Green mellow hill - The Sparklings

The Sparklings are best known for their work with Dutch singer Ben Cramer. They were previously known as the Rhythm Boys. In 1965 they started performing with Ben Cramer, making their TV debut the next year. Besides working with Ben Cramer they release their own album '...And The Sparklings' in 1966. The album contains a cover version of the Spanish Eurovision entry 'Hablemos Del Amor' and various original 'beat' tracks. 

'Green Mellow Hill' is the last release by the Sparklings, a single that features a cover version of the Marty Wilde composition 'Running Forwards' on the B-side. It was released in 1970. Obviously I was after this B-side track, but it was a search of many years, since this single has become a bit of a rarity. With an average asking price of 40 euros on Discogs, I was lucky to find a copy on the Dutch Ebay recently for just one tenth of that price. The only downside being that the single came without the picture sleeve. I still think it's a good deal.

My collection: 7" single no. 6349
Found: Ebay.nl, received 12 February 2021
Cost: 3,5 euro
Tracks: 'Green Mellow Hill' / 'Running Forwards'

Je leven lang verliefd - Bandjo with Anne Cathrine Herdorf

It's Valentine's Day and it gives me great pleasure to post an appropriate song on this special day. 

Bandjo and Anne Cathrine Herdorf represented Denmark during the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest with 'En Lille Melodi'. I also have the English version of that song, 'A simple little song', which I bought in 2009. What I didn't know, was that there is also a Dutch version of the song. At least, Anne Cathrine tries to sing the song in Dutch but clearly it is not her mother tongue. It makes this song sound a lot like those Eastern European acts that try to sing in English. So if you're from abroad and you're worried that you can't understand the lyrics of 'Je Leven Lang Verliefd' ('Your Entire Life In Love') : don't worry, even Dutch people can't understand them.

My collection: 7" single no. 6348
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 February 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Je leven lang verliefd' / 'En lille melodi (instrumental)'

Jungle Jim - Pete Pantechnicon

There is something mysterious about this single, as it was only released as a promotional 7" single, if I am to believe the Discogs listing. As as for Pete Pantechnicon, his identity remains a mystery as well. 

So what do we know about 'Jungle Jim'? Only that it was written by Ronnie Scott and Marty Wilde, and that Marty Wilde recorded a demo of the song which was included in last year's box set 'Marty: A Lifetime In Music 1957-2019'. The track was arranged by Barry Guard, who also wrote the B-side, 'Point Of No Return'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6347
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 January 2021
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Jungle Jim' / 'Point Of No Return'

Little Ray Of Sunshine - Joe Brown

Released in 1966, Joe Brown's 'Little Ray Of Sunshine' failed to reach the charts in the UK. It was one of an impressive nine singles to fail, in between 'Sally Ann', which reached number 28 in 1963 and 'With A Little Help From My Friends', which reached number 32 in 1967. By today's standards, an artist would already have been dropped by their record label a few times over, but back in the 1960's Pye obviously had faith in mister Brown.

My interest in this single is explained once again by the B-side: 'Your Loving Touch' was written - and previously recorded - by Marty Wilde. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6346
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 January 2021
Cost: 7 euro
Tracks: 'Little Ray Of Sunshine' / 'Your Loving Touch'

Not So Manic Now (acoustic) - Dubstar

One of the nicest singles from the Nineties was Dubstar's 'Not So Manic Now'. For me, the song was overshadowed by 'No More Talk', another fantastic release by the same band. Their album 'Make It Better', released in 2000 was a relative disappointment, and they disappeared for almost two decades.

Back in 2018, without me knowing it, they released a new album called 'One'. That album was recently re-released and was quickly followed by this single, an acoustic rendition of 'Not So Manic Now' with a cover of the Beatles song 'Free As A Bird' on the B-side. Pressed on orange vinyl, it truly is a thing of beauty - and the first 7" single of Dubstar in my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 6345
Found: Townsend Music, received 27 January 2021
Cost: 9 euro
Tracks: 'Not So Manic Now (acoustic)' / 'Free As A Bird'

Meillä Potkii Hyvin - Danny

My collection of Wilde-related singles is growing lately and it's thanks to the internet. I have found some pretty obscure singles these last few years, and here is another example of that. Finnish singer Danny released 'Meillä Potkii Hyvin' ('We Kick Well') in 1970, with a song originally written by Ronnie Scott and Marty Wilde on the B-side. 

'Yhä Virta Venhettä Kantaa' was translated into Finnish by Pertti Reponen and Esko Linnavalli and is a cover version of 'I Still Believe In Tomorrow'. I received this single from Finland in the original Scandia record label sleeve. Danny's real name is Ilkka Johannes Lipsanen and he was born in Pori, Finland on 24 September 1942. When he started his career in music in the 1960's as part of the band The Islanders he sang songs in English but as he moved on to a successful solo career, he switched to Finnish.Although he'd already released three solo albums by 1970, 'Meillä potkii hyvin' was a non-album single and both sides never appeared on any album.

My collection: 7" single no. 6344
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 January 2021
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Meillä potkii hyvin' / 'Yhä virta venhettä kantaa'

The Shang-a-lang song - Ruby Pearl and the Dreamboats

Some time ago I bought the Shang-a-lang-song single on a German pressing. I recently found out that there was a UK version with a different B-side. 'Will you stop that!' is, like the A-side, entirely produced and recorded by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley, and is an interesting piece of music because it takes glam rock to its most annoying extremes. Hence the title, probably.

I never realised this when I wrote the previous entry about this song, but Ruby Pearl does not actually exist: in reality it was one of the many guises Marty Wilde used during the 1970's to release various singles on the Magnet label.

My collection: 7" single no. 6343
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 January 2021
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'The Shang-a-lang song' / 'Will you stop that!'