Kids in America - Radio Wendy

I don't buy a lot of 7" singles these days, but every now and again I find something online that I've been looking for. This single first came to my attention last year. It was another cover version of Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America' - and there are loads of cover versions of that song! - but this particular one has never surfaced online as an mp3 or anything. The single was for sale but upon ordering the seller found out he couldn't find the single he was offering. At the time, he was the only one.

Earlier this month, I looked again and there were actually three sellers for this single! I picked one, ordered it, and two weeks later it was in my mailbox. It turns out Radio Wendy was signed to an independent record company in San Diego, California. Not much more information than that, even the year of release can't be traced. It is a nice cover version, but nothing too spectacular I'm afraid. It's been done before.

My collection: 7" single no. 5346
Found: Discogs.com, received August 27, 2013
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Kids in America' / 'Growing old'

Moments of pleasure - Kate Bush

I would describe my latest vinyl acquisition as a shocker. I never knew that 'Moments of pleasure' by Kate Bush, released in 1993 as the second single off her album 'The red shoes' was released on a 7" single. But it was, albeit only on this jukebox version and never commercially.

Having always thought that only 'Rubberband girl' got a 7" version (and there's a jukebox version of that one too) this is quite a revelation for me. I'm lucky to have found a copy on eBay and win the auction too at such a low price. You'd think that hordes of Kate Bush fans are after this great single, but apparently not...

My collection: 7" single no. 5345
Found: eBay.co.uk, received July 9, 2013
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Moments of pleasure' / 'Moments of pleasure (instrumental)'

Running up that hill - Sweep featuring Linda Carriere

Not content with just one disc, Sweep and Linda Carriere released several 12" singles of their cover of 'Running up that hill'. This second 12" features just two remixes of the track, featuring a sort of budget Shaggy clone (as if Shaggy himself isn't cheap enough already).

Repetitive and a bit of an insult to the original track, it's no wonder Sweep disappeared from the music scene directly after this one release.

My collection: 12" single no. 645
Found: unknown, 199X
Cost: unknown
Tracks: "Running up that hill (Running status mix)' / 'Running up that hill (Killer Bee mix)'

Running up that hill - Sweep featuring Linda Carriere

Most people who are fan of a certain artist don't have much interest for cover versions of their favourite artist. I tend to act differently: for most of the acts that I have more than a passing interest in, I like to collect as much cover versions as I can. It does mean that you need a lot of perseverance and in some cases lots of endurance too. Some cover versions are dreadful, others can turn out to be quite nice.

Unfortunately, Sweep's 1993 version of Kate Bush's 'Running up that hill' does not fall into the latter category. It's a rather unimaginative take on what was a very innovative pop song back in 1985. The vocals by Linda Carriere are sometimes ridiculous, but she does manage to hold a few notes. Which I guess is a positive point.

My collection: 12" single no. 644
Found: unknown, 199X
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Running up that hill (Jam's Labyrinth mix)', 'Running up that hill (1993 mix)' / 'Running up that hill (laser mix)', 'Running up that hill (radio edit)'

If you could read my mind - Aurora

Sung by Marcella Detroit (of Shakespear's Sister fame), 'If you could read my mind' was a pretty nice cover version of a song originally performed by Gordon Lightfoot (and also covered by Viola Wills in 1980). Aurora released only one album in 2001, from which several singles were released. Three singles were a hit, but this, the fourth single drawn from the album, failed to chart.

Upon hearing these remixes I wasn't too impressed. The Roksolid dub in particular has nothing to do with the original track, and that's a shame. But still, it's good to have this disc, as it represents a full collection of remixes of a pretty much forgotten gem.

My collection: 12" single no. 642
Found: Discogs.com, received March 1, 2013
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'If you could read my mind (Coloursound club mix)' / 'If you could read my mind (If you could funk my head mix)', 'If you could read my mind (Roksolid dub)'

You only tell me you love me when you're drunk - Pet Shop Boys

I don't have many Pet Shop Boys 12" singles, even though I really like their music. Most of their remixes have been released on cd - I think - so whenever I see a 12" single by them I cross off my list: 'Do I have all the tracks?'. If not, I go to the next question: 'Is it cheap'? If not, I have no trouble leaving it be.

