Take on me - A-ha

Last Friday was apparently 'Black Friday', and the people who invented Record Store Day gleefully participate in this day too. It's a second annual opportunity (besides Record Store Day itself) to sell overly expensive records to people who then put it on Ebay to sell it for even higher prices. 

I checked out the list of 'limited collectable records' recently and there was only one disc I really wanted to have. It was this 40th anniversary compilation of A-ha's 'Take on me', pressed on red vinyl, with eight versions of the classic track. The most important one is the first one: a new remix by Jos Leene and Vinny Vero. 

When I went to the local book and record shop yesterday (because no, I won't stand in line for hours just to get a record!) I checked out the Black Friday records, but one man stood before me, holding this very record in his hands. While he stood there, looking at the sleeve, I just thought 'Don't buy it! Don't buy it!', until finally he put the record back and walked away. I immediately grabbed the record and bought it. 

What can I say? It saves a lot of postage costs (because to my surprise a few shops are offering this disc online now for more or less the original price) and it felt like a small victory.  

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Paagman, Den Haag, 29 November 2025
Tracks: 'Take on me (40th anniversary extended version)', 'Take on me (1984 single version)', 'Take on me (1985 single version)', 'Take on me (1984 instrumental version)' / 'Take on me (2018 Symphonic version)', 'Take on me (2017 acoustic version)', 'Take on me (2017 MTV Unplugged)', 'Take on me (1991 Live in South America)'

Krøllet eller ej - Østjydsk Musikforsyning

Tommy Seebach represented Denmark (together with Debbie Cameron) at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 with 'Krøller eller ej'. This single seems to be a cover version of that song, but it is really short (just over two minutes) and I get the feeling, looking at the sleeve, that it might be a parody of the song. Who's to say? My Danish really isn't good enough.

From Wikipedia I learned that Østjydsk Musikforsyning was a Danish entertainment orchestra, known, among other things, from the revues at Hotel Pejsegården in Brædstrup, in which the orchestra participated from 1983 to 2008. In 1988, Østjydsk Musikforsyning was awarded the Honorary Prize by the Danish Musicians' Association for its "untraditional composition of festive musicians to prove that disharmonies also have their place in Danish music life".

My collection: 7" single no. 7898
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 November 2025
Tracks: 'Krøllet eller ej' / 'Dit hjertes dunkle dyb'

Det' lige det - Kirsten & Søren

Although obviously I own a copy of the single 'Det' lige det' by Kirsten & Søren, this flexidisc piqued my curiosity when I spotted it online. It was probably given away with a copy of Se og hør, the leading Danish TV guide, back in 1984. 

The sleeve is a thin paper gatefold, featuring the lyrics of the song inside. The flexidisc is red and plays only the couple's Eurovision song, with a Se og hør jingle at the beginning and the end. You can hear it here of course, but the nature of flexi discs combined with my record player means that the speed is not very consistent throughout. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7896
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 November 2025
Tracks: 'Det' lige det' 

Manic Monday - The Bangles

I bought a copy of the Bangles' 'Manic Monday' in 1993 during a holiday in London, and I was pleasantly surprised by the sleeve design, because it looked a lot better than the slightly dull European version that lay in Dutch shops back in 1986. I never bothered to buy the European version, of course.

But then I found this version recently, and I never knew it existed! It is the European version of 'Manic Monday', but in a poster sleeve. The picture on the poster is similar to the one on the sleeve of 'If she knew what she wants', the single that followed 'Manic Monday'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7894
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 November 2025
Tracks: 'Manic Monday' / 'In a different light' 

Goodbye Lucille #1 - Prefab Sprout

There was a point in time in the second half of the Eighties when I was frankly obsessed with this song. I bought it was 'Johnny Johnny', when it was re-released in the UK, but it was originally called 'Goodbye Lucille #1', a title that was also used on the Golden hits volume 2 EP.

But this is the French release, presumably released earlier than that UK re-released. It features another track from the album Steve McQueen on the B-side. I haven't played the song in a while, but it is still as wonderful as it was when I first heard it.

