Annie Golden, Ronald Ardito, Artie La Monica, Robert Racioppo, John Piccolo and John Criscione formed The Shirts in the mid-Seventies. Their debut album 'The Shirts' was recorded in London and released in early 1978. The album became very popular in Europe.
The first single, 'Tell me your plans' reached number 4 in the Netherlands after a chewing gum-gnawing Annie Golden appeared alongside her band in the popular weekly music show Toppop.
My collection: 7" single no. 631 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1987 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Tell me your plans' / 'Cyrinda'
In 1992, The The released the album 'Dusk'.The first single to be taken from the album was 'Dogs of lust'. The 7" vinyl was released in the UK only in a limited edition pressed on pink marbled vinyl. Whether this helped the sales is unknown, but the single peaked at number 25 in the UK.
The band would release two further singles from the album, but those were not released on vinyl anymore.
My collection: 7" single no. 1850 Found: January 23, 1993 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Dogs of lust' / 'The violence of truth (remix)'
In 1990, guitarist Tim Bricheno left All about Eve to join the Sisters of Mercy. He was replaced by Marty Willson-Piper, who had worked with The Church. With this new guitarist, the band was pressured into becoming 'some sort of Fleetwood Mac', according to singer Julianne Regan. They resisted the pressure from the record company and instead made an album that was partly true to their own sound but also had definite influences from their new guitarist.
The clear-sounding, upbeat 'Farewell mr. Sorrow' was drawn as the first single from the album 'Touched by Jesus', and reached number 36 in the UK singles chart, which was a reasonable placing, considering their previous singles had peaked at number 34. Still, difficult times were ahead for the band...
My collection: 7" single no. 1454 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, June 22, 1991 Cost: 6,5 guilders Tracks: 'Farewell mr. Sorrow' / 'Elizabeth of glass'
While I was searching for 'See that glow' by This Island Earth, I came across this follow-up single, 'Take me to the fire' repeatedly. At some point I got so tired of it, that I decided to buy this one. Sometimes the irony of buying records is that you get the ones you don't want quicker than the ones you do want.
'Take me to the fire' is not a bad song per se, but it's easy to see why it didn't reach the UK singles chart like the previous single did.
My collection: 7" single no. 932 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 6, 1989 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Take me to the fire' / 'Pearl of love'
The girl trio Luv' was churning out hit after hit in 1979, at the height of their popularity. Not everything they did was highly inspired, but at least every single song they recorded was a happy, positive track.
'Ooh, yes I do' was released in October 1979 and reached number 5 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 38 Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1979 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Ooh yes I do' / 'My guy'
'Sowing the seeds of love' was released as the first single from Tears for Fears' third album 'The seeds of love'. The song was in essence a pastiche of the Beatles sound of the second half of the Sixties, a style the band would also stick to in their reunion cd 'Everybody loves a happy ending' released a couple of years ago.
The single was a wordwide success, reaching number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 5 in the UK singles chart. The B-side 'Tears roll down' was a demo version of a track the band would record as 'Laid so low (Tears roll down)' a few years later for the compilation album 'Tears roll down (Greatest hits 82-92)'.
My collection: 7" single no. 988 Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1989 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'Sowing the seeds of love' / 'Tears roll down'
'If you leave me now' was released by the American band Chicago on their 1976 album 'Chicago X'. It was written and sung by bass guitar player Peter Cetera and released as a single in July 1976.
The single topped the US charts on October 23, 1976 and stayed there for two weeks, making it the first number one hit in America for the group. It also reached the number one spot in the UK and the Netherlands. The single went on to win Grammy Awards for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus.
My collection: 7" single no. 1804 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, December 19, 1992 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'If you leave me now' / 'Make me smile'
'My unknown love' by Count Indigo was produced by Mike Flowers and has that unmistakable retro sound that made the Mike Flowers Pops so popular circa 1995. Despite this, the single by the Count only reached the UK singles chart for only one week, at number 59.
I bought this 10" single during a holiday in London. I would obviously have preferred a 7" single, but since this was the only release on vinyl I thought I should have this.
