Them heavy people - Kate Bush

Nothing beats the beauty of Japanese singles. If they weren't so damn expensive, I would buy much more of them. The attention to detail on these things is astonishing and they often have different sleeves. Sometimes even different tracks! This single of Kate Bush features the album version of 'Them heavy people', instead of the live version that was released in Europe over a year later. Both tracks on this single were taken 'from her mysterious album', as it says on the cover. Which is a bit funny.

Despite being 40 years old, this single still plays like it is new and that's what I love most about this single. When I spend a bit much on a single I want it to sound good, and this one does. It's all part of my effort to buy more Kate Bush singles, a special part of my collection because Kate Bush is one of my all time favourite artists.

My collection: 7" single no. 5941
Found: eBay, received September 16, 2018
Cost: 14 euro
Tracks: 'Them heavy people' / 'The man with the child in his eyes'

If faut chanter la vie - Severine

In 1973, the Eurovision Song Contest took place in Luxembourg. The previous year the contest was won by Vicky Leandros with 'Apres toi', and in 1973, Luxembourg snatched pole position once again with Anne-Marie David's 'Tu te reconnaitras'. It was proof of the dominance of French as the 'lingua franca' at the time.

1973 was an interesting year, because Israel debuted with Ilanit's 'Ey Sham' and the United Kingdom sent Cliff Richard over to sing 'Power to all our friends' - five years after he appeared at Eurovision with 'Congratulations'. Severine, the French singer who had won Eurovision in 1971 with 'Un banc, un arbre, une rue', decided to profit from the popularity of the Contest by covering the two songs on this single. 'Il faut chanter la vie' was a French version of Cliff Richard's song, and 'Autour de nous' was the French version of 'Ey Sham'. My finding this French single in a German second hand store only emphasises the international appeal of the Eurovision Song Contest.

My collection: 7" single no. 5938
Found: Come Back, Mannheim, September 13, 2018
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Il faut chanter la vie' / 'Autour de nous'

Hot summer girls - Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids

This past summer was hot. While we are enjoying the last few rays of sunshine, here's a sunny summer track. Recorded by Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids in 1975, 'Hot Summer Girls' was a cover version of a song written by Marty Wilde. I knew about this single but didn't buy it online because with added postage it would become a bit pricey. I was very pleased, therefore, to find this single for just one euro in a local free record fair.

Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids started out in 1969 in Boulder, Colorado (USA). They got their name from Hughey Plumley who spent most of his time in the back of a Boulder bar, The Sink, and who entertained himself by creating names for bands. The band released five albums between 1972 and 1988. 'Hot Summer Girls' appeared on their third album, 'Sons Of The Beaches'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5933
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, September 1, 2018
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Hot summer girls' / 'Time will tell'

If - Bread

I don't have a lot of original singles by Bread, although I do like the band. They are simply quite hard to come by if you're not prepared to pay a lot for them. But sometimes I do get lucky. This original release of 'If', one of the band's most sentimental ballads, suddenly turned up in one of the many racks in Leiden's biggest vinyl shop, and of course I took it immediately.

Released in 1971, it was the first of only three hit singles in the Netherlands. It reached number 19 during a chart run of four weeks. In the USA, the single got to number 4, but in the UK it did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5929
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, August 31, 2018
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'If' / 'Take comfort'

The world keeps turning - Heddy Lester

Heddy Lester represented the Netherlands with the song 'De Mallemolen', with a fairly depressing lyric. I wrote about that nine years ago. I didn't know back then, that there was also an English version of the song. It seems to have a more positive stance: even the title is 'The world keeps turning', which seems to offer a glimmer of hope.

Heddy recorded her song in four different languages: in Dutch, English, German and France. The latter two are very hard to come by, but who knows... as long as the world keeps turning there might be a chance for those to turn up in my collection and on this blog.

My collection: 7" single no. 5923
Found: Discogs.com, received August 28, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'The world keeps turning' / 'Never saw him laughing'

A ave e a infancia - Marie Myriam

'A ave a infancia' is the Portuguese version of 'L'oiseau et l'enfant', the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977. I ordered a few singles from Portugal recently and this one came up as well, so I thought I might as well take it. I've always had a soft spot for Eurovision songs by the original artists in a different language.

French singer Marie Myriam is actually of Portuguese descent, so her pronunciation of this version is probably spot on. She also recorded the song in English, German and Spanish. I'm still looking for those singles...

My collection: 7" single no. 5922
Found: Discogs.com, received August 28, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'A ave e a infancia' / 'On garde toujours'

Little Julie - Peter Shelley

Taken from his album 'Girls and Places', 'Little Julie' may be a little sentimental, but this single was typical Seventies fare. Having launched Magnet Records in 1973 and Alvin Stardust's career (initially by performing as Stardust himself!), he started a career as a songwriter and performer in his own right.

