Saturday 28 February 2009

The party's over - Sandra Reemer

After Teach-In won the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Ding-a-dong', the 1976 edition was organised in Den Haag, the Netherlands. Sandra Reemer was chosen to perform that year's song, which was written in English for the first time. 'The party's over' proved to be a reasonable success, finishing on ninth place in the Contest.

It was not the first time for Sandra: in 1972 she'd already sung 'Als het om de liefde gaat' together with Dries Holten as 'Sandra & Andres'. In 1979 she would return to the Contest, singing 'Colorado'.
My collection: 7" single no. 3279
Found: February 9, 2001
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'The party's over' / 'Mrs. Lonely'





Saskatchewan - Red Box

Besides the 7" single 'Saskatchewan' there was also a 12" single. The buyer got his money's worth, because he didn't just get an extended remix, but also an alternative 7" mix.

I got this 12" single from a friend, who wanted to get rid of it and had heard about my newfound obsession for Red Box releases. I didn't have much at that time (just the LP 'Heart of the sun' and a single or two), so I was very surprised when I heard the strange versions of 'Saskatchewan' on this disc. It was one of the nicest gifts I'd had in a while.

My collection: 12" single no. 224
Found: Beverwijk, 1992 (present)
Cost: nothing
Tracks: 'Saskatchewan (Crew's testing mix)' / 'Speeches', 'Saskatchewan (Alternative 7" mix)'

Radioactivity - Kraftwerk

The original single of 'Radioactivity' was released in 1976. In 1991, Kraftwerk released the album 'The mix', which contained remixed versions of some of their most popular tracks. The album included a remix of 'Radioactivity'. For the single, 'Radioactivity' was remixed by François Kevorkian and William Orbit.

The single peaked at number 43 in the UK singles chart. The album 'The mix', Kraftwerk's first since 1986's 'Electric cafe', did even better: it peaked at number 15 in the UK albums chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2332
Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 25, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Radioactivity (François Kevorkian 7" remix)' / 'Radioactivity (William Orbit 7" mix)'


Radio Africa - Latin Quarter

Latin Quarter formed in the early Eighties. The line-up changed through the years, but in their 1986 heyday it was Steve Skaith, Richard Wright, Michael Jones, Greg Harewood, Yona Dunsford, Carole Douet, Martin Lascelles and Dave Charles.

Their biggest hit was 'Radio Africa' (1985), which was shown regularly on music television channels like Sky Channel and Music Box during that time. It peaked at number 19 in the UK singles chart in February 1986. It reached the Dutch Top 40 a couple of months earlier, peaking at number 37 in October 1985.

My collection: 7" single no. 2530
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, November 1, 1995
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Radio Africa' / 'Voices inside'


Time after time - Cyndi Lauper

After all the craziness of 'Girls just wanna have fun', Cyndi Lauper's next single 'Time after time' made be breathe a sigh of relief. Indeed, the woman was capable of making a beautiful song as well. She was rewarded with a number 1 in America, while the single peaked at number 3 in the UK and number 5 in the Netherlands.

Lauper co-wrote 'Time after time' with Rob Hyman of The Hooters. She indicated much of the lyrics were written about occurrences in the studio and her life at the time. The line 'the second hand unwinds' referred to producer Rick Chertoff's watch which was winding backwards.

Lauper re-recorded the song in 2005 as an acoustic version, together with Sarah McLachlan. It was included on Lauper's album 'The body acoustic'.

My collection: 7" single no. 1017
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Time after time' / 'I'll kiss you'
Download: Album 'She's so unusual', including both tracks (password: mobetterpop.blogspot.com)

I eat cannibals - Toto Coelo

Toto Coelo had a very short career in pop business, this single being their only hit. Released in August 1982, 'I eat cannibals' peaked at number 8 in the UK singles chart. The single was followed by 'Dracula's Tango (Sucker For Your Love)', which only made it to number 53.

An album was issued containing both singles, together with a selection of unreleased tracks in 1983 titled 'Man o' War'. This album flopped. Following this, Anita Mahadervan and Sheen Doran left the group. In 1985 the remaining three members released two singles under the Toto Coelo name. Neither of those singles ('Girl's night out' and 'Gimme some lovin") was a success.

My collection: 7" single no. 3169
Found: Record Exchange, London, January 18, 2000
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'I eat cannibals (part 1)' / 'I eat cannibals (part 2)'
Download: here

Wonderwall - Mike Flowers pops

Mike Roberts founded the Mike Flowers Pops, a British easy listening band, known for lounge music covers of both older and contemporary pop music. They first came to prominence in 1995 when they released a cover version of Oasis's hit song 'Wonderwall'. DJ Chris Evans heard the song and made it 'single of the week' on his Radio 1 Breakfast show, telling listeners that this was the original version of the song. The single was released while the Oasis original was still in the charts. It peaked at number two in the UK Singles chart.