My collection: 10" single [unnumbered] Found: Virgin Megastore, London, 1995 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'My unknown love' / 'My unknown love (Memory lapse mix)', 'My unknown love (Duelling Martini mix)'
Ellen Foley was born on June 5, 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri (USA). She gained high public recognition singing the duet with Meat Loaf on the hit single 'Paradise by the dashboard light' from the 1977 album Bat out of Hell. Although Karla DeVito is featured on the music video, DeVito is lip synching to Foley's vocals.
Ellen Foley's debut album 'Nightout' was released in 1979. It featured the hit single 'What's a matter baby', a hit that peaked at number 7 in the Netherlands. The album was produced by Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson. Foley recorded a duet with Ian Hunter in 1980: 'We gotta get out of here'.
My collection: 7" single no. 1972 Found: October 16, 1993 Cost: 0,25 guilders Tracks: 'What's a matter baby' / 'Hideaway'
'Nothing has been proved' (1989) was a single by Dusty Springfield, written and produced by the Pet Shop Boys. The song was their second collaboration, following their hit song 'What have I done to deserve this?' in 1987. It features an orchestral arrangement by Angelo Badalamenti and a tenor saxophone solo by Courtney Pine.
The song was composed for the 1989 movie 'Scandal', an account of the so called Profumo Affair, a British public scandal in 1963 which profoundly affected the ruling Conservative Party government. The lyrics of the song describe the actual course of the events and mention the main characters involved; Mandy Rice-Davies, Christine Keeler and Stephen Ward.
The single made number 16 in the UK singles chart and number 18 in the Dutch Top 40. In the UK, a limited edition single with a gatefold sleeve was released (pictured below). I didn't know about this release until I found it in a second hand shop seven years after its original release...
My collection: 7" single no. 774 / no. 2766 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, March 18, 1989 / House of Rhythm, London, October 29, 1996 Cost: 6 guilders / 40p Tracks: 'Nothing has been proved' / 'Nothing has been proved (instrumental)'
Edie Brickell attended high school at the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, and then attended Southern Methodist University for a year and a half. In 1985 she made the decision one night in a bar to get up on stage with a local folk rock group, New Bohemians. She joined the band as lead singer and the group became Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. Their 1988 debut album 'Shooting rubberbands at the stars' became a critical and commercial success.
The album's first single 'What I am' was written by Edie Brickell and Kenny Withrow. It peaked at number 31 in the United Kingdom, while reaching number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100. This limited edition single box set contained the 7" single and an illustrated poster with all the song lyrics from the album.
My collection: 7" single no. 2394 Found: London, July 6, 1995 Cost: 6 pounds Tracks: 'What I am' / 'I do'
'Where the wild roses grow' was written by Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave. He was inspired to write it after listening to the traditional song 'Down in the willow garden', a tale of a man courting a woman and killing her while they are out together. The song featured guest vocals by Australian pop-singer Kylie Minogue and was released as the first single from the ninth album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, 'Murder ballads' (1996).
It became the band's most successful single worldwide, reaching number 1 in Israel and Croatia, number 11 in the UK singles chart and number 9 in the Dutch Top 40. 'Where the wild roses grow' was also certified Gold in Australia where it sold 50,000 copies.
My collection: 7" single no. 2516 Found: Virgin Megastore, London, October 31, 1995 Cost: 2,3 pounds Tracks: 'Where the wild roses grow' / 'The ballad of Robert Moore and Betty Coltrane'
I never understand the Bros-mania that took the UK by storm in 1987. They weren't so special, these two brothers Matt and Luke Goss and one friend, Craig Logan. Their debut album 'Push' was released in early 1988 and the record company milked it for all its worth, releasing single after single because the young people who were so wild about them would just about buy anything anyway.
I bought 'I quit' after it ended up in the discount bin after a relatively disappointing chart run in the Netherlands, reaching only number 33. The nice thing about this single was the extra inner sleeve.
My collection: 7" single no. 704 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, December 17, 1988 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'I quit' / 'I quit (Acid drops)'
Angelique's 'Een beetje geld voor een beetje liefde' ('A little money for a little lovin'') was a parody of Nicole's winning song for the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, 'Ein Bisschen Frieden'. I won't translate the entire lyric here for non-Dutch people reading this blog, but the bottom line is that the singer describes the day job of a hooker, indirectly implying that sweet innocent Nicole had a job on the side as well.
