What is love / New song - Howard Jones

The Old Gold series were quite popular at the end of the Eighties. It was a way to buy old hits as new singles - even if there was no picture sleeve. For completists, it was a nightmare of course, because if you wanted to have all the singles of a certain artist, you had to buy this Old Gold release as well.

Howard Jones's first singles 'New song' and 'What is love' ended up on one of these Old Gold singles. As a collector of Howard Jones singles, I couldn't pass on this one. Fortunately, it was just 1 euro in this shop.

My collection: 7" single no. 8330
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'What is love' / 'New song' 

Sing Conny Sing - Conny Froboess

Conny Froboess represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Zwei kleine Italiener' in 1962. Her career went on until 1967, when she married theatre director Hellmuth Matiasek. Instead, she focused on a career as an actress. Between 2013 and 2021 she appeared in the Ostwind series of movies.

Meanwhile, 1992 saw the released of 'Sing Conny Sing', a curious Nineties-style remix/medley of her biggest hits. Among them was, of course, 'Zwei kleine Italiener', and so this single ended up in my collection - even if this remix is a slightly embarrassing piece.

My collection: 7" single no. 8329
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'Sing Conny Sing' / 'My dear Conny (instrumental)' 

On the road again - The Catch

The Catch were an English new wave duo active in the 1980s whose members were Don Snow and Chris Whitten. They released two albums and several singles and had chart success in Europe, most notably with the single '25 Years'.

In 1984 they released 'On the road again', a cover of the Canned Heat song, written by Floyd Jones and Alan Wilson and released in 1968. Don Snow wrote the B-side, 'Understood', which is a catchy reggae-style piece. And then, of course, there's the sleeve. Arty.

My collection: 7" single no. 8328
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'On the road again' / 'Understood'

Mariana - Gibson Brothers

I have a few singles by the Gibson Brothers, but so far, every single I bought were songs that I was familiar with. Not so with 'Mariana', my latest catch. The single was released in 1980 and became a hit in Germany, Finland and the UK only. In the UK it was actually their third biggest hit, peaking at number 11. ('Ooh, what a life' reached number 10 and 'Que sera mi vida' no. 5.) 

'Mariana' was the lead single from the brothers' fifth album On the riviera. It is a repetitive track. In my opinion, the soulful 'All I ever want is you' is more melodious and engaging.

My collection: 7" single no. 8327
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'Mariana' / 'All I ever want is you' 

Love enough for two - Prima Donna

The sleeve of this German version of the single 'Love enough for two' is a vast improvement over the Dutch version, which I bought in 2009. It's full colour! How wonderful! 

The group was formed around former New Seekers member Danny Finn. Sisters Kate Robbins and Jane Robbins (nieces of Paul McCartney), Sally Ann Triplett, Alan Coates, and Lance Aston (brother of Jay Aston, who performed with Bucks Fizz, the winners of the contest the following year) completed the lineup. Two days before the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 in The Hague, Kate Robbins lost her voice due to a bout of flu. She was ordered to rest her voice until the performance on Saturday evening. The song ended up in third place in the competition.

Triplett returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1982 as half of the group Bardo. Danny Finn passed away after a short illness on February 22, 2016, at the age of 71. 

My collection: 7" single no. 8326
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'Love enough for two' / 'Missing out on love' 

Let me be the one - The Shadows

Originally, the BBC asked then-superstar Gary Glitter to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. He was willing to comply on the condition that he would write his own song. This went against the wishes of the BBC, which wanted to rely on experienced songwriters. Apparently, requests were also made to David Essex and the band Slade, who refused. And so they turned to The Shadows. The band had broken up in 1968 but reunited shortly thereafter. For their Eurovision performance, original members Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch, and Brian Bennett were joined by John Farrar, who took the place of John Rostill, who had died on November 26, 1973.

It wasn't the first time the British entry finished in second place – and it certainly wouldn't be the last. I bought the French pressing of 'Let me be the one' in December 2009. This week I added the German one!

My collection: 7" single no. 8325
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'Let me be the one' / 'Stand up like a man' 

 

Time to let go - Eddy Grant

Much to my surprise, I already owned both tracks on this single - but both as B-sides of other singles. 'Time to let go' was released in 1984 as the B-side of 'Boys in the street' and 'California style' became the B-side of 'Till I can't take love no more' in 1983.

However, this single was released in 1981 and was never a hit. The album Can't Get Enough, from which the track was taken, was actually the first of his albums to chart in the UK. It was actually his sixth studio album.

My collection: 7" single no. 8324
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany)
Tracks: 'Time to let go' / 'California style'