Copacabana (At the Copa) - Barry Manilow

Many years ago, 43 to be exact, I got the album Het beste uit de Top 40 van het jaar. It was one of the first albums I owned and I played it many times. Almost every song on it is a winner, and I have bought most of them on 7" as well. Every now and again, I pick up one of the remaining singles, just like this one.

'Copacabana' was a big hit for Barry Manilow in 1978. It was inspired by a conversation between Manilow and Bruce Sussman at the Copacabana Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, when they wondered if there had ever been a song with the title 'Copacabana'. There wasn't, and so they decided to write one themselves. 

In 1985, Manilow and his collaborators Sussman and Jack Feldman expanded the song into a full–length, made-for-television musical, also called 'Copacabana', with many additional songs and expanding the plot suggested by the song. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6708
Found: Flea market, Voorburg, 18 April 2022
Cost: €0,5
Tracks: 'Copacabana (At the Copa)' / 'A Linda song'

Bermuda triangle - Barry Manilow

In 1980, Barry Manilow released his album 'Barry', his first album not to top the US albums chart, stalling at number 15. The single 'Bermuda triangle' was taken from this album, but similarly failed to make an impact in the USA.

In the UK, the single was released a year later, and then managed to reach number 15. In Germany, it peaked at number 16.

My collection: 7" single no. 96
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1981
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Bermuda triangle' / 'Lonely together'

Mandy / Copacabana - Barry Manilow

I hate it when artists are labelled 'dodgy' or 'cheesy' when really there's no reason too. But that's exactly what happened to Barry Manilow during the Eighties. His hits in the Seventies were described as cliched and oldfashioned. When you listen to his two biggest hits now, you'll have to admit there's some nifty songwriting in there. And the performance is immaculate.

'Mandy' was originally a hit for Scott English in 1971. When Barry Manilow released his version three years later, it shot to number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100, whereas it reached number 11 in the UK singles chart. In 1977 he released 'Copacabana' (a number 8 hit in the USA, peaking at number 6 in the Dutch Top 40), a song so memorable it was later turned into a fullblown musical.

I'd been searching for the original single of 'Mandy' for years, and finally settled for this 'old gold' re-release.

My collection: 7" single no. 2325
Found: Record fair, June 3, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Mandy' / 'Copacabana'