My collection: 7" single no. 7891
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Goodbye Lucille #1' / 'Moving the river' 

No. 1 - Chaz Jankel

I don't know why Chas Jankel is suddenly called Chaz Jankel on this single, it might just be a typo. I have a few of his singles, but I'd never seen or heard this one.

'No. 1' was written by Jankel with Ian Dury and bassist Norman Watt-Roy. The single was released in 1985 as a track from his fourth album Looking at you. That album didn't sell that well. Jerry Moss, the recording executive of A&M, subsequently rejected the release of his fifth studio album, and terminated his recording contract with the label.

My collection: 7" single no. 7890
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'No. 1' / 'Tonight's the night' 

Under attack - Abba

So I bought a lot of Abba singles at the record fair last week, but only one came from Japan - my favourite country for singles. And this was the last one from Abba: 'Under attack', released after their The first ten years compilation album. 

The sleeve of this single is gorgeous and much better than other versions that were released elsewhere in the world. It just shows that the love and care that Japanese record companies had for their releases.

My collection: 7" single no. 7888
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Under attack' / 'You owe me one' 

Modern girl - Sheena Easton

Having bought a Japanese version of '9 to 5' at the record fair last week, I found another Japanese single from Sheena Easton with a different dealer that day. This time it was a version of 'Modern girl', re-released in a regular single sleeve (as opposed to the record company sleeve with an accompanying sheet of paper, as per usual in Japan). 

It was a curiosity, and a curiosity I wanted to have. Fortunately it was another one of those Japanese bargains stands, so I gleefully paid a few euros to own this beauty.

My collection: 7" single no. 7878
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Modern girl' / 'Paradox' 

99 Luftballons - Nena

When you compare the sleeve of '99 Luftballons' as it was released in Europe with this Japanese sleeve you notice that there's a lot of added characters - in Japanese, of course!

The orange star in the upper right corner proclaims: U.S. big hit. And indeed, the English version reached number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Whether this single was a big hit in Japan is unknown. Another interesting fact: the B-side is 'Nur geträumt', which was another single in Europe.

My collection: 7" single no. 7876
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: '99 Luftballons' / 'Nur geträumt'

Super trouper - Abba

This sleeve of 'Super Trouper' may look familiar to you, but this is a really odd release. It couples the song not with 'The piper', as per usual on European releases, but with 'On and on and on', the song that famously was released on 12" singles only in Europe.

This single was made in Brazil, which might explain this strange coupling of tracks. It's this kind of exceptions that make an impression on me. The reasoning behind it will probably never be cleared up.

My collection: 7" single no. 7875
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Super trouper' / 'On and on and on' 

Catch my fall - Billy Idol

Although I own a copy of 'Catch my fall', I was quite surprised to see this version of the single, because it comes with a completely new cover. It turns out that this version was released in 1988, when his record company released the compilation album Idol Songs. 

Besides the cover, this single doesn't really bring anything new: the A-side and B-side remain the same as on the special box set that was released along with this 'regular' single.

My collection: 7" single no. 7872
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Catch my fall' / 'All summer single' 

Rio - Duran Duran

Sometimes keeping a collection in good shape means that you have to buy a single again and again, as this blog has demonstrated quite well in recent years. There are some old purchases that I really regret, such as the single 'Rio' by Duran Duran without a picture sleeve. What was I thinking? 

Well maybe, back in 1989, I didn't believe that I would ever find a copy with a picture sleeve. I was in London and it was the first time I saw the single for real. I have to say that I only saw it a few times since, and I wasn't really motivated to buy it since 'I already had it'. But finally, a week ago, I corrected a very old mistake. 'Rio' is here!

My collection: 7" single no. 7870
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Rio' / 'The chauffeur (blue silver)' 

Tell me tomorrow - Princess

I bought 'Tell me tomorrow' back in 1986, soon after it didn't become a hit and the store wanted to get rid of the single by dropping the price. Unfortunately the sleeve was a bit worn then, and that bothered me ever since. 

Fortunately, almost four decades later, I got the opportunity to buy this UK pressing of the single. And this limited edition comes in yellow vinyl too! It looks likely that this single is going to be featured a few more times on this blog, because the single was actually released in four different colours.

