Jona Lewie is best known for his wry lyrics in the songs he's recorded. This is why 'Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' is a remarkable single in his catalogue: it is an almost entirely instrumental track. It does feature a guitar part, performed by Juan Martin.
Instrumental tracks are rarely commercially successful, and this one is no exception: the single did not chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 4166 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' / 'I'll be here'
Clannad recorded 'The hunter' as a new track on their 1989 compilation album 'Past present'. It is a re-worked version of the song 'Herne' from their 1984 album 'Legend'. The track was recorded in Peter Gabriel's Real World studios in Bath.
The single did not chart in the UK, unlike the album 'Past present', which reached number 5 in the UK albums chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 4164 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'The hunter' / 'Atlantic realm (The theme from)'
The Belle Stars made a name for themselves in the London club circuit when they started performing in 1981. Within a few months they appeared on the front cover of Sounds magazine. They were signed by Stiff Records.
The band's debut single, 'Hiawatha' was released in the late spring of 1981. This single failed to chart, just like the follow-up 'Slick trick'. Their third single was this EP, with the lead track 'Another latin love song'. Again, it failed to break into the charts. The band finally found success with their fourth single, a cover of the song 'Iko Iko'.
My collection: 7" single no. 4163 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Another latin love song', 'Miss world' / 'Stop now', 'Having a good time'
I wrote about 'I owe you nothing' once before, as I already owned the single for a long time. But this weekend, I managed to find three more copies of the single. Three more? Yes, because the single was actually released with four different sleeves. One was a compilation of the three others, featuring one member on the front sleeve each. Such was the popularity of Bros, that the single was not only released this way in the UK, but also in Europe.
When 'I owe you nothing' was released as Bros's debut single a year earlier, it failed to chart. The re-release was much more successful, as it managed to climb to the top of the UK singles chart this time around. In the Dutch Top 40, the single reached number 4.
Finding these singles - the German pressings of them, by the way - saw me confronted with an administrative question: would I catalogue them as three separate singles? In the end, I decided to give them all the number 4162. After all, all three singles contain the same two tracks.
My collection: 7" single no. 4162 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro each Tracks: 'I owe you nothing' / 'I owe you nothing (The voice)'
Bananarama write and recorded 'Robert de Niro's waiting' on their self-titled second album, which was released in 1984. The track was apparently originally called 'Al Pacino's waiting', but was changed to 'Robert de Niro's waiting' because it fitted the music better. According to Siobhan Fahey: 'At Jolley [and] Swain's insistence the line 'Talking Italian' was added to add a 'romantic' edge.;
The single reached number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 25 in the Dutch Top 40. When Robert de Niro heard of the 'tribute' song, he arranged to meet the girls from Bananarama for drinks and dinner.
My collection: 7" single no. 4160 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Robert de Niro's waiting' / 'Push!'
After the release of the compilation album 'Absolutely' in 1990, ABC moved to a new record company and started recording their sixth studio album 'Abracadabra'. Just like with all previous albums, they radically changed their sound. This time, they opted for early Nineties techno sounds with a rather unemotional, distanced production.
The first single from the album was 'Love conquers all', which was received without much enthusiasm. It reached number 47 in the UK singles chart, but flopped everywhere else.
My collection: 7" single no. 4158 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Love conquers all' / 'What's good about goodbye?'
The album 'Homelands' by Ellis, Beggs & Howard was not a successful one, despite the fact that their debut single 'Big bubbles, no troubles' was a hit in some European countries. The second single from the album, 'Bad times', was a flop.
Despite this, a third single was released, the uptempo 'Where did tomorrow go?'. Unfortunately, this single also failed to make the chart. The trio started to record a second album in 1989, but it was not released in the end. The tracks did surface several years later as 'The lost years volume 1', including contributions from Warren Cuccurullo and Robert Fripp.
My collection: 7" single no. 4157 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Where did tomorrow go?' / 'Nobody knows'
In 1978, the soundtrack album for the movie 'The Wiz' was released. Chiefly produced by Quincy Jones, the soundtrack features cast performances by the stars of the movie, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross, amongst others.
This quartet also starred on the first single taken from the soundtrack, 'A brand new day', which was released as a single in the summer of 1979. It reached number 1 in the Dutch Top 40. The soundtrack marks Jones' first collaboration with Michael Jackson; he would go on to produce Jackson's hit solo albums 'Off the wall', 'Thriller' and 'Bad'.
