'Young 'n' Russian' was the debut single of the Korgis, back in 1979. The label Rialto records, on which it was released, was owned by their managers Nick and Tim Heath.
Things got rather confusing circa 1985. While James Warren recorded a solo album entitled 'Burning questions' in 1986, singles from this album were released under the band name 'The Korgis'. The title track was already released in 1985 as 'Burning questions' by the Korgis. The single did not chart.
'Around and around' was another unsuccessful single by Frizzle Sizzle, which failed to reach the Dutch charts when it was released in September 1988. The song was written and produced by the Dutch duo Van Tijn and Fluitsma.
Frizzle Sizzle continued releasing singles until the end of 1988, although their last hit single was 'Second chance', released in August 1987. 'Daddy' was the follow-up to that one, but it did not chart at all.
'The bed's too big without you' was originally written by Sting and recorded by the Police on their 1979 album 'Reggatta de Blanc'. The song was covered in 1981 by Sheila Hylton, who reached number 35 in the UK singles chart with it.
For some strange reason, the track 'School' from Supertramp's 1974 album 'Crime of the century' was never released as a single. It achieved a cult status in the Netherlands, as it appeared in Radio Veronica's Top 100 of all times every year.
Donna Summer's 1979 album 'Bad girls' continued to produce successful singles. Donna Summer had fulfilled her contract with Casablanca records with this albums, and while she was moving on with Geffen Records, recording and releasing a new album with them, Casablanca continued to release singles from this album.
Brenda Russell wrote 'Dinner with Gershwin', which was recorded in 1987 by Donna Summer. It was the first single from her album 'All systems go', Summer's first album of new material in four years. The single reached number 13 in the UK singles chart and number 34 in the Dutch Top 40.
'I'm cryin'' was another single from Shanice Wilson's 1991 album 'Inner child'. It's a typical American ballad, produced by Narada Michael Walden, who co-wrote the song with Wilson.
'Si tu aimes ma musique' ('If you like my music') was the Belgian entry for the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Stella. The song finished 4th in a field of 18 competitors.
Beatriz Teresa 'Betty' Missiego was born January 1, 1945 in Lima, Peru. She began her career as a dancer in Peru, but had to stop this career after an injury. In 1969 she moved to Spain to pursue a singing career. She took on Spanish citizenship in 1972.
This French version of the single 'Honey honey' by Abba features a photograph of their performance of 'Waterloo', the song that gave them a Eurovision victory earlier on in 1974. 'Honey honey' was released as the followup to that hit around the world, with the exception of the UK.
Robin Scott, a.k.a. M, released his debut album 'New York, London, Paris, Munich' in 1979. The best known single (as well as the first one) from the album is 'Popmuzik', but 'That's the way the money goes' was another single taken from that album - the third one.
A tape consisting of slowed-down loops of a choir tuning up lent by ex-OMD member Dave Hughes was the initial inspiration for 'Souvenir'. Although very displeased with the original version, the band decided it had some merit after all, after having re-recorded it. The song features a rare lead vocal by Paul Humphreys. He was satisfied with his attempt at singing and would continue to sing lead vocals for some other OMD songs later on.
'Lovin' you' was originally released in 1975 by Minnie Riperton. The sugary sweet song reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and was a worldwide hit.
In 1987, Fältskog travelled to Malibu, California, to record the album 'I stand alone', produced by Peter Cetera and Bruce Gaitsch. Released in November of that year, it spent weeks at number 1 in Sweden, but was only a minor success in the rest of Europe.
Being a collector of Eurovision Song Contest singles, I was always quite surprised that it was so hard to find the two contributions of Cliff Richard to the Contest - for a reasonable price. But I've finally tracked down a copy of 'Power to all our friends', Cliff's 1973 song for Eurovision.
Released in 1982, 'New gold dream' was the fifth album of the Simple Minds. The single 'Promised you a miracle' was the first one taken from the album, released in April 1982. It was their first single to generate success on the European continent, as it reached number 24 in the Dutch Top 40.
You can't tell from the sleeve design of this single - which is absolutely horrible - but with 'The day before you came' Abba arguably reached the creative peak of their career. It's a very melancholy song, written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson while they took time off in 1981 to write new material for Abba as well as beginning to create their first musical, 'Chess'.
This song sounds incredibly dated now, but back in 1982 it was a huge hit, reaching number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 1 in the UK singles chart! It was Eddy Grant's first number one hit in the UK since 'Baby come back' by the Equals (of which he was a member) in 1968.
