Call my name - OMD

I was quite surprised to find that I never actually bought this OMD single. I was under the impression that I had them all - but 'Call my name' was hardly one of their most successful releases. It was released as the fourth and last single from the album 'Sugar tax', the first album that was released in OMD's "wilderness years", when co-founder Paul Humphreys left the band, unhappy with the band's commercial orientation. 

Andy McCluskey went on alone but the three albums he released couldn't really compare with the artistic highlights that OMD released before. 'Call my name' only made it to number 50 in the UK singles chart and number 28 in Germany, but failed to reach the charts everywhere else.

My collection: 7" single no. 6325
Found: Discogs.com, received September 24, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Call my name' / 'Walk tall'

We can't stop what's coming - The The

After the successful albums from the 1980's and 1990's, The The suddenly disappeared from the radar... or so it seemed. Matt Johnson, who basically is The The, continued recording music, but his soundtracks released on the Cinéola label were for a much more limited audience.

For 2017's Record Store Day, after premiering the song on a Radio Cineola broadcast, the The released a new 7" record called "We Can't Stop What's Coming", collaborating once again with Johnny Marr. The single was originally released with an etched side. This single is the white vinyl single that appeared shortly thereafter - also with just one track on it. I had to wait until the price came down a bit... and fortunately it did.

My collection: 7" single no. 6324
Found: Discogs.com, received September 24, 2020
Cost: 6 pounds
Tracks: 'We can't stop what's coming'

Dancing in the city - Marshall Hain

Although the duo Julian Marshall and Kit Hain only released one album and two singles, I managed to collect quite a few discs by them - even if the titles are always similar. This is, I think, the last time I can feature them on this blog, for this version of 'Dancing in the city' is the last one that actually contains different content.

This single was produced for promotional purposes. The first thing that strikes you is the very different cover, and then on the disc there are not two, but three tracks: 'Dancing in the city', 'Real satisfaction' and 'Coming home'. The commercial single of 'Dancing in the city', released around the same time, has a different album track on the B-side. 'Coming home' was, of course, the second single from the duo, but the album version is found on this disc, not the slightly different single version.

My collection: 7" single no. 6323
Found: Discogs.com, received September 4, 2020
Cost: 1,77 euro
Tracks: 'Dancing in the city' / 'Real satisfaction', 'Coming home'

Jennifer she said - Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions had an interesting but short career during the 1980's. Starting out with the album 'Rattlesnakes' (1984) and three successful singles, their second album 'Easy Pieces' (1985) did even better - at least, in the UK. When their third album 'Mainstream' did slightly worse, the album called it a day and Lloyd Cole went solo.

'Jennifer she said' was the band's penultimate single, and it was released in a rather impressive four panel fold out sleeve. As it turns out, it's also the penultimate single by the band that I shall buy - I only need 'Lost weekend' to complete the set. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6322
Found: Discogs.com, received August 22, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Jennifer she said' / 'Perfect blue'

There are more snakes than ladders - Captain Sensible

One of the problems of shopping online is that it's hard to find something new. You'll always use familiar keywords, and there isn't any way to browse through a certain stock without scrolling until you get a headache. 

The only way to inject a bit of originality is searching for producers - which is exactly what I did recently. As a fan of New Musik and Tony Mansfield I thought he would be the man to produce some interesting Eighties singles. And indeed I found this 'forgotten' (at least by me) single by Captain Sensible. The single managed to reach number 57 in the UK singles chart, but went by unnoticed over here in the Netherlands. What a shame, because it's a great song. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6321
Found: Discogs.com, received August 14, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'There are more snakes than ladders' / 'The 4 Marys Go Go Dance All Night At The Groovy Cellar'

Abergavenny - Nancy Marano

These days, Nancy Marano is best known as a jazz singer, but back in the late 1960's, she recorded a few singles on the Columbia label, of which this 'Abergavenny' is one. This is, of course, a cover version of the Marty Wilde hit - or at least, Marty Wilde had a hit with this song in Europe, if not in the UK.

The B-side of this single is a version of 'Love song', taken from the Broadway production 'Celebration', or so the label says. But of course, my main interest is the cover version on the A-side, which is distinctly American in flavour. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6319
Found: Discogs.com, received August 13, 2020
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Abergavenny' / 'Love song'

Jesamine - Shannon

Things tend to get confusing sometimes, in the pop world. For instance, if I categorize this single under the name Shannon, this single will be in the same page as the one devoted to the disco legend who brought us 'Let the music play' in 1983. But this is not her - instead, it's good old Marty Wilde, who used the stage name during the 1960's. 