Oasis had previously refused to let other novelty acts parody the song, but were said to have enjoyed Flowers' tape so much that they allowed the group to cut it.

My collection: 7" single no. 2658
Found: HMV, London, June 29, 1996
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Wonderwall' / 'Son of God', 'Theme from Memory Man'
Download: here

Generation sex - The Divine Comedy

After the 7" single for 'Becoming more like Alfie', subsequent singles 'The frog princess' and 'Everybody knows (except you)' weren't released on 7" vinyl. So maybe it was all over? Well, no, because the first single from The Divine Comedy's 1998 album 'Fin de siècle' was released on the format again. What's more: it contained an exclusive track, not released on other formats.

'Generation sex' was the opening track of said album and features narration by presenter and columnist Katie Puckrik. It reached number 19 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 3041
Found: Mail order, UK, received November 14, 1998
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Generation sex' / 'Postcard to Rosie'


Mixed-up world - Timex social club

Gregory Thomas, Marcus Thompson, Kevin Moore, Michael Marshall, Craig Samuel, Darrien Cleage and Alex Hill formed the Timex social club in 1982. They released their debut album 'Rumours' in 1986. Their first single, 'Vicious rumours' peaked at number 13 in the UK, number 8 in America and number 3 in the Netherlands.

The follow-up single, 'Mixed-up world' only charted in the Netherlands, peaking at number 11. Soon afterward, their producer Jay King replaced them with a new band that he formed, an R&B group called Club Nouveau. After five years of being together, the Timex Social Club broke up.

My collection: 7" single no. 519
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Mixed-up world' / 'Only you'
Download: here

The hostage - Donna Summer

Donna Summer was born as LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948. Prior to her introduction to the music industry, she was a gospel singer. Aged eighteen, Gaines left home and school to audition for a role in the cast of the Broadway musical 'Hair'. She didn't get the part, but was offered the European Tour when the show moved to Germany. She settled in Munich and also performed with the Viennese Folk Opera and the pop band Munich Machine. She released two singles, 'Sally go round the roses' (1971) and 'If you walkin' alone' (1972), before she met and married Austrian actor Helmut Sommer.

She took on the stage name Donna Summer and signed a contract with the Dutch record company Groovy. Her debut album 'Lady of the night' spawned two singles: the title track and 'The hostage'. This single became a number 1 hit in Belgium and reached number 2 in the Netherlands. The song was performed on an absurdist television show in the Netherlands (see it here), which must have helped its popularity somewhat.
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My collection: 7" single no. 2623
Found: Den Haag, March 2, 1996
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'The hostage' / 'Let's work together now'

Fine line - Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney released the album 'Chaos and creation in the backyard' in 2005. At the time, he was happily married with Heather Mills (that didn't last long...). Shortly before the release of the album, the first single 'Fine line' was released. It reached number 20 in the UK singles chart. The B-side of the 7" single was an otherwise unreleased track, 'Growing up falling down'.

I bought this single as a present for someone, but when I listened to it at home I decided that I wanted to keep it myself. Somehow it was never administrated as my own, so now, three years later, it has become my most recent acquisition - at least in my singles catalogue.

My collection: 7" single no. 3583
Found: HMV, London, November 8, 2005
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Fine line' / 'Growing up falling down'


Extracts from the forthcoming album - Strawberry Switchblade

This promotional clear flexi disc, housed in a four page booklet, was released in the autumn of 1984 to promote the forthcoming self-titled debut album by Strawberry Switchblade. The back of the booklet contains this promotional text:

Strawberry Switchblade, as the name may suggest, are a walking contradition. Small, frail, yet visually striking, the apparent prettiness of their songs belies the harsh reality of the lyrics. Like Macbeth's weird sisters the two seem to have sprung from the dark mists of Celtic faery. Their quiet, haunting ballads are sung in the best harmony voices since the Mamas and the Papas.
Inside you will find a flexi-disc that features extracts from the girl's debut album 'Strawberry Switchblade' with an introduction by Janice Long. Listen to it and you will realise that this is an album you must own.

My collection: 7" single no. 3000
Found: Geest, Den Haag, June 20, 1998
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Extracts from the forthcoming album 'Strawberry Switchblade'

Friday 27 February 2009

Mind adventures - Des'ree

The title track from Des'ree's debut album 'Mind adventures' was released as her second single in March 1992. It wasn't as big a hit as 'Feel so high', peaking just at number 43 in the UK singles chart. It didn't even chart at all in the Netherlands.

By that time, I'd heard the whole album and despite a few throwaway tracks, I thought the choise of singles was pretty good. No wonder, then, that I ended up buying all the singles drawn from the album. The 7" vinyl contains an alternative 7" mix that wasn't ever released on cd as far as I know.

