At the age of 17, Debbie Gibson was the youngest female to write, produce, and perform a US Billboard Hot 100 number 1 hit single with her song 'Foolish beat'. In the UK, the single reached a peak position of number nine on the UK Singles Chart.
This blog is not moving as fast as usual because of a flu. Not the Mexican variety, mind you, but a common summer flu. Still, all a person can do is sleep and wait till it's over. And listen to some calm and soothing music, like Clannad's Theme from Harry's Game. It was the song that launched the Irish band into fame all over Europe.
'A message to your heart' was written and composed by Paul Curtis and performed by the unknown singer Samantha Janus during the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest. Curtis wrote a socially conscious track about poverty and starvation, full of the usual cliches: we should all be very happy because we're living in 'paradise'. Yeah, right.
Carrie Gray, Helen Kray and Bobby McVay formed Sweet dreams in 1983, when they were selected to represent the UK during the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest with 'I'm never giving up'. The song finished sixth in the Contest and reached number 21 in the UK singles chart. The group was re-launched later in the year as Dreams, but their new single '17 electric (look out!)' failed to chart.
After the departure of Alan Rankine and Michael Dempsey, The Associates was basically the solo project of Billy MacKenzie. He started working on what was to become the album 'Perhaps', released in 1985. The album was preceded by the single 'Waiting for the loveboat', a minor hit single peaking at number 53 in the UK singles chart.
Robin Scott celebrated the tenth anniversary of his biggest hit 'Popmuzik' with a new remix of the track. It was released in June 1989 and became M's first UK hit since 1980's 'Official secrets'. The single peaked at number 15.
Sheena Easton recorded 'So far so good' for the soundtrack of the movie 'About last night', released in 1986. It was just after she'd released the album 'Do you', which was produced by Nile Rodgers (the B-side is taken from that album), and this track was produced by Narada Michael Walden. The Scottish girl was working with a lot of 'black' artists, although she was yet to meet the man who would turn her career around: Prince.
It's always weird to find a single not intended for the UK market in a shop in the UK. But here I was, finding a copy of Princess Stephanie of Monaco's 'Flash', the French version of 'One love to give'.
Julia Fordham released 'Where does the time go' in 1989 as a single from her second album 'Porcelain'. The male voice on the track was performed by John O'Kane. The single peaked at number 41 in the UK singles chart.
Before Frances Ruffelle represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 with 'Lonely symphony (We will be free)', she had a successful career in several musicals in London's West End. She debuted in the late Eighties in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Starlight Express' in the principal role of Dinah. A year later, she played Éponine in 'Les Miserables'.
'The medal song' was released in 1984 as the second single from the album 'Waking up with the house on fire', Culture Club's third album. Boy George later commented he felt the album experienced a lukewarm reception because of the half-hearted material on the album. The group was pressured by their record company to come up with a quick follow-up to their second album 'Colour by numbers'.
I've had the cd-single of Duran Duran's 'Meet el presidente' for two decades now. It was released in a gatefold sleeve, which I imagined was exclusive to the cd-single format. But I was wrong: in the UK, the 7" single was also released in a gatefold sleeve, with the same band photo inside as the one in the cd-single sleeve. I didn't have the 7" single yet, so I was happy to snap this one up.
'I don't know what it is but I love it' was released as a single from Chris Rea's 1984 album 'Wired to the moon'. It only became a minor hit for Rea, reaching number 65 in the UK singles chart.
Someone responded on this blog a while ago, writing that I should feature Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker street' on here. Well, I would want to, but I haven't got that particular single yet. Meanwhile, I did find the next best thing: a remix of the track. It was released on the occasion of the release of 'Right down the line: the best of Gerry Rafferty' in 1990.
The Eurythmics released 'There must be an angel (playing with my heart)' as the second single from their 1985 album 'Be yourself tonight'. The song features a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder. It reached number 1 in the UK singles chart (the band's only number one hit in the UK to date) and number 4 in the Dutch Top 40.
Judie Tzuke's fifth album 'Ritmo' was released in 1983. From that album, this single 'Jeannie no' was released. Like other singles by Tzuke, it did not chart. That's not to say that the song is bad: it's a lively track that showcases Judie's clear voice.
Back in 1999, I used a listing of Chris Rea's hit singles and my own 7" singles to compile a 'greatest hits' double cd of my own. With the aid of cd's from the public library, I had a chance to make something really complete, unlike commercial compilations. Listening to the 2 discs after I made them, I concluded that Rea has made some great music since his debut in 1978. But because this wasn't a hit, I missed 'Love's strange ways'.
'Warning sign' was Nick Heyward's attempt at making a soulful track. It seemed strange that a 'white boy' would want to sound so 'black'. It was a stand-alone single (i.e. not released on any of his albums) and reached number 25 in the UK singles chart.
This year, I've been able to buy 'Tu te reconnaitras' and the German version of that song, 'Du bist da'. Somehow it was just a question of time that I would bump into the English version, 'Wonderful dream'. Interesting fact: the A-side of this single is in stereo, the B-side is only in mono.
After Bob Geldof has made a career of charity, he was still not a very rich man. He still had a solo music career and recorded the album 'The vegetarians of love' in 1990. 'Love or something' was the second single from that album. Whereas the first single, 'The great song of indifference' reached number 15 in the UK singles chart, this one did not chart at all.
