You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties - Jona Lewie

During holidays I make a point of visiting local record shops, which this year was a bit of a challenge since the small town of Dahn in Germany didn't have any and I only had a few hours to visit the inner city of Worms, where one record shop was located. But I did get there, so I had a chance to check it out.

Unfortunately the shop only had one box of 7" singles, and they were all Record Store Day releases too. You know, Record Store Day is the annual event that causes record companies to release horribly expensive items that are unavailable to the real fans of artists who are then forced to buy the items at inflated prices via Ebay. What's left in shops are usually the discs that only a few people are after. And so it was in this case. However, I did find one copy of this single, pressed on green vinyl for Record Store Day 2016. It is a re-edition of Jona Lewie's single from 1980. Interestingly, the B-side of this edition is 'Hallelujah Europa', which was released as a single in 1978.

My collection: 7" single no. 6307
Found: Heaven Records, Worms (Germany)
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'You'll always find me in the kitches at parties' / 'Hallelujah Europa'

Louise (we get it right) - Jona Lewie

Jona Lewie had one of his biggest successes with 'Louise (We get it right)'. Although the single was ignored in Europe and the UK, it reached number 2 in Australia.

I didn't know this track when I bought the single. Since I like most of the Jona Lewie singles I have, this one couldn't go wrong I thought. And fortunately, I was right.

My collection: 7" single no. 4167
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Louise (We get it right)' / 'It never will go wrong'

Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic - Jona Lewie

Jona Lewie is best known for his wry lyrics in the songs he's recorded. This is why 'Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' is a remarkable single in his catalogue: it is an almost entirely instrumental track. It does feature a guitar part, performed by Juan Martin.

Instrumental tracks are rarely commercially successful, and this one is no exception: the single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4166
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' / 'I'll be here'

Come away - Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurus with Jona Lewie

Jona Lewie joined the popular cult blues band Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts in 1969. It would give him an opportunity to record his first compositions on the album 'These Blues is meant to be barrel housed'. Jona stayed with the Bretts until 1973, their mainstream hit single being 'Seaside shuffle', another early Lewie composition.

'Seaside shuffle' was deemed by the band to be too commercial for the band, and so it was released under the nom de disque Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs. It reached number 2 in the UK singles chart in 1972. The name stuck until 1978, when 'Come away' was released to little success in the UK, but it did reach number 20 in the Dutch Top 40, giving Jona Lewie his first hit in Europe.

My collection: 7" single no. 4085
Found: Markplaats.nl, received September 25, 2009
Cost: 1,25 euro
Tracks: 'Come away' / 'Custer's last stand'

Big shot - Momentarily - Jona Lewie

Although I have a considerable record collection - as you can tell from this blog - I've never come across a 6" single before. Imagine my surprise when I saw this little treasure. The sleeve cheekily suggests that if your record player does not play this disc, you should 'invest in the seven inch version'.

Well, fortunately my record player is not fully automatic and I was able to play this disc. It's just as well, since I did pay more than 60p for it. 'Big shot - Momentarily' was a hit for Jona Lewie in Germany, but in the UK, where this 6" single was released, it did not chart. I guess not everyone is into gimmicks as much as I am.

My collection: 6" single no. 3983
Found: Sister Ray, London, August 5, 2009
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Big Shot - Momentarily' / 'I'll get by in Pittsburgh'

I think I'll get my haircut - Jona Lewie

This is one of many singles by Jona Lewie that never made the UK singles chart. 'I think I'll get my haircut' was released in 1981, as always on the Stiff label. Lewie's music is basically always the same: a strong melody, funny lyrics and short songs. Always a safe bet when you buy a single by him.

I didn't actually remember the song when I bought this single, but playing it made me realise I have heard it before.... Although it may be a quarter of a century ago now.

My collection: 7" single no. 3727

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, May 23, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'I think I'll get my haircut' / 'What have I done'

You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties - Jona Lewie

One of the big complaints of the early eighties was that any fool with a synthesizer could knock out a hit, because with a computer it was easy to make what you wanted. Jona Lewie's 'You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties' is one of those songs that could have gotten this criticism, because it sounds deceptively simple.

Contrary to popular belief, Kirsty MacColl didn't perform backing vocals on this track; she only appeared with Jona Lewie on TV a couple of times to mime to the vocals recorded by the wives of Bob Andrews (producer of the song) and Dave Robinson (owner of Stiff Records, to which Jona was signed).

My collection: 7" single no. 2103

Found: Record fair, Leiden, May 28, 1994

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties' / 'Bureaucrats'

Download: here

Stop the cavalry - Jona Lewie

Although now one of Britain's most familiar Christmas singles, 'Stop the Cavalry' was not originally intended as a Christmas song – indeed it was a no. 1 Gold Record in France in the summer! In England, however, it was released in late November after the record label spotted the line referring to the festival: 'I wish I was at home, for Christmas'. Not only this but the specific style of the brass instruments and bells in the chorus are very noticeable as a 'Christmas' style theme.

It gave Jona Lewie a big hit, reaching number three in the UK singles chart and subsequently reaching number nine in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 2087
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, March 30, 1994
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Stop the cavalry' / 'Laughing tonight'
Download: here