Hooked on you - Bread

I bought a few Bread singles recently, and that's because for some reason I keep bumping into them. The soft rock stylings of this band never disappoint, even with songs I'm not that familiar with. And they had some classy sleeves too!

'Hooked on you' was written and composed by David Gates. It was the second single released from Bread's 1977 album Lost Without Your Love, and became their final charting hit, reaching number 60 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 48 in Canada.

My collection: 7" single no. 7697
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'Hooked on you' / 'Fly away' 

Julie - Arne Jansen & les Cigales

Back in the summer of 1983, 'Julie' by Daniel was the summer hit of the year. The Yugoslavian entry for that year's Eurovision Song Contest made it to fourth place on the scoreboard and subsequently became a big hit in several European countries.

And at the time there were plenty artists who thought they could profit from the song's success as well. Enter Arne Jansen, a moderately successful Dutch singer, who with his support group Les Cigales recorded a version of the song in Dutch. The lyrics were provided by record company mogul Johnny Hoes, who conveniently also ran Arne Jansen's record company Telstar. A hit was born: this version of 'Julie' made it to number 28 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 7696
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025 
Tracks: 'Julie' / 'Lorelei'

It ain't easy / Give up your guns - Ritty McGarrety

You'd be forgiven if you've never heard of Ritty McGarrety - I hadn't either. It was purely by chance that I saw this single and decided to buy it, based on one of the titles on this sleeve. 'Give up your guns' was originally recorded by the Buoys, and I absolutely love that song. So I was quite curious what this person had made of it. 

It turns out that Ritty was actually named Ritty van Straalen. He was a Dutch drummer, best known for his years with the succesful Utrecht-based band, Continental Uptight Band. He released a couple of solo singles and 'Give up your guns' was one of them, scraping into the Tipparade, just outside of the Dutch Top 40. Quite why the song appears on this 'maxi single' remains unknown, although the record company probably wanted to profit from its near-hit status. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7693
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'It ain't easy' / 'Give up your guns', 'Please, look back'

Waarom - Bonnie & José

The recently deceased Ron Brandsteder introduces 'Waarom' ('Why'), a sombe lyric about people making war, not love. It seems awfully current, but this single was released 40 years ago. The song was based on the Abba song 'Move on', and Brandsteder also wrote the Dutch lyrics of this version.

Like the singles 'Cassandra' and 'Zoals vrienden doen' this single was taken from the Abba-themed album Herinnering, which was actually released on CD for the first time in 2020, as I found out when I recorded this purchase in my Discogs collection. To my surprise, the duo released two more singles from this album, although only the two previously mentioned made it into the Dutch Top 40. 'Waarom' only managed a few weeks in the Tipparade.

My collection: 7" single no. 7689
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'Waarom' / 'Ligt dat aan jou of aan mij' 

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do - Abba

After So long, this is the second picture disc released this year to be taken from the album Abba, originally released 50 years ago. It's another colourful photograph from that era, released to coincide with the re-release of the album on a 'half speed master 2LP' edition.

'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do' was recorded on 21 February 1975 at Glen Studio, and was inspired by the European schlager music of the Fifties, as well as the saxophone sound of the 1950s American orchestra leader Billy Vaughn. The single reached number 38 in the UK singles chart, number 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 3 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 7681
Found: Platenzaak.nl, received 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do' / 'Rock me'

A little bit slower (Do it again) - Herman & Dorothy

One of the singles Ricky Wilde recorded when he was a teenager was 'Do it again, a little bit slower'. It was obviously a cover version, but I'm having a hard time finding the original. This single by Herman & Dorothy predates Ricky's version by five or six year, but it is only one version of the many released back in 1967. 

The original version was actually performed by Jon & Robin and The In Crowd; a version that will undoubtedly pop up on this blog at some point. But meanwhile, this version by Herman & Dorothy is amusing as well, especially with the ending actually slowing down. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7695
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'A little bit slower (Do it again)' / 'Charing Cross' 

High noon / Jezebel - Frankie Laine

'High Noon', also known as 'The Ballad of High Noon', was the theme song of the 1952 movie High Noon, starring Gary Cooper. In the movie the song was performed by Tex Ritter, but the American singer Frankie Laine also recorded a version of the song. It actually became the bigger hit of the two.

However, I bought this single because of the other side, an original version of the song 'Jezebel', later also recorded by Marty Wilde. In Laine's words, the song uses "flamenco rhythms to whip up an atmosphere of sexual frustration and hatred while a guy berated the woman who'd done him wrong." The song ends with Laine shouting 'Jezebel!' at the woman who has destroyed him.This is still done by Wilde during his live concerts, to great effect.

My collection: 7" single no. 7694
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'High Noon' / 'Jezebel'