My collection: 7" single no. 4155 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'A brand new day' / 'Liberation ballet: a brand new day'
You know a single is rare when it is offered on eBay for enormous amounts of money. It is even more rare when it isn't offered on eBay at all. Ever since I knew about the existance of New Musik's single 'The planet doesn't mind' (which really isn't that long ago) I have been searching for this single to no avail. A copy recently popped up on discogs.com, offered on sale for the amount of 20 euros.
How lucky I was to find this copy of the single for one tenth of that amount. It means that I am very close to completing my collection of New Musik singles. The only one I am looking for now is the title track of their third album, 'Warp'. For a reasonable price, of course. After all, all these singles flopped.
My collection: 7" single no. 4151 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'The planet doesn't mind' / '24 hours from culture (part 2)'
Novi Fosili (English: The new fossils) was a Croatian pop band, one of the most popular music acts in former Yugoslavia. They formed in Zagreb in 1969. They found success when composer Rajko Dujmić joined the band in 1976. That same year the band played at the Split Festival, where their song 'Diridonda' became a hit throughout the country. Their next several albums sold millions of copies and delivered many hits that are still aired on radios in Croatia today. The first female singer was Đurđica Barlović, in 1984 replaced by Sanja Doležal. The group's male vocalists were Vladimir Kočiš Zec and Rajko Dujmić.
In 1987 the band represented Yugoslavia at the Eurovision Song Contest. With their song 'Ja sam za ples' they reached fourth place. The single was released all over Europe, but this didn't bring them international success. The band disbanded when the former Yugoslavia fell apart.
My collection: 7" single no. 4150 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'I wanna dance' / 'Ja sam za ples'
The synthesizer wizards of Nova recorded two albums, but they will always be remembered for their debut single 'Aurora'. It's as if they never recorded anything else! But they did.
'Cygnus' was the first single from their second album 'Quo vadis', released in 1983. The single did not make a dent in the charts, although it didn't sound very different from the material on their first album. But perhaps that was the problem...
My collection: 7" single no. 4149 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Cygnus' / 'Jig'
'Starchild' was written by Wally Badarou, Mark King and Phil Gould. It was released in 1981 as a track on Level 42's debut studio album. It was subsequently released as a single.
The single peaked at number 57 on the UK singles chart and number 24 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 4148 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Starchild' / 'Foundation and empire part 1'
In 1989, Imagination released a compilation album entitled 'Like it is: revised and remixed classics'. To promote the album, this Megamix was released. The single did not chart in any territory.
I don't know many megamixes that were chart hits. Perhaps it's because, as this single demonstrates quite effectively, a megamix makes the entire catalogue of an artist sound like they've only made one song: everything blends together too much. Still, it is amusing to hear four Imagination tracks within five minutes.
My collection: 7" single no. 4147 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Megamix' / 'Burning up'
'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.
The single did not chart, but it would appear on their self-titled debut album, released a few months later.
My collection: 7" single no. 4146 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Young 'n' Russian' / 'Cold tea'
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.
My collection: 7" single no. 4145 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Burning questions' / 'Waiting for Godot'
'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 broke up in 1990, after releasing a terrible football-related single. The girls remained active in the entertainment business.
My collection: 7" single no. 4144 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Around and around' / 'Around and around (instrumental)'
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.
Lyrically, the song is about divorce from the perspective of a couple's child. In a way, this puts the girl group firmly back to their roots, as they were previously members of a Dutch children's choir.
My collection: 7" single no. 4143 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Daddy' / 'Look at the stars'
'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.
However, this cover version by Julie Roberts was released a year earlier. Not much is known about the artist, all I know is that this one did not become a chart hit. It is a reasonably good cover of the Police track.
My collection: 7" single no. 4142 Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'The bed's too big without you' / 'Since you've been gone'
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.
When the Dutch record company Arcade released a compilation album of Supertramp tracks in 1989, they decided to release 'School' as a single. It proved to be a good idea: the single reached number 33 in the Dutch Top 40. At the time, I only bought the cd-single. Now I've found the 7" single that was released back then as well.
My collection: 7" single no. 4141 Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'School' / 'School (live)'
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.
'Sunset people' was one of them. It was released in May 1980, and reached number 46 in the UK singles chart. Three months later, Summer would release her first album with Geffen.
My collection: 7" single no. 4140 Found: Backtrack, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Sunset people' / 'Our love'
Jona Lewie is best known for his wry lyrics in the songs he's recorded. This is why 'Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' is a remarkable single in his catalogue: it is an almost entirely instrumental track. It does feature a guitar part, performed by Juan Martin.