And then there's that song: 'Jesamine'. Wasn't that made famous by the Casuals? It was, but the song was written by Frere Manston together with Jack Gellar. And Frere Manston is, as you may have guessed, Marty Wilde. So Shannon recorded Frere Manston's song, and this single got released in America. 

I had some luck recently, when an online seller offered both the commercial and the promotional version of this single. The B-side of the commercial version is the song 'Lullaby', which Marty wrote for his children, Kim and Ricky. And you probably know who they are: Kim Wilde and Ricky Wilde of course. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6317
Found: Discogs.com, received August 13, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Jesamine' / 'Jesamine'

My collection: 7" single no. 6318
Found: Discogs.com, received August 13, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Jesamine' / 'Lullaby'

I'm in love with a German film star - The Passions

Some singles are on my wantlist, just waiting to pop up for a reasonable price. In the absence of record fairs - Lord knows when I will finally see a record dealer in the flesh again! - I scour the internet for singles, but there's a limit to what I can take. I won't buy a single for one or two euros, only to pay three to five times as much because of postage. And so this single only got to me in combination with another one. And since it's a Spanish copy, it comes with the beautiful title 'Estoy enamorada de una estrella Alemana de cine' (I don't know why the Spanish want to translate song titles, but they always do.)

The Passions were a British band, which formed in 1978 and broke up five years later. Their major chart hit, 'I'm in love with a German film star', was released as the band's fourth single on January 23, 1981. It was their only hit, peaking at number 25 in the UK singles chart and number 30 in Ireland. I have vague memories of hearing this song during the 1980's, but it took a long time - until early this year, in fact - to rediscover this track.

My collection: 7" single no. 6316
Found: Discogs.com, received August 8 ,2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'I'm in love with a German film star' / '(Don't talk to me) I'm shy'

 

A festa da vida - Carlos Mendes

Carlos Eduardo Teixeira Mendes was born on May 23, 1947 in Lisbon. He started his singing career in the 1960's, representing Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest on two occasions: in 1968 and 1972.This single, 'A festa da vida' is the 1972 entry. 

'A festa da vida' ('The party of life') is a ballad, with Mendes singing that the world needs to view life as a party in order to dismiss the negativity of the world. Although Portugal hadn't been particularly successful at Eurovision in previous years, this song reached 7th place at the close of voting, making it the country's highest placing at the time. Of course, it wouldn't be until a few years ago that Portugal actually won Eurovision. But when they did, they did it with a song that became an instant classic. This song is not an instant classic, but enjoyable all the same.

My collection: 7" single no. 6315
Found: Discogs.com, received August 8, 2020
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'A festa da vida' / 'Glow worm'

Jealous of youth - The The

There's a special place in my record collection for The The, one of those British bands that managed to 'get to me' at a very early age. Their versions of 'Uncertain smile' grabbed me from the first time I heard them, and I have collected their albums and singles ever since. 

For a long time I thought that their later singles were never issued on vinyl, because record companies were very busy phasing out the format in the early 1990's. And so, here I am, almost three decades after its release, finding a copy of the Spanish promotional 7" single of 'Jealous of youth', one of the songs that became part of the soundtrack of my life back in 1991. It's a one-sided promo, so no B-side on this one.

My collection: 7" single no. 6314
Found: Discogs.com, received August 8, 2020
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Jealous of youth'

Mothers little soldier - Fra Lippo Lippi

Just like 'Love is a lonely harbour', 'Mothers little soldier' is a single taken from Fra Lippo Lippi's 1989 album 'The colour album'. Adding this one to my collection means that I'll only need 'Count on me' to make the set complete - but I am waiting until the price of that one comes down.

Although the melody of this song is as strong as anything they've release, the single didn't manage to chart in Europe. Perhaps it did in Norway, but I couldn't find any chart data from that country.

My collection: 7" single no. 6313
Found: Discogs.com, received July 31, 2020
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Mothers little soldier' / 'Under the same sun'

Marianne - Cliff Richard

I do read the comments on this blog, although there aren't that many. My recent entry about Sergio Endrigo's 'Marianne' caused a friendly reader to let me know that Cliff Richard, who also took part in the 1968 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, actually covered this song. I really didn't know that! But when I found out, I thought it would be great to actually own a copy of that version, since I also collect Eurovision cover versions (well, within some reason - I don't actually need 100 versions of 'Volare' to be honest).

I think it's suitable that I found an Italian copy of the single. The great thing about Cliff Richard's version is that it is translated into English, and my English is a lot better than my Italian. The single actually was a hit in several countries, peaking at number 22 in the UK and number 15 in Ireland.

