Lulu was born on November 3, 1948. She is best known for her hits 'To sir, with love' and 'Shout'. This single, recorded in 1968, was written for her by Marty Wilde, which explains why I would want to have it. It's a charming little song in which Lulu shows her Scottish accent more than usual. The B-side was written by another prominent artist, Harry Nilsson.
My collection: 7" single no. 3235
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, October 18, 2000
Produced by Giorgio Moroder, 'Giving up giving in' is an all out disco track, which gave the Three Degrees a big hit in many countries. In the Netherlands, the single peaked at number 8, while in the UK it reached number 12.
I bought the single from my favourite little record shop with a custom sleeve from one of the Netherlands' biggest warehouses. And so, only the record is shown here: an American pressing.
I am extremely curious what foreign readers think of this particular Dutch song. When I first heard it - a friend played it to me because she recorded it from the radio ages before - I couldn't believe this was made by a Dutch band. And what's more, it turned out to be the same band that had recorded 'It takes a muscle to fall in love' that same year. I knew that single, but I'd completely missed this one.
I think this single is an extremely well accomplished piece of intimate synthpop, with beautiful vocals to boot. So come on, tell me what you think...
My collection: 7" single no. 3300
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'There's a virus going round' / 'Hang ups'
Being almost bilingual by now, I still don't know exactly if the expression 'Window widow' would be used by an Englishman. I've always thought it was a weird title, but anyway... The track itself is a beautiful ballad with a neat little story of a woman who loses her husband and keeps hoping for his return.
'Window widow' was the last single taken from Maarten Peters' second album 'Burn your boats' (1987), and it was re-recorded especially for this single. As such, it was never released on cd, because many Dutch bands didn't release cd-singles yet. The single didn't chart, which makes it even more collectable, I guess.
The original version of 'Kiss me' was released in 1982. Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy tried to have a hit with the song two more times. First he released a remixed version in 1983 which was just as unsuccessful as the original version - even though famous remixer François Kevorkian did his work on the track - but the 1985 version was a top 5 hit in the UK. The Art of Noise-esque sound must have helped a lot.
This version became a Europe-wide hit, and was played endlessly on radio and television. I didn't really want to have the single anymore after that. Now, more than two decades later, this double pack was really great to get. And I have to admit, it's great to hear 'Kiss me' again - even in the 1985 version.
My collection: 7" single no. 3634
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 18, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Kiss me (1985)' / 'In the twilight' // 'Kiss me (1983)' / 'Holes in my shoes'
Often voted as the best ever Christmas song, The Pogues' 'Fairytale of New York' was specifically recorded for this merry time of year. It did not reach number one in the UK, being held off the top spot by the Pet Shop Boys' 'Always on my mind'. In Ireland, the Pogues did have a number one hit with this.
Guest vocals were performed by Kirsty MacColl. Her part was originally intended for band member Cait O'Riordan. She left the band, however, in 1986, and so producer Steve Lillywhite proposed to have his wife sing a guide vocal for the recording. The band liked her contribution so much that she also sang the part on the actual recording.
On December 18, 2007, BBC Radio 1 banned the words 'faggot' and 'slut' from the song to 'avoid offence'. The words were dubbed out. MacColl's mother Jean, called the ban "too ridiculous", while the Pogues said they found it "amusing". However, that evening Radio 1 backed down and said that after a day of criticism from listeners, the band, and MacColl's mother, they reversed the decision. The unedited version was then played later on that day.
My collection: 7" single no. 3673 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 18, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Fairytale of New York' / 'The Battle March medley'
Ab van Woudenberg, Donald Lieveld and Rosina Lauwaars formed Harmony in 1978 and represented the Netherlands in the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest with ''t Is OK' ('It's OK'), lyrically a pale imitation of the 1975 Contest winner 'Ding-a-dong': 'sing a melody / Happy and in harmony'.
The group finished 13th in the Contest, which took place in Paris after the 1977 victory by Marie Myriam. In the Dutch Top 40, ''t Is O.K.' peaked at number 29.
I wrote about the Communards' 'You are my world' before (although Blogger seems to have deleted that post again in their random actions vandalism), but that was the original version from 1986 with which they made their debut.
In 1987, they re-released the track in a re-recorded version. This version did better than the original: while that one peaked at number 30 in the UK, this one peaked at number 21. And in the Netherlands, where the original didn't chart, it reached number 24. I bought the single to get my collection of Communards singles complete. Always a good feeling to be complete.
The British funk band Kokomo formed in the Seventies. They released their debut album 'Kokomo' in 1975. The second album 'Rise & shine' appeared two years later and the third album, again titled 'Kokomo' came out in 1982. This album contained the hit single 'A little bit further away', a beautiful soul song with vocal harmonies and a very early Eighties soul music backing.
While not a big hit in the UK, it peaked at number 4 in the Netherlands. I got to know the song thanks to a compilation cd which I bought in the late Eighties. Now I've finally got the original single as well.
My collection: 7" single no. 3680
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, April 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'A little bit further away' / 'Keep on dancin''
'The Ballroom Blitz' was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. It was released as a single in 1973, where it reached number 1 in Australia and entered at number 2 in the UK singles chart but failed to go to number one. The song reached number 5 in the United States and number 4 in the Netherlands.
The song itself was written about the Grand Hall of the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock, Scotland, after the band was forced off stage by a barrage of bottles.
