'Nobody knows' is another single from Nik Kershaw's 1985 album 'Radio Musicola'. The lyric of the song deals with tabloid journalists, paparazzi and the public's right to know intimate details of celebrities' lives.
The first single from the Editors' third album 'In this light and on this evening' (which came out just recently) is 'Papillon'. Contrary what one might expect, this song is very synth-driven and almost sounds like an old Depeche Mode track. It has already reached number 1 in Belgium.
When I wrote about 'Paris is burning' by Ladyhawke in August, I noted that that single contained only a remix and the French version of the song. What I didn't know was that in the mean time the single had been re-released in March. This limited release (only 600 copies were made, apparently) was pressed on white vinyl and featured the original version of 'Paris is burning' plus a remix. Of course, a download bundle was also available.
I'm really sorry now that I didn't buy the 7" singles from Mika's debut album 'Life in cartoon motion', because when you find them now on eBay, each one of them costs a fortune. So I decided to be quicker this time around, with the release of 'We are golden', the first single from Mika's second album. It was pressed on - you guessed it - gold coloured vinyl.
Even if you're not able to understand the Dutch language, when you listen to this single it will be obvious from the music alone that the Dutch music scene was is pretty fine shape back in 1982. The instrumental break in 'Net als in de film' ('Just like in the movies') is up there with the pop classics of its time. And for the Dutch readers of this blog: the lyric of the B-side is a wonderfully cynical response to that old Dutch classic 'De glimlach van een kind' ('The smile of a child').
'Nothing can come between us' was released as the third single from Sade's 1988 album 'Stronger than pride'. The single was the second to feature backing vocalist Leroy Osbourne prominently, after 'Never as good as the first time'.
'Heading west' was the third single from Cyndi Lauper's album 'A night to remember'. It was written by Lauper with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. The lyric of the song is about moving on from a past relationship, which was the overall theme of the album.
While in the UK the Thompson Twins released a special single version of 'Sister of Mercy', the German record company decided that the album track 'The gap' was the better single choice. It was also released in the USA, where it reached number 69.
I actually have no idea whether Feargal Sharkey's 'Cry like a rainy day' was released as a single commercially. My copy of the single is made for promotion, with a peculiar catalogue number 'HEY MR DJ 1'. The single features two tracks from his 1991 album 'After the mardi gras'.
The fourth single from Kim Appleby's self-titled debut album was also released on 12" single. This 12" single contains three remixes of the track. The remix on the A-side was made by Pete Schwier and George DeAngelis, while the two on the B-side were made by Ben Chapman.
'Diamonds and pearls' is the title track from Prince's 1991 album, recorded with the New Power Generation and featuring the powerful vocals of band member Rosie Gaines. The repeated lyric 'If I gave U diamonds and pearls, would U be a happy boy or a girl?' echoes the lyrics 'I'll buy U diamonds and pearls only if U're a good girl' from Prince's 1982 song, 'International lover'.
Shakespear's sister released 'Stay' as the second single from their second album 'Hormonally yours' in early 1992. It became the duo's biggest hit, reaching number 1 in the UK singles chart for eight weeks, making it one of the longest running UK number ones in chart history.
'Call me' was originally recorded as the main theme of the movie 'American Gigolo'. Producer Giorgio Moroder originally asked Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac to make a song for the soundtrack, but they declined. Moroder then turned to Debbie Harry and Blondie. The song was recorded by the band, with Moroder producing.
Max Q was formed by Michael Hutchence and Ollie Olsen who were accompanied by key members of the Melbourne post-punk scene, most of whom had previously collaborated with Olsen. The project followed on from Hutchence and Olsen's work on the film 'Dogs in space', where they met.
The lyric of 'Don't you want me' was, according to lead singer Phil Oakey from the Human League, inspired by a story in "a trashy tabloid". Musicians Jo Callis and Philip Adrian Wright created a synthesizer score to accompany the lyrics which was much harsher than the version that was actually released. Oakey disliked the remixed and remodelled version of the song so much that it was relegated to the last track on the album 'Dare'.
The last single from Ten Sharp's debut album 'Under the waterline' was 'Rich man', released in March 1992. Amazingly, it sold a lot better than the two previous singles, reaching a respectable number 16 in the Dutch Top 40.
