'Oye mi canto' showed off some of Gloria Estefan's musical roots, much like in the style of her earlier music with Miami Sound Machine, and is in the style of the earlier hit 'Conga', which is included on this single as the B-side track.
Released as the fourth single from her album 'Cuts both ways', it reached number 48 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 16 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 1058 Found: London, October 17, 1989 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'Oye mi canto' / 'Conga'
In the song 'If', Janet Jackson is consumed with sexual fantasies of a man who doesn't even know she exists. An electric guitar and a sample from Diana Ross & the Supremes' 1969 song 'Someday we'll be together' are the musical ingredients for this fast-paced track. The single contains a B-side track called 'One more chance', which is a cover of a song her brother Randy wrote, produced, and performed for The Jacksons' 1984 album 'Victory'.
'If' was released as the second single from Janet's album 'janet.' in the summer of 1993. It reached number 1 in Canada, number 14 in the UK singles chart, number 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 10 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 2004 Found: HMV, London, October 18, 1993 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'If' / 'One more chance'
The tale of Milli Vanilli is all too familiar: they had a lot of success in the late Eighties, then people found out that they didn't actually sing the songs themselves and started burning their records. I never quite understood that attitude: you like a song or you don't, and it doesn't really matter who sings them, does it? Sure, it is misleading, but Frank Farian was never the most honest man in pop: Boney M's songs were rarely sung by the band members either - and no-one ever complained about that.
Anyway, 'Girl you know it's true' is a fine example of a Milli Vanilli track. (And let's be honest: when you've heard one, you've heard them all.) This remix is of special interest for Boney M fans. What a coincidence!
My collection: 12" single no. 528 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 199X Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Girl you know it's true (Super club mix)' / 'Girl you know it's true (radio mix)', 'Magic touch'
E.S.P. stands for Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability, but it's also the title track of the Bee Gees' 1987 album, which was released as a single in the autumn of 1987. The acapella intro on the album version was edited out for the single version.
The single reached number 51 in the UK singles chart and number 32 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 2596 Found: Utrecht, December 30, 1995 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'E.S.P.' / 'Overnight'
Syrupy sweet and slightly silly, the ballad 'Babe' was a big hit at the end of the Seventies for the American band Styx. Written by band member Dennis DeYoung as a birthday present for his wife Suzanne, it was not originally intended to be a Styx track, but the band decided to include it on their album 'Cornerstone' upon hearing the demo by DeYoung and Styx membes John and Chuck Panozzo.
The song became Styx's first and last US number-one single, also reaching number 6 in the UK singles chart and number 9 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 1089 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, October 27, 1988 Cost: 1 guilders Tracks: 'Babe' / 'I'm OK'
'Strangelove' may well be one of Depeche Mode's best singles ever. The melody, the hook, the lyric and the instrumentation: it's all damn near perfect. The band was able to combine the upbeat poppy influences of their earlier work with the gloomy, disturbing vibe of their later work.
I wasn't the only one to appreciate the single: even in the Netherlands, where Depeche Mode have always had a hard time reaching the charts, it peaked at number 24 in the Dutch Top 40. In the UK singles chart, 'Strangelove' hit number 16.
My collection: 7" single no. 523 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Strangelove' / 'Pimpf'
I remember the feeling of disillusionment when I first heard 'When tomorrow comes' by the Eurythmics. They were always known for their synthpop tracks, but on this song, there was literally no synthesizer in sight. And weren't there already too many guitar bands?
'When tomorrow comes' isn't a bad song, though. The album 'Revenge' would continue this rock sound, making the synthpop label on Eurythmics a bit misplaced anyway. Meanwhile, this single only reached number 30 in the UK singles chart and number 19 in the Dutch Top 40, while becoming a top 10 hit in Scandinavia and Australia.
My collection: 7" single no. 463 Found: V&D, Den Haag, 1986 Cost: 3 guilders Tracks: 'When tomorrow comes' / 'Take your pain away'
Released in August 1987, 'Whenever you're ready' was the first single from Five Star's third album 'Between the lines'. It is a bouncy popsong full of subtle sounds and a rather straightforward chorus-verse structure.
The single reached number 11 in the UK singles chart and number 18 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 1184 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, March 3, 1990 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Whenever you're ready' / 'Forever yours'
'I'm scared of the changes' says a little voice in this track, 'Suspended in gaffa' by Kate Bush. It's a minor detail in the enormous soundscape created by Kate Bush in this track, but one that caused me to listen to this track over and over again from 1982 until today. The song lyric is about seeing something one really wants, then not being able to see or experience it ever again. The 'gaffa' of the title and chorus refers to gaffer tape, the tough black tape used by technicians in film and concert industries.
Released as the third single from her fourth album 'The dreaming' - with the exception of the UK where 'There goes a tenner' was released instead - it was not a commercial success for Kate Bush. I actually own two versions of this single: I bought the first one, a German pressing, as soon as it came out. Just four months ago, I found the Dutch edition with a slightly different sleeve.
My collection: 7" single no. 172 / no. 4116 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982 Cost: 3,5 guilders Tracks: 'Suspended in gaffa' / 'Ne t'en fuis pas'
Although 'On my own' was a duet between Patti Labelle and Michael McDonald, both were in separate cities when they recorded their individual parts. They were mixed together during mastering. This was reflected in the music video, which showed Labelle and McDonald performing the song on two different locations. 'On my own' couldn't have been a more apt title for this song.