My collection: 7" single no. 7868
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Tell me tomorrow' / 'Say I'm your number one (original demo)' 

What about love - Heart

The band Heart has a special place in my heart, ever since I first heard 'Magic Man' and 'Crazy on you' back when I was very young. Their self-titled album from 1985 is a firm favourite of mine, so it might not be too surprising that when I saw this Japanese pressing of 'What about love', I simply wanted to have it. Fortunately the dealer wasn't asking a lot for this item.

I did have the US pressing of this single, but without a picture sleeve, so this is a very nice addition to my collection. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7866
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025 
Tracks: 'What about love' / 'Heart of darkness'

Raw - Spandau Ballet

Two weeks ago I nearly bought this poster edition of Spandau Ballet's 'Raw', but decided to wait a little because I was going to the big record fair in Den Bosch. I'm glad I did, because I had the unique opportunity to buy this item for just 1 euro! That saved me a lot of postage costs.

And why would I want this poster edition? It's not because I'm particularly looking forward to seeing the boys from the band in great detail, but I'm just a sucker for limited editions. 'Raw' reached number 47 in the UK singles chart and number 27 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 7864
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Raw' / 'Raw (flip)' 

Rhythm is gonna get you - Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine

Sometimes I buy singles just for the sheer beauty of the artwork. This is a good example. Gloria Estefan used to be (!) very photogenic, and her record company realized this and released a lot of her singles as limited editions with posters and - in this case - a gatefold edition featuring a calendar. 

Inside this gatefold sleeve was a little booklet showing Gloria in all her glory, in six different photographs. 'Rhythm is gonna get you' is a catchy little song, and the fact that I could buy this little gem for just 1 euro was a good deal.

My collection: 7" single no. 7863
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Rhythm is gonna get you' / 'Give it up' 

9 to 5 - Sheena Easton

Although Sheena Easton's hit single was called 'Morning train' in Europe as a result of Dolly Parton's hit single already being called '9 to 5'. But in Japan, the single was unashamedly called '9 to 5'. The sleeve was a thing of beauty, with a very young Sheena Easton pictured in between the titles.  

Japanese singles tend to be very expensive for some reason, even when they're very old, but this time a dealer came up with the standard price of 3 euros. It was a good deal for this beautiful item.

My collection: 7" single no. 7865
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: '9 to 5' / 'Moody (My love)'

 

Private life - Grace Jones

Although Grace Jones' 'Private life' was originally released in 1980, the track was re-released in 1986 after the huge success of 'Slave to the rhythm'. This track is decidedly more sedate and brings you back to the days of disco and dub reggae. 

The song was actually written by Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders, and included on that band's debut album from 1979. She said: 'I wanted to do reggae, and I wrote "Private Life". When I first heard Grace's version I thought 'Now that's how it's supposed to sound!' In fact it was one of the high points of my career – what with Sly and Robbie being the masters, and Grace Jones with her scorching delivery.'

My collection: 7" single no. 7860
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Private life' / 'My Jamaican guy' 

Love conquistador - Da Vinci

Although I already own the single 'Conquistador', I felt it was amusing to also buy 'Love conquistador', which is the English version of that song. Of course, that version appears on the B-side of the other single, but for this release, the two sides are flipped and the English version suddenly becomes the A-side.

Obviously this is the German release of the song, whereas the other single is the original Portuguese release. It's interesting to compare how the photograph is cropped on this sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 7851
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Love conquistador' / 'Conquistador'

Love's great adventure - Ultravox

Next month sees the release of an expanded deluxe edition of Ultravox's The Collection, a 'greatest hits' album originally released in 1984 to celebrate the success of the band up until then. The new track on that album was called 'Love's great adventure', and it was a very unexpected and nice surprise that that track was released as a cd-single and 10" single recently. 

Both formats feature a new '80s style' remix by Blank & Jones, along with a few other unreleased tracks. Some would label these four tracks as 'inessential', but I think Ultravox fans are delighted with this release - just as I am. 

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Ultravox website, received 12 November 2025
Tracks: 'Love's great adventure (Blank & Jones so80s Reconstruction)', 'All stood still (12" extended re-mix extra)' / 'Love's great adventure (Steven Wilson instrumental mix)', 'Hymn (alternative instrumental outtake)'