Electric circus - Spectral Display

I wasn't actively searching for this single, but when I saw it I immediately realized I had something pretty rare. And indeed it is: it's the final Spectral Display single to complete the series - I now have all of them (although I am still after a few different formats). Of the five, this is probably the most unexpected one, because 'Electric circus' is a fully instrumental track!

Spectral Display came to prominence in 1982 with 'It takes a muscle to fall in love', a single I bought soon after it came out. I only heard 'There's a virus going round' over a decade after it came out, but that made me curious about this band and I started collecting their singles after that. If you like electronic music, this should pique your interest.

My collection: 7" single no. 7718
Found: Kay's Outlet, 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Electric circus' / 'Sailor' 

Suddenly - Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard

The duet 'Suddenly' was a love theme for the movie Xanadu, which premiered in 1980. The song was performed by two big stars: Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard. The single reached number 15 in the UK singles chart and number 20 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Surprisingly, it didn't chart at all in the Netherlands.

The B-side, 'You made me love you', performed by Olivia, didn't appear on the soundtrack album for Xanadu, although it did appear in the movie. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7717
Found: Kay's Outlet, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Suddenly' / 'You made me love you' 

Piove (Ciao, ciao, bambina) - Peter Schilperoort

Domenico Modugno's 'Piove' has been covered so many times that it's hard to keep up. It always pays off to type in 'Piove' (or 'Volare'!) when doing online purchases, but in this instance I found a single in a real life record shop. 

This instrumental version was played by Peter Schilperoort on the clarinet, along with his quintet (whose members remain uncredited). Schilperoort was a founding member of the Dutch Swing College, a band that started on 5 May 1945, when the Netherlands were liberated from the German nazis. He passed away on 17 November 1990.

My collection: 7" single no. 7715
Found: Kay's Outlet, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Piove (Ciao, ciao, bambina)' / 'When the saints go marching in'

Take me tonight - Kim Wilde

Although I own a lot of Kim Wilde records (and I do mean a lot) most of them have never featured on this blog. Which kind of distorts the image of my collection, so I plan to rectify that in the weeks to come. Although I won't bore you with the many different pressings of certain singles, I should really point out the weird variations and, of course, 12" singles that I own.

This single is a great one to start off with. 'Take me tonight' was released in Europe and the UK as the B-side of 'View from a bridge', but in Japan it was promoted to the A-side, because the song was used at the end of the movie Shadow (or Tenebrae as it was called elsewhere) - although that happened without director Dario Argento's consent. His dismay was loud and clear on a commentary track when the movie was released on DVD decades later. 

My collection: 7" single no. 1611
Found:  Record fair, Amsterdam, 28 March 1992
Tracks: 'Take me tonight' / 'View from a bridge'

The best of 1987 - Europe, Spagna, Cock Robin, Johnny Logan

I've never seen this EP before, and that may be because it was a special product for Johnson & Co. I don't know the company, but they had CBS make them this compilation with four tracks they present als 'the best of 1987'. Well, not necessarily, but there are a few nice tracks on there.

Most importantly for a Eurovision collector is Johnny Logan's 'Hold me now', the song that caused him to win the Contest for the second time. Cock Robin's 'Just around the corner' is a nice piece of mellow pop, and 'Call me' was a bit of a hype back in 1987 with its Euro Dance vibe. Europe's 'Rock the night' is probably the most dodgy track on here, with its lazy lyrics: 'Rock now, rock the night / 'Til early in the morning light / Rock now, rock the night / Whoa-oh, whoa-oh'. It's a far cry from the era-defining 'The final countdown'. But that was 1986. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7714
Found: Kay's Outlet, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Rock the night' (Europe), 'Call me' (Spagna) / 'Just around the corner' (Cock Robin), 'Hold me now' (Johnny Logan) 

Lucifer (and Mammagamma) - Andrew Powell and the Philharmonia Orchestra

So this is an interesting find. 'Lucifer' is of course the fascinating instrumental track by the Alan Parsons Project, which has been featured on this blog quite recently. In 1983 Andrew Powell and the Philharmonia Orchestra released an album of versions of Alan Parsons Project tracks. Hearing those tracks in an orchestral setting is quite exciting. 

This single presents two of the tracks: 'Lucifer' (mixed with 'Mammagamma') and 'Time'. The latter was originally a vocal track, but this version is entirely instrumental. I'm not necessarily a fan of the Alan Prasons Project, but 'Lucifer' is an outstanding piece of music and it sounds pretty impressive here.

My collection: 7" single no. 7713
Found: Kay's Experience, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Lucifer (and Mammagamma) (edited version)' / 'Time' 

So long - Abba

Although I have a beautiful version of Abba's 1975 single 'So long' with a picture sleeve, I came across the original Swedish release some time ago and decided I wanted to have this too. When I was a young boy this was my absolute favourite Abba track, I must have played it on some Greatest Hits album dozens of times. It was the 'heavier' sound of the track that spoke to me at the time, I guess.

Obviously Abba singles without a picture sleeve aren't as beautiful as the ones with, but an original release like this has its own appeal and worth. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7104
Found: Discogs, 2023
Tracks: 'So long' / 'I've been waiting for you'