In the heat of a passionate moment - Princess

Sometimes buying records involves a little luck as well as knowledge. I didn't recognise the sleeve of this single, a Princess release from 1986. But when I looked at my collection, of course, I already had a single called In the heat of a passionate moment. That one was the German release, featuring a remixed version of the single.

But this is the original single! And it doesn't contain the remix, but the original version. It sounds very much like a Stock/Aitken/Waterman production, like all of their output circa 1986. And a worthy addition to my singles collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 5865
Found: Moses Records, Vienna, September 27, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'In the heat of a passionate moment' / 'In the heat of a passionate moment (Garage mix)'

Working with fire and steel - China Crisis

Sometimes I like to upgrade my collection. Through the years I have bought many singles from Europe, whereas everyone knows that the UK pressings are much prettier. When I came across this mint copy of 'Working with fire and steel' by China Crisis, I thought it would be a much better one than the one I had.

When I came home, I found out that I didn't have this single at all! It's one of those omissions that you never really notice until you go search for it. Glad to have bought this single, then.

My collection: 7" single no. 5867
Found: Moses Records, Vienna, September 27, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Working with fire and steel' / 'Dockland', 'Forever I and I'

Take on me - A-ha

Ah... Record Store Day. The annual feast during which record companies release expensive products that are snapped up by people who actually have record stores in their neighbourhood - if the products they want are actually stocked by those stores.

The picture disc of 'Take on me' by A-ha eluded me until now, because Den Haag no longer has decent record shops anymore. I actually saw a copy in a store once but they asked 40 euros for it. 40 euros! I mean, seriously? Online these things cost less than half that - but the added postage makes it more expensive again. Which is why I was happy to find this copy during my trip to Vienna earlier this week. Sure, I still paid too much for it, but a chance like this never comes up again, I am sure. The single is special because of the picture disc, and the B-side, which is a live version from Dermot O'Leary's Saturday Sessions on BBC Radio 2 on 25 July 2009.

My collection: 7" single no. 5858
Found: Record Bag, Vienna
Cost: 19,90 euro
Tracks: 'Take on me' / 'Take on me (live)'

Listen to the song

Romancing the stone - Eddy Grant

In 1984 Eddy Grant composed the song 'Romancing the stone' for the movie of the same name. Strangely enough, the song was not used. The movie’s producers left nearly all of the song on the cutting room floor and completely off the soundtrack album. Only a remnant of the song — a guitar solo — can be heard in the scene when Douglas and Turner are in a small house in the jungle.

Eddy Grant then decided to release the track himself on his album 'Going for broke'. Released as a single, it was not a hit in the UK. However, across the Atlantic, it romanced its way into the Top 30 and became his first hit since 'Electric avenue'. 

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Exchange, London, 1994
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'Romancing the stone (alternative version)' / 'My turn to love you (live)'

Don't look now - Torch Song

It was becoming a bit weird: on the day I bought Ode to Billy Joe, I was quite shocked that I still didn't have a copy of the 7" of Torch Song's 'Don't look now'. Sure, I have the 12" single, but the single remained elusive. So I did what any sensible collector would do: I ordered a copy online. I immediately noticed that apparently no commercial copies were ever made: all I could find was a promotional version, with a radio edit of the song. Which is fine by me: if there is no commercial single to be had, I'll happily make do with a promotional version.

I finally received the single yesterday so here it is, in all its glory. And if you know the full length version of this track you will notice that this edit was cut quite randomly. Which might explain why it didn't become a hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 5856
Found: Discogs.com, received July 31, 2017
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Don't look now (radio edit)' / 'P2E (remix) (radio edit)'

Hollywood seven - Alides Hidding

Alides Hidding was born in Schoonoord, the Netherlands on January 30, 1954. He founded the Dutch band the Time Bandits that enjoyed international success. But before that, he released a solo single which even in the Netherlands is not so well known. This is surprising, because it was a hit.

'Hollywood seven' was released in June 1980 and reached number 25 in the Dutch top 40. It was a very American sounding song. I remember being very surprised when I found out this was actually a Dutchman.

My collection: 7" single no. 1820

Found: Record palace, Amsterdam, January 13, 1993

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: Hollywood seven / All alone

Reach out - Time Bandits

When a 12" single announces that a special re-mix is provided by Ben Liebrand, you know you're in for a treat. During the Eighties, Ben Liebrand made a name for himself by making remixes of chart hits on a weekly basis for a Dutch radio programme. Also, at the end of the year he would make a 60 minute remix containing much of the best and biggest hits of the year.

'Reach out' was released by the Time Bandits in 1984, when they had their biggest success with previous singles 'Listen to the man with the golden voice' and 'I'm only shooting love'. 'Reach out' doesn't quite have the same impact but this remix does make the song that much more attractive.


