Downtown - One 2 Many

The group One 2 Many only released one album, but it was a great pop album and one of those albums that I still play regularly. Their biggest hit was 'Downtown', released in 1988. I own two singles of the track and a CD-single, but somehow it got past me that there was also a 12" single with exclusive remixes on it. 

And so, a quarter of a century later, I acquired it from a Dutch seller on Discogs - an American promotional 12" single with two mixes on it. Actually, the 7" edit on this one also sounded different to me, because at 2'17 lead singer Camilla Griehsel sings 'This is no time in a village for a while', a line I never heard on the three discs I mentioned before. So, three 'new' tracks by One 2 Many - that's a good catch.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 November 2022
Tracks: 'Downtown (Way Downtown mix)' / 'Downtown (7" edit)', 'Downtown (2 Down Dub)'

Another man - One 2 Many

One 2 Many had a Europe-wide hit with 'Downtown' in 1988. The album 'Mirror' was met with considerably less enthusiasm, and the three following singles went by unnoticed as well. Don't know why, because the sleeve of this single alone would have been reason enough to buy it.

And the song is another Scandinavian slice of pure pop. The mid-tempo track should have done better in the charts than it did.

My collection: 7" single no. 827
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, May 20, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Another man' / 'You're the reason'

Writing on the wall - One 2 Many

The last single from One 2 Many's only album 'Mirror' was 'Writing on the wall'. The track was remixed for the single release by Julian Mendelsohn. It did not help matters much: the single did not chart.

Singer Camilla Griehsel was still promoting the music of the band while it had already fallen apart. After she was released from her contract she'd already met singer Colin Vearncombe (from Black), with whom she married and had children. Nowadays they live in Ireland, and Camilla is enjoying a successful career as a classical singer.

My collection: 7" single no. 1012
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Writing on the wall' / 'Another man'

Nearly there - One 2 Many

It's interesting how maintaining this blog has influenced me to buy more singles lately. The 7" single format has always had a special attraction to me, but I thought I'd reached the point where I have everything I wanted to have. But there are some strange omissions in my collection, and this particular one came to my attention recently just by working on this blog!

'Nearly there' was the third single from One 2 Many's only album 'Mirror'. I described the 12" single a few months ago, and that's when I found out that I don't have the single. Well, that error has been corrected now: a friendly dealer on eBay sold me the record and I received it today. I think I have all the One 2 Many singles now!

My collection: 7" single no. 3790
Found: eBay.co.uk, received June 23, 2009
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Nearly there' / 'In my heart'

Downtown - One 2 Many

Camilla Griehsel, Dag Kolsrud and Jan Gisle Ytterdal formed One 2 Many in 1988. They released their only album 'Mirror' on A&M Records. Several singles were drawn from the album, but this one was the first and most successful.

'Downtown' originally came out in October 1988. It reached number 65 in the UK singles chart and number 1 in Norway. A few months later, in February 1989, the single entered the Dutch Top 40, where it peaked at number 24. In May 1989, the single was re-released in the UK and made number 43. It also found its way into the American singles chart, where it peaked at number 37.

I saw the music video for 'Downtown' on television and was immediately interested. The song featured a lot of piano (my favourite instrument), the vocals were infectuous and the melody was beautiful. I bought the single soon after that. A few years later, I found the 1989 UK edition with a different sleeve (pictured below).

My collection: 7" single no. 755 / no. 2893

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, February 17, 1989 / Beanos, East Croydon, London, October 29, 1997

Cost: 6 guilders / 1 pound

Tracks: 'Downtown' / 'Welcome to my city'

Nearly there - One 2 Many

Well, at least they were optimistic. After the failure of previous single 'Another man', One 2 Many followed up with another single, 'Nearly there'. Like its predecessor, it didn't trouble the charts. The 12" single is an attractive proposition, nonetheless, because it features an extended version of 'Nearly there'. I didn't know about this single, so I was very surprised when I found this 12". It was 1990, a year after it was released. I was even more surprised a couple of years later when I found out that there was even a cd-single. Strangely enough, I never found a 7" single of this!

My collection: 12" single no. 101

Found: Record Exchange, London, October 1990

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'Nearly there (extended version)' / 'In my heart'

Download: here

Another man - One 2 Many

The band One 2 Many consisted of Dag Kolsrud (keyboard), Camilla Griehsel (vocals) and Jan Gisle Ytterdal (guitar). They formed in Norway in the mid-eighties and signed to A&M Records. Their debut album 'Mirror' spawned four singles, of which 'Another man' was the second. The single did less well than the debut single 'Downtown', which became a hit in various territories. 'Another man' didn't chart outside of Scandinavia.

The 12" single contains only an instrumental version of 'Another man', no further remixes. But the sleeve alone would persuade many men to buy it. Including me.

My collection: 12" single no. 410

Found: Record Exchange, London, 2002

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Another man' / 'You're the reason', 'Another man (instrumental)'

Download: here