Clannad collaborated with American singer/songwriter Bruce Hornsby to record 'Something to believe in'. He played piano and accordion on the track and also sang along on the track (his voice is clearly audible in the chorus).
'Venus' was written by Dutch musician Robbie van Leeuwen for his band Shocking Blue, released as a single in late 1969. Bananarama had the song in their live repertoire for a couple of years before they decided to record it. They wanted to turn it into a dance track and brought the idea to producers Stock Aitken Waterman. It became Bananarama's first collaboration with them.
Throughout their career, the Pet Shop Boys have always been keen on remixing their songs. In the beginning, they made most of their extended remixes themselves, but when the Nineties started, they utilised more and more 'outsiders' for their remixes. This double 12" single set displays both the merits and the disadvantages of that approach.
U2 recorded 'Who's gonna ride your wild horses' many times during the sessions for their 1991 album 'Achtung baby', but they eventually ended up with a version that was very similar to the original demo. Bono wrote the song's lyrics for The Edge, who was going through a rough divorce from his wife during the recording sessions.
In a rather desperate bid to revive past successes, Luv member Marga Scheide recruited Diana van Berlo and Michelle Gold to record new tracks as Luv', starting in 1989. This was after the original line-up reunited briefly in 1988, but quickly concluded that they had enough conflicts to not want to reform.
Conny Froboess was born on October 28, 1943. She became a teen idol of the Fifties and early Sixties in Germany. In 1962, she represented Germany during the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Zwei kleine Italiener' ('Two little Italians') . She finished sixth in a field of 16 competitors during the Contest.
Madonna had her creative peak in the late Nineties with 'Ray of light'. When that album and its singles had been a great worldwide success, she followed it up with 'Music', the album and the single of the same name. Unfortunately, her voice was falling back to the rather childish range she had before she used a vocal coach for the movie 'Evita', and so the quality of her recordings also slowly deteriorated.
Although the Dutch band Loïs Lane were never officially part of Prince's entourage, they did get to work with him on a few occasions. This single is a good example of their collaboration: 'Qualified' was written and produced by Prince and Kirk Johnson. The track was even recorded at his Paisley Park studios in Minneapolis.
'Eye in the sky' is a 1982 song by the Alan Parsons Project from their album of the same name. The song is in part a reference to George Orwell's classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, regarding a possible future in which individual privacy is virtually non-existent due to the ever-watching eye of Big Brother. Songwriter and vocalist Eric Woolfson has also commented that he spent a lot of time in casinos and in commercial districts, fascinated by the hidden security cameras that monitor gamblers and shoppers.
'All woman' was released as the second single from Lisa Stansfield's second album 'Real love'. The single reachde number 56 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 20 in the UK singles chart and number 21 in the Dutch Top 40.
'Just around the corner' was released as the first single from Cock Robin's second album 'After here through midland'. The band, originally a quartet, slimmed down to its core members Peter Kingsbery and Anna LaCazio, but the sound of the group remained intact: melodious pop songs with a strong drum hook.
'The pleasure principle' was written by Monte Moir and recorded by Janet Jackson for her successful 1986 album 'Control'. The track was remixed by Shep Pettibone and released as the sixth single from the album in the summer of 1987.
Since I'm not based in France the whole Vanessa Paradis phenomenon pretty much passed me by, but she must have been quite the phenomenon back in 1990. Her second album 'Variations sur le meme t'aime' featured songs written by legendary French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg and she sounded a lot more adult than on her debut album, released just two years earlier.
On a blog with an international readership, it's hard to explain Dutch music sometimes. And today is even more difficult, as we celebrate St. Nicolas day in the Netherlands today. Sinterklaas, as he is called in the Netherlands, brings presents to good little children and punishment for those children who have not behaved themselves.
'Leave in silence' was the sixth single by Depeche Mode, and the first one with the 'Bong' label, which is still used to this day. It was also the first song that was remixed several times. When it was released, it reached number 18 in the UK singles chart.
'Tragedy' was recorded by the Bee Gees for their 1979 album 'Spirits having flown'. It was released as a single in January 1979 and reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK singles chart. In the Dutch Top 40, it got to number 4.
The Eighties started for real when Queen accepted synthesizers on their recordings. Until 1980, they had a strict 'no synths' policy, but the track 'Play the game' on their 1980 album 'The game' features some unmistakable synthesizer noises. The track begins with overlapping noises from an Oberheim OB-X synthesizer.
'Take that look off your face' was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black for the musical 'Tell me on a Sunday' (1978). It was recorded and released by Marti Webb in 1980. It became a number 3 hit in the UK singles chart and peaked at number 7 in the Dutch Top 40. Marti Webb re-recorded the song on her 2003 album 'Limelight'.
'Do not disturb' was written and produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and recorded by Bananarama as a stand-alone single, released in 1985. It reached number 31 in the UK singles chart. The track was subsequently included on Bananarama's third album 'True confessions', released in 1986.
Theo Rekkers (born April 24, 1924) and Huub Kok (born February 10, 1918) formed the Spelbrekers in 1945. They met in a German arms factory where they were performing forced labour in 1943. They had their first hit in 1956 with 'Oh wat ben je mooi' ('Oh how beautiful you are').