His songwriting was often done in collaboration with Marty Wilde, who also penned the two songs on this disc: 'Little Julie' and 'Wisconsin'. Shelley was presented with the Ivor Novello Award in 1975 for his services to the UK music industry. However, due to differences between Magnet co-founder Michael Levy and himself, Shelley resigned from Magnet in late 1975 to pursue an independent career.

My collection: 7" single no. 5921
Found: Discogs.com, retrieved August 31, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Little Julie' / 'Wisconsin'

Hand me down love - Mike Huff

It is safe to assume that Mike Huff is a South African singer, since nothing can be found online about this performer. All I could find out is that he released two singles on the South African Satbel label: 'I can't wait to dream' and this single, 'Hand me down love' - both in 1976.

The B-side of this single is what got my attention: it's a cover version of the song 'Come back and love me' - and that, of course, was released in 1975 by Shannon. And Shannon was the nickname of Marty Wilde, who hoped to have a chart success with that song. A very obscure cover version of that song, then, ordered directly from South Africa. It was send to me on July 2, and it arrived.... today. You'd think that even the mail could be faster in this day and age, but no.

My collection: 7" single no. 5913
Found: Discogs, received August 10, 2018
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'Hand me down love' / 'Come back and love me'

Down down - Status Quo

There are a few songs that are obvious candidates for a funeral: 'Shake your body down to the ground' and Status Quo's 'Down down'. I didn't have the latter yet, so I was glad to finally find a copy recently.


Written by Francis Rossi and Bob Young and produced by Status Quo, it was Status Quo's only number 1 single in the UK singles chart. The single spent a week at the top of the chart in January 1975. The album version lasts 5 minutes and 24 seconds and the single version 3 minutes and 49 seconds.

My collection: 7" single no. 5905
Found: Voorburg, April 27, 2018
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Down down' / 'Nightride'

Thunderchild - Jeff Wayne

Two weeks ago I went to a Dutch theatre production of Jeff Wayne's 'War of the Worlds', the legendary soundtrack-without-a-film, retelling the H.G. Wells story in music. It was a pretty good performance despite the lack of spectacular effects. It inspired me to re-inspect my collection of 'War of the worlds' singles. It turned out that one single was still missing.

Mind you, I do have the biggest hits, 'The eve of the war', 'Forever autumn' and even 'Brave new world' - you can find them all here - but 'Thunderchild' was also released as a single and I didn't have that one yet. I quickly ordered my copy and now I have it. It's an interesting single version too!

My collection: 7" single no. 5906
Found: Discogs.com, received June 27, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Thunderchild' / 'Dead London'

Portugal no coração - Os Amigos

Now that I own pretty much all of the 'obvious' Eurovision 7" singles, I am heading towards the more obscure - and usually more expensive - releases. It is an art to spend as little as possible while also getting more and more Eurovision entries on 7" vinyl.

Who remembers the Portuguese entry from the 1977 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest? I would guess not many people do, but the sleeve of this single is a joy to watch - especially when it is in such good shape. I bought it from a Portuguese dealer at the record fair in Utrecht last Saturday, who promised more when he comes to the next edition in November. Here's hoping he'll help me find more great rarities.

'Portugal no coração' reached 14th place in the contest. The song is a ballad in praise of Portugal itself. The song is about freedom, brotherhood and hope. Many of the verses of the lyrics are acclamations of the end of the dictatorship that lasted for 48 years, and the end of the wars that the Portuguese people had been forced to fight on the African colonies by that dictatorship. It's also a love hymn from Portuguese people to their ex-colonies people, whom they had fought.

My collection: 7" single no. 5896
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Portugal no coração' / 'Cantiga de Namorar'

Strange phenomena - Kate Bush

I guess I didn't really need this 7" single by Kate Bush, but the fact that 'Strange phenomena' was never released as a single in other territories and the fact that this single came all the way from Argentina made it a bit of an irresistable purchase at last year's record fair in Utrecht. The fact that the EMI record company sleeve is in pretty good shape was another good argument to lose money for.

This single plays at 33rpm, which I guess is normal in South America - because I also have a few Brazilian singles (from other artists, mind you) that are 33rpm too. The B-side of this single is 'Wow', which of course was a single for Kate in other parts of the world.

My collection: 7" single no. 5882
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Strange phenomena' / 'Wow'

Do it again, a little bit slower - Ricky Wilde

I already owned the Swedish single of 'Do it again, a little bit slower' since 2011, but recently I got my hands on the Portuguese version, and as you can see here, that sleeve is very different from the Swedish one. And also, not unimportant, the pressing turns out to be better too.

When you listen to the song it turns out that 'it' is simply kissing and holding, which is already a bit startling for a 12 year old, but when you listen to the flipside, Ricky promises to never get married, because he wants to 'Love around'. Whatever were dad Marty and producer Jonathan King thinking? Well, perhaps things were very different in the Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 5990
Found: Discogs.com, received March 5, 2018
Cost: 7,50 euro
Tracks: 'Do it again, a little bit slower' / 'Love around'

Silly love songs - Wings

Recorded on January 16, 1976, 'Silly love songs' was a song written as a rebuttal to music critics who criticized Paul McCartney for writing lightweight love songs. According to McCartney, "The song was, in a way, to answer people who just accuse me of being soppy. The nice payoff now is that a lot of the people I meet who are at the age where they've just got a couple of kids and have grown up a bit, settling down, they'll say to me, "I thought you were really soppy for years, but I get it now! I see what you were doing!""