The Adventures released their most successful album 'The sea of love' in 1988. It reached number 30 in the UK albums chart and remained in that chart for 10 week. It was certified silver (for 60,000 copies sold) a year after its release.
Kylie Minogue teamed up with American R&B singer Keith Washington for the single 'If you were with me now', a track traken from Kylie's fourth album 'Let's get to it' (1991). The single reached number 4 in the UK singles chart, but did not chart in the Netherlands.
'Thru' these walls' was released as the first single from Phil Collins' second solo album 'Hello, I must be going!'. It was an unusual choice: a slow ballad interspersed with hard drum beats that sounded a lot like the drums from his debut solo single, 'In the air tonight'. The song is about a man listening through the wall to his neighbours who are enjoying the nightlife, so to speak.
'I would do for you' was a 1989 single by UB40. As they continued to make music well into the Nineties and Noughties, the band became increasingly uninspired, and personally I think this is one of their last great songs.
The British and the Irish have a strange relationship with alcohol: for some reason they always seem to have to overdo it. And then there's musicians, who are also prone to drinking too much. Put it together and you have Irish and British musicians. Stephen Gately, an Irish musician, died two days ago, according to the latest rumours, as a result of excessive drinking. His ex-boyfriend was on Dutch television tonight, saying that Stephen never drank much. Yeah, right.
I bought the German version of '19' this year, but I've had the original since 1990. The story remains the same: '19' featured television narrator Peter Thomas talking about Vietnam war veterans.
Abba never officially disbanded, but when they stopped recording together in 1983, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus concentrated on writing musicals for a while. One of them was 'Chess', created together with Tim Rice. The choruses were sung by Anders Glenmark while the verses, spoken raps by Murray Head, are a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek denunciation of the city's moral corruption and comparative glorification of the intellectual purity of chess: 'The queens we use would not excite you.'
In the song 'Cold', Roland Orzabal included some references to former associates of Tears for fears. Business manager Paul King is mentioned in the line: 'King got caught with his fingers in the till. Where's your calculator, did you leave it in your will?', after alleged discrepancies were discovered in King's prior management of the band's financial affairs. The line 'Listened to my old friend Nockles, hoped that it would warm the cockles' is a reference to former Tears for fears keyboardist and co-writer Nicky Holland, whose nickname was 'Nockles'.
Buying this single was a gamble. I liked the track 'Rockit' and assumed that the second single from the album 'Future shock' would be similarly interesting. To be blunt: it wasn't, really. It is an instrumental track that seems to go on without a point or clue.
The song 'The Buddha of Suburbia' was a song by David Bowie, made for the BBC TV series of the same name. It features Lenny Kravitz on guitar, performing quite a great solo. Interestingly, the song caused minor controversies on both sides of the Atlantic, with Radio 1 making an airplay edit to cover up the word 'bullshit' in the lyric, and US networks re-editing the video to remove shots where Bowie was smoking a cigarette.
When 'Kiss from a rose' was released as the second single from Seal's self-titled second album in July 1994, it did not make much of a chart impact. It did reach number 20 in the UK singles chart, but that was about it.
'I need love' was released as the second single from Sandra's 1992 album 'Close to seven'. The track was edited for the single. It featured Andy Jones, a.k.a. Andy 'Angel' Hart, performing the male vocals. The B-side, 'Shadows' also appeared on the album and was a cover of Michael Cretu's 1979 track 'Shadows over my head'.
Edwyn Collins was born on August 23, 1959. He formed the Nu-sonics in 1976, which became Orange Juice in 1979. This band broke up in 1985, after which he pursued a solo career.
Roughly translated the chorus of this song starts with the words 'I'd rather be well off / preferably a millionaire'. The song is taken from the band' 1984 album 'Tempo doeloe', and as mentioned before on this blog, the singles taken from that album didn't do exactly well as most people were turning away from Dutch language music in the Netherlands after the most popular band 'Doe maar' disbanded.
'I'm specialized in you' was the second chart hit in the Netherlands for the Dutch band Time Bandits, and also their biggest hit. It reached number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 in January 1983. The track was taken from their self-titled debut album, produced by well-known Dutch producer Pim Koopman.
Simon Moore, Paul Snook, Patrick Gallagher, Gari Tarn, Myles Benedict and Kent B. Bass formed Drum Theatre in 1985. They released one album, entitled 'Everyman', after which they disbanded.
