Peter Sellers' interpretations of Beatles songs. My friend Puck had them on a CD-single, and not too much later I had the CD-single as well - plus a second one. It never really crossed my mind that the songs were also released on 7" singles, but it is logical, since the recordings were made in the Sixties.

And so I was pretty delighted when I saw this single of 'A hard day's night'. It was re-released in the Netherlands in 1981, after his untimely death the year before. I don't even mind that this version doesn't come with a picture sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 7304
Found: Sounds, Delft, 31 August 2024
Tracks: 'A hard day's night' / 'Help'

Summer night city - Abba

Being into picture discs combined with being into Abba has become a bit of a nightmare over the past few years. Their record company has re-released the majority of their singles on the 7" picture disc format, and usually they're not very cheap either. I've refrained from buying them for exactly that reason, but fortunately some deals have crossed my passed recently, and that was exactly the incentive I needed.

'Summer night city' was the Swedish band's non-album single, recorded during sessions for the album Voulez-Vous (1979), but not included on that album. However, it was released as a single prior to the album, and reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and the Dutch Top 40. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7298
Found: Revin Records, received 31 August 2024
Tracks: 'Summer night city' / 'Medley: Pick a bale of cotton, On top of old Smokey, Midnight special'

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'