So this double 12" set ended up in my collection because it contained one remix I didn't have yet and because it was dirt cheap. When I finally received it today I concluded that it was a good buy: the outer sleeve looks a bit boring (see the picture) but the two inner sleeve are actually quite attractive, featuring a photograph on one side each (picturing one member of the duo each) and the same dark brown colour on the other side. Well designed. But then, all of the Pet Shop Boys sleeves have been well designed.

My collection: 12" single no. 641
Found: Discogs.com, received March 1, 2013
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk (Brother Brown's newt mix)' / 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk (Attaboy still love you when we're sober mix)' // 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk (The T-Total mix)' / 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk (Brother Brown's newt dub)'

Sweet love - Fierce

'Sweet love' was a cover version of the 1986 Anita Baker track by the female trio Fierce, consisting of Chantal Alleyne, Aisha Peters and Sabrina Weathers. The group sang R&B tracks and had four hits in the UK, including this one. The original version was released on their only album, 'Right here right now' (1999) and produced by Jeremy Wheatley and Magnus Fiennes, while the single version, entitled 'Sweet love 2K' was produced by Stargate.

This double 12" release features remixes by Rhythm Masters and Trouser Enthusiasts. And there lies the answer to the question 'why did I buy this?'. The UK collective Trouser Enthusiasts have made some excellent remixes and this is one of them. It's very hard to get hold of them all but this 12" was pretty cheap when I found it online.

My collection: 12" single no. 640
Found: Discogs.com, received March 1, 2013
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Sweet love (Rhythm Masters vocal mix)' / 'Sweet love (Trouser Enthusiasts dub)' // 'Sweet love (Trouser Enthusiasts mix)' / 'Sweet love (Rhythm Masters dub)'

Reactive - Sixteen Deluxe

The American band Sixteen Deluxe are a "psychedelic noise-pop band", according to their own biography, from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1994, they played for seven years together before breaking up in July 2000 after Carrie Clark left the band. Apparently they reformed ten years later - the website sixteendeluxemusic.com has been abandoned almost as soon as it was started but still gives that information from 2010.

This 7" single became part of my collection after I found out a cover of Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America' was featured on the B-side. There are many cover versions of Kim's debut hit, but this is a pretty hard to find one. It isn't actually too bad, if you're expecting the dozenth punk-inspired cover version.

My collection: 7" single no. 5300
Found: Discogs.com, received February 2, 2013
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Reactive' / 'Kids in America'

Swingtime - Black

After two years of absence from the music scene, Black returned in 1993, free from his contract with A&M records and owner of a new self-owned company called Nero Schwarz ltd. His comeback album was called 'Are we having fun yet?', taking a stab at his moody, melancholy image. The album was full of quirky sounds and well written pop songs, but unfortunately this music was not picked up by the general public. A concert in Rotterdam at the time was visited by only 60 people. I was one of them, and I also bought all of the cd-singles released from that album.

Little did I know that in Spain a 7" single was released as well. I found out about this some eight years after the fact, when I started corresponding with other Black fans. And I tried for the last decade to find this single. Especially since it contains an otherwise unreleased B-side track. It was on my 'want list' on Discogs.com for two years. And then, suddenly, last Monday morning I found an e-mail from Discogs saying that an item was for sale on my wantlist. I ordered it within minutes. Only five days later, I held a copy of that great sought after item in my hands. Bliss.

My collection: 7" single no. 5295
Found: Discogs.com, received August 10, 2012
Cost: 8 euro
Tracks: 'Swingtime' / 'Quiet side of the road'

Moments of pleasure - Kate Bush

With a still from the movie 'The line, the cross & the curve', EMI Records could have chosen a better picture for the sleeve of this fantastic 12" single. The one they picked was a bit tasteless, especially since 'Moments of pleasure' is such a beautiful, emotional song. The movie retold the fairy tale of the red shoes, featuring a lot of dance scenes because Kate is forced to dance by the shoes she put on.

Anyway, the 12" single - which was the last 12" single by Kate Bush ever released - features a poster sleeve and one exclusive track which was never officially released on CD: the instrumental version of 'Moments of pleasure'. You can hear the orchestra in its full glory, showing how beautifully crafted these melody lines really are.