My collection: 7" single no. 6312
Found: Discogs.com, received July 31, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Marianne' / 'Mister Nice'

Mothers talk - Tears for fears

This single by Tears for fears is an interesting one: it was released in April 1986 in the USA, after the 'Songs from the big chair' campaign had already ended in the rest of the world. I never knew that the so-called 'US remix' of 'Mothers talk' had actually been a single, but here you go. Although labeled as a "remix", this version of the song is actually a complete re-recording, done by the band after their 'Big Chair' tour had ended. It was mixed by the award-winning producer Bob Clearmountain, who would go on to mix the band's next album with them.

The single managed to peak at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The sleeve is almost identical to a UK 12" single from 1984.

My collection: 7" single no. 6310
Found: Discogs.com, received July 27, 2020
Cost: $3
Tracks: 'Mothers talk' / 'Sea song'

Never as good as the first time - Sade

I could buy a lot of singles by Sade just for the artwork. There have been a lot of different sleeves in different territories, and they usually look stunning, because their frontwoman is rather photogenic. Still, I haven't actively collected their singles, buying them is often just a case of adding them to a stack of singles I'm buying from a dealer at a record fair, or in this case, an online order.

'Never as good as the first time' came in this great sleeve in America. I was actually buying a rare promotional cd by Happy Rhodes - you won't find her in this blog because she never released any 7" singles unfortunately - but the same dealer had a few rather interesting singles to go with it. The sleeve is very different from this one and this one, and so I decided to get it without much doubt.

My collection: 7" single no. 6311
Found: Discogs.com, received July 27, 2020
Cost: $2
Tracks: 'Never as good as the first time (remix edit)' / 'Keep hanging on (live instrumental)'

Bring me to life (Synthesis) - Evanescence

Evanescence's exercise of fusing their hardrock tracks with a symphonic orchestra on the album 'Synthesis' has created one of the best albums of recent years, in my opinion. This picture disc single was released in a limited edition of 499 copies (one might wonder where number 500 went), distributed with the German rock magazine Sonic Seducer.

When I ordered that magazine last year it came with a cd-single, but for some reason the online shop recently carried a version that also included this picture disc 7". Oh well, I had to buy it - albeit grudgingly.

My collection: 7" single no. 6309
Found: Sonic Seducer webshop, received July 29, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Bring me to life (Synthesis)' / 'Bring me to life (Synthesis) (instrumental)'

You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties - Jona Lewie

During holidays I make a point of visiting local record shops, which this year was a bit of a challenge since the small town of Dahn in Germany didn't have any and I only had a few hours to visit the inner city of Worms, where one record shop was located. But I did get there, so I had a chance to check it out.

Unfortunately the shop only had one box of 7" singles, and they were all Record Store Day releases too. You know, Record Store Day is the annual event that causes record companies to release horribly expensive items that are unavailable to the real fans of artists who are then forced to buy the items at inflated prices via Ebay. What's left in shops are usually the discs that only a few people are after. And so it was in this case. However, I did find one copy of this single, pressed on green vinyl for Record Store Day 2016. It is a re-edition of Jona Lewie's single from 1980. Interestingly, the B-side of this edition is 'Hallelujah Europa', which was released as a single in 1978.

My collection: 7" single no. 6307
Found: Heaven Records, Worms (Germany)
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'You'll always find me in the kitches at parties' / 'Hallelujah Europa'

Five miles out - Mike Oldfield

You might wonder why I bought this single, when I've already got a copy of Mike Oldfield's Five miles out. The answer is quite simple: this is a picture disc - and picture discs are always great to have, especially when they come quite cheap. In this case, I ordered it together with a couple of cd's.

Musically, this is a confusing piece, and certainly not 'hit material', although it did reach number 43 in the UK singles chart and number 42 in the German singles chart.


My collection: 7" single no. 6306
Found: Discogs.com, received July 15, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Five miles out' / 'Live punkadiddle'

Your friend - George McCurn

George McCurn was born on January 21, 1920 in Chicago. He was a bass singer who started off singing gospel and switched to pop in the Sixties. He had a hit in 1963 with 'I'm just a country boy'. His album 'Country boy goes to town' followed soon after. In 1964, he released this single, 'Your friend', a song written by Marty Wilde. That song was also recorded by Mal Ryder & The Spirits, The Nightriders and The Roemans the same year, so quite who came first is now unknown.

McCurn's version is by far the most accomplished one, with the beautiful vocals and the laidback musical backing.

McCurn died in Los Angeles in September 1985, aged 65.

My collection: 7" single no. 6305
Found: Discogs.com, received July 13, 2020
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Your friend' / 'While the bloom is on the rose'

Anouschka - Inge Brück

Inge Brück was born on October 12, 1936 in Mannheim (Germany). She represented Germany during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967 with 'Anouschka', which was chosen internally. She finished in joint eighth place in a field of 17 competitors.

