Carmen Brasilia - Revolution System

I have a confession to make. I absolutely love Gershon Kingsley's 'Popcorn', and all the cover versions that have been released since that original track. Well, of course there are exceptions - who needs yet another techno reworking of 'Popcorn', and let's ignore that version by Crazy Frog shall we? - but I think it's one of the best instrumental tracks ever.

The obsession actually started with this single. It was one of the first singles I ever bought (it's number 10 in my current administration) and it's announced as 'Brand New Popcorn'. I must have known as a child what 'Popcorn' was, because that triggered the buying of this single. 'Carmen Brasilia' is an instrumental version, performed on a Moog synthesizer, based on the most famous part of the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet. The B-side of this single features the track 'Ooh Uggerdoo', most probably written by members of the group.

There's also a version by the group Anarchic System, which I finally bought in 1995. More on that one later...

My collection: 7" single no. 10

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1977

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Carmen Brasilia' / 'Ooh Uggerdoo'

Download: here

Fool's paradise - Rosie Vela

A lot of the records I've bought have been second hand. It's usually the only way to get hold of rare old singles. The second hand market is full of great finds. Having discovered Rosie Vela in 1989, three years after she released her album 'Zazu' on A&M records, I was very glad when I found the 12" single of 'Fool's paradise' somewhere in the 1990's. Unfortunately, as you can see, it was far from a pristine copy. It lay in a Record Exchange in London for only 30p, and despite its desperate state, I had to buy it. Not only for the remarkable sleeve (which you'll agree is pretty beautiful if you ignore the wear and tear), but also for the exclusive 'new 12" version' that was on the B-side of this record. The A-side consisted of the album tracks 'Fool's paradise' and 'Interlude'.

Rosie Vela was a model who got into singing and had the amazing good luck to have her debut album produced by Steely Dan's Gary Katz, with musical contributions by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker - five years after Steely Dan disbanded. 'Fool's paradise' was the third and last single to be released from 'Zazu', and like its predecessor ('Interlude') didn't reach the charts anywhere in the world. Rosie remains best known for her debut single 'Magic smile'.

My collection: 12" single no. 284
Found: Record exchange, London
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'Fool's paradise', 'Interlude' / 'Fool's paradise (new 12" mix)
Download: here

Victor should have been a jazz musician - Grace Jones

Grace Jones has recently released a new album, entitled 'Hurricane'. I was quite surprised when I found about that last month, because I figured she'd just stopped making music years ago. The last Grace Jones record I bought, only a couple of years ago, was the 12" vinyl of 'Victor should have been a jazz musician'. There were really two reasons: it was cheap (only 1 euro), and both the A-side and the B-side - 'I'm not perfect (but I'm perfect for you)' - were remixed by Ben Liebrand. And Ben Liebrand was responsible for many interesting remixes in the 1980's.

I was less impressed with the tracks themselves when they were released. To me, Grace Jones peaked with 'Slave to the rhythm', and then faded into obscurity. But I have to admit I was wrong. 'Victor should have been a jazz musician' is not only a great title (it's up there with 'You will always find me in the kitchen at parties' and 'I don't know what you want but I can't give it anymore'), but also a classy, cool track. The remixes, then. Ben Liebrand did a reasonable job on 'Victor', but the remix of 'I'm not perfect' is slightly too manic for me.

My collection: 12" single no. 274
Found: 1996
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Victor should have been a jazz musician (Jazz club million minute mix)' / 'I'm not perfect (but I'm perfect for you) (C + VI minimix)'
Download: Victor should have been a jazz musician, I'm not perfect (But I'm perfect for you).

Hey Presto - Black

One of the great mysteries of the 1980's is the video for Black's 'Hey Presto'. I saw it, I know I saw it, I saw it many times on the satellite TV channels of that time: Sky Channel, Music Box and the like. When my parents finally bought a VCR, in December of 1984, the video disappeared, and it never resurfaced again. Even in this age of YouTube and all, the video is nowhere to be found.

It was because of this video that I discovered the band Black. It was a love story that still hasn't ended to this day. This song, so dynamic and lively, wasn't available in Dutch shops in 1984, so I had to wait until 1987 to find my copy. By that time, Black had resurfaced in the Dutch and UK charts with 'Sweetest smile' and 'Wonderful life' - also great tracks. But more about those singles later...

