Who wears these shoes - Elton John

Elton John's 1984 album Breaking Hearts was preceded by the hit single 'Sad songs (say so much)', which was followed up by the hit single 'Passengers'. You would think that a third single from the album would be equally successful, but no: 'Who wears these shoes' didn't match the success of the two previous singles at all.

In Ireland it still reached a respectable number 11, but in the UK it only managed to get to number 50. I never even heard of the single, until I saw a copy in front of my own two eyes. Maybe the record company should have gone for the B-side; 'Tortured' is listed as 'previously unavailable', and certainly the more appealing of the two songs.

My collection: 7" single no. 7356
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 October 2024
Tracks: 'Who wears these shoes? (remix version)' / 'Tortured'

Ooh shooby doo doo lang - Aneka

I bought Aneka's 'Ooh shooby doo doo lang' less than two months ago, and I actually quite liked it. I also discovered back then that there's a 12" single of the song, but I was unlikely to buy it online because of the shipping costs that would be added to even the cheapest copy. 

And so, I was pleasantly surprised to find a good copy at a record fair yesterday. The seller had a decent selection of 12" singles, but thanks to the Now 12" series they are now available on CD - or will be. However, this one was not included in the 1982 compilations, and so I grabbed this copy. It's a nice extended version of a nice pop song.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 October 2024
Tracks: 'Ooh shooby doo doo lang [extended]' / 'Could it last a little longer'

I have a dream - Abba

The French have a way of doing things differently, and in the record business, that's no exception. Various Abba singles were released with different sleeves, and sometimes even with different content.

This release of 'I have a dream' is a good example. While other singles have a live version of 'Take a chance on me' on the B-side, this French edition comes with the studio version from 1977. I actually didn't know this when I bought this single, but it's a nice deviation. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7355
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 October 2024
Tracks: 'I have a dream' / 'Take a chance on me'

Fade to grey - Neon

Visage's 'Fade to grey' is arguably one of the best tracks of the early Eighties, and it's inspired many others to record the track. I bought a version by Phase One ten years ago, and now it's time for another cover version, this time by Neon. 

Neon was one of many Belgian New Beat projects started by Target Records in the late 1980s. Members of Neon were Frank Van Der Heyden, Friedhelm Nieske, J.P. Bulté, Luc Devriese and Peter Peyskens. It's interesting that the back cover credits a certain Rita for catering-assistance; that's not a credit you see very often on record sleeves. Fortunately this is quite a good cover version, well worth a listen.

My collection: 7" single no. 7354
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 October 2024
Tracks: 'Fade to grey' / 'Fade to grey (instrumental remix)'

I saw the light - The The

Back in 1994, The The released Hanky Panky, an album filled with cover versions of songs by Hank Williams, an American singer-songwriter. I'd never heard of the man, but apparently he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century. 

I have to say that after the album Mind Bomb, which I regard as The The's best ever album, this one came as a disappointment. I bought the CD-single, but only played it once or twice. With the recent resurgence of The The I had to go back to it and decided it wasn't so bad after all. And so, here's the 10 inch single, featuring the same tracks as on that CD-single. Which is why I never bought it three decades ago. Well, it's never too late.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 October 2024
Tracks: 'I saw the light', 'I'm free at last' / 'Someday you'll call my name', 'There's no room in my heart for the blues'

Amiga Quartett - Milli Vanilli

This EP, released by the East German record company Amiga, presents four songs by Milli Vanilli. It includes their debut hit 'Girl you know it's true', as well as the debut album's title track, 'All or nothing'. The B-side consists of another hit song, 'Baby, don't forget my number' and the album track 'Hush', a cover version of the Joe South song.

For residents of the GDR (former East-Germany) these EP's were often the only way to buy music from "the West", as the country was pretty much isolated from western Europe. Obviously the EP's would only contain songs that wouldn't go against the communist party lines - whatever they were. These days, most of these EP's are sold for small amounts. Still, they are pretty enough to want to have them.

My collection: 7" single no. 7351
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 September 2024
Tracks: 'Girl you know it's true', 'All or nothing' / 'Baby don't forget my number', 'Hush'

So ist die liebe, mon ami (N'avoue jamais) - Corry Brokken

Having won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957, Corry Brokken would continue to be connected to the event for many years. She did, of course, compete again in 1958, but she also recorded her fair share of cover versions of Eurovision songs. 

In 1965 she recorded 'Als je maar nooit bekent', a Dutch version of 'N'avoue jamais', the French Eurovision entry of 1965. She also recorded the song in German. That version was titled 'So ist die Liebe, mon ami'. The German lyrics were written by Carl Ulrich Blecher.

My collection: 7" single no. 7350
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 September 2024
Tracks: 'So ist die Liebe, mon ami' / 'Venedig in Grau'