Tubular bells - Keyboards affair

When you look at this sleeve you probably notice the amusing spelling mistake in the title. Fortunately the label of this 12" single shows the correct title, i.e. 'Tubular bells'. 

I found this record in a collection of a German seller, and he had two different versions of this 12" - the other sleeve doesn't feature the picture that is nicked from Mike's original album. Of course I found this one more attractive.

The version created by Keyboards Affair offers all the things you would expect from a production in the early 1980's: big drums, electronic music and a straightforward copy of the melody. It is kitsch, but still very nice.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'Tubular bells' / 'Commando'

You win again - Bee Gees

In another installment of 'unexpected surprises', there's this 12" single of the Bee Gees' 'You win again'. For me this was a strong comeback of the Gibb brothers, back in 1987, and a very different sound compared to what they produced in the late Seventies.

The thought occured that there was never a Bee Gees 12" singles compilation on CD - this could be a great idea. But as we know, record companies are not big on great ideas lately.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'You win again (extended version)' / 'You win again', 'Backtafunk'

Three times a lady / Brick house - Commodores

It's fair to say that the Commodores had one of the coolest logos of any band ever, and with 'Three times a lady' they had one of the best ballads of the late Seventies in their repertoire. This 12" single features extended versions of that song and the previous hit 'Brick house', a beautiful soul/disco stomper that made the band a household name. 

I found this 12" single during a record fair - one of those unexpected purchases that you wouldn't find online, simply because I never even knew there were extended versions of these tracks. It's what I always say: with the disappearance of record shops and the occurance of record fairs also getting ever more rare, these chance encounters will become more difficult as time goes by.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'Three times a lady' / 'Brick house'

Pretty boys and pretty girls - Book of love

Friends since high school, Ted and Susan Ottaviano (who share the same last name but are not related) initially worked musically with Jade Lee, Susan's classmate at the Philadelphia College of Art, in the early 80s. In 1983, the trio began recording as Book Of Love; the following year, Ted recruited New York’s School of Visual Arts fellow student Lauren Roselli to round out the quartet. 

In 1988 they released 'Pretty boys and pretty girls', a nice pop song, but I bought it for the B-side: a cover of Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular bells'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6807
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 November 2022
Tracks: 'Pretty boys and pretty girls' / 'Tubular bells'

Vienna - Ultravox

If I had to buy promotional copies of all my singles, I would be bankrupt. However, this particular promotional single is something special, because it contains an edit of Ultravox's 'Vienna' which I've never heard before. It is shorter than the single version we all know, which is called 'album version' on the B-side of this single (I guess it was too hard to include the actual album version of the song). 

I think that with this single I've bought all the versions of 'Vienna' that exist in the world, but you never know what happens in the future...

My collection: 7" single no. 6804
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'Vienna [edit]' / 'Vienna (album version)'

Nel blu dipinto di blu - Rocky Roberts

Charlie 'Rocky' Roberts (23 August 1941 - 13 January 2005) spent some time in the U.S. navy, was a welter weight championship boxer and got his first musical cudo's with the Airedales, recording in the U.S. and in France. In the second half of the sixties he moved to Italy where he recorded most of his songs (as a solo artist) and he was a guest in every other popular TV music show. His American accent didn't stop him from having a great hit with 'Stasera Mi Butto' and he was well known for his energetic Italian language cover versions of Motown & Atlantic soul hits, live and on record. 

He also, almost predictably, recorded his version of 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', the famous song by Domenico Modugno, in 1970. I bought the Argentine promo single, which is a nice rarity. In Italy the sides were flipped and 'Victoria' was the A-side. The B-side was called 'Volare' on the Italian sleeve, because that is the more familiar title the song goes by. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6803
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' / 'Victoria'

Papa Pinguin - Dorthe

Dorthe Larsen (born 17 July 1947) grew up in Copenhagen. She received her musical training from her father, who was conductor of the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. She also learned acting, dance and pantomime. She recorded her first single when she was eight years old. Four years later she got her first gold record for the single 'Åh, det er søndag' (cover version of 'Oh Lonesome Me' by Don Gibson). 

She came to Germany in the early 1960s and started a successful career there as a schlager singer. At the beginning of the 1970s, Dorthe took a step back from the limelight but continued to record songs in the years that followed. In 1980 she recorded a German version of 'Papa Pingouin', Luxembourg's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest that year. Like the original version it was produced by Ralph Siegel and released on his record label. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6802
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 November 2022
Tracks: 'Papa Pinguin' / 'Immer wenn Kinder träumen'