Would you dance with a stranger? - Mari Wilson

I do have a few Mari Wilson singles, but I wasn't familiar with this one. The sleeve leapt out at me, because her name was on it but the woman on the sleeve didn't look anything like her! Turns out this is a track from a movie, and the woman on the sleeve apparently plays in it. (Fortunately a small picture of Mari Wilson herself appears on the back of the sleeve.)

Dance with a stranger is a British film from 1985, and the title track is a cover version of Peggy Lee's 1951 track. The film made a comfortable profit. Goldcrest Films invested £253,000 in the film and received £361,000, making them a profit of £108,000. Mari Wilson's single, however, didn't chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 7622
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Would you dance with a stranger?' / 'Ruth's bedroom (dialogue)', 'Jazz break'

Oh what a night (1988 remix by Ben Liebrand) - The Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli

In the second half of the Eighties many classic songs fell victim to the remix fad of the day. Many songs were remixed by DJ's with or without talent. Some results were quite terrible, others made the song slightly more appealing to the audience at the time.

Dutch DJ and producer Ben Liebrand remixed 'Oh what a night' by the Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli and re-released it as a single. The single didn't chart in 1988, but it was an interesting remix nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 7621
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Oh what a night (1988 remix by Ben Liebrand)' / 'Oh what a night (original version)'

Winter melody - Donna Summer

Although Donna Summer was wellknown for her sighing and groaning on 'Love to love you', she appears on the sleeve of this single in winter clothes. 'Winter melody' is a soul ballad. The song speaks of a woman struggling to come to terms with the fact that her relationship has ended. As with much of Summer's material at that time (particularly with songs found on her concept albums), the song played for a considerable amount of time (over six minutes), however, the song was edited for its release as a single. 

The single was taken from the album Four Seasons of Love, and the song represented the "winter" phase of this concept album. It reached number 43 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 27 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 7620
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Winter melody' / 'Full of emptiness'

Lay all your love on me / On and on and on - Abba

Although I bought a picture disc of the tracks on this single just last year, this American version from 1980 was just too interesting to resist. (And to be honest, I'd forgotten that I already had 'Lay your love on me' on any single.)

While these tracks were only released on a 12" single in Europe, America had the chance to buy them on a normal 7" single. Unfortunately the Americans didn't get a picture sleeve, and so this is a relatively anonymous release from the Swedish hitmakers.

My collection: 7" single no. 7619
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Lay all your love on me' / 'On and on and on'

Twee hartjes en twee namen - Yvette Ravell & Ronny Temmer

In 1972 Serge & Christine Ghisoland represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'A la folie ou pas du tout'. They represented mainly the French speaking part of the country, as they were chosen by the Walloon broadcaster. In the Flemish part of the country, Yvette Ravell and Ronny Temmer stepped in and took it upon themselves to provide a translation with this single, 'Twee hartjes en twee namen' ('Two hearts and two names').

The B-side of this single is a cover version of 'Als her om de liefde gaat', the Dutch entry from that year. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7617
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Twee hartjes en twee namen' / 'Als het om de liefde gaat'

Everything I own - Bread

David Gates wrote 'Everything I own', which was recorded by his band Bread in 1971. Although initial listeners may have interpreted it as a song about a broken relationship, David Gates revealed that it was written in memory of his father who died in 1963 before he achieved his success with Bread. David said: "My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record 'Everything I Own' about him. If you listen to the words, 'You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, you gave my life to me, set me free', it says it all."

The single reached number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 32 in the UK singles chart. Surprisingly, the single didn't chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 7607
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Everything I own' / 'I don't love you'

Horis skopo - Christos Callow

A rare gem, this Eurovision single from 1990. Christos Callow represented Greece with his song 'Horis skopo' and only managed 19th place in a field of 22 competitors. Not that the song was so bad, the juries just went for other songs and they continued to show their bad taste like they'd done through most of the Eighties.

Christos was born in Athens in 1955. He starred as the Archbishop in Jesus Christ Superstar in Greece in 1979. After his Eurovision performance, he was also a candidate in the greek Eurovision finals in 1987 (3rd) and in 1988 (unknown result). 

My collection: 7" single no. 7618
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Horis skopo' / 'Without a purpose (Take my way)'