The A – Z of my singles collection Part 5

It almost looks like I’m getting the most questionable singles out of the way first in this part of the journey through my singles collection. That said, I would happily defend Doctor and the Medics version of Spirit in the Sky. It’s catchy, well delivered and has a real happy energy to it, and I really like it to this day. The second single, I cannot defend either to you or to Ultravox! There were no excuses then or now. Yes, I was one of those misguided record buyers who sent Joe Dolce to Number 1 so I will Shaddap My Face!! The two Jason Donovan singles I have are his remakes of Sealed With a Kiss and As Time Goes By. Tarred as he was with the ex soap actor brush, I genuinely think he has not been given the credit he deserves for what is a really fine voice. Too Many Broken Hearts is absent from this collection because I bought the cassette for Janet, but that is just an excellent song, full stop. Double were a one hit wonder in the UK, but what a hit. The Captain of her Heart is one of the loveliest ballads of the 80s in a very crowded field. Every time you hear it, it just takes you back to the end of the night, either when you’re out or at home. It’s one of those musical time capsules, as is the next one, the simply sublime Life in a Northern Town by Dream Academy. I would put this alongside Souvenir by OMD as one of the most stunning pieces of music I have ever heard. It was so different and so beautiful and to this day it still sounds amazing. The Drifters were childhood favourites of mine, so when I was flicking through the Old Gold section in a record shop and saw my favourite song of theirs, Kissin in the Back Row of the Movies I simply had to buy it. Their smooth style and their vignettes of teenage life were utterly irresistible to me as a kid, and they still are. Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy was one of those artists who came into view for me with a record I loved, Kiss Me in his case, then completely disappeared from my consciousness thereafter. It is a part of a singles buyer’s mentality that you truly are only as good as your last track. Yes, there were some artists who I knew would appeal to me with whatever they released, but even if an artist only impressed me with one record, they were there for ever in my musical consciousness. Wrapping up the first picture it’s Duran Duran. I was a big fan of theirs, but I never really got their tracks as singles because I had started collecting compilations and they were very likely to appear on them. Wild Boys, apart from being my favourite of theirs, was the theme song of the first flight I was put in when I got to RAF Swinderby for recruit training. As you can imagine, when I was injured and eventually given a medical discharge, it became a very difficult one to listen to in the years immediately afterwards, but even when it made me wince with bad memories I still thought it was brilliant. The other Duran Duran single in my collection is one of the best Bond themes ever for my money. It’s a great track with a very funny tongue in cheek video and it has everything you’d want from a theme tune.

This is an interesting set. It includes singles from some huge artists, many of which were released after their ‘Imperial period’. In case you haven’t come across the term, it refers to the time, however long or short, where everything you release is successful. It doesn’t necessarily refer to an artist’s creative peak, although the two might be in sync, but to their popularity peak. The phrase was coined by Neil Tennant, to reflect on the time when the Pet Shop Boys in 87 – 88 became the biggest band in the UK. Whilst not an exact science, it is a very handy concept to keep in mind.

ELO were a group that I loved listening to in the 70s, with the gorgeous Telephone Line being my favourite of theirs. The two singles I have of theirs come from the 80s. Rock ‘n’ Roll is King is from 1983 where it was something of a summer staple. Throughout July it stayed in the Top 20 and got quite a lot of radio play. It was a very different style of song from those in their 70s heyday, a more back to basics rocker that perhaps showed the way the charts had changed. Things needed to be punchy and more immediate in charts dominated by New Romantics so that’s what Jeff Lynne gave the singles buyers. The even better, in my opinion, Calling America came out in March 1986, the year I went over to be the International Scout on a summer camp in Florida. As such, it became something of a theme song for me at the time, and for a few months afterwards. It only just crept into the Top 30, however, with its orchestral sensibilities never far from the surface and perhaps seemingly old hat. Take a listen to either of these now and I think you will hear two high quality records that deserved a better fate.

The King is in the singles building! Elvis, even more than The Beatles, was my ‘oldies’ territory. Elvis 40 Golden Greats on pink vinyl was the first vinyl album I bought for myself, with The Beatles 62 – 66 being the second. I knew most of his classic tunes, and his was the first celebrity death that genuinely affected me. At the end of 1977, the year he died, My Way was released, but it was the B Side I really liked, the song America the Beautiful. Similarly, the song Way Down, which was catapulted to Number One following his death in August 1977 was a good track, and the A Side on the single I bought soon afterwards from the oldies rack, but his previous release which reached Number 6 in the charts under its own steam was the superior Moody Blue, the B Side here, which pointed the way to a later career renaissance which sadly never materialised. Though not as egregiously bad as Joe Dolce, the ‘laughing’ version of Are You Lonesome Tonight? is cringeworthy to listen to, and I really don’t know what I was thinking!

The two Erasure singles I have are the stunning breakthrough hit, Sometimes, one of the best songs of the latter half of the 80s, and the Crackers International EP featuring Stop. These tracks were two of their three highpoints for me. The other was Ship of Fools, but I already had the cassette so I didn’t buy the single. As with a number of artists, I am surprised I don’t have more of their singles. Finally, in this section I have two later career successes by 70s heart throb David Essex, one of the best singers of his era. Tahiti was from his musical Bounty and is an excellent track, but it pales alongside A Winter’s Tale, one of the finest songs of Mike Batt’s career, and that is a very, very crowded field. It was written at a time when Batt thought a relationship was over when the woman he loved moved back to Australia. It is gorgeous, melancholy, brilliantly sung and one of the best Number 2 records ever released. From the time I first heard it to now, it has always been in my own personal Top 10, and will always remain there.

We finish off Part 5 with some Es! What a collection of singles in this picture. Starting off with rock favourites, the Swedish band, Europe who had huge success with Final Countdown then followed it up with another two really good tracks from the same album. Their ubiquitous chart topper doesn’t need any introduction, but the other two probably do. Rock the Night, which reached Number 12, was another driving rock track. Carrie, which stalled just outside the Top 20, is a hugely underrated rock ballad that was brilliantly sung by Joey Tempest.

The Eurythmics are simply one of the best British groups ever. The quartet of singles I have for them probably reflect every side of their output. First, their second Top 10 single, Sweet Dreams, the instantly recognisable driving synth track is one of the signature tracks of the decade. Even now it sounds absolutely up to date and it’s one of those which will never age. The second single is the Top 10 from early 1984, Here Comes the Rain Again. The raindrop effect on the synth captured my imagination from the first time I heard it, but one of my friends was far less impressed and dubbed it ‘Here Comes the Same Again’! Now on to my favourite track of theirs, the outstanding Thorn in my Side, with its angry defiant lyrics and Annie Lennox on top form vocally. I was blown away by it and, as great as the rest of their output was, it will always have pride of place for me. Finally, Angel is a gorgeous emotional ballad that showcases the style Lennox would adopt during her solo career. Prior to, and subsequent to, I Don’t Want to Talk About It I can’t remember anything else that Everything But the Girl released, but that single is one of the best cover versions ever with Tracey Thorn’s vocals out of this world.

Part 6 sees me move on with some Fs and Gs, and there are some gems and some rubbish as ever! If you are interested in Part 2 of my Spotify playlist, it’s here https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2cLcCsVRsilEZB88mZuVzq?si=71d31b8dde5747d5