'Who wants to live forever' was a track on Queen's 1986 album 'A kind of magic', and was written by guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to the film Highlander. The song is used to frame the scenes in the film where Connor MacLeod
must endure his beloved wife Heather MacLeod growing old and dying while
he, as an Immortal, remains forever young. The song's title is taken from a line in another movie scored by Brian
May and Queen, Flash Gordon (the line can be heard on "Battle Theme"
from the Flash Gordon soundtrack album) and is based on May's personal
troubles (the death of May's father and failing first marriage).
Released as a single, the song peaked at number 24 in the UK singles chart. It did better in France and the Netherlands, peaking at number 5 and 6 respectively.
My collection: 7" single no. 5461 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Who wants to live forever' / 'Killer Queen'
There's not much to write about the Moody Blues' 'Nights in white satin' that hasn't already been written about hundreds or thousands of times. The single reached number 19 in the UK singles chart in 1967, number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 in 1968 and number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1972. The single was re-released in the UK that same year, and reached number 9 on that occasion.
But the real surprise on this disc - and we know record collecting is full of surprises - is the B-side. 'Cities' is a bit of a doomy look on cities, where 'rivers are sewers' and 'flowers don't grow'. I never heard this track before buying this single, and so it is a real discovery.
My collection: 7" single no. 5455 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Nights in white satin' / 'Cities'
'Comé-comédie' ('Come-Comedy') was the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, performed by Betty Mars.
The song was performed second on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 81 points, placing 11th in a field of 18 contestants.
The song is a moderately up-tempo number, with Mars singing about the joy which will come when she and her lover say that they love each other. Mars also recorded the song in German, under the title 'Komödiant der Liebe' ('Comedian of love').
My collection: 7" single no. 5613 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Comé-comédie' / 'Mon café russe'
"(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" is a song written and
performed by British synthpop band Heaven 17. It reached number 45 in the
UK singles chart in 1981, despite being banned by the BBC. It was also a minor dance
hit in the US.
The song was written by members Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh and Glenn
Gregory and included on their 1981 debut album 'Penthouse and
Pavement'
In the lyrics fascism and racism are described in an ironic fashion,
using the lexicon of funk music. The lyrics of the song also reference
the UK and US political leaders of the time, Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan, respectively, and include
denunciations of both racism and fascism. The song was
banned by the BBC due to concerns by Radio 1's legal department that it
libeled President Reagan.
My collection: 7" single no. 5402 Found: unknown Tracks: '(We don't need this) Fascist groove thang' / 'The decline of the west'
The Belgian band 'De Strangers' (introduced in an earlier post here) delivered possibly the strangest single of their lengthy career with this 'Al da d'Haar... krijde cadeau'. It rougly translates into 'You get all that hair as a gift' and it is a cover of the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest winner 'Si la vie est cadeau', performed by Corinne Hermes.
And, as if that year's Belgian entry wasn't already weird enough (the legendary 'Rendez-vous' by Pas de deux), they included a cover entitled 'Parlez-vous' on the B-side. Amazingly, this single did not get into the Belgian chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 5616 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Al da d'haar... krijde cadeau' / 'Parlez-vous'
'Tug of war' is the title track from Paul McCartney’s 1982 album.
Rolling Stone described the song as McCartney's equivalent to John Lennon's 'Imagine'. The song has a clear division between the verses featuring sad lyrics about the struggle to survive, the necessity of conflict (pushing and pulling) and the hopeful refrain, in which McCartney looks for a future where these struggles are no longer necessary.
The lyrics are seen as describing his complex relationship with Lennon, who was killed two years prior.
The single reached number 53 in both the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, It failed to chart everywhere else.
My collection: 7" single no. 5437 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Tug of war' / 'Get it' (duet with Carl Perkins)
Somehow, the music press and media were taking guitar bands from Seattle very seriously at the beginning of the Nineties. The previous obsession with drugs-fuelled dance music was forgotten, everyone suddenly had to listen to screaming bipolar maniacs who'd just come from rehearsal studios without ever seriously studying things like melody or lyrics.
It was refreshing, therefore, that 'Weird Al' Yankovic came with his parody on Nirvana's 'Smells like teen spirit'. Entitled 'Smells like Nirvana', it pokes fun at the socalled 'grunge' band from Seattle and their largely atrocious music. The single reached number 35 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, number 48 in Canada, number 38 in Sweden, number 24 in Australia and a rather surprising number 4 in New Zealand!
My collection: 7" single no. 5417 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Smells like Nirvana' / 'Waffle king'
