Rocket man - Kate Bush

In 1990, Kate Bush was one of the artists that participated in the project 'Two rooms', in which covers of Elton John songs were recorded. Kate Bush chose 'Rocket man', a song originally released in 1972. According to Kate: 'When I asked to be involved in this project and was given the choice of a track it was like being asked ‘would you like to fulfill a dream? would you like to be Rocket Man?’... yes, I would.'

Mercury Records had the good judgement to release Kate's track as a single, and Kate added another cover on the B-side: a version of 'Candle in the wind', released by Elton John in 1974. A stripped down, almost clunky version that takes a lot of its charm from Kate's beautiful vocals. This 12" single features both the vocal and instrumental version - as did the cd-single of 'Rocket man'.

My collection: 12" single no. 629
Found: Discogs.com, received February 8, 2012
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Rocket man' / 'Candle in the wind', 'Candle in the wind (instrumental)'

Human racing - Nik Kershaw

February 29 is an extraordinary day and on such a day I think I should post at least one extraordinary record. This one fits the bill: it's one of the earlier 12" singles I bought and one of precious few that features three different songs, all remixed, and all good.

'Human racing', the title track of Nik Kershaw's debut album was remixed to great effect, leaving only drums and vox at the end, but still engaging and soulful. Nik's voice sounds suspiciously like Stevie Wonder's on this track, and it's the kind of soulful song the blind American could have written and recorded himself. The remix of Kershaw's hit single 'Wouldn't it be good', which inexplicably isn't included on expanded double cd re-release of 'Human racing' of last Monday, is weird but wonderful, and the remix of album track 'Faces' is moving and more engaging than the original version. So there you have it: 17 minutes of pure bliss on one piece of vinyl.

My collection: 12" single no. 13
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 7 guilders
Tracks: 'Human racing (special extended mix)' / 'Wouldn't it be good (remix)', 'Faces (remix)'

Respectable - Mel and Kim

'Respectable' was only the second single of the duo Mel & Kim Appleby, but they were quickly becoming a phenomenon. The single reached number 1 in various countries including their native England, and a variety of formats was released to keep the fans buying products.

The 12" single appeared in different sleeves, although it appears that the black & white sleeve (pictured above) was the only one used in the UK - not counting a limited picture disc edition of course. I bought both versions on one day, just last month, realising that I have a lot of Mel & Kim discs already but these were still missing.

Both 12" singles I own feature the same set of remixes, of which the extended version starts in a particularly loud and slightly annoying way. As always with Stock/Aitken/Waterman productions: when you've heard one remix you pretty much have heard them all.

My collection: 12" single no. 622 & 623
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 27, 2012
Cost: 3 euros each
Tracks: 'Respectable (extended version)' / 'Respectable (7 inch version)', 'Respectable (Extra beats version)'

Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer

The instrumental track 'Axel F', created entirely with synthesizers by Harold Faltermeyer, featured in the movie 'Beverley Hills Cop' featuring Eddie Murphy and was the theme tune for the character he played, bearing the same name.

This 12" single was a bargain when I found it, years after its release. It features two remixes of the track plus another track from the soundtrack of the movie. It's entertaining stuff, but it's still a soundtrack...

My collection: 12" single no. 630
Found: Plaatboef, 199x
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Axel F (The M&M mix)' / 'Axel F (extended version)', 'Shoot out'

Stay on these roads - A-ha

A-ha were never very generous with bonus tracks after their first two albums were a hit, but sometimes there were some pleasant surprises. This 12" single of 'Stay on these roads', the first single taken from their third album of the same name, features two tracks unavailable on the album, one of which wasn't released on cd until some time later.

The extended version of 'Stay on these roads' is a treat for its extended musical passages. It was released on cd the next year - but in Japan only. The alternate mix of 'Soft rains of April' is a little different, but not dramatically so. Still, a nice disc.

My collection: 12" single no. 116
Found: Record fair, 1991
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Stay on these roads (extended remix)' / 'Soft rains of April (original mix)'

Oh l'amour - Erasure

What a great title for Valentine's day: 'Oh l'amour' by Erasure. If I'm being completely honest, I have to say I didn't buy this 12" single for the title track, but rather for the bonus track on the B-side: a cover of Abba's 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!'.

I bought this 12" single some time after the release of Erasure's 'Abba-esque' EP, which featured four other Abba tracks. Later, of course, I found out that the tracks on this 12" single were also released as a cd-single, and I bought that one too.

My collection: 12" single no. 213
Found: Record exchange, London, October 1994
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Oh l'amour (remix)' / 'March on down the line', 'Gimme gimme gimme'

I scare myself - Thomas Dolby

This 12" single features the long version of 'I scare myself', a track taken from Thomas Dolby's 1984 album 'The Flat earth'. This is actually the album version of the track; it was edited on the 7" single. 'I scare myself' was written by American singer/songwriter Dan Hicks and it was the only cover version on the seven track album.

'The Flat earth' was re-released in 2009 with no less than eight bonus tracks, one of which was a live version of 'I scare myself'. It can't match this perfect studio recording which is so beautifully produced.

My collection: 12" single no. 258
Found: Record exchange, London, October 1995
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'I scare myself (long version)' / 'Puppet theatre', 'Cloudburst at shingle street (edited version)'