Following her Eurovision appearance, Brück decided to concentrate on acting, and in 1970 she starred in a 13-part series for ZDF called 'Miss Molly Mill' in which she played the title role, a cleaning lady-cum-amateur detective, which was a ratings hit and regularly drew audiences of over 20 million. Since the 1970s, Brück has concentrated on performing songs with religious content. Along with fellow Eurovision veterans Katja Ebstein and Peter Horton, she is a member of the initiative 'Künstler für Christus' (Artists For Christ). Another victim of religious delusionalism then.

My collection: 7" single no. 6302
Found: Discogs.com, received June 27, 2020
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Anouschka' / 'In dieser Welt'

I don't know why I love you (but I love you) - B.E.F. featuring Green Gartside

Martyn Ware and Ian Craig-Marsh from Heaven 17 didn't have enough work on their hands, so they devoted part of their time to the 'side project' British Electric Foundation, a.k.a. B.E.F. As B.E.F. they released - so far - three albums called 'Music of quality and distinction', on which they recorded cover versions of wellknown songs using the vocals of various guest performers.

This single takes two tracks from the second volume of these albums, with guest vocalists Green Gartside (core member of Scritti Politti) and Billy Preston. They perform songs originally recorded by Stevie Wonder and The Beatles respectively. Purists will hate these versions, but I find them very enjoyable indeed.

My collection: 7" single no. 6300
Found: Discogs.com, received June 27, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'I don't know why I love you (but I love you)' (feat. Green Gartside) / 'In my life' (feat. Billy Preston)

Tubular bells - Plutonic

'Tubular bells' remains Mike Oldfield's best known piece of work, even if it was the first album he ever recorded. Since its release, many people have gone into the studio to replicate his piece. There are orchestral versions, pieces for classical guitars and of course techno versions.

Plutonic recorded this techno version of 'Tubular bells' in 1990. It is fairly repetitive, and a good indication of where music was heading at the time. Constructed entirely on synths and sequencers, some would argue that musicality was nowhere to be seen. Still, the track does have a nice groove and uses the best known theme from Oldfield's original. I would rate this version as 'average'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6301
Found: Discogs.com, received June 27, 2020
Cost: 1,5 euro
Tracks: 'Tubular bells' / 'Amen'

Red hot - Robert Gordon with Link Wray

Rock 'n' roll can be exciting, as I found out quite early on, when I got the album The best of the top 40 of the year in the summer of 1979. One of the tracks on the album was Robert Gordon's 'Red hot', a track that packs a lot of punch in under three minutes. The track was taken from Robert Gordon's debut album together with legendary guitarist Link Wray and featured cover versions of various rock 'n' roll songs.

'Red hot' was originally performed by Billy Lee Riley. Robert Gordon & Link Wray's version became a big hit in the Netherlands in March 1978, peaking at number 7. Finding this single was quite a surprise, I can't remember ever seeing this one before although it isn't exactly rare.

My collection: 7" single no. 6299
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, June 14, 2020
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Red hot' / 'Sweet surrender'

Marianne - Sergio Endrigo

Sergio Endrigo was born in Pola, Istria (Italy) on June 15, 1933 and started his career in music in the early 1960's. After releasing a few albums he won the San Remo Music Festival in 1968 with the song 'Canzone per te'. In the same year, he represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest with this beautiful song: 'Marianne'.

You can easily call it a scandal that the contest was won that year by the banal song 'La la la' and this song, beautifully composed and performed by Endrigo, ended up in tenth place. But Eurovision wouldn't be alive today without a scandal or two.

My collection: 7" single no. 6298
Found: Discogs.com, received June 12, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Marianne' / 'Il dolce paese'

Experience - Diana Ross

Released in 1985, 'Experience' was a single by Diana Ross that went by almost unnoticed, even if the song was written by the Bee Gees and remixed by François Kevorkian - big names. The track was not released as a single in the USA, but even where it was released, it didn't manage to get to the top 10. Ireland was the most generous, with its highest chart placing at no. 14, but in Australia and the UK  the single finished at number 64 and 47 respectively.

That's not to say it's a bad track: I actually quite enjoy this. It's the B-side that seems to be a throwaway track, although even that one appears, like the A-side, on the album 'Eaten Alive'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6297
Found: Plato, Leiden, June 30, 2020
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Experience' / 'Oh teacher'

A la folie ou pas du tout - Serge & Christine Ghisoland

Serge & Christine Ghisoland (both born in 1946) are a singing duo and married couple from Mouscron, Belgium, best known for their participation in the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest. With their song 'A la folie ou pas du tout' ('Madly, or not at all'), they only managed to reach 17th place in a field of 18 competitors, ahead only of the Maltese entry.

