Oh what a night (1988 remix by Ben Liebrand) - The Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli

In the second half of the Eighties many classic songs fell victim to the remix fad of the day. Many songs were remixed by DJ's with or without talent. Some results were quite terrible, others made the song slightly more appealing to the audience at the time.

Dutch DJ and producer Ben Liebrand remixed 'Oh what a night' by the Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli and re-released it as a single. The single didn't chart in 1988, but it was an interesting remix nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 7621
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Oh what a night (1988 remix by Ben Liebrand)' / 'Oh what a night (original version)'

Winter melody - Donna Summer

Although Donna Summer was wellknown for her sighing and groaning on 'Love to love you', she appears on the sleeve of this single in winter clothes. 'Winter melody' is a soul ballad. The song speaks of a woman struggling to come to terms with the fact that her relationship has ended. As with much of Summer's material at that time (particularly with songs found on her concept albums), the song played for a considerable amount of time (over six minutes), however, the song was edited for its release as a single. 

The single was taken from the album Four Seasons of Love, and the song represented the "winter" phase of this concept album. It reached number 43 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 27 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 7620
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Winter melody' / 'Full of emptiness'

Lay all your love on me / On and on and on - Abba

Although I bought a picture disc of the tracks on this single just last year, this American version from 1980 was just too interesting to resist. (And to be honest, I'd forgotten that I already had 'Lay your love on me' on any single.)

While these tracks were only released on a 12" single in Europe, America had the chance to buy them on a normal 7" single. Unfortunately the Americans didn't get a picture sleeve, and so this is a relatively anonymous release from the Swedish hitmakers.

My collection: 7" single no. 7619
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Lay all your love on me' / 'On and on and on'

Twee hartjes en twee namen - Yvette Ravell & Ronny Temmer

In 1972 Serge & Christine Ghisoland represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'A la folie ou pas du tout'. They represented mainly the French speaking part of the country, as they were chosen by the Walloon broadcaster. In the Flemish part of the country, Yvette Ravell and Ronny Temmer stepped in and took it upon themselves to provide a translation with this single, 'Twee hartjes en twee namen' ('Two hearts and two names').

The B-side of this single is a cover version of 'Als her om de liefde gaat', the Dutch entry from that year. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7617
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Twee hartjes en twee namen' / 'Als het om de liefde gaat'

Everything I own - Bread

David Gates wrote 'Everything I own', which was recorded by his band Bread in 1971. Although initial listeners may have interpreted it as a song about a broken relationship, David Gates revealed that it was written in memory of his father who died in 1963 before he achieved his success with Bread. David said: "My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record 'Everything I Own' about him. If you listen to the words, 'You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, you gave my life to me, set me free', it says it all."

The single reached number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 32 in the UK singles chart. Surprisingly, the single didn't chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 7607
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Everything I own' / 'I don't love you'

Horis skopo - Christos Callow

A rare gem, this Eurovision single from 1990. Christos Callow represented Greece with his song 'Horis skopo' and only managed 19th place in a field of 22 competitors. Not that the song was so bad, the juries just went for other songs and they continued to show their bad taste like they'd done through most of the Eighties.

Christos was born in Athens in 1955. He starred as the Archbishop in Jesus Christ Superstar in Greece in 1979. After his Eurovision performance, he was also a candidate in the greek Eurovision finals in 1987 (3rd) and in 1988 (unknown result). 

My collection: 7" single no. 7618
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Horis skopo' / 'Without a purpose (Take my way)'

Syng lille laerke / En smule - Raquel Rastenni

The Danish singer Raquel Rastenni was born in Copenhagen on 21 August 1915. She started her career as a dancer in the Helsingør Revue in 1936. She debuted as a singer in 1938 by being broadcast on radio. As a Jew, she fled Denmark in October 1943 along with her family, as the country had come under Nazi occupation. She spent the rest of the war years in Sweden where she continued having great success with her career, performing with orchestras and in cabarets and varieties.

In 1958 she represented her country at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog' (a single I am still searching for, actually). She kept in touch with the Contest after that, because a lot of her singles are actually cover versions of Eurovision songs. This single, for instance, presents her Danish versions of the number 1 and 2 of the 1959 edition. 'Syng lille laerke' is a version of 'Sing little birdie', and 'En smule' is Raquel's take on ''n Beetje'. It sounds rather good actually!