My collection: 7" single no. 3678
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, April 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'The ballroom blitz' / 'Rock & Roll disgrace'
'Belfast' was originally written by Drafi Deutscher for Marcia Barrett while she was still performing as a solo artist in the early Seventies. Boney M performed the song live because they didn't have enough of their own material yet, and it proved to be an audience favourite. This gave producer Frank Farian the idea to record it anew.
However, because of the politically tinted lyrics ('when the hate you have for one another's past') he first recorded it with Gilla in German. It still appeared on Boney M's 1977 album 'Love for sale' and ended up being a single for them. It peaked at number 9 in the UK and number 3 in the Netherlands.
'I'm your man' was released in November 1985 after Wham!'s world tour, followed by a period of rest. The last people had seen of Wham! was during Live Aid in the Summer. Thus, the single was long-awaited. It was a number 1 in the UK and peaked at number 4 in the Netherlands.
Within a few months, Wham! announced their split. 'I'm your man' did not appear on any studio album, and so its only appearance on an album was on 'The final', the compilation album that was released in 1986 to commemorate the end of Wham!'s career. In 1995, Lisa Moorish covered the song.
My collection: 7" single no. 3684
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, April 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I'm your man' / 'Do it right (instrumental)'
'Baby I love your way' was written and performed by Peter Frampton and originally featured on his 1975 album 'Frampton'. A live version of the song was released in 1976 on his live album 'Frampton comes alive!'. In this version, the track peaked at number 12 in America and number 43 in the UK.
My collection: 7" single no. 3679
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, Apil 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Baby I love your way' / 'It's a plain shame'
The third and last single from Human League's 1984 album 'Hysteria' was the melancholy 'Louise'. Writer of the song and frontman Phil Oakey points out that the story is actually about the original protagonists from 'Don’t you want me' meeting up four years later. In 'Louise' the man sees his lost love again and still cannot deal with reality. The anger that drove the earlier song has dissipated, and is replaced with a hopeful fantasy that his ex-lover is drawn to him all over again.
The single peaked at number 13 in the UK singles chart. I spotted this single the last time I went to La La Land, but didn't know whether I had it or not. I checked, and went back today to get it...
After the breakup of the Dutch girl group Doris D. & the Pins got ugly, even to the point of lawsuits, the four girls backing lead singer Debbie Petter decided to go on as a girl group of their own. They debut in 1982 with the single 'The girls are back in town'. After this hit and 'Starlight', the follow-up, Risqué release 'Thunder & lightning'. This third single does not chart. One further hit, 'Burn it up (Mr. DJ)' and two flops later, the group falls apart.
Fiction Factory are best known for their Eighties classic '(Feels like) Heaven'. I was surprised to find out that I only have the 12" single of that song, so I started looking out for the 7" single. So today I found the follow-up: 'Ghost of love'. This single peaked at number 64 in the UK but did not chart in the Netherlands.
Still, it's got the same synthpop edge of early Eighties material and the vocals by Kevin Patterson are just as striking as they are on '(Feels like) Heaven'. A great find.
My collection: 7" single no. 3677
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, April 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Ghost of love' / 'The other side of grey'
I'm probably going to irritate my friend Puck with this entry, so here goes... I think Duffy is a good singles artist. She's got interesting songs that are worth a spin or two. But a full album by her is bound to be a boring experience: I think the interesting voice will become grating when you listen to it non-stop for an hour.
That said, I liked the single 'Warwick avenue' and so I decided to give this one a try as well. 'Stepping stone' is again a nice song. The single peaked at number 21 in the UK singles chart and number 30 in the Netherlands.
Curiosity killed the cat was formed in 1984 by Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, Julian Godfrey Brookhouse, Nick Thorpe and Migi Drummond. Their first success came in the guise of the video for the 1986 single 'Misfit', which featured Andy Warhol. Further hit singles were 'Down to earth', 'Ordinary day' and 'Free', all taken from the band's debut album 'Keep your distance' (1987).
Their second album 'Getahead' (1989) was led by the upbeat funky single 'Name and number'. The single peaked at number 14 in the UK and number 24 in the Netherlands. The 'Hey, how you doin'' refrain would be borrowed by De La Soul in 1991 for their song 'Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)', which would end up being a top 10 hit in the UK.
My collection: 7" single no. 3685 Found: La La Land, Den Haag, April 25, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Name and number' / 'Keep on trying'
I have to admit, I didn't know this track but I assumed this would be instrumental synthpop when I saw the sleeve. I was not wrong. Space Art is a French band that was formed by two friends in Paris in 1977. The group consisted of Dominique Perrier on keyboards and Roger Rizzitelli on drums. Their music was all about experimenting with new sounds on new machines.
'Onyx' was released in the summer of 1977 and reached number 22 in the Netherlands. Space Art released three albums between 1977 and 1980, which have been released as a three cd box set last year.
The single 'Churches' featured 'They all run after the carving knife' on the B-side. On this single, that track is the A-side - but it's an edited version, clocking in at 3'19 it's more than a minute shorter than the album version. It's a great dynamic track with lots of synths, which immediately explains its attraction to me.
The track also sounds a lot like A-ha's early work, which is not so strange considering New Musik's Tony Mansfield produced them in the beginning. Worth a listen if you don't know this.
My collection: 7" single no. 2919 Found: Record fair, November 9, 1997 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'They all run after the carving knife [edit]' / 'This world of Walter'
Lulu was born on November 3, 1948. She is best known for her hits 'To sir, with love' and 'Shout'. This single, recorded in 1968, was written for her by Marty Wilde, which explains why I would want to have it. It's a charming little song in which Lulu shows her Scottish accent more than usual. The B-side was written by another prominent artist, Harry Nilsson.
