Lookin' through the windows - The Jackson 5

Since most of the Jacksons singles from the Eighties are already in my possession, I am often tempted to go back in time and buy some of their earlier stuff. It's not bad, it just doesn't appeal to me in quite the same way. 

'Lookin' through the windows' was released as the second single from the 1972 album of the same name. It reached number 16 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, but it didn't chart at all in Europe - with the exception of the UK, where the song peaked at number 9. This single is the Dutch pressing, with the sort of sleeve that was kindof habitual at that time.

My collection: 7" single no. 7593
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Lookin' through the windows' / 'Love song'

Llámame - Victor Balaguer

This single spent a long time on my wantlist, and when I ordered it online I didn't pay enough attention to the description, otherwise I would have known that I would receive this single in a record company sleeve instead of the picture sleeve. Oh well, at least it is the original record company sleeve.

'Llámame' was the song performed by Victor Balaguer for Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962. It was a rather traditional Spanish-style song, which was not out of the ordinary at the Contest around that time. It wasn't a very successful song: it finished in shared last place (with Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria) with zero points. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7587
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 February 2025
Tracks: 'Llámame', 'Serenata' / 'Leccion de Twist', 'Dile tu'

Pange lingua - Mocedades

Anyone who is even remotely interested in the Eurovision Song Contest (and collects records) will probably own a copy of 'Eres tu'. Some might even venture into the unknown and buy the German version, 'Das bist du'. But this single is a rather obscure one: it's 'Pange lingua' with on the B-side a live version of 'Eres tu'!

This single was released in 1984, and features live versions from the album 15 años de musica, a celebratory live album by Mocedades. It's rather lovely that this copy is a promotional version, although the single was also commercially available at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 7586
Found: Discogs.com, recieved 22 February 2025
Tracks: 'Pange lingua [live]' / 'Eres tu [live]'

The Big Four, no. 20 - Leslie Uggams, Marty Wilde, Guy Mitchell, The Kaye Sisters

I posted no. 11 of the Big Four EP's three years ago, and here is no. 20. The formula remains the same: four songs by four different artists who were popular at the time of the EP's release. There's no year mentioned on the sleeve or label, but thanks to Discogs.com we know that this EP was released in 1959. 

An obvious reason for me to want to have these EP's is the appearance of Marty Wilde, even if the song is not rare: 'Sea of love' is one of his big hits which was also released on a 'normal' 7" single. The three other tracks are a nice bonus. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7580
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 February 2025
Tracks: 'One more sunrise' (Leslie Uggams), 'Sea of love' (Marty Wilde) / 'Heartaches by the number' (Guy Mitchell), 'True love, true love' (The Kaye Sisters)

This is me - Climie Fisher

I've had a version of Climie Fisher's single 'This is me' for the last 35 years, but apparently that version was a re-release. This one is the original version from 1986. As described in the previous post, this is the version that didn't chart. 

It was actually the duo's debut single, and it ended up loitering on number 106 in the UK singles chart - well below what we would call 'hit territory'. Fortunately, their fortunes changed and they enjoyed considerable success in 1988. The album 'Everything' will be released as a deluxe 5cd set in two weeks from now.

My collection: 7" single no. 7583
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 February 2025
Tracks: 'This is me' / 'Far across the water'

A letter to Elise - The Cure

The Cure have consistently released albums and singles until about ten years ago. The recent revival with their excellent new album Songs from the lost world came after a few unremarkable albums - in my opinion then.

'A letter to Elise' came from their last great album before that, Wish. It reached number 28 in the UK singles chart, but it failed to chart in the Netherlands, like all the singles after that. For the longest time I didn't think this single was released on vinyl, so I was quite surprised to find this one after all these years.

My collection: 7" single no. 7585
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 February 2025
Tracks: 'A letter to Elise' / 'The big hand'

Days are OK - The Motels

The singles 'Suddenly last summer' and 'Footsteps' are pretty iconic to me, but I am not really familiar with the Motels's other work. I kept coming across picture discs of 'Days are OK' in shops and record fairs however, and I decided to check the song out. It was OK, I felt. 

The single was released in 1980, and so it actually precedes the other two. It features a louder sound from the band, which I guess is logical: most people mellow with age. The picture disc is a beauty, and so I finally decided to get me a copy. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7584
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 February 2025
Tracks: 'Days are OK' / 'Slow town'