Although they released a few more singles between 1970 and 1972, there is little information available on the couple after their Eurovision appearance. Serge Ghisoland is believed to have worked for many years with Belgian record label, Elver. He was also a music teacher in several schools in the Mouscron/Comines region of Belgium.

My collection: 7" single no. 6296
Found: Discogs.com, received May 30, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'A la folie ou pas du tout' / 'Femme'

Rhapsody in blue - Leonard Bernstein

As you can gather from this blog, my collection focuses on pop music, but I do enjoy a bit of classical music now and then. Whether George Gershwin's compositions are actually classical music is another debate, because his work borders on the modern and has even been turned into pop songs by the likes of Kate Bush and Fun Boy Three.

Anyway, whatever: this single was interesting enough to warrant a place in my collection. It's an outtake from an album that presents 'Rhapsody in blue' and 'An American in Paris', released in 1959 by Philips in the Netherlands. This single cuts 'Rhapsody in blue' in two and presents the two parts on a 7" single, to be played on 33 rpm, in order to offer the full 16 minute work.

My collection: 7" single no. 6294
Found: Plato, Leiden, May 30, 2020
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Rhapsody in blue (part 1)' / 'Rhapsody in blue (part 2)'

I've found love (now that I have found you) - Love & kisses

I'm not really sure if a sleeve like the one shown here would be well received nowadays, with all the #metoo scandals we have been witnessing over the past few years. But back in 1977, this wasn't a problem. Love & Kisses was a disco group assembled by European producer Alec Costandinos, using a variety of male/female singers. Costandinos was born Alexandre Kouyoumdjiam in Cairo, Egypt, in 1944 to an Armenian father and a Greek mother.

The debut album consisted of just two songs: 'Accidental lover' and 'I've found love (now that I've found you)'. This single contains the same two tracks, but obviously in edited form, because the LP presented versions that exceeded 15 minutes.The single reached number 12 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 6293
Found: Plato, Leiden, May 30, 2020
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'I've found love (now that I've found you)' / 'Accidental lover'

Since you've gone - The Wilde Three

The previous two entries on this blog came with the big one: this single. I have been hunting for the two Wilde Three singles for decades now, but they are very rare and so I haven't been able to get them - until now. 'Since you've gone' was the first release by the Wilde Three, the group formed by Marty Wilde after his solo career didn't go as well as before. Figuring that there was a trend for harmony groups, he enlisted his wife Joyce and a young unknown singer called Justin Hayward to record a handful of tracks. This single shows exactly what they were made of: two great songs written by Marty (using his pseudonym Frere Manston) and performed with passion by three excellent singers.

The single didn't chart, and Justin soon parted ways again. However, it was Marty who encouraged him to write his own song material. Without him, the world might never have heard songs like 'Nights in white satin', for that was a song penned by Hayward just two years later.

Meanwhile, this single sits proudly in my record collection now. And if anyone can find the other one, 'I cried', I will gladly pay. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6292
Found: Discogs.com, received May 29, 2020
Cost: enough
Tracks: 'Since you've gone' / 'Just as long'

He's misstra know it all - Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder has a lot of big hits on his name, but sometimes even Stevie Wonder released unsuccessful singles. 'He's misstra know it all' was one of them. It was taken from his album 'Innervisions' as the fifth single, but only managed to chart in New Zealand and the UK, peaking at number 18 and number 10 respectively.

While scouring through a list of singles sold by an online dealer I came across this title and heard the song for the very first time. It was immediately catchy to my ears, which made me wonder why the single wasn't more successful in other territories. But it's nice to discover something new sometimes - even if it's almost 50 years old.

My collection: 7" single no. 6291
Found: Discogs.com, received May 29, 2020
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'He's misstra know it all' / 'You can't judge a book by its cover'

Dizzy - Tommy Roe

American singer-songwriter Tommy Roe was born on May 9, 1942 started his career in the USA, but moved to the UK after a successful tour with Roy Orbison in that country. In 1964, Roe recorded 'Diane From Manchester Square' about a girl who worked at EMI House, when it was based in London's Manchester Square. Sales of this single in the UK were poor, and it failed to chart.

Other singles were more successful, such as 'Sweet Pea' and 'Hooray for Hazel', both top 10 hits in Canada. In 1969, his song 'Dizzy' went to number 1 on the UK Singles Chart as well as Canada and the USA. It remains easily his most remembered song, and I picked up a copy of this single while buying two more online because I still remembered it despite not having heard it for decades. So that means something.

My collection: 7" single no. 6290
Found: Discogs.com, received May 29, 2020
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Dizzy' / 'The you I need'

Dancing in the city (Summer '92 remixes) - Marshall, Hain

'Who comes up with these things?' is a question I ask myself sometimes when I hear remixes of great old songs. Take for instance this 'Summer 92' take on Marshall & Hain's 'Dancing in the city'. Steve Proctor may have had a good time creating this (as evidenced on the title of the B-side: it's certainly self-indulgent but not a pleasure to listen to!) but the song suffers.