Truth be told, I have been feeling a bit sad and this song is the perfect soundtrack for such feelings. It's also one of the most beautiful tracks Kate Bush has ever committed to tape.

My collection: 12" single no. 187
Found: HMV, 1993
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Moments of pleasure' / 'Moments of pleasure (instrumental)', 'Home for Christmas'

A million love songs - Take That

'A million love songs' was the penultimate single from Take That's debut album and was written by lead vocalist Gary Barlow at the age of 15. The single peaked at number 7 in the UK Singles Chart.

The song has also been voted by critics and music fans as the greatest ballad of all time. That seems a bit odd, but considering the numbers 2 and 3 were 'Everything I do' by Bryan Adams and 'Always' by Bon Jovi, you can just about figure out the blandness of the general public. So... greatest ballad of all time? Not really. A nice little song nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 5301
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'A million love songs' / 'A million love songs (Lovers mix)'

In the springtime of his voodoo - Tori Amos

For a mere eight years I was well into Tori Amos. All that time she released five great albums, until the disastrous covers album 'Strange little girls' ended that great run and introduced a decade of wishy-washy albums, finally descending into that career nosedive called the - gasp - Christmas album.

I should have suspected that Tori Amos was not entirely artistically correct when her third album 'Boys for Pele' spawned a few very bad remix efforts. The number one hit 'Professional widow', in which the original song was mangled beyond recognition, was an offence, and it was followed by this 12" single featuring four half-decent remixes of 'In the springtime of his voodoo'. I couldn't foresee what would happen next, I bought this one out of curiosity more than anything.

My collection: 12" single no. 636
Found: Delft, 1996
Cost: 20 guilders
Tracks: 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Hasbrouck Heights club mix)', 'In the springtime of his vooodo (Quiet mix)' / 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Sugar dub)', 'In the springtime of his voodoo (Hasbrouck heights single mix)'

Come undone - Duran Duran

When the cd-single became the preferred format in the late Eighties, vinyl was quickly pronounced dead by the record companies, not realising they were digging their own graves at the time. But before they did, there were some efforts made to sell vinyl discs, for instance with exclusive tracks.

This 12" single of Duran Duran's 1993 single 'Come undone' for instance features the 'TV synth strings' mix of 'Come undone', which was not available on either of the two (!) cd-singles available in the UK. But it is suspicious that this 12" single was released in Italy in. So buying this in a shop in Amsterdam two years after its release was a bit of a fluke...

My collection: 12" single no. 237
Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, 1995
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Come undone (edit)', 'Ordinary world (acoustic version)' / 'Come undone (FGI Phumpin' 12"), 'Come undone (La fin de siecle)', 'Come undone (TV synth strings)'

Rubberband girl - Kate Bush

When Kate Bush finally released a new album in 1993, four years after the previous one, I was looking forward to it like never before. The world really needed new music from Kate Bush, as the music scene in 1993 had become boring and predictable. Kate Bush was never that: her new single showed an unexpected whimsical style.

'Rubberband girl' was released a month before a holiday in London, so I had to wait a while before I got my hands on this picture disc 12" single. Featuring the same tracks as the cd-single, the real treat was the picture disc itself which showed a still from the movie 'The line, the cross & the curve' which was released in 1994.

My collection: 12" single no. 174
Found: HMV, London, October 1993
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Rubberband girl (extended version)' / 'Rubberband girl', 'Big stripey lie'

Rocket man - Kate Bush

In 1990, Kate Bush was one of the artists that participated in the project 'Two rooms', in which covers of Elton John songs were recorded. Kate Bush chose 'Rocket man', a song originally released in 1972. According to Kate: 'When I asked to be involved in this project and was given the choice of a track it was like being asked ‘would you like to fulfill a dream? would you like to be Rocket Man?’... yes, I would.'

Mercury Records had the good judgement to release Kate's track as a single, and Kate added another cover on the B-side: a version of 'Candle in the wind', released by Elton John in 1974. A stripped down, almost clunky version that takes a lot of its charm from Kate's beautiful vocals. This 12" single features both the vocal and instrumental version - as did the cd-single of 'Rocket man'.

