Almost a decade before I bought the 12" single of 'Feel the raindrops', I bought the 7" single. It was one of the best tracks of 1985 in my opinion, and after the beautiful 'Send my heart', this was another track I instantly fell in love with.
I didn't know this song when I bought it. I bought this single for one reason only: it was a picture disc. And a beautiful one, at that. Fortunately I did know Judie Tzuke and the type of music she made.
'Lover of mine' was released in 1990 as the fourth and last single from Alannah Myles' self-titled debut album. While in Canada, the single equalled the number 2 position her biggest hit 'Black velvet' had reached a year earlier, elsewhere in the world, it did not impress the record-buying audiences.
Tom Petty's 'A face in the crowd' was written and produced by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, like most of the material on his album 'Full moon fever'. The track has a beautiful warm, relaxed sound that seemed to please especially the Dutch audience.
After Red Box signed to Sire Records and released their single 'Saskatchewan', there must have been some doubt whether this band would actually make it. The single did not chart and some record company executives must have felt panic. These days, the band would probably have been dropped immediately.
Contrary to what you might think, when I bought this single two decades after its release, I didn't have to pay a fortune for it. I was as surprised as anyone when I spotted this limited edition double single during a record fair for a rather low price. Considering the ever growing fanbase of this Irish band, I would have expected the dealer to make a nice profit. Fortunately he didn't, otherwise I would never have bought this of course.
The third single from All about Eve's 1989 album 'Scarlet and other stories' was 'Scarlet'. It was released in early 1990 and backed with a live track recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, where the band celebrated the biggest commercial success of their career.
'Love's great adventure' was recorded as a new track for Ultravox's 1984 compilation album 'The Collection' and released as a single to promote the album. Released in October 1984 it peaked at number 12 in the UK singles chart and number 30 in the Dutch Top 40.
'Original sin' was recorded as a theme song for the 1994 movie 'The shadow', based on the character of the same name created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931. At a budget of 40 million dollars, the movie barely made a profit with worldwide sales of 48 million.
'Open your eyes' was released as the fifth single from Snow Patrol's 2006 album 'Eyes open'. Released in February 2007, the single peaked at number 26 in the UK singles chart. It went number 1 in Slovakia and number 21 in Ireland.
Before I bought the 12" single of 'Trick of the night', I found this ep featuring four tracks. Just like on the 12" single, 'Trick of the night' was featured in two different versions: one produced by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, and one by Stock, Aitken & Waterman.
The 'Amiga Quartett' was a series of four track ep's released in the German Democratic Republic, the Eastern part of Germany that existed until the end of the Eighties, featuring tracks from a certain artist or band. In this installment, the ep is filled with four tracks by Mel & Kim. They were enjoying a lot of success in Europe with 'Showing out' and 'Respectable' at the time. The state-controlled record company picked four tracks from their debut album to release them on this ep.
Tori Amos explained that the idea for '1000 oceans' came to her in a dream. An old African woman was humming the melody to her, and she got up around 5:30 in the morning to record it. The inspiration for the lyrics came when her father-in-law died, and she claims the song helped her husband deal with the grieving process. The lyrics contain reference to Silbury Hill, an ancient mound in Wiltshire, England. This is a place often visited by Amos and her husband.
'Love is' was recorded in 1993 as a duet of Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight. The track originally appeared on the soundtrack of the TV drama series 'Beverly Hills, 90210'. As a result of this exposure, the song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming McKnight's breakthrough hit and another hit for Williams. The single also charted in Australia, where it peaked at number 49. In other territories, the single flopped.
Rick James scored his second and last top 10 hit in the Netherlands with the 1985 single 'Glow'. The single did not chart in the UK. It was an almost megalomaniac piece of work, with lots of solos and clocking in at 5 minutes and 40 seconds.
'(Just like) Starting over' was released as the first single from John Lennon's 1980 album 'Double fantasy' and his first single in five years. It was chosen by Lennon, not because he felt it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate one, following his five year absence from the music business. The original title of the song was 'Starting over'. '(Just like)' was added at the last minute because a country song of the same title was released by Tammy Wynette just a few months before.
After Lloyd Cole & the Commotions decided to call it quits, the record company released a compilation album with all their single releases. To accompany the album, a single was released. A remix of the track 'Forest fire' was made by Bruce Lampcov. The single did not chart.
Before the song 'Chiquitita' was created, it existed in various working forms. Titles like 'Kålsupare', 'Three wise guys' and 'In the arms of Rosalita' all passed by. The song was finally recorded as 'Chiquitita' in December 1978 and released a month later, as the first single from the album 'Voulez-vous'.
Wham! enjoyed their first UK number 1 hit with 'Wake me up before you gogo' in the summer of 1984. When the next single 'Freedom' was released, no-one could have suspected that it would become another charttopper for the duo. Not only that, but it also became the number 10 best selling single in the UK that year.
There aren't that many Swiss bands that achieved international success, but Double managed it in 1985 with their single 'The captain of her heart'. It reached number 8 in the UK singles chart. Furthermore, it was a top 10 hit in the Dominican Republic, Italy, Canada, France, Norway and Germany. Interesting enough, it only reached number 11 in Switzerland.