I must say that I am a fan of the British duo but these remixes don't really do them justice. One has to wonder what would have happened if they'd stayed together longer. Their music would certainly have been a joy to listen to with more eighties influences. As it stands, Kit Hain now lives in the USA and has become an author of novels, whereas Julian Marshall is a songwriter, composer, teacher, lecturer, mentor and musician.

My collection: 7" single no. 6288
Found: Discogs.com, received May 27, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Dancing in the city (Summer '92 remix)' / 'Dancing in the city (Steve's self-indulgent trumpet mix)'

Im Wartesaal zum grossen Gluck - Walter Andreas Schwarz

German singer Walter Andreas Schwarz was born on June 2, 1913. In 1956, he was one of two performers representing Germany during the first ever Eurovision Song Contest. His placing is not known, but it is rumoured that he finished second. The song was released as a single but commercially, it was not very successful. Other notable records were not released.

Schwarz went on to become a successful author of novels and especially radio dramas. One of his last contributions was an adaption of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' in 1990 and 1991. In 1985, he appeared – along with many other former German representatives – in the interval act of the German national final, which was a medley of all German entries until that year. For many years, he lived in London before he moved back to Germany. He died on April 1, 1992 in Heidelberg.

When you listen to this song, you can hear how different music for Eurovision Song Contests was at the time. It is one of the many attractions of getting a collection of Eurovision singles together.

My collection: 7" single no. 6287
Found: Discogs.com, received May 26, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Im Wartesaal zum grossen Gluck' / 'Fur 300 Francs'

Love is a lonely harbour - Fra Lippo Lippi

Although most people will remember 'Shouldn't have to be like that' as Fra Lippo Lippi's only achievement, they actually released several albums and singles. Their album 'Songs' (from which 'Shouldn't have to be like that' was taken) remains their best in my opinion, but 1989's 'The colour album' is a recent discovery and can almost compete with it.

This single, 'Love is a lonely harbour' is one of the best tracks on that album. With inspiring lyrics and beautiful music it grabbed me from the first listen. It begs for an extended version, but unfortunately, that doesn't exist.

My collection: 7" single no. 6286
Found: Discogs.com, received May 23, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Love is a lonely harbour' / 'Shouldn't have to be like that (live)'

Everyday I write the book - Elvis Costello and the Attractions

I recently re-discovered Elvis Costello's 'Everyday I write the book', a song that was regularly on TV back in 1983 and 1984, when MTV didn't yet exist in Europe and we still had the great Sky Channel and Music Box to provide us with daily doses of music videos. I was always waiting for my favourites to show up, so this video kindof got in the way of that.

I don't know, exactly, how this song suddenly crawled its way up from the dark corners of my memory, but I am glad it did. It's one of Elvis' finest pop songs. His career has taken many turns since then but the early pop stuff never loses its charm.

My collection: 7" single no. 6285
Found: Discogs.com, received May 23, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Everyday I write the book' / 'Heathen town'

Främling - Carola Haggkvist

Although I realise that I already had the A-side track of this single on the B-side of 'Je ogen hebben geen geheimen' by Carola, I couldn't resist buying the original Swedish release of her 1983 Eurovision Song Contest entry. With a different sleeve and the original Swedish version of 'Life' (on the B-side of 'Love isn't love') the set is now complete. Well, almost, because there is also the multi-language 12" version, which I am still looking for.

The song was a good success in various countries, thanks to the English (and Dutch!) version, but the original Swedish version remains the most charming one. Of course, Carola went on to win Eurovision by the end of the decade - but with a much less charming song.

My collection: 7" single no. 6284
Found: Discogs.com, received May 23, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Främling' / 'Liv'

Lost in your love - John Paul Young

John Paul Young will forever be remembered for that other single, 'Love is in the air', but that isn't the only single he ever released. In fact, between 1975 and 1983 he released ten studio albums and a multitude of singles.

'Lost in your love' was taken from the same album as 'Love is in the air', which explains why it sounds so similar. The single became a minor hit in the USA, Austria and the Netherlands only. The real pull of this particular single is that it is pressed on gold vinyl. Well.... gold in this case means a sort of oily brown, but it's still coloured vinyl.

My collection: 7" single 6283
Found: Discogs.com, received May 14, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Lost in your love' / 'Standing in the rain'

Summer kisses winter tears - Julee Cruise

Julee Cruise became a big star for a moment when she rode the wave of the phenomenon that was 'Twin Peaks' in the early 1990's. Her music was produced by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, giving the single 'Falling' the same mysterious atmosphere as the legendary TV series. When the series ended, Cruise had already been forgotten by most people.