The song was a big success in the Netherlands, released in July 1982 - not long after the original - it reached number 2 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 127 Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982 Cost: 5,5 guilders Tracks: 'Een beetje geld voor een beetje liefde' / 'Vader wat klotsen je ballen'
'Candy' was a hit single for the band Cameo in 1987. It reached number 27 in the UK singles chart and number 12 in the Dutch Top 40. The band tried to capitalize off the song's success by re-using the melody on the song 'Honey' from their next album, 'Machismo'.
The song has been sampled by various artists, including 2Pac, Will Smith and Mariah Carey.
My collection: 7" single no. 2474 Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 16, 1995 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Candy' / 'Don't be lonely'
Taken from the Meteors' 1980 album 'The hunger', 'Candy' was another unsuccessful single for the band, as it didn't chart.
I didn't know the song when I bought this single, but I was really passionate about the other single from the same album, 'Together too long'. Unfortunately, this single is a lot less engaging.
My collection: 7" single no. 3138 Found: July 24, 1999 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Candy' / 'It sucks'
Laid Back had an enormous European summer hit on their hands when they released 'Sunshine reggae' in September 1983. Despite the bad timing, the single still reached number 2 in the autumn of that year in the Neherlands.
The B-side featured 'White horse', a single that would become a worldwide hit for the band a few months later.
My collection: 7" single no. 3135 Found: July 24, 1999 Cost: 1 guilders Tracks: 'Sunshine reggae' / 'White horse'
Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers created 'Le freak' on New Year's Eve 1977. They were invited at the famous Studio 54 discotheque but they weren't let in by the doorman after their contact forgot to leave their name at the door. They went back to Rogers' apartment and started jamming. The song was originally entitled 'Fuck off', but during the night they decided to change that into 'Freak out', and subsequently named the song 'Le freak'.
The track with the now-famous Chic riff reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and was the highest-selling single on Warner Bros. records until it was replaced in 1990 by Madonna's 'Vogue'. The single also reached number 7 in the UK and number 2 in the Netherlands.
I bought the single in 1992, years after its original release, because for a decade I didn't actually like the song. The second time I bought the single was in 1998 when I thought that I didn't have it - but of course I did. Fortunately I now have two different versions of the single, with the second one I bought having the most beautiful sleeve of the two (pictured below).
My collection: 7" single no. 1792 / no. 3043 Found: All that music, Leiden, November 25, 1992 / Disco Market, Den Haag, December 11, 1998 Cost: 3,5 guilders / 1 guilder Tracks: 'Le freak' / 'Savoir faire'
'Live for loving you' was the final single from Gloria Estefan's 1991 album 'Into the light'. Written as a collaboration with Diane Warren, Gloria expressed her love for her husband Emilio Estefan Jr. with this song.
The single was not a big success in Europe, but did peak at number 33 in the UK singles chart and number 22 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Personally I preferred the album version to the single remix, but since both were found on this single, I bought it anyway.
My collection: 7" single no. 1557 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, December 14, 1991 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Live for loving you (single remix)' / 'Live for loving you'
Dennis Edwards was born February 3, 1943 in Birmingham, Alabama (USA). He made a career in music in the early Sixties. He is most noted for being one of The Temptations' lead singers replacing David Ruffin after the band's heyday.
The 1984 hit single 'Don't look any further' featured Siedah Garrett, who would go on to duet with Michael Jackson three years later on the song 'I just can't stop loving you'. 'Don't look any further' reached number 72 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 45 on the UK singles chart and number 12 on the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 1385 Found: All that music, Leiden, February 22, 1991 Cost: 2,5 guilders Tracks: 'Don't look any further' / 'I thought I could handle it'
Annie Golden, Ronald Ardito, Artie La Monica, Robert Racioppo, John Piccolo and John Criscione formed The Shirts in the mid-Seventies. Their debut album 'The Shirts' was recorded in London and released in early 1978. The album became very popular in Europe.