I don't know why I like this song so much, but I do. It's pretty standard eighties dance stuff, but it has that certain Scandinavian coolness about it. I described the 12" single of 'Candy love' last year on this blog, but obviously I've got the 7" single too.
This is the original version of 'MacArthur park', also made famous by Donna Summer. Richard Harris recorded it for his 1968 album 'A tramp shining' and also released it as a single. It was an unusual single, running for more than seven minutes, with a long, climactic orchestral break. Throughout his recording, Harris can be heard using the incorrect possessive form, "MacArthur's Park". Producer Jimmy Webb has said he tried correcting Harris during re-takes, but gave up when he simply could not (or would not) sing the correct words.
Jon Anderson and Vangelis had their biggest hit together in 1982, when they released 'I'll find my way home'. It reached number 1 in Switzerland and number 4 in the Dutch Top 40, although it didn't chart in the UK.
When the Dire Straits went on hiatus in 1987, band leader Mark Knopfler formed the Notting Hillbillies, a country music project, with Brendan Croker, Steve Phillips, and Knopfler's bandmate Guy Fletcher. They made just one album, 'Missing... presumed having a good time' (1990).
Chris de Burgh is considered by many to be the epitome of uncool. Hearing this song, having not played it for two decades, I would say I would have to agree. There is one saving grace for this particular song: it features Howard Jones on piano. And Howard Jones is, of course, very cool.
'Enola Gay' is named after the aeroplane, a USAAF B-29 Superfortress which dropped 'Little Boy', the first atomic bomb to be used in an act of War, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 to bring an end to the Second World War. The lyric attacks the decision to use the bomb, suggesting that the bombing was unnecessary ('It shouldn't ever have to end this way').
'Cowboys and angels' was released as the fifth single from George Michael's 1990 album 'Listen without prejudice vol. 1'. The song was written, arranged and produced by George Michael and was the first single in his career not to reach the top 40 in the UK: it peaked at number 45 in March 1991. It did better in the Dutch Top 40, reaching number 15.
The mailman made me happy today, when he delivered this little package to my doorstep. Although I have the UK pressing of 'Forever autumn', this Dutch pressing came in a beautiful sleeve; and sometimes the sleeve is what counts.
Ricky Wilde's short-lived music career consisted of six singles released on the UK label. 'Mrs. Malinski' was the fourth of this series, released in 1974. The song was written and produced by his father Marty Wilde. The B-side is called 'Cassette blues' and sounds rather like it was recorded on a cassette as well.
'Nothing compares 2 u' was written in the Eighties for the Family by Prince. They released their version in 1985. In 1990, Sinéad O'Connor recorded a cover version on her second album 'I do not want what I haven't got', and released it as the first single from that album. A limited edition box set was released in the UK, featuring a giant poster and a picture button.
Kate Bush released her second single 'The man with the child in his eyes' in the summer of 1978. This 7" single is a bit of a rarity, since the single version of this track has only ever been released on one obscure cd compilation. It remains unreleased on any Kate Bush cd.
'Brite side' was released as the third single from Deborah Harry's third solo album, 'Def, dumb and blonde'. The single was only released in the UK and a limited edition was released in a poster sleeve (just like my copy). The song is an eerie and smoky ballad which sounds very unlike the harder, edgier material from her Blondie days.
Coldplay originally released 'Violet hill' on April 29, 2008 as a free download from their official website. After one week of free downloading, the song was available as a paid download. Although the free track was downloaded two million times, the single was still released commercially as well. A cd-single made the rounds in Europe, whereas the paid downloads provided the band with chart placings in America and the UK (number 40 and number 8 respectively).
This song has the rare distinction of being the one and only song that has ever appeared in my dreams. I don't remember much of the dream, but I do remember waking up (twenty years ago) and remembering having heard this song while I was sleeping. And I think in my dream I was singing along, too! How weird.
Tracy Chapman was born on March 30, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio, where she was raised by her mother. In 1988, he made her debut with the single 'Fast car', a vivid tale of poverty that reached number 1 in Ireland and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40.
'This is me' was originally Climie Fisher's debut single in 1986. After the success of 'Love changes (everything)' and 'Rise to the occasion', the track was re-released in 1988. This is the re-released single, featuring a new sleeve.