My collection: 7" single no. 7616
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Syng lille laerke' / 'En smule'

Aprite le finestre - Nilla Pizzi

'Aprite le finestre' was Italy's first ever Eurovision song, performed by Franca Raimondi in 1956. Although the single still eludes me, there were plenty other artists recording that song and it is a lot easier to get hold of those versions. 

This EP features four songs by Nilla Pizzi, and 'Aprite le finestre' is one of them. Nilla Pizzi was born in Sant'Agata Bolognese on 16 April 1919. She won the first ever San Remo festival in 1951 and performed a total of 31 songs at that festival throughout her career. With her charismatic, warm voice, she is considered the most successful San Remo singer of all time. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7615
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Arrivederci Roma', 'Aprite le finestre' / 'Due teste sul cuscino', 'Musetto'

So long - Paunita Ionescu

When I order records online, sometimes there are such items that I just buy because they're cheap and interesting. And a disc like this is certainly that. For just 1 euro extra I got this rare gem. 

The Romanian singer Păunița Ionescu recorded a cover version of Abba's 'So long', and it appears on this EP with three tracks. Ionescu apparently had a musical background, as both her parents were opera singers. She started singing in the 70s with the band Catena (Latin for “chain”), a girl band. Finally, Păunița Ionescu opted for a solo career in 1974. She left Romania in 1990 but occasionally returns to her homeground.

My collection: 7" single no. 7614
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 March 2025.
Tracks: 'Don't tell me', 'Is everybody happy?' / 'So long'

Golden years - David Bowie

'Golden years' was the lead single from David Bowie's tenth studio album Station to Station (1976). Harry Maslin, who co-produced the track, recalled that the song was "cut and finished very fast. We knew it was absolutely right within ten days. But the rest of the album took forever." Like the majority of Station to Station, the song's elements were primarily built in the studio rather than written before.

The single was very successful, reaching number 10 in the US BIllboard Hot 100 chart, number 8 in the UK singles chart and number 6 in the Dutch Top 40. I thought I'd bought this single a long time ago, but apparently not. So I did.

My collection: 7" single no. 7610
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Golden years' / 'Can you hear me'

Mother Freedom - Bread

The magazine Record World called Bread's 'Mother Freedom' a "stylistic shift of gears" for Bread in which they "prove they can rock with the best of them." Much like 'Let your love go', the record buying public wasn't too convinced, because the single only reached number 37 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, just after 'If' had reached number 4. 

I bought three singles by Bread in one go, which was quite astonishing for me, since they seem to be pretty rare nowadays. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7605
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Mother Freedom' / 'Live in your love'

I wanna go to a disco - Ricky Wilde

The humble beginnings of young Ricky Wilde have been well documented on this blog, but there are still some singles that I am after. More specifically: promotional singles like this one.

This US promo of 'I wanna go to a disco' features the track on both sides; once in mono and once in stereo. Although stereo had already become the norm in the real world, radio stations often still broadcast in mono and so it was useful to have a mix of a song in a mono version. The fact that this copy comes in an original UK records sleeve from the USA is a great bonus.

My collection: 7" single no. 7579
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 February 2025
Tracks: 'I wanna go to a disco (stereo)' / 'I wanna go to a disco (mono)'

Reeling in the years - Steely Dan

It was a surprise for me that, after decades of not buying anything by Steely Dan, I found two singles I fancied. 'Rikki don't lose that number' was the attractive one of the two, with its picture sleeve and yellow vinyl, so this ordinary one with a record company sleeve could easily have been discarded, but it's the better track of the two. So, after a slight doubt, I just bought them both.

'Reeling in the years' was written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker and features Fagen on vocals.  The guitar solo was recorded in one take. The single peaked at number 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, but didn't chart in Europe. Still, it was regularly on the radio when I was young.

My collection: 7" single no. 7599
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Reeling in the years' / 'Only a fool would say that'

I'm gonna love you just a little more baby - Barry White

Barry White never disappoints. He may be best known for his biggest hits 'Can't get enough of your love babe' and 'You're the first, the last, my everything', but this little gem is possibly the most sensual track the man has written and produced.