My collection: 12" single no. 629
Found: Discogs.com, received February 8, 2012
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Rocket man' / 'Candle in the wind', 'Candle in the wind (instrumental)'

Free spirit - Kim Appleby

The 12" single I bought back in 1994 features four remixes of Kim Appleby's 'Free spirit', but this promotional double 12" set, which I found last month on a website, features five. Indeed, that's one extra and so I guess you could say I bought this set for one track only.

Now if 'Free spirit' was recorded by Madonna or Britney Spears these days it would probably be a hit, because it's a piece of inspired high energy pop, but Kim Appleby's star had faded in 1994, when this disc came out, and so it disappeared quietly. What a shame.

My collection: 12" single no. 624
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Free spirit (Mixed by Mobius Loop)' / 'Free spirit (Club mix - remix by Tony King' // 'Free spirit (Sound of Stockwell dub)' / 'Free spirit (Spiritual mix)', 'Free spirit (Diesel & Ether Defacto mix)'

Send me a lover - Taylor Dayne

'Send me a lover' was written by Rick Hahn and George Thatcher, and released on September 6, 1993 as the second single from Taylor Dayne's album 'Soul dancing'. It peaked at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In Europe, the single didn't become a hit. Perhaps that's why it didn't appear on 7" vinyl in Europe. This single was made in the USA and didn't come in a picture sleeve.

Unfortunately, the song was later covered by Celine Dion, who butchered the song beyond recognition with her grating voice. This version by Taylor Dayne remains the only one you can hear without bleeding ears.

My collection: 7" single no. 5287
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 2, 2012
Cost: 1,2 euro
Tracks: 'Send me a lover' / 'Someone like you'

Killer / Papa was a rollin' stone - George Michael

After Freddie Mercury died in November 1991, the remaining members of Queen staged a charity concert at Wembley Stadium in London with several pop and rock icons taking the place of Freddie and performing his vocals. After the concert, the EP 'Five live' was released to further benefit the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

From this EP, only 'Somebody to love' and 'These are the days of our live' were performed during the tribute concert. The other three live tracks were recorded during George Michael's 'Cover to cover tour' from 1991. The medley of 'Killer' and 'Papa was a rollin' stone' was one of them, and it was remixed by PM Dawn for this 12" single.

My collection: 12" single no. 620
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 27, 2012
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Killer/Papa was a rollin' stone (PM Dawn remix)' / 'Killer/Papa was a rollin' stone (PM Dawn remix instrumental)'

Breakaway - Kim Appleby

One half of the popular duo Mel & Kim continued solo after the other half sadly passed away. Kim Appleby initially forged a successful career with hit singles like 'Don't worry' and 'G.L.A.D.', but her second solo album wasn't as popular and she soon ended up out of the music business.

This is the title track of that second album, remixed by La Camorra, Clive Farrington, "Mr. L", Harding & Curnow and Biffco for a promotional double 12" release. Most of these remixes were never released commercially, and only two of them appeared on cd as far as I know.

My collection: 12" single no. 619
Found: Discogs.com, received January 24, 2012
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Breakaway (Headless Pigeon mix 2)', 'Breakaway (Headless Pigeon dub 2)' / 'Breakaway (The survivor mix)', 'Breakaway (Mr. L.'s Midnight mix)' // 'Breakaway (extended mix)' / 'Breakaway (Break dub - Diss Gust It mix)', 'Breakaway (Headless Pigeon mix 1)'

I get lonely - Janet Jackson

Taken from her 1997 album 'The velvet rope', 'I get lonely' was one of those Janet Jackson tracks that contained an R&B feel more than her previous work. It was the kind of stuff she would record more often after this album, with increasingly less audience approval.

These remixes breathe a little life into the track, although it really can't compare with the hits she'd had in the decade before. Nice, but not too interesting is my verdict, alas.

My collection: 12" single no. 618
Found: Discogs.com, received January 24, 2012
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'I get lonely (Janet vs Jason - The club remix)', 'I get lonely (Janet vs Jason - The remix sessions part 2)' / 'I get lonely (Jason's special sauce dub)', 'I get lonely (LP version)'