But she still released one more interesting single: 'Summer kisses winter tears' was recorded for the motion picture 'Until the end of the world' and still produced by Lynch and Badalamenti. It's a short but engaging track, which I've had on CD for decades now. I was glad to find this 7" vinyl version.

My collection: 7" single no. 6282
Found: Discogs.com, received May 14, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Summer kisses winter tears' / 'Falling'

Popcorn - Tom Spencer

Tom Spencer was one of many people who recorded a cover version of the Gershon Kingsley tune 'Popcorn', but he is the only one - as far as I know at least - who can claim to have recorded the 'Deutsche Originalversion', in other words: the German original version. Which in itself seems like a lie, because the original version of 'Popcorn' was certainly not German.

As for Tom Spencer, he is an unknown artist who released only this single and a single called 'Ghostrider (Riders in the sky)', both in 1972.

My collection: 7" single no. 6281
Found: Discogs.com, received May 12, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Popcorn' / 'Moog March'

Tattoo - Mike Oldfield

I guess I should save this single for December because of its seasonal B-side, but heck, this is Mike Oldfield and this is Tubular Bells, so I couldn't really wait that long. 'Tattoo' was released in 1992 and charted in - you guessed it - December of that year, peaking at number 33 in the UK singles chart.

It was one of three single releases taken from his album 'Tubular Bells II', a different take on his classic 1970's album. Years later, he would also make 'Millennium Bells' and 'Tubular Bells III', and we're all still waiting for 'Tubular Bells IV', which is rumoured to be an interactive thing. We can't wait.

My collection: 7" single no. 6280
Found: Discogs.com, received May 12, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Tattoo (edit)' / 'Silent night'

Ka' du se hvad jeg sa'? - Kirsten & Søren

After Det' lige det in 1984 and Sku' du' spørg fra no'en? in 1985, Kirsten & Søren returned to the Eurovision stage in 1988 with 'Ka' du se hvad jeg sa'?', another breezy Danish pop tune in their all too familiar style. It was their most successful attempt, finishing in third place.

I was quite surprised to find that I did have the single Who is wrong and who's right, featuring both the English and French versions, but the original Danish version was still lacking. I was lucky to find this single with the same dealer who was selling Brandenburger Tor, which eased the pain of having to shell out postage from Finland a little.

My collection: 7" single no. 6279
Found: Discogs.com, received April 23, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Ka' du se hvad jeg sa'?' / 'Lullaby (Sang til Kaj)'

Brandenburger Tor - Ketil Stokkans Pop Band

The Eurovision Song Contest suffered a bit after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Suddenly songs about freedom and happiness ran rampant, and every country wanted to profit from the glee that suddenly engulfed Europe. This is how we got 'Keine Mauern mehr', 'Frei zu leben' and the terrible winner of 1990, 'Insieme'.

Even Norway went along: they sent in Ketil Stokkan with the shameless song, dedicated to that famous Norwegian landmark 'Brandenburger Tor'. But at least, this was a rather funny song. At least, it sounded funny because Norwegian is hard to understand, so the only surviving lyric for foreign ears was that very title. It didn't help matters much: at the close of voting, Ketil ended up in a shared last place in a field of 22 competitors. The single, meanwhile, is incredibly rare, so I was glad to get my hands on a copy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6278
Found: Discogs.com, received April 23, 2020
Tracks: 'Brandenburger Tor (Norsk version)' / 'Brandenburger Tor (English version)'

Kids in America - Lawnmower Deth

I was familiar, of course, with the cover version of 'Kids in America' by Lawnmower Deth, released in 1991. I bought the cd single somewhere in the 1990's and even bought the album 'Billy' with the same track on it. This 7" single, however, is a recent discovery. For all this time I believed the track was never released on this format. So when I spotted it online recently, I got hold of it rather quickly, thanks to a Belgian seller.

It is amusing to note that this version is Kim Wilde's own favourite, and she went on to record 'F U Kristmas' with the band a few years ago, as well as performing live with them. Their loud music is offset by the fact that they don't really take themselves very seriously.

My collection: 7" single no. 6277
Found: Discogs.com, received April 18, 2020
Cost: 8 euro
Tracks: 'Kids in America' / 'Bone yank blisters'

Frank Boeijen - Twee gezichten

The last few vinyl singles by Frank Boeijen have become rare oddities. Released in 1992, this is one of them. 'Twee gezichten' ('Two faces') was released in Belgium in an edition of a few thousand copies, and they're almost impossible to get hold of nowadays.

