Mon coeur qui craque - Nathalie

The single 'My love won't let you down' was a translation of this original French version. Having had the English version for 25 years already, it was a pleasure to finally acquire this one. Like the other version, this single was produced by Peter Godwin. And, unusually for French songs, it does already contain a few lines in English.

My collection: 7" single no. 6126
Found: Discogs.com, received June 21, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Mon coeur qui craque' / 'Mon coeur qui craque (instrumental)'

Window shopping - Peter Godwin

It should come as no surprise, that writing about my record collection makes me realise that there are still holes in that collection. Having written several articles about Peter Godwin, I knew that the single 'Window shopping' was still missing. So I was very glad to find that single yesterday.

Like most of his singles, 'Window shopping' is a synth-oriented affair, with nice melody lines and a catchy chorus. The single was taken from his 1983 album 'Correspondence', and, like most of his releases, commercially unsuccessful.

My collection: 7" single no. 3551

Found: All that music, Leiden, January 24, 2009

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Window shopping' / 'The art of love'

Download: Album 'Correspondence', including both tracks

Baby's in the mountains - Peter Godwin

It's never clear to me why some singles are not a bigger success. Peter Godwin's 'Baby's in the mountains' is a good example. It's a catchy song, it's got most of the electronic sounds that were popular in 1983, and yet, it didn't sell.

Peter Godwin has recently been writing lyrics for Steve Winwood. These tracks appear on his 2008 album, 'Nine lives'.

My collection: 7" single no. 1452

Found: All that music, Leiden, June 18, 1991

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Baby's in the mountains' / 'Soul of love'

Download: here

Torch songs for the heroine - Peter Godwin

One of the tracks on 'Dance emotions' is an extended version of 'Torch songs'. The single was released in 1981 under the title 'Torch songs for the heroine'. The single version and the ballad version (on the B-side) were both produced by Midge Ure, which explains the romantic, almost metallic, dreamy Ultravoxesque sound of this.

I bought this single because his later singles 'Emotional disguise' and 'Images of heaven' were so good. I never liked this single much until recently. Sometimes, like wine, music needs to wait a while before being appreciated fully.

My collection: 7" single no. 1906

Found: Groningen, May 15, 1993

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Torch songs for the heroine' / 'Torch songs for the heroine (Ballad version)'

Download: here

Dance emotions - Peter Godwin

I don't often write about albums on this blog because mostly the lp's I own have been neatly re-released on cd at some point. But I'll gladly make an exception for Peter Godwin's 1982 mini-lp 'Dance emotions'. Basically a collection of alternative versions of his single releases, this album comprises six tracks, including two versions of his most wellknown track 'Emotional disguise', a dance mix of 'Images of heaven', and extended versions of 'Torch songs' and 'Luxury'.

I bought this mini-lp during a record fair. Having never seen a 12" single by Peter Godwin I was very pleased to see all these extended versions collected on one disc.

My collection: LP no. 87

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, April 7, 1991

Cost: 7,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Emotional disguise (extended version)', 'Torch songs (extended version)', 'French emotions' / 'Images of heaven (dance mix)', 'Cruel heart', 'Luxury (extended version)

Download: here

Emotional disguise - Peter Godwin

I heard 'Emotional disguise' on a local radio station (repeatedly) and started to become very interested in this song. It took me a while to find out who was singing this song, because it didn't reach the charts in the Netherlands. Even in the UK, Peter Godwin remained largely unknown.

My sister finally bought the single later in the year and so I got to know Peter Godwin. It would take me even more years to finally own the single myself.

My collection: 7" single no. 1159

Found: All that music, Leiden, January 27, 1990

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Emotional disguise' / 'French emotions'

Download: here

Images of heaven - Peter Godwin

Peter Godwin was born in Germany and one of the members of the band Metro in the late 1970's. In 1982, he released this solo single, 'Images of heaven', which became well-known in alternative circuits. The single was accompanied by two different videos: a rude version and a clean version.

I got to know Peter Godwin initially because of his other single, 'Emotional disguise'. Buying this single was an experiment. I wasn't disappointed.

My collection: 7" snigle no. 1389

Found: All that music, Leiden, February 22, 1991

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Images of heaven' / 'Spoken images'

Download: here

My love won't let you down - Nathalie

Nathalie was a Belgian girl who had the amazing luck to work with Peter Godwin, a guy who made some great records in his own right in the early eighties. (More about him later on this blog.) 'My love won't let you down' was the english language version of Nathalie's single 'Mon coeur qui craque', which apparently did well in French speaking countries.

I heard the song in 1983 when it roamed the Dutch charts, and it stuck in my mind as a nice pop song. I finally bought a copy of the single pictured here above in 1994. But that wasn't all: shortly before that I'd gotten my hands on the 12" single, with its striking image of the singer on the cover. Fortunately it wasn't just the cover that made an impression.

I really like the things Peter Godwin produced, and am - again - amazed that he didn't achieve a higher level of success. Whatever happened to Nathalie? As far as I know, she didn't release anything but this single. But I could be wrong of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 2132; 7" single no. 3280; 12" single no. 148

Found: Record Palace, Amsterdam, July 30, 1994; unknown, February 9, 2001; Record Palace, Amsterdam, 199X

Cost: 2 guilders; 2 guilders; 2,5 guilders

Tracks:

7": 'My love won't let you down' / 'My love won't let you down (instrumental)'

12": 'My love won't let you down [extended]' / 'My love won't let you down (instrumental)'

Download: here