Young ones everywhere - Stephanie

Princess Stephanie from Monaco made a name for herself as a singer with the 1986 hit 'Ouragan' / 'Irresistible', and on the back of that success released an album of reasonably good pop songs. But royalty is almost obliged to do something for charity as well, and so one of the tracks from the album ended up being connected to Unicef in 1987.

'Young ones everywhere' was the appropriate title of the single, and it announced in large letters 'Stepahnie for Unicef'. It is not known whether this single raised a lot of money for Unicef, but since it wasn't a Europe-wide hit, the worst is to be feared.

My collection: 7" single no. 5847
Found: Discogs.com, received May 2, 2016
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Young ones everywhere' / 'Young ones everywhere (instrumental)', 'Besoin'

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Gone too soon - Michael Jackson

If you look at the list of singles by Michael Jackson on this blog, it's hard to believe that I haven't got them all already. But somehow I managed to miss this one. I only discovered it recently and fortunately I was able to get a copy of this single while I was buying a few others online.

As you can hear, the vinyl isn't exactly clean but as with most Michael Jackson tracks, I've already got it on CD anyway. Which probably makes you wonder why I need to have this on vinyl anyway. Well, you either have a collection or you don't. That's a logic in itself, I guess.

My collection: 7" single no. 5850
Found: Discogs.com, received May 10, 2016
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Gone too soon' / 'Gone too soon (instrumental)'

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Telefone - Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton recorded 'Telefone (Long distance love affair)' in 1983 for her album 'Best kept secret'. It was released as the album's lead single.  The song reached a disappointing number 84 in the UK singles chart. Amazingly, it was more successful in the US, where it became her fourth top 10 hit, peaking at number 9 late October 1983.

A year later, Easton added 'Telefono' to her Spanish album 'Todo me recuerda a ti', recorded for the Latin markets.

My collection: 7" single no. 5844
Found: Discogs.com, received May 2, 2016
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Telefone' / 'Wish you were here tonight'

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Bandido (Deep mix) - Azucar Moreno

Since this week is Eurovision Song Contest week, it shouldn't be a surprise that I have a few Eurovision singles for you, even if I depend on new acquisitions to fill this blog these days. I was particularly lucky to score this one, since I suspect it's rather rare: it's a one-sided promotional 7" single single from Spain, the country that competed in 1990 with the song 'Bandido' by Azucar Moreno.

This single contains a special remix of that song, a remix that I thought was only available on a cd-single - also promotional - which I bought a few years ago. It's great to own this track on vinyl since it is actually a nice remix.

My collection: 7" single no. 5849
Found: Discogs.com, received May 10, 2016
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Bandido (Deep Mix)'

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Miami Vice theme - Jan Hammer

The Miami Vice theme was created and performed by Jan Hammer as the theme to the television series Miami Vice. It was first presented as part of the television broadcast of the show in September 1984 and released as a single in 1985, peaking at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100. This picture disc 7" single presents three different edits of the theme, and only omits the 12" version that was released on the 12" single (and which clocks in on 6'54 minutes).

This picture disc presents lead role actors Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. The series ran for five seasons between 1984 and 1989. 

My collection: 7" single no. 5841
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 17, 2016
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Miami Vice theme (TV version)' 1'00, 'Miami Vice theme (12 inch edit)' 4'30 / 'Miami Vice theme' 2'26

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En lille melodi - Anne Cathrine & drengene

A simple song was the English version of this single. Quite why the band was suddenly called Bandjo is unclear to me, because 'En lille melodi', the original Danish version, is credited to Anne Cathrine & drengene. (What does drengene mean? 'Boys'. Yes, Anne Cathrine and her boys...)

I bought this single from the kind people of Vinyl Tap at the latest record fair in Utrecht. British dealers selling a Danish single. The world really has gone mad.

My collection: 7" single no. 5840
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 17, 2016
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'En lille melodi' / 'Alle har brug for kaerlighed'

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Just what I needed - The Cars

'Just What I Needed', like many other tracks on The Cars' debut album, originated as a demo tape recorded by the band in 1977. It was released as a single, after the band signed to Elektra records, in 1978. It was the lead single of the band's self-titled debut album. The song peaked at number 27 in the US and number 17 in the UK.

Kim Wilde recorded a cover version of this track on her 2011 album 'Snapshots', which should explain why I was hunting for this single in the first place. Having found a picture disc, I'm rather satisfied.

My collection: 7" single no. 5839
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 28, 2016
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Just what I needed' / 'I'm in touch with your world'

Listen to the song