Stay the night - LaToya Jackson

Between appearances in Playboy magazine, strange comments about her brother Michael and several other controversial career moves, LaToya Jackson never managed to become the worldwide superstar her sister Janet and her brother Michael were.

'Stay the night' is a track from her second album My Special Love, released in 1981. The song was originally written and recorded by Billy Ocean in 1980. The lyrics were slightly re-written to reflect the gender change from Ocean's version. The B-side, 'Camp Kuchi Kaiai' was written by LaToya with her sister Janet.

My collection: 7" single no. 8407
Found: Walk-in, Zutphen, 15 August 2026
Tracks: 'Stay the night' / 'Camp Kuchi Kaiai' 

The entertainer - Marvin Hamlisch

'The entertainer' is a 1902 classic piano rag written by Scott Joplin. It was sold first as sheet music in Missouri and in the 1910s as piano rolls that would play on player pianos. The first recording was by blues and ragtime musicians the Blue Boys in 1928, played on mandolin and guitar.

As one of the classics of the ragtime genre, it returned to international prominence as part of the style revival in the 1970s, when it was used as the theme music for the 1973 Oscar-winning film The Sting. Composer and pianist Marvin Hamlisch's adaptation reached number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 25 in the UK singles chart. As you can see on the sleeve of this single, it was proclaimed 'Alarmschijf' in the Netherlands and went on to reach number 6 in the Dutch Top 40 in the summer of 1974.

My collection: 7" single no. 8406
Found: Walk-in, Zutphen, 15 August 2026 
Tracks: 'The entertainer' / 'Solace'

Taste of bitter love - Gladys Knight & the Pips

Gladys Knight is at the center of a controversy at the moment, and it's all because the 82-year-old singer appeared on stage looking a bit confused. There are worries that she is being 'forced' to perform live. Nothing surprises me anymore after having watched a very frail Frankie Valli on stage recently.

Rolling back to 1980, that's when Gladys Knight and the Pips released 'Taste of bitter love', a catchy song that I heard on the radio recently and I was lucky enough to find a copy for one euro in a second hand shop. The single reached number 35 in the UK singles chart, but narrowly missed out on the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 8405
Found: Walk-in, Zutphen, 15 August 2026
Tracks: 'Taste of bitter love' / 'Add it up' 

Those first impressions - Associates

Back in 1984, when I was addicted to Sky Channel and Music Box, the video for 'Those first impressions' was on high rotation. So much so, that I became bored with the song and the video. This lasted for decades, but finally I decided to buy this single recently, and it ain't half bad.

'Those first impressions' was released as the first single from the third studio album of the band, called Perhaps. The single reached number 43 in the UK singles chart, signalling a decline in popularity for the band. Later singles never improved on this chart position.

My collection: 7" single no. 8404
Found: Vinylparadijs, Geesteren, 12 Augustus 2026
Tracks: 'Those first impressions' / 'Thirteen feelings' 

I do what I do - John Taylor

John Taylor is best known as a member of Duran Duran, but through the years he has also released some solo work. His first solo release was for the soundtrack of the movie 9½ weeks in January 1986. 

The song was written by Jonathan Elias, Michael Des Barres and John Taylor, after Des Barres was approached about writing a song for the movie's soundtrack. It was originally intended to be sung by Lisa Dalbello, but she bowed out at the last minute and John decided he could do the song instead. Still Dalbello does backing vocals.

My collection: 7" single no. 8403
Found: Vinylparadijs, Geesteren, 12 August 2026
Tracks: 'I do what I do' / 'Jazz' 

Histoire d'O - Pierre Bachelet

Histoire d'O is an erotic novel written by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage, with the original French text published in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Pauvert. Desclos did not reveal herself as the author until 1994, 40 years after the initial publication. Desclos stated she wrote the novel as a series of love letters to her lover Jean Paulhan, who had admired the work of the Marquis de Sade. The novel shares with the latter themes such as love, dominance, and submission.

French director Henri-Georges Clouzot wanted to adapt the novel to film for many years, which was eventually done by director Just Jaeckin in 1975 as Histoire d'O, produced by Eric Rochat and Gérard Lorin, starring Corinne Cléry and Udo Kier. The music of the film was performed by Pierre Bachelet and released as an album. This single features two tracks from that album, most importantly the main theme of the film, which is a beautiful melody.

My collection: 7" single no. 8402
Found: Vinylparadijs, Geesteren, 12 August 2026
Tracks: 'Histoire d'O' / 'O' et la rencontre' 

F.L.M. - Mel & Kim

Although I have a few editions of Mel & Kim's third single 'F.L.M.', somehow this 12" single eluded me until now. It's the 'Two Grooves Under One Nation' remix of the track, which features elements of 'Le freak' by Chic.

It's an interesting remix, but the disc itself is perhaps even better, pressed on splattered brown/grey vinyl.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Vinylparadijs, Geesteren, 12 August 2026
Tracks: 'F.L.M. (Two grooves under one nation remix)' / 'F.L.M. (Two grooves under one nation dub mix)'