My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Reach out (special re-mix by Ben Liebrand)' / 'Ushi girl'

More than the sun - Black

Despite keeping rather up to date on what happened in the UK in the Eighties, partially thanks to a local radio station I listened to on a daily basis and the satellite TV channel Music Box, I didn't know about this single when it came out. I had seen and heard its predecessor 'Hey presto' numerous times so I knew about the band Black already, but I would only find out about Black again in 1987, when 'Sweetest smile' hit the TV screen.

The tracks on this 12" single came to me via a compilation album released by WEA in 1987 after 'Wonderful life' was such a success. After buying that album, the hunt for this 12" single was on, but it would take me some years to get hold of it. Best track on this one? Without a doubt, 'Butterfly man'. A mysterious piece of music that wouldn't be out of place in the current (third) season of Twin Peaks.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'More than the sun', 'Butterfly man' / 'I could kill you', 'Widemouth', 'Stephen'

Duel - Propaganda

It took Propaganda a year to release a follow-up to Dr Mabuse. Or rather, their record company because after the phenomenal success of Frankie goes to Hollywood they seemed a little fazed.But when 'Duel' was finally released, it was a big success, especially in the Netherlands where the single peaked at number 5. In the UK, the single only reached number 21.

The 12" single featured extended versions of both the A- and B-side. 'Jewel', on the B-side, was simply a different, more industrial-sounding version of 'Duel'. As always, the record company ZTT made the sleeve of the 12" single look very different from the 7" version, creating a very interesting item for fans and collectors.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: unknown
Cost: 7,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Duel (Bittersweet)' / 'Jewel (Cut rough)'

Elizabeth's eyes - Nik Kershaw

Released in 1989, Nik Kershaw's fourth album 'The Works' wasn't the commercial success it might (or should) have been. Only two singles were taken from the album, of which 'Elizabeth's eyes' was the second. This 12" single features an extended version of the track as well as a dub version.

According to Nik: "The single is a song written from the point of view a guy called Willie Darden, who was America's longest serving death row prisoner. He was on death row for fifteen years and during the last twelve years of his life he corresponded with a lady in Essex called Elisabeth Allen who's a school teacher. The two never met and they sort of developed a relationship over the years, which is very strange 'cause they never actually existed, a lot of it existed in the mind of Darden. I was trying to imagine how he felt - I've read some of the letters which are absolutely unbelievable - they're poetry, they're love letters, they're incredible things." The song's final line of the third verse reads "Tuesday at seven I will find my heaven, and I'll see you there", which is accurate to the time and death of Darden in reality, on Tuesday, 15 March 1988 at 7am.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Elisabeth's eyes (extended version)' / 'My friend John', 'Elisabeth's eyes (club dub)'

Hon går rakt fram - Leyla

'Hon går rakt fram', backed with 'En enda rad' are actually Swedish-language covers of Kim Wilde's 'Love blonde' and Yazoo's 'Nobody's diary' respectively. They were originally released on an album by the band Cotton Club in 1984. The album featured more cover versions, such as Thompson Twins' 'Hold me now' and Eurythmics' 'Sweet dreams' - all in Swedish.

For some reason, when this single was released, the band name was dropped and the single was credited to Leyla, which is Leyla Yilbar-Norgren, who was the lead singer on these two tracks. She released two more singles but then faded into anonymity.

My collection: 7" single no. 5770
Found: Discogs.com, received July 27, 2016
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Hon går rakt fram' / 'En enda rad'

Wonderful life - Black

I can't claim to have had a deep personal relationship with Colin Vearncombe, the man behind Black, but still his death in January 2016 hit me harder than any other musician's death ever did. And speaking of death: his 'Wonderful life' will probably end up being played when my funeral comes up. And you never know when that is.

'Wonderful life' was originally released in 1986 on the Ugly Man label. It was on the strength of this release and its indie chart success that Black ended up being signed on A&M Records. This song was their third single release on A&M and that version ended up being a worldwide hit. When you listen to the version of this 12" single, from 1986, you can hear subtle differences. The B-side contains the track 'Birthday night' which was never re-recorded, and an early version of 'Everything's coming up roses', which ended up being re-recorded and released as Black's first single for A&M. I was not even that keen on buying the 12" single when I did some 25 years ago - after all, I already had the double 7" single version - but now I'm very glad to own it.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: early 1990's
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Wonderful life' / 'Birthday night', 'Everything's coming up roses'

The sun rising - Beloved

Another band that has always fascinated me are the Beloved. They released some very interesting songs in the Eighties and Nineties, and there were plenty of remixes around too. I decided to pick up missing 12" singles last year - and there were a few.