I actually own the Dutch pressing of this single, but this one is special for the fact that it has a different sleeve and a live cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne' in Dutch. Frank's version was recorded for the Dutch TV programme Rotland, broadcast a few months before the release of this single. Confusingly, that track also appears on the B-side of the Dutch single 'Ze geeft om mij'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6276
Found: Discogs.com, received April 8, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Twee gezichten' / 'Suzanne (live)'

Eurovision medley - Esperanto

With an ever growing Eurovision collection, it is inevitable to stumble upon some strange and rare oddities. This single represents a Nineties take on various Eurovision classics, with all the hallmarks of a cheap Nineties production. The Belgian ensemble seems to consist of M. Lossso, D. Huppermans and R. Marino, who remain rather anonymous.

The songs included in this medley are 'Insieme (1992)', 'Waterloo', 'Puppet on a string', 'Non ho l'eta', 'Hold me now', 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', Hallelujah', 'Merci chérie', 'Ein Bisschen Frieden', 'Apres toi', 'Save all your kisses for me' and 'J'aime la vie'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6275
Found: Discogs.com, received April 8, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Eurovision medley' / 'Get up and dance'

No estas solo - Patricia Kraus

Patricia Kraus was born on January 4, 1964 in Milan, Italy as the daughter of Alfredo Kraus, a Spanish tenor. She was selected to represent Spain during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1987 with 'No estas solo'. As you can hear, the song is a bit messy and really doesn't go anywhere. No wonder, then, that it finished in 19th place in a field of 22 competitors.

Kraus released her first self-titled album shortly after her Eurovision appearance. Further albums followed, including two of experimental electronica in collaboration with Daniel Assante, which were critically well-received although modest sellers. In 1999 she formed the group Waxbeat with Juan Belda and Juan Gómez Acebo, and two albums were released. Kraus, along with Assante and Italian musicians Enrico Barbaro and Gherardo Catanzaro, is currently working under the name of Vintage Club Band.

My collection: 7" single no. 6274
Found: Discogs.com, received April 8, 2020
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'No estas solo' / 'With love'

Wuthering heights / The man with the child in his eyes - Kate Bush

There's not much to write about Kate Bush that hasn't already been written a thousand times. She is undoubtedly one of the most talented women to have appeared on the music scene in the last century and her music is likely to last for decades to come.

Old Gold was quick to realize this when they released this double A-sided single featuring her first two hit singles in 1983, just five years after they were originally released. 'Wuthering heights' and 'The man with the child in his eyes' appear on this disc in their original single versions, which for the latter is quite unique, as that version has rarely appeared on a physical format since.

My collection: 7" single no. 6154
Found: Discogs.com, received August 9, 2019
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Wuthering heights' / 'The man with the child in his eyes'

No more lonely nights - Paul McCartney

Even a music legend can't get it right every time. Paul McCartney has been a victim of ridicule for his single 'We all stand together', the syrupy duet 'Ebony and ivory' and even his treatment of his deluxe editions of past albums, where digital files were sometimes favoured over physical releases.

A more personal example of failure for me is the extended version of 'No more lonely nights'. It is one of my favourite McCartney tracks, but the ballad version - present here on the B-side - is many times better than the so-called 'playout version'. And then there's the extended version... what a mess! I wanted to hear this version, which was my reason for buying this 12" single, but it turned out to be a disappointment. It will probably be up for sale soon. Any takers?

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, January 24, 2020
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'No more lonely nights (extended version)' / 'Silly love songs', 'No more lonely nights (ballad)'

No more winds to guide me - Maywood

In 1990, the Dutch duo Maywood participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Ik wil alles met je delen'. It was their attempt to win back some of the popularity they had in the first half of the Eighties. Although the international audience probably didn't understand the sentimental and frankly trite lyrics, it didn't do the song any favours.

This English version of the song, 'No more winds to guide me' at least features better lyrics. The single was released internationally, but didn't achieve chart success. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6273
Found: Discogs.com, received March 25, 2020
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'No more winds to guide me' / 'I was born to love you'

Popcorn - Jam

This single is actually quite exciting for me, because it is the first time that I bought a single on the BASF label. We all know this manufacturer of tapes and such, but I've never actually seen a 7" single with a BASF label.

And then there is the track: another cover version of Gershon Kingsley's 'Popcorn'. There are so many versions of this single, and I just love adding to my collection for some reason.

Then there is the artist. According to the sleeve, this is 'the big hit from France'. Knowing that Kingsley was a German-American composer, we have to assume that Jam is a band from France. Assume, because there is no information about Jam. Just that this is one of only two singles they released. The other one? 'Jingle bells'....

My collection: 7" single no. 6270
Found: Discogs.com, received March 25, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Popcorn' / 'Ecco'