'Hey presto' was released on WEA's Eternal label, but despite some promotion didn't make the charts in the UK, despite critical acclaim. It was at the beginning of their professional career. Although Black built a relatively successful career a few years later, they would never perform this song live again. Strange, because despite it being worlds apart from their later type of music, this track is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

My collection: 7" single no. 565

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1987

Cost: 3,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Hey Presto' / 'Stephen'

Download: here

Shine a little love - Electric Light Orchestra

One of the most popular bands of the Seventies was probably Electric Light Orchestra. Their albums were full of spectacular soundscapes and the singles were invariably big hits. As I explained in a previous entry, the shop where I bought my singles in the late Seventies discounted ex-chart tracks. I don't know what happened in my mind, exactly, when I bought this single. 'Don't let me down' was high in the charts and I really wanted to have that song. I was very excited when I found this in the discount section. I must have misread or misunderstood the title, because when I played the single at home it didn't sound like 'Don't let me down' at all. I think I didn't play this single for months afterwards, angry at myself for this stupid mistake.

Still, 'Shine a little love' is a great song as well. It was taken from ELO's 1979 album 'Discovery', and made number 6 in the UK and number 10 in the Netherlands in the summer of 1979. The song was sampled in the track 'Shine' by the Lovefreekz in 2004.
The b-side, 'Jungle', was apparently a single candidate at some point, although the record company decided against it. Read more about the story of that track on this page.

My collection: 7" single no. 21
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1979
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Shine a little love' / 'Jungle'
Download: here

Who knows what love is - Strawberry Switchblade

The Scottish duo Strawberry Switchblade is perhaps best known for their hit 'Since yesterday', which earned them a status as one hit wonders in most parts of Europe. In the UK it reached number 5 before the end of 1984, and after that they never managed to scrape the top 40 again.

'Who knows what love is' was, after 'Let her go', the third single to be taken from their self-titled debut album. It is a perfect slice of melancholy pop.

I first heard the track while I was recording tapes for a radio station. Back in 1985 and 1986 I did this from time to time. While using the great record collection I had at my disposal I discovered loads of great tracks. I wasn't always able to buy them myself and this one was a good example: I only bought my copy of this single in August 1998 - more than a decade later!

'Who knows what love is' was released on the Korova label, which was distributed by WEA (Warner). The track was edited for the single version and backed with a non-album track, 'Poor hearts'.

There is a wealth of information about Strawberry Switchblade, as well as mp3 downloads, on the website strawberryswitchblade.net. And you can find a collection of rare tracks, including an interesting extended version of 'Who knows what love is' on the great Mine for life blog.

My collection: 7" single no. 3012
Found: Wreckastow, Rotterdam, 1998
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Who knows what love is' / 'Poor hearts'
Download: here

Laugh and walk away - The Shirts

I didn't know much about The Shirts. I saw 'Tell me your plans' on TV when it was in the charts, but I thought that the next single 'Laugh and walk away' was much better. It was so aggressive and uptempo, it excited me a lot. It was 1979 and my weekly allowance was not big enough to be able to buy chart singles. There was a record shop around the corner where singles would be 50% cheaper once they fell out of the Top 40. It was January 1980 when I bought this single.

'Laugh and walk away', released on EMI's Harvest label, entered the Dutch Top 40 on November 10, 1979, reached no. 12 and stayed in the chart for seven weeks. Nothing was ever heard from them again.

My collection: 7" single no. 35

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1979

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Laugh and walk away' / 'Maybe, maybe not'

Download: Laugh and walk away

The first post... The first record!

The first single I ever bought was... well according to my administration it was 'Hello ah' by Mouth & MacNeal, released on the Decca label. The real first single will always remain a mystery, since I spent most of my childhood not only playing singles, but also rearranging and re-cataloguing them. Dozens of singles went into the garbage can, because I didn't like them anymore. I remember several 'Top 6' ep's, containing popular songs like 'Yellow river' and 'Heart of gold' performed by anonymous studio groups. I don't have those anymore...

I was only six or seven years old when I bought this single. I remember where I bought it too: the shop was called 'Disco Market' and it was the most popular second hand record store in the area. It was already in business before I was born and it closed its doors only recently, last year I think. Loads of singles that will appear in this blog were bought there. Sometimes I went there every week.

Mouth & MacNeal were a Dutch duo, most famous for their appearance in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. They finished behind Abba with their 'I see a star'. This single was their second no. 1 hit in the Netherlands, after 1971's 'How do you do'. It entered the Dutch Top 40 on May 20, 1972 and remained in the chart for 13 weeks.

And there you have it... This blog is off to a very promising start. Future posts will feature music from the seventies, eighties and nineties - all in some way present in my record collection. It's all 'Music on vinyl' to me!

My collection: 7" single no. 1

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1977 (ish)

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Hello ah' / 'Talk a little louder'

Download: here