I've been waiting for you - Joan Ellis

If this title seems familiar to you, then you're a true Abba fan. I am not, because the only reason I found this single is that I was looking for 'Ulvaeus' in the sales collection of a Discogs seller. It's a habit, of course, because I like to find Abba cover versions, but this one was unexpected. 

Joan Ellis was born as Annemarie van Splunteren in Amsterdam in 1952. This single was her debut. Famous Dutch musician and presenter Jan Rietman arranged and produced it. Joan released three singles in three years, then released her debut album Not the first mistake in 1981. Her take on the Abba song is admirable, but not as refined as the original.

My collection: 7" single no. 8357
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 July 2026
Tracks: 'I've been waiting for you' / 'Nobody knows' 

Merci Cherie - Ray Anthony

Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini on 20 January 1922) is an American retired bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his tenure as a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, from 1940 to 1941, and later for successfully leading his own big band. Anthony continued to tour around the United States in big bands before retiring in 1998. At the age of 104, he is the last living member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Back in 1966 he recorded this instrumental cover version of 'Merci Cherie', the famous song by Udo Jurgens. And that is, of course, a great way to end up in my record collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 8354
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 July 2026
Tracks: 'Merci Chérie' / 'Goodbye my love (Il silenzio)' 

Respectable / Showing out (Get fresh at the weekend) - Mel & Kim

Mel & Kim Appleby didn't release a lot of singles, but I managed to buy quite a few copies through the years with different sleeves and configurations. The latest addition is this single in the Atlantic Oldies Series, presumably released some time after their success in 1986 and 1987. 

The single brings together 'Respectable' and 'Showing out', their first two singles under the professional guidance of Stock, Aitken & Waterman. There's an interesting exhibition of Mel & Kim memorabilia at the V&A museum in London right now, check it out if you can.

My collection: 7" single no. 8353
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 July 2026
Tracks: 'Respectable' / 'Showing out (Get fresh at the weekend)'

Someone's in love - Five Star

'Someone's in love' was a track from Five Star's 1988 album Rock The World, and it was released as a single in the US only. The 12" single had an interesting picture sleeve, but the 7" single was more modest and came in an RCA record company sleeve.

The single presented a '7" radio mix' which was also on the US pressing of the album. Doris sang the lead vocals on this track rather than sister Denise, who was lead singer on all of Five Star's singles up to this point. The single only charted in the specialized R&B chart in the USA.

My collection: 7" single no. 8352
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 July 2026
Tracks: 'Someone's in love (7" radio mix)' / 'Rare groove'

Gimme some love - Gina G

Earlier this year I bought the promotional 10" single of Gina G's 'Gimme some love' and when I wrote the entry about it on this blog I discovered there was also a 7" single of that song. It took me a while to find a good (and cheap!) copy of that single, but here we are.

This 7" single presents the album version and the Eurobeat mix of the song, and as you can hear they are very similar. The CD-singles presented more remixes of the song, and they were all collected in an impressive little box set released by Cherry Red last year.

My collection: 7" single no. 8351
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 July 2026
Tracks: 'Gimme some love' / 'Gimme some love (Eurobeat mix)' 

Die schönsten Blumen blühen auf dem Land - Michèle Torr

Michèle Torr certainly knew her languages. When she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977 with 'Une petite Française', she wasted no time in recording different versions of the song with completely different lyrics. The English title became 'I'm just (a simple country girl from France)', and for the German market she recorded 'Die schönsten Blumen blühen auf dem Land'. 

The German lyrics were provided by Werner Schüler-Steger, a German bassist, songwriter, producer and founder of Daxhill Studio in Munich, Germany. 

My collection: 7" single no. 8350
Found: Discogs.com, received 20 July 2026
Tracks: 'Die schönsten Blumen blühen auf dem Land' / 'Le mal de mal'

Live in Japan '86 - Heart

This single was exclusively released in Japan. It features two live tracks, recorded at the NHK Hall in Tokyo in June 1986. It was released as a companion to the album Bad Animals in Japan, but fortunately I was able to buy the single on its own. (I don't collect LP's anymore, since they take up so much space.)

In recent interviews Nancy Wilson described how the band were pushed towards a certain style by the record company during the Eighties. 'I think we felt like we have to wear these clothes, and we need to make these videos, and we have to take the suggestion of the record company and try out these songs. We listened to stacks of demo songs by all these hit songwriters. Some obviously were a great fit, but when we went into rehearsals and tried to learn all these songs, it felt like we were giving up our territory as artists, because it was someone else's style.'

My collection: 7" single no. 8349
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 July 2026 
Tracks: 'Magic man (live)' / 'Barracuda (live)'