'I'm gonna love you just a little more baby' was released in the spring of 1973 and reached number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 23 in the UK singles chart. The B-side of this single extends the sensual track just a little more.

My collection: 7" single no. 7613
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'I'm gonna love you just a little more baby' / 'Just a little more baby'

Puppet on a string - Al Hirt

Back in the Sixties and Seventies, trumpet players had a good time. They had an instrument that was very popular with casual record buyers and instrumental versions of big hits were all the rage. Bert Kaempfert made a nice living releasing album upon album with such tracks. Lesser gods like Piet Knarren and Eddie Calvert didn't have any money problems either.

I must confess I'd never heard of Al Hirt before, but it turns out he did very well for himself too. He received 21 Grammy nominations during his lifetime, including winning the Grammy award in 1964 for his version of 'Java'. This single features his version of the Eurovision classic 'Puppet on a string', and of course I bought it. It was only 1 euro after all.

My collection: 7" single no. 7611
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Puppet on a string' / 'Big honey'

 

Honey, Honey - Abba

Although I own quite a lot of Abba singles now, this one represents the first time that the song 'Hasta mañana' appears on a single. It was released as the B-side of the Dutch version of 'Honey, Honey', back in 1974. 

It's an interesting song, 'Hasta mañana', especially considering its history. Initially fearing that 'Waterloo' might be too risky to enter for the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, the group considered performing the ballad 'Hasta mañana' instead, as they thought that it was more in style with previous Eurovision winners. Eventually, they decided on 'Waterloo', primarily because it featured Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad sharing lead vocals, whereas 'Hasta mañana' had Fältskog as the sole lead vocalist. What happened next... well, you know.

My collection: 7" single no. 7608
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Honey, Honey' / 'Hasta mañana'

It don't matter to me - Bread

'It don't matter to me' is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by the pop-rock group the Cryan Shames in 1965. It was later recorded by Bread, of which Gates was a member. The single reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 6 in Canada. The single didn't chart in Europe.

I discovered Bread in the late Eighties and started buying their singles. Over time, I have managed to amass quite a lot of them, and my recent haul in Rotterdam was an impressive one. Expect to see a few more Bread singles on here soon.

My collection: 7" single no. 7606
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'It don't matter to me' / 'Call on me'

Love shines - Fleetwood Mac

The line-up of Fleetwood Mac is an intricate puzzle, because members come and go. By 1992, when 'Love shines' was released, the band consisted of Mick Fleetwood (of course!), John McVie (of course!), Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. 

'Love shines' was taken from the 'greatest hits' compilation 25 Years - The Chain, which came just four years after the successful Greatest Hits album. Since then, only the album Behind the mask had been released, so one might say this compilation was a bit of a moneygrab. The single only charted in the Netherlands (no. 51) and Germany (no. 82).

My collection: 7" single no. 7594
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Love shines' / 'The chain (previously unreleased alternate mix)'

Trans Europa Express - Kraftwerk

Buying Kraftwerk singles here and there through the years, I have managed to amass quite a collection. It's not an easy band to collect singles from: they're pretty scarce and many times they're pretty expensive. But I regularly find a good deal, and that makes it fun.

I already had 'Trans Europe Express' of course, having bought it back during a record fair in Utrecht in 2019. And now the German version of that same song was on offer during a record fair in Rotterdam. Another nice addition to my Kraftwerk collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 7600
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Trans Europa Express' / 'Franz Schubert'

Rikki don't lose that number - Steely Dan

With 'Rikki don't lose that number', the band Steely Dan had the biggest hit of their career. But what was the song about? Walter Becker stated in a 1985 interview in the magazine Musician that the "number" in question was not slang for a marijuana cigarette, and an uncharacteristically forthcoming Donald Fagen revealed that the "Rikki" in question was simply a woman he'd had a crush on in college [writer Rikki Ducornet].

This copy was pressed on yellow vinyl and comes in a slightly suggestive sleeve. The single reached number 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, but failed to chart in Europe.

My collection: 7" single no. 7598
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Rikki don't lose that number' / 'Any major dude will tell you'