Theme from 'The Deer Hunter' - The Shadows

If for some reason (probably lack of space) I'll ever need to let go of this double groove 12" single of the Shadows' 'Theme from 'The Deer Hunter'', I can now fall back on the 7" version, which includes two of the three tracks.

The sleeve of this single, released in 1979, actually features a still from the movie on the cover. The other side of the sleeve is an advert for an album by Cliff and the Shadows, a recording of their reunion concerts at the London Palladium. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7017
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 26 August 2023
Tracks: 'Theme from 'The Deer Hunter'' /  'Bermuda triangle'

In neon - Elton John

Continuing on the theme of 'unknown singles by Elton John', here's an American promotional 7" of 'In neon'. The song was taken from his album 'Breaking hearts', which also featured the considerably more successful 'Sad songs (say so much)' and one of my personal favourites, 'Too low for zero'. 

By contrast, 'In neon' only reached number 12 in New Zealand, number 38 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and an underwhelming number 92 in Canada. This promotional single features the track on both sides.

My collection: 7" single no. 7016
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 26 August 2023
Tracks: 'In neon' / 'In neon'

Part time love - Elton John

Some artists have become so legendary that you would almost forget that not all of their singles have been huge hits. At least, some singles are certainly not what they are remembered for.

Take 'Part time love' by Elton John for example. I never saw a copy of this single before - I think - and I was quite surprised to find out it actually reached number 15 in the UK singles chart in October 1978. By comparison, the single did not chart in the Netherlands at all. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7015
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 26 August 2023
Tracks: 'Part time love' / 'I cry at night'

Taschenrechner - Kraftwerk

The fascinating story of Kraftwerk is something that entertained me during my holiday in Germany last month, thanks to a magazine published by the makers of Uncut. As a result I became interested in buying some of those missing Kraftwerk singles. Which isn't easy, because usually they command rather high prices.

Anyway, I found this copy of 'Taschenrechner' for a reasonable price, and it made me happy because it is one of my favourite Kraftwerk tracks. The English version is pretty great too - but this single only features the German and Japanese versions. Still, a great catch!

My collection: 7" single no. 7013
Found: Bennies Fifties, received 18 August 2023
Tracks: 'Taschenrechner' / 'Dentaku'

Al di la - Umberto Marcato

I actually found two versions of 'Al di la' on one day, both in the original record company sleeves, which I guess is a plus. Umberto Marcato appeared on this blog once before, with his version of 'Volare', so it's no surprise that he would cover 'Al di la' a few years later. 

In contrast to the Peter Kreuder version this is not an instrumental version, but actually sung - and sung very well too. For me it's one of the better versions of this particular song.

My collection: 7" single no. 7012
Found: Bennies Fifties, received 18 August 2023
Tracks: 'Al di la' / 'Il nostro concerto'

Al-di-la - Peter Kreuder

Some of the standard phrases I use when I buy records online are 'Volare', 'Piove' and 'Al di la', because you never know if a seller has some extra singles that might be of interest. And these three songs have been covered many times.

One of those covers is this instrumental version by Peter Kreuder. He was an German-Austrian pianist, composer and conductor. Born on 18 August 1905, he started his career as a very young man, playing his first compositions as a teenager. He passed away on 28 June 1981.

My collection: 7" single no. 7011
Found: Bennies Fifties, received 18 August 2023
Tracks: 'Al-di-la' / 'Einmal sehen wir uns wieder'

Again - Janet Jackson

A lot of years have passed by since I originally bought the single 'Again' by Janet Jackson. Back in 1994 I thought it was a brilliant heartfelt ballad, and I loved the fact that it was released as a single. (I already owned the album at that point.) 

Flash forward almost three decades and things have changed a bit. I don't listen to Janet as much as I did, the sexually-charged albums that followed after 1993 were a bit weird (although some tracks on there were still very catchy) and listening to this song again it sounds a bit, I don't know, too polished, too calculated. But I can only say this having listened to this single which I recently bought online.

Why did I buy it in the first place? Well, I am a sucker for coloured vinyl, of course!

My collection: 7" single no. 7010
Found: Bennie's Fifties, received 18 August 2023
Tracks: 'Again' / 'Again (piano, vocal)

Be kind to my mistakes - Kate Bush

I am very thankful that I am not a bona fide Kate Bush collector. I mean, I do have all her albums and singles, but I don't need all the various pressings from countries all over the world. There are many variations, especially of those early albums, that would easily cost many thousands of euros to get them all these days. 

That said, there are a few items that are on my wish list. A perfect copy of the UK single of 'Wuthering Heights' is one, and this German promotional single is another. Fortunately, I finally got hold of a copy recently. It features two tracks from the soundtrack of the movie 'Castaway'. Kate Bush's song, 'Be kind to my mistakes', also appears on the B-side of her 1989 single 'This woman's work', but in a different version. This is the original - and longer! - version.

One down, one to go.

My collection: 7" single no. 7009
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 August 2023
Tracks: 'Be kind to my mistakes' (Kate Bush) / 'Chemistry' (Brian Eno)

Il est là - Paule Desjardins

The very first Eurovision Song Contest took place in 1956 and every participating country (seven in total) performed two songs each. Some countries chose to send two different performing artists as well. In the case of France, they were Mathé Altéry with 'Le temps perdu' and Dany Dauberson with 'Il est là'. For some inexplicable reason, both songs were not released on disc at the time.

A version of 'Il est là' appeared on an EP, however, and it was performed by Paule Desjardins (who would go on to represent France the next year). This EP is quite rare, and I was lucky enough to find a copy from a Portuguese seller online. Sometimes you never know where those rare records come from!

My collection: 7" single no. 7008
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 August 2023
Tracks: 'Il est là', 'Mango-rumbo' / 'Casino blues', 'Viens plus près'