Fly too high - Janis Ian

Like 'At Seventeen', 'Fly too high' was re-released in 1991 to promote the compilation album 'Up 'til now'. I already own the original release of 'Fly too high' but since this single contains the full length 5 minute album version of the song, I decided I had to have this one as well. The B-side was recorded live at the Circustheater in Den Haag on October 23, 1991.

Produced by Giorgio Moroder, this is the one and only worldwide hit for Janis Ian, who has continued to make music until today. In addition to being a musician, Ian writes science fiction. Her works have been published in an assortment of anthologies.

My collection: 7" single no. 4934
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, October 8, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Fly too high' / 'Here comes the night'

'n Beetje - Teddy Scholten

I already owned a copy of Teddy Scholten's winning Eurovision song 'n Beetje but when I found this copy I had to have it too. Not because of the A-side, but because of the B-side: it's a cover version of 'Sing little birdie', as performed by the husband and wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson at the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the United Kingdom.

Teddy Scholten also used her husband to perform a Dutch version of this song, translated by Daan Hooykaas. The quality of the vinyl on this one isn't the best, but the single, being 51 years old, has become very hard to find after half a century.

My collection: 7" single no. 4933
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, October 8, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: ''n Beetje' / 'Zing, kleine vogel'

Why worry - Clannad

'Why worry?' was released in 1991 as the second single from Clannad's 1990 album 'Anam'. Being the masters of breezy Celtic pop, it's another of their trademark songs that seems to woosh by without too many memorable hooks.

My collection: 7" single no. 4932
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, October 8, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Why worry?' / 'Gaothbearra'

Amor - Rod McKuen

Rod McKuen had been no stranger to the singles charts: in 1971 he had two number 1 hits in the Netherlands with 'Soldiers who want to be heroes' and 'Without a worry in the world'. After one more hit single in 1972, he disappeared until the release of 'Amor' in 1978, at the height of the disco craze.

It was an unusual song during this time, but it was an instant success: it reached number 10 in the sweaty summer of 1978.

My collection: 7" single no. 4931
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, October 8, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Amor' / 'Don't drink the orange juice'

Where were you - Flash and the Pan

'Where were you' by Flash and the Pan is one of those songs that seems so familiar but you can't quite remember where you know it from. It was a track on the band's third album 'Headlines' and released as a single in certain territories only (which might explain why it's not listed in the discography on the band's Wikipedia page).

The single was not a hit - but it is a song that stands up well, even after almost three decades.

My collection: 7" single no. 4930
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, October 8, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Where were you?' / 'Don't vote'

People, people - Donna Summer

'People, people' was released as a single from Donna Summer's 1983 album 'She works hard for the money'. The song was produced by Michael Omartian and written by Donna Summer, Michael Omartian and B. Sudano.

The single was not a chart success in any territory.

My collection: 7" single no. 4929
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, October 8, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'People, people' / 'Tokyo'

Lay your love on me - Racey

Racey formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare by singer Phil Fursdon and Clive Wilson. In 1979 they released their debut album 'Smash and grab', which sold about 500,000 copies worldwide. Their hit singles were written by the famous duo Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. Their biggest hit was 'Lay your love on me', which became a number 3 hit in the UK and a charttopper in the Netherlands.

The band formally split in 1985, and since then two separate groups named Racey exist, one featuring band member Richard Gower and the other featuring Clive Wilson, Phil Fursdon and Pete Miller, the original bass player. Several albums and CDs with re-recordings of the original hits as well as new material are available from both of the versions of the group.

My collection: 7" single no. 4928
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, October 8, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Lay your love on me' / 'I believed you'

Wild places - Ian Matthews

Duncan Browne wrote and recorded 'The wild places' in 1978 and had a reasonably big hit with it. Six years later, Ian Matthews thought he might have similar success with his cover. Ian Matthews? Who? Well, I didn't know him either. Turns out it's Ian Matthews who was previously part of Fairport Convention and the band Matthews Southern Comfort.

'Wild places' comes from his 1984 album 'Shook'. Neither single nor album made any impact in the charts.