The single was released in April and reached number 2 in the UK and number 1 in the USA. The label of this single mentions 'Wings at the speed of sound', which is of course the album from which it was taken.

My collection: 7" single no. 5872
Found: Record exchange, Greenwich, London, October 27, 2017
Cost: 25p
Tracks: 'Silly love songs' / 'Cook of the house'

The number one song in heaven - Sparks

The Mael brothers have been making records for decades now and their band Sparks seems to get a new lease of life every few years or so. Their recent album 'Hippopotamus' has put them in the spotlights once again.

Back in 1979, they released this single, a disco track co-written and produced by legendary producer Giorgio Moroder. In the UK the single peaked at number 14, whereas in the Netherlands it never came near the charts. In addition to the standard black vinyl, both the 7" and 12" versions of the single were issued in a variety of coloured vinyl releases (red, blue, and green). Unfortunately, this single is the 'standard' black vinyl edition. But what can you expect, at this price.

My collection: 7" single no. 5873
Found: Record exchange, Greenwich, London, October 27, 2017
Cost: 25p
Tracks: 'The number one song in heaven' / 'The number one song in heaven (long version)'

Helden - David Bowie

When it was announced that the German magazine Rolling Stone would have a cover 7" single of David Bowie's 'Helden' in October, I despaired a little. It sounded like a great item to have, but it would probably be impossible to get a hold of it for a reasonable price, because of the collectability of such an item.

As it turned out, it wasn't so hard to get this single after all. The magazine was offered for sale on Ebay and it was simple enough to order a copy. The single brings together an '89 remix of 'Helden' and a live version taken from the album 'Stages'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5869
Found: Ebay, received October 19, 2017
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Helden ('89 remix)' / 'Heroes (live version)'

Right on - Zappo

You will recognise the track 'Right on', the A-side of this single, as the B-side of Yellow Bird's 'Attack Attack'. No, it's not a cover version: it's the exact same recording. So who is this Zappo person? Well, it's a nickname of Marty Wilde. On different pressings of this single he appears on the sleeve in a strange superhero suit - but since those singles are quite expensive I opted for this French pressing instead.

Most editions have 'Rock and roll crazy' (which is the B-side on this single) as the A-side. Like 'Right on', that song is written by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley.

My collection: 7" single no. 5792
Found: Ebay, received February 10, 2017
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Right on' / 'Rock and roll crazy'

Attack attack - Yellow Bird

The band Yellow Bird only ever released one single. 'Attack Attack' was written and produced by Peter Shelley and Marty Wilde. The couple worked together intensively as songwriters and producers during the Seventies, while Marty was no longer successful as a pop star in his own right. In 1974, when this single was released, he was also trying to launch his son Ricky's career, but it would be Kim, his daughter, who would find success in the next decade.

Yellow Bird was a five man band, as you can see on the sleeve on this single, but I don't know who they are. The B-side is an instrumental track that you will also find on another single, soon on this blog...

My collection: 7" single no. 5790
Found: Ebay, February 10, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Attack attack' / 'Right on'

Heroes - David Bowie

Parlophone started the '40 year anniversary' picture disc single releases a few years ago, when David Bowie was still alive. It's strange to think that this campaign will last well into the 2020s at least - and hopefully they will continue until 'No plan' is 40 years old (although I'm not holding my breath).

I skipped all the releases until now, but 'Heroes' was an attractive package. Not only did it come in a rather well designed A-side, but the B-side features a previously unreleased version of 'Heroes': as performed in the Marc Show on September 7, 1977. The recording is in mono, alas, but it's still worth a spin.

My collection: 7" single no. 5868
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received October 7, 2017
Cost: 10 pounds (which is outrageous, I know!)
Tracks: 'Heroes  [edit]' / 'Heroes (Marc Show version)'

Questo amore - Ricchi e Poveri

'Questo amore' ('This love') was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed by Ricchi e Poveri, at the time a quartet consisting of Franco Gatti, Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu and Marina Occhiena. At the close of voting, the song received 53 points, placing 12th in a field of 20 competitors.

I bought this single in one of the strangest record shops I've had the pleasure to visit in Vienna this week. All of the singles cost more than 3 euros (most of them more than 5 euros) and the owners of the shop seemed more interested in their dog than they were in selling. I waited some time before I could pay, then left quickly. I'm not so fond of dogs.

My collection: 7" single no. 5864
Found: Sing Sing Records, Vienna, September 27, 2017
Cost: 3,5 euro
Tracks: 'Questo amore' / 'Anima'