My collection: 7" single no. 1620
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, April 18, 1992
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Mind adventures' / 'Mind adventures (Alternative 7" mix)'


Take it back - Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd released their last studio album 'The Division Bell' in 1994. The first single drawn from that album was 'Take it back'. While most apparently a love song, it can also be interpreted to be about Mother Nature, and how man abuses the earth. This latter interpretation gains some credibility from the video, which seems to have been made with the issue very much in mind. David Gilmour remained typically vague about the subject: 'It's got really nothing to do with my personal life, believe it or not. But I'm not going to tell you what it is about. You're gonna have to work that out for yourself. I had an idea for a song about a specific subject that came from a book I was reading, but I'm not going to tell you what the subject is or what the book is.'

Backing vocals on this track were performed by three famous ladies: Sam Brown, Durga McBroom (from Blue Pearl) and Carol Kenyon (who performed vocals for a.o. Heaven 17, Mike Oldfield and Paul Hardcastle). The single was released as a limited edition on see-through red vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 2122
Found: Fame, Amsterdam, July 15, 1994
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Take it back' / 'Astronomy domine (live)'

Hey Matthew - Karel Fialka

Karel Fialka was born in Bengal, India, to a Czech father and a Scottish mother. In 1980 he started out as a poet and musician. In 1980 he had a minor hit with 'The eyes have it', which reached number 54 in the UK singles chart. In 1987, he released 'Hey Matthew'. In the song's lyric, a father questions his child on what he sees on TV and what he wants to be when he grows up. The single peaked at number 9 in the UK singles chart, but never charted in the Netherlands.

To me, it was unclear what the song wanted to say. It almost suggests that the child is seeing too much horrible things on television, but never really does this. The melody appealed to me, though, so when I saw it in the bargain bin, I snapped up this disc.

My collection: 7" single no. 640
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 9, 1988
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Hey Matthew' / 'The things I saw'

Questionnaire - Chas Jankel

'When you answer all these questions / on a postcard if you please' -- it's not the kind of lyric anyone would write these days. Questionnaires have all been abandoned to the web - and otherwise no-one ever takes the time to fill them in with a pen and send them off to the address it came from.

It was an unusual song anyway, Chas Jankel's 'Questionnaire': the sound of a wailing siren on feverish party music - and then a lyric full of questions. I loved the track when it was on the radio in 1981 and so I was happy to get the single in 1993.

My collection: 7" single no. 1910
Found: Plaatboef, Leiden, May 19, 1993
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Questionnaire' / 'Boy'

Hollow horse - Icicle Works

After the release of their self-titled debut album the Icicle Works struggled to match their initial commercial success. As a live band they did secure a loyal fan base in the UK and abroad. In September 1984 the band issued the single 'Hollow Horse', which continued to be a live favourite, but failed to reach the UK singles chart.

I bought this single recently on the assumption that it would be an interesting song, because I knew the band. The song turns out to have the same soaring quality as 'Love is a wonderful colour', but is less memorable. Still, a very nice single.

My collection: 7" single no. 3476
Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, December 11, 2008
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Hollow horse' / 'The atheist'

Burning bush (Testify) - Savage progress

Savage Progress started off when Rik Kenton and Glynnis Thomas met one another in 1982. They recruited Ned Morant, Carol Isaacs and Andrew Edge. In 1984 they released their debut album 'Celebration', which contained the three singles that were released subsequently: 'My soul unwraps tonight', 'Heart begin to beat' and 'Burning bush'.

I got to know 'Burning bush' because of the video, which was played often on television, and as a track on a compilation double LP which I bought in 1985. I bought this single, a limited edition housed in a posterbag, in 2001.

My collection: 7" single no. 3363
Found: Record fair, 2001
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Burning bush (Testify)' / 'Tears of love'

Tell me there's a heaven - Chris Rea

The whole concept of heaven and the afterlife is one of mindboggling stupidity. It supposes that you have to be miserable your whole damn life and then, when you're dead, suddenly everything turns into a warm, fuzzy, mellow state of constant happiness. This is especially ridiculous when you consider all the people dying of hunger, war, murder and environmental disasters.

Chris Rea once wrote this song about it: 'Tell me there's a heaven'. The song was released at a time when death and unhappiness were all around me. I thought the lyric of this song was highly appropriate for the cynicism I felt about the things that were going on, and I still think it's one of the best songs ever written - lyrically as well as musically.

My collection: 7" single no. 2264
Found: Record fair, April 8, 1995
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Tell me there's a heaven' / 'And when she smiles'


I touch myself - Divinyls

The rock band Divinyls formed in Sydney, Australia in 1980. The band had several line-up changes, but at the time of their biggest hit 'I touch myself', the line-up consisted of core members Christina Amphlett and Mark McEntee, plus Charley Drayton, Benmont Tench, Lee Borkman and Jim Hilbun.

'I touch myself', a song about masturbation, hit number 1 in Australia, number 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 2621
Found: Record fair, February 24, 1996
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'I touch myself' / 'Follow through'

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