My collection: 7" single no. 4927
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, October 8, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Wild places' / 'Work on all this'

Vincent - Don McLean

'Vincent' was written and recorded by Don McLean as a tribute to the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The song includes references to his landscape works, in lines such as 'sketch the trees and the daffodils' and 'morning fields of amber grain' - which describe the amber wheat that features in several paintings. Several lines may allude to Van Gogh's self-portraits: perhaps in 'weathered faces lined in pain / are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand', McLean is suggesting that van Gogh may have found some sort of consolation in creating portraits of himself. There is, too, a single line describing van Gogh's most famous set of works, Sunflowers. 'Flaming flowers that brightly blaze' not only draws on the luminous orange and yellow colours of the painting, but also creates powerful images of the sun itself, flaming and blazing, being contained within the flowers and the painting.

McLean wrote the lyrics in 1971 after reading a book about the life of the artist. The following year, the song became the number one hit in the U.K. and No. 12 in the U.S.

My collection: 7"single no. 4926
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, October 6, 2010
Cost: 0,1 euro
Tracks: 'Vincent' / 'Castles in the air'

Strange way - All about Eve

All about Eve had a habit of releasing as much formats of their singles as possible. Just before the invention of chart rules limiting formats to three, some of their singles were released on 7", two different 12" singles, a cassette single and a cd-single (or two). It was very interesting for their fans because more often than not these different formats would have exclusive tracks on them.

One of the last of these collectable 12" singles was 'Strange way', the second single from their third album 'Touched by Jesus'. It featured the B-side 'Drawn to earth', a weird track that was divided in two distinctive sections, plus two tracks unavailable elsewhere: 'Nothing without you' and 'Light as a feather'. Both tracks were quite rough and rocky, a sound that the fans had been missing on their rather polished and well-produced album. The 12" was released in a numbered limited edition: this is number 1981.

My collection: 12" single no. 119
Found: Wreckastow, Rotterdam, 1991
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'Strange way', 'Drawn to earth' / 'Nothing without you', 'Light as a feather'

And so is love - Kate Bush

'And so is love' was released as the fourth and final single from Kate Bush's 1993 album 'The red shoes'. The track features Eric Clapton on guitar and was released on cd-single and 7" single. The 7" single was a special pack: it featured a picture disc (pictured here) and a giant poster folded to 12" size.

Released on 7 November 1994, the single climbed to number 26 in the UK singles chart. Its entry in the Top 40 resulted into Bush's first appearance on Top of the Pops in nine years - and also her last to date. This single was the last release before a gap of almost 11 years in which Bush got married, had a son and recorded her last album to date: 'Aerial', released in 2005.

My collection: 7" single no. 2217
Found: HMV mailorder, London, received November 15, 1994
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'And so is love' / 'Rubberband girl (US remix)'

Yesterday once more - Carpenters

When I was young I'd listen to the radio waiting for my favourite songs. I can't remember if the Carpenters were ever played back then, but if they were, I doubt if I would have really appreciated them much. Their songs would have been a tad too syrupy for me.

Flash forward 30 years and behold, the Carpenters have made their way into my record collection. I first heard their songs again about a year ago on Kim Wilde's excellent radio show 'Secret Songs' on Magic FM, and since then I've grown to like them. One of their big hits is the sentimental 'Yesterday once more'. It starts with the line: 'When I was young I'd listen to the radio waiting for my favourite songs'...

My collection: 7" single no. 4924
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, October 2, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Yesterday once more' / 'Road ode'

Still a thrill - Jody Watley

My last post about Jody Watley was about the 7" single of 'Still a thrill', which I bought almost six months ago. I've had the 12" single for a lot longer, although my records don't show exactly when I bought it. A sexy sleeve coupled with three very danceable remixes is a good proposition, especially when the disc is cheap, which it was.

According to some of the response on this blog recently there were some rumours about my untimely death. I can assure you that this event will not happen anytime soon. However, having written about all of my 7" singles (bar a handful) and most of my 12" singles, my posts will be less regular as of now. Don't worry, I will still be buying records too - so who knows what happens before the year is over. I have to say that making entries on this blog is 'still a thrill'.