This 12" single of 'The sun rising' is a good example. I already owned the 7" single and the CD-single, but this 12" features a few remixes that were not issued on CD. As with most of the Beloved's remixes, they're worth hearing too because they always sound fresh.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 2016
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'The sun rising (Il sole sorge)', 'The sun rising (Intensità)' / 'The sun rising (Danny's 'Love is...' remix)', 'The sun rising (Son of the rising house)'

Radio Heart - featuring Gary Numan

Having described my 7" single of 'Radio Heart' in 2009, it's not bad to add the 12" single today. I've owned it for years already, but somehow it didn't make it onto this blog yet. Maybe it's because the extended version of 'Radio Heart' is a little unremarkable: it simply adds some instrumental parts of the song in the middle, making it a 6 minute version instead of the 4'20 single version.

Gary Numan is, of course, still going strong, but Radio Heart only existed for one album and three singles.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered] 
Found: unknown
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Radio Heart (extended mix)' / 'Radio Heart (instrumental)'

I can't stay away from you - Viola Wills

Released in 1981, 'I can't stay away from you' was an ill-fated single for Viola Wills. Best known for her disco hits 'Gonna get along without you now' and 'If you could read my mind', this song was simply too middle of the road for the disco generation, which had probably moved on anyway.

I actually bought this single for the B-side: a cover version of one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded: Chicago's 'If you leave me now'. Unfortunately, this disco version also disappoints. Still, sometimes curiousity has to win and it's a nice enough single to add to my collection. Although Viola continued to record albums and singles until well into the Nineties, she did not have another hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 5854
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I can't stay away from you'/ 'If you leave me now'

Dr. Mabuse - Propaganda

As you may have gathered from today's entires, I am cleaning up my 12" singles collection. Or rather, I'm going through them to see whether there's any stuff I haven't yet digitised. I was pleased to see that there's not a whole lot of work left to do, although there have been some surprising omissions. For instance, I haven't posted any of my Propaganda 12" singles!

I only have three of them, but they're the classics: taken from their debut album, both the songs and their respective 12" singles have been exciting. To begin with, there's 'Dr. Mabuse': a song that was transformed into a 10 minute epic, backed with an impressive cover version of Lou Reed's 'Femme fatale'. Time to rectify the situation. 'Duel' and 'Machinery' are due to follow soon, of course!

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: unknown
Price: unknown
Tracks: 'Das Testament des Mabuse' / 'Femme fatale (The woman with the orchid)', '(The ninth life of) Dr. Mabuse'

Let me go - Wendy Wu

On the back cover of this 12" single it is announced: 'produced by Tony Mansfield'. For those in the know, this is a recommendation. For Tony Mansfield was also the backbone of New Musik, he produced A-ha's debut, as well as producing acts like Captain Sensible and Naked Eyes.

Wendy Wu's career was more short-lived: she released just three singles, of which 'Let me go' was the last one. However, on those singles she worked with Graham Gouldman, Gary Barnacle and Tony Mansfield respectively. After these singles flopped she went on to work with Visage's Steve Strange in the band Strange Cruise.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Plaatboef, Den Haag, 201X
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Let me go (long version)' / 'Love tonight'

Invincible - Pat Benatar

Pat Benatar had her biggest success with 'Love is a battlefield', but after that single a few more slightly successful titles followed. One of them was 'Invincible', a song taken from the soundtrack of 'The legend of Billie Jean'.

I owned the single since it came out, but I never bought the 12" single at the time. I bought it a couple of years ago and then it again disappeared anonymously in my collection. It's a shame, because this is a really decent extended version of that track.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Invincible (extended version)' / 'Invincible (instrumental)', 'Heartbreaker'

Come summer - Fra Lippo Lippi

The sleeve of Fra Lippo Lippi's 'Come summer' is one of the most beautiful sleeve designs ever. Made by StyleForEveryMood in Stockholm, it looks deceptively simple: just a beautiful image with the lyric of the song printed over it. Sometimes you wonder how people come up with something like this.

The song, of course, is no less beautiful. Taken from the band's album 'Songs', it followed 'Shouldn't have to be like that' but didn't achieve the same amount of international success. It's strange, because it is the better of the two songs. Even three decades ago, people didn't recognise a hit when it was slammed in their face.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Den Haag, 1993
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Come summer (extended, remixed)' / 'Come summer', 'Even tall trees bend (original version)'

Live it up - Time Bandits

This copy of the 12" single of Time Bandits' debut single 'Live it up' was not in a very good shape when I bought it. My needle kept sliding off the record after playing a few seconds, barricades by clouds of dust. Fortunately, it was nothing that a good cleaning session couldn't fix.

There were actually two 12" singles of 'Live it up' back in 1981: a version with a remix of over 7 minutes, and this one, which just contains the album version of the track. The single version was shorter by a minute or so, so this could still be considered an 'extended' version, but I guess some fans felt disappointed back then after hearing this one...

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Live it up' / 'Juvenile acquaintance'