Holding back the years - Simply Red

Simply Red rose to prominence with this beautiful ballad in 1985. 'Holding back the years' would turn out to be a classic. Taken from their debut album 'Picture book', it launched a career that was ended only last year when front man Mick Hucknall did a farewell tour with Simply Red.

This 12" single features the full length version of 'Holding back the years', as well as a longer version of 'I won't feel bad'. I only bought the 12" single years after its release because my budget didn't stretch that far in 1985. I wanted to have it since the first moment I heard this longer version.

My collection: 12" single no. 124
Found: Record fair, 1992
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Holding back the years [extended]' / 'I won't feel bad [extended]', 'Drowning in my own tears'

Raspberry swirl - Tori Amos

Tori Amos released 'From the choirgirl hotel' in 1998. It was one of her last great albums - subsequent efforts became ever less engaging. The biggest hit from the previous album, 'Boys for pele', was a remix - or should we say a full-on butcher job? - of 'Professional widow'. No wonder that the record company kept releasing remixes of Tori Amos tracks in subsequent years.

This remix of 'Raspberry swirl', one of the many singles from 'Choirgirl', is a nice, if somewhat repetitive, effort. The choice of putting the instrumental version of the remix on the A-side is a bit strange, however.

My collection: 12" single no. 575
Found: unknown, 1998
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'Raspberry swirl (Sticky extended instrumental)' / 'Raspberry swirl (Sticky extended vocal mix)'

(I'll never be) Maria Magdalena - Sandra

After leaving the girl group Arabesque, Sandra Ann Lauer teamed up with Michael Cretu. Their first recording was a German version of Alphaville's big hit 'Big in Japan', entitled 'Japan ist weit'. Apparently, only 125 copies of the single were ever sold.

How different it was for the next single: '(I'll never be) Maria Magdalena' became a Europe-wide hit and launched Sandra's solo career in a big way. This 12" single features the album version of the track, which is double the length of the single version.

My collection: 12" single no. 207
Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, 1993
Cost: 4 guilders
Tracks: '(I'll never be) Maria Magdalena' / 'Party games'

Das Blech - Spliff

'Da fliegt mir doch das Blech weg' has become one of my favourite quotes in German, and it's down to this record.

I own the single, of course, but the 12" single is much better with the extended drum solo in the middle. These kind of remixes are exciting because they keep the tension of the original track intact while building on it. And that's a rare thing these days.

My collection: 12" single no. 339
Found: Record fair, 1996
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Das Blech [extended]' / 'Tag für tag'

Since yesterday - Strawberry Switchblade

This 12" single of Strawberry Switchblade's biggest hit 'Since yesterday' features three tracks - and no extended version of the title track as one would expect in 1984.

Oddly enough, an extended version of the track does exist, but I don't know when and where it was originally released. Nonetheless, this disc is interesting for the two B-sides, which are as charming as anything this colourful Scottish duo have released. I.e. very.

My collection: 12" single no. 306
Found: Big Company Records, London, October 1996
Cost: 2,5 pounds
Tracks: 'Since yesterday' / 'Sunday morning', 'By the sea'

1000 years from today - The Beloved

The spacey track '1000 years from today' was robbed of its shimmering beauty and transformed into a dancefloor stomper on this promotional 12" single. Three different remixers went to work on this with varying levels of success.

Personally I prefer the Adam & Eve remixes on this disc, but other listeners may choose differently. It's an interesting choice of remixes, and an interesting disc.

My collection: 12" single no. 573
Found: Discogs.com, received July 29, 2011
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: '1000 years from day (Doc Baron's 80 Proof mix)', '1000 years from today (Adam & Eve's Timeless vocal mix)' / '1000 years from today (Adam & Eve's Commotion mix)', '1000 years from today (Todd Edwards dub mix)', '1000 years from today (Doc Baron's 101.9 mix)'

All for you - Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson released 'All for you', the title track of her 2001 album, as the second single from that album. As far as I know there was no release on 7" vinyl, but there are several 12" single floating around, and this promotional 12" single is one of the more interesting ones.

It features six remixes of the track: there are three different remixes on side A, and the instrumental versions of those remixes appear on the B-side. The instrumental version of the rock remix becomes quite boring, but the other two remixes stand up quite well in instrumental form.

My collection: 12" single no. 574
Found: Discogs.com, received July 29, 2011
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'All for you (DJ Quik remix)', 'All for you (Rock mix)', 'All for you (Top heavy remix)' / 'All for you (DJ Quik remix instrumental)', 'All for you (Instrumental rock mix)', 'All for you (Top heavy remix instrumental)'