My collection: 12" single no. 549
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Still a thrill (radio edit)' / 'Still a thrill (extended version)', 'Still a thrill (bonus beat)'

The taste of your tears - King

Having collected all of the 7" singles by King, it was soon a matter of finding the accompanying 12" singles. My sister owned all of them before I did, so I was familiar with most of the tracks, especially the extra B-side track on this one: the reprise of 'Alone without you'. I remember making a compilation tape starting with the original version and ending with this reprise version. The tape had a great buildup, as the A-side was full of uptempo tracks and the B-side had mostly ballads. It provided me with 90 minutes of extreme listening pleasure - and it's a shame I don't have that tape anymore.

Years later I found this 12" single and obviously I bought it immediately. As far as I know, this reprise version has not been released on cd, but the remix of 'The taste of your tears' has. And quite rightfully too, because it's very well made.

My collection: 12" single no. 82
Found: All that music, Leiden, 1992
Cost: 7,5 guilders
Tracks: 'The taste of your tears (Breaker heart mix)' / 'Crazy party', 'Alone without you (Reprise)'

All the lovers - Kylie Minogue

You have to have a big ego if you call your album 'Aphrodite' and pose as if you are the Greek goddess of love herself. But then Kylie has been successful for two decades now and then your ego is bound to grow. Fortunately, her tunes aren't half bad these days, as the mentioned album proves.

'All the lovers' was released a few months ago on two different cd-singles and a picture disc 7" single - something one has to applaud in this era where digital downloads seem to rule the world. The Spanish version of the title track is an added bonus not available on the cd-singles, and so this 7" single is worth owning.

My collection: 7" single no. 4921
Found: Recordstore.co.uk, received July 1, 2010
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'All the lovers' / 'Los amores'

The red shoes - Kate Bush

Kate Bush's most beautiful single 'Moments of pleasure' was not released on 7" vinyl. It's a damn shame, but at least EMI was sensible enough to pick up where it left off, with the next single 'The red shoes'. It was the title track of Kate's 1993 album and released in part to promote the movie 'The line, the cross & the curve' which was launched at a film festival in London in the spring of 1994.

The single reached number 21 in the UK singles chart in April 1994, spending three weeks in the chart. Besides the 7" vinyl, there was also a double cd-single edition featuring a dance mix of 'The red shoes'. The B-side 'You want alchemy' was a great treat for fans.

My collection: 7" single no. 2100
Found: Record fair, April 16, 1994
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks: 'The red shoes' / 'You want alchemy'

Only for you - Louise Tucker

The classically trained Louise Tucker became involved in the world of pop when producers Charlie Skarbek and Tim Smit recorded the album 'Midnight blue' with her. Her soprano voice and synthpop music were an interesting combination and gave her a hit in America and the Netherlands with the title track of that debut album.

In some countries a second single was released, 'Only for you'. This single was considerably less successful, as it didn't chart in any territory.

My collection: 7" single no. 4920
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 5, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Only for you' / 'Jerusalem'

Knocked out - Paula Abdul

As I'd written before, 'Knocked out' was Paula Abdul's debut single in 1988. I bought the re-released version from 1990 in January this year, and now I found the original release as well. I didn't know there was a limited edition poster sleeve of this debut single, but now I have it.

This version only managed to reach number 98 in the UK singles chart, despite the very pretty poster.

My collection: 7" single no. 4919
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 5, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Knocked out' / 'Knocked out (instrumental)'

I'm on automatic - Sharpe and Numan

Bill Sharpe and Gary Numan recorded the album 'Automatic' in 1989 and this single was taken from the album. Like the album, the single wasn't a commercial success despite the lightweight pop that was contained in the album.

I've always been very fond of their first collaboration, 'Change your mind' and thought their other collaborations were pretty good too. It's hard to understand that many people didn't see it this way.

My collection: 7" single no. 4918
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 5, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'I'm on automatic' / 'Love like a ghost'

Blame it on the boogie - Big Fun

Big Fun were an English boyband featuring Phil Creswick, Mark Gillespie and Jason John (a.k.a Jason Herbert). Their only album, 'A pocketful of dreams' (1990), reached the Top 10 in the UK Albums Chart and contained this hit single, 'Blame it on the boogie', a cover of the famous Jacksons track.

It was their first and biggest it in the UK, where it reached number 4 in the singles chart. In the Netherlands, it was their only hit, peaking at number 28.

My collection: 7" single no. 4917
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 5, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Blame it on the boogie' / 'Blame it on the boogie (instrumental)'