The foolish thing to do - Heaven 17 featuring Jimmy Ruffin

Heaven 17 teamed up with Jimmy Ruffin to record this single, 'The foolish thing to do', in 1986. Ruffin was famous for the hit single 'What becomes of the broken hearted' and further hit singles recorded on the Motown label in the late Sixties and early Seventies, whereas Heaven 17 had had several hit singles in the first half of the eighties. Working together, they made a modern sounding soul song. Unfortunately, their effort wasn't rewarded by the audience: the single didn't chart anywhere.

For me, it was the first Heaven 17 single I ever bought. I quite resisted buying Heaven 17 singles because my sister was so into them. She was putting down my favourites, so it was only fair that I did the same with hers. But in the end, I couldn't resist this song.

My collection: 7" single no. 1408
Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, April 3, 1991
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'The foolish thing to do (version 1)' / 'My sensitivity (gets in the way)'
Download: here

Do they know it's Christmas? - Band Aid

The song that embodied the Christmas spirit in the Eighties was Band Aid's 'Do they know it's Christmas?'. The project initiated by Midge Ure and Bob Geldof started when the two met up and worked out this song Bob had written in a rather rudimentary way. They phoned up the musician friends they knew and before you knew it you had a media spectacle of unprecedented size.

I bought the single as soon as it came out, although, strangely, I didn't like the song that much. There were just so many of my eighties idols participated that I felt I couldn't pass up on this historic single. Two decades later, it's somehow reassuring (or troubling) that everything has stayed the same in Africa: it's still a continent of war, hunger and drought.

My collection: 7" single no. 249

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1984

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Do they know it's Christmas?' / 'Feed the world'

Download: 12" single 'Do they know it's Christmas?', including both tracks (password: burningtheground-djpault.blogspot.com )

Let me go - Heaven 17

Heaven 17 formed when Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware split from their earlier group Human League and formed production company British Electric Foundation (BEF). After releasing one LP they recruited their friend Glenn Gregory on vocals to form Heaven 17. 'Let me go' was their last unsuccessful single before they released 'Temptation', a song that would storm the international charts.

I boycotted Heaven 17 as part of a bitter row with my sister, spanning many years. She was putting some of my favourite artists down, and so I felt it was my duty to do the same with her favourites. When I saw Heaven 17 live as part of the Here and Now tour in 2001, I had to change my mind. 'Let me go' is my most recent Heaven 17 purchase; maybe there's more to follow.

My collection: 7" single no. 3472

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, December 11, 2008

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Let me go' / 'Let me go (instrumental)'

Download: here