If it happens again - UB40

'If it happens again' is one of my favourite tunes by UB40, and a lot of that has to do with the last few minutes of the track. So I was hoping that the 12" version would offer more of that. Well it doesn't, but that's okay because this dub mix is quite interesting too.

It was the seventh top 10 hit in the UK for UB40. It peaked at number 9 in the UK singles chart, but did even better in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 7 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 12" single no. 375
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 1999
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'If it happens again (12" version)' / 'Nkomo a gogo'

Boys keep swinging - Duran Duran / Absolute beginners - Carla Bruni

'We were so turned on: A tribute to David Bowie' was released worldwide on September 6, 2010 as a charity for War Child UK. It is the only tribute album that has been approved by David Bowie and his management.

This single was released from the album, featuring the tracks by Duran Duran and Carla Bruni. It is the first Duran Duran 7" vinyl single since 1995's 'Perfect day'. Upon first listen, I have to say I like the cover by French president Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni better: she has turned the wonderfully rich original into an intimate piano-and-vocal song - and that works very well.
This single is a limited edition and was pressed on clear vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 5039
Found: HMV, London, received February 16, 2011
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Boys keep swinging' (Duran Duran)' / 'Absolute beginners' (Carla Bruni)

I am an astronaut - Ricky Wilde

Released in 1972, Ricky Wilde (yep, Kim's brother) was just eleven years old when he sang 'I am an astronaut'. The single was not a hit all over Europe, but the single was released in several countries.

Attentive readers of this blog will have seen the previous entry about 'I am an astronaut' from two years ago, but this single is a recent acquisition: a Belgian pressing featuring a beautiful photo sleeve of a young Ricky. And so it merits a repost.

My collection: 7" single no. 5038
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received February 9, 2011
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'I am an astronaut' / 'The Hertfordshire rock'

Verlieben verlieren - Münchener Freiheit

'Verlieben verlieren' can be translated as 'loving and losing', which qualifies this song as a story everyone has gone through at one point or another. It's a pleasant popsong and the B-side is a nice bonus, as it holds a remix of the A-side track.

It's another single from Münchener Freiheit's 1989 album 'Purpurmond', and this wasn't a hit either.

My collection: 7" single no. 5028
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Verlieben verlieren' / 'Verlieben verlieren (Rhythm mix)'

Boogie oogie oogie - A taste of honey

A Taste of Honey was the name of an American recording act formed in 1971 by associates Perry Kibble and Donald Ray Johnson. In 1978 they had one of the best known songs of the disco era, 'Boogie Oogie Oogie'. The single as a number 1 hit in the USA, while reaching number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 34 in the Dutch Top 40.

After their popularity waned during the 1980s Johnson went on to record as a solo artist and release the album 'One Taste Of Honey' which produced numerous minor hits in America.

My collection: 7" single no. 5034
Found: Kringloop Juttersdok, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Boogie oogie oogie' / 'World spin'

Ich will dich nochmal - Münchener Freiheit

One of many Münchener Freiheit singles I bought recently, 'Ich will dich nochmal' was taken from their 1989 album 'Purpurmond'. Produced, as usual, by Armand Volker, the single didn't trouble the charts, which must have been a disappointment after the success of 'Keeping the dream alive' a year earlier.

The pop song is pleasant but forgettable. The same could be said of more of their singles, actually...

My collection: 7" single no. 5029
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Ich will dich nochmal' / 'Lass mich nie mehr los'

Same old song - Pussycat

There's an air of calculation behind this single release by the Dutch band Pussycat. After a handful of top 10 hits their singles 'I'll be your woman' and 'If you ever come to Amsterdam' landed outside the top 10, and so someone must have suggested a cover version.

'Same old song' was originally a hit for the Four Tops in 1965 and written by the Motown writers team of Holland, Dozier & Holland. Pussycat's version was rewarded with a highest chart placing at number 10. The strategy had paid off.

My collection: 7" single no. 5032
Found: Kringloop Juttersdok, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Same old song' / 'Stupid Cupid'