How do you mend a broken heart - Guys 'n' Dolls

As one of the popular groups of the Seventies, Guys 'n' Dolls scored a string of hits in the UK and Europe. It is less wellknown that they also had a shot at representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1979, the group took part in the national A Song For Europe contest with the song 'How do you mend a broken heart?'. Although the TV show was abandoned due to a BBC strike, the song finished in tenth place of the 12 entries when the judges cast votes on the audio recordings of the songs. When you hear the song now, you could say that it might have been a better effort than Black Lace's 'Mary Ann'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6077
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'How do you mend a broken heart' / 'Perfectly well'

Angel of the morning - Guys 'n' Dolls

Back in 1979, I got a double LP of the biggest hits of 1978. I was only eight years old and this was a huge addition to my collection of records. I played the album a lot and those tracks of 1978 have all become engrained in my memory. In recent years I have become less interested in LP's and more interested in singles, so it's only logical that I should buy the singles from that LP.

'Angel of the morning' was originally a hit in 1968 for Merrilee Rush. Later versions were recorded by Nina Simone, Juice Newton, P.P. Arnold, Olivia Newton-John, The Pretenders/Chrissie Hynde, Dusty Springfield, Mary Mason, Melba Montgomery, and Billie Davis. Guys 'n' Dolls released their version in November 1977, and had a hit with it at the turn of the year.

My collection: 7" single no. 5124
Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Angel of the morning' / 'I must go home alone'

You don't have to say you love me - Guys 'n' Dolls

Guys 'n' Dolls were formed in 1974, after Ammo Productions held auditions for three girls and three boys to start the band. The six members of the group Paul Griggs, David Van Day, Thereza Bazar, Dominic Grant, Martine Howard, and Julie Forsyth (daughter of Bruce Forsyth), first met in November 1974. They released their first hit single, "There's a whole lot of loving' in January 1975 (this was actually recorded by session singers, and the group were later discovered not to have actually recorded the original). In the six years that followed, the group released several more hits

In 1976, they released a cover version of 'You don't have to say you love me', a song made famous ten years before by Dusty Springfield. Their version reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 10 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 5120
Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, June 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'You don't have to say you love me' / 'Lovely lady'