The track was taken from LaBelle's album 'Winner in you' and written and produced by Burt Bacharach and his former wife Carole Bayer Sager. The single reached number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 and the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 448 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, August 26, 1986 Cost: 4 guilders Tracks: 'On my own' / 'Stir it up'
Sometimes even Wikipedia is intriguing. In the description for 'Everlasting love' by Howard Jones it says: 'The video had mummies.' I'm sure this is true, but having never seen the video, it was a bit puzzling. These days, fortunately, you can hop over to YouTube and see it for yourself. (Proving the point that this blog is still a journey of discovery for me too.)
The song was co-produced by ex-Tears for Fears band member Ian Stanley. It was released as the first single from Howard Jones' 1989 album 'Cross that line'. It reached number 12 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, while stalling at number 62 on the UK Singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 1019 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989 Cost: 60p Tracks: 'Everlasting love' / 'The brutality of fact'
The Frank Boeijen Groep had to come up with another hit after their previous single 'Zwart wit' had been such a convincing top 5 hit. '1.000.000 sterren' ('1,000,0000 stars') was a song that didn't meet these expectations, although it was still able to reach number 29 in the Dutch Top 40.
Having been successful with their first music video for 'Zwart wit', another music video was made for this single. While 'Zwart wit' was shown sometimes in later years, the video for '1.000.000 sterren' disappeared from tv screens forever.
My collection: 7" single no. 229 Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1984 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: '1.000.000 sterren' / 'Het antwoord (live)'
'Aufrecht geh'n' ('Walk tall') was the German entry in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Mary Roos. The song was composed by Michael Reinecke with lyrics by Michael Kunze, who previously had written the lyrics to Silver Convention's 1977 entry 'Telegram'. This was also Mary Roos' second Eurovision entry; she had represented Germany at the 1972 Contest with 'Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben', which finished third in a field of 18 competitors.
Obviously, the Germans were hoping for a similar result in 1984. But this time around Mary Roos wasn't so lucky: she finished 13th in a field of 19 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 4392 Found: Second Life Music, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Aufrecht geh'n' / 'Wer sagt, daß ich verlier''
This is the last single by Mylene Farmer to be released on the 7" vinyl format. It was released to coincide with the release of the album 'Dance remixes', which was a collection of remixes of previous hits by Mylene. The track was originally recorded for a charity compilation album coordinated by Etienne Daho, which would benefit AIDS research. However, it was refused for that album, because the lyric was considered to be too ambiguous and seemed to advocate sexual intercourse without the use of a condom. Mylene did refute these claims, but in the end she recorded an acoustic version of an other track for the charity album, and this track ended up being a single.
The single reached number 9 in the French singles chart and number 8 in the Belgian (Wallonia) singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2629 Found: Record fair, March 16, 1996 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Que mon coeur lâche' / 'Que mon coeur lâche'
The third and final single from Clouseau's second English language album 'In every small town' (1993) was the beautiful ballad 'Worship'. A simple yet effective track with just vocals and keyboards, it is one of the essential love songs in my collection.
The single was not a commercial success, but I'm still happy to have found a 7" vinyl copy. These were the days that 7" singles were becoming extinct, after all.
My collection: 7" single no. 2844 Found: Record fair, April 5, 1997 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'Worship' / 'How long'
'Burning bush' was one of those strange synthpop singles from 1984 that irritated me at first, until I grew to like it later. Although none of the four singles from Savage Progress were a hit in the UK, 'Burning bush' is probably their best known song.
This 12" single features both the A- and B-sides of the 7" single, plus a remix entitled 'Mad Mix II'. It's one of those remixes you either love or loathe. I've still not decided, though.
My collection: 12" single no. 416 Found: Record fair, 1999 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Burning bush (Mad Mix II)' / 'Burning bush', 'Tears of love'
David Bowie played a starring role in the Jim Henson movie 'Labyrinth' and also contributed music to the soundtrack of that movie. 'Underground' was selected as the lead single, a deviation from Bowie's catalogue in that it sounded slightly like a gospel track, with a large chorus of backing vocalists and blues guitarist Albert Collins.
The single reached number 21 in the UK charts and number 6 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 1459 Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 27, 1991 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Underground' / 'Underground (instrumental)'
'Brothers in arms' is a classic album by Dire Straits, which spawned the hit single 'Money for nothing'. A few years later, things got turned around: the compilation album 'Money for nothing' spawned the single 'Brothers in arms'. The single was re-released to promote the compilation album, which came out just in time for Christmas 1988.
'Brothers in arms' was a hit in the UK in 1985, but this re-release was unsuccessful in all territories. For me, it was the first opportunity to get this track on a 7" single.
My collection: 7" single no. 695 Found: Den Haag, December 5, 1988 Cost: - (present) Tracks: 'Brothers in arms' / 'Going home (live)'
'If I ever lose my faith in you' was released as the second single from Sting's 1993 album 'Ten summoner's tales' in January 1993.
The single reached number 17 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, also winning a Grammy award in 1994 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. In the Dutch top 40, the single reached number 15 and in the UK singles chart it reached number 14.
My collection: 7" single no. 2345 Found: Record Exchange, London, June 26, 1995 Cost: 50p Tracks: 'If I ever lose my faith in you' / 'Every breath you take (live)'
Although Howard Jones's current album 'Ordinary heroes' is full of ballads, none of them can come close to this epic ballad, 'Little bit of snow'. It's a very intimate work, but this is what makes it so special. A track on his third album 'One to one', it was an unlikely single release.
Hence, the UK single release was the only one: the song was not released as a single in other territories. The success wasn't overwhelming either: during a one week chart run, it reached number 70 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2529 Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, November 1, 1995 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: 'Little bit of snow' / 'Let it flow'
Recorded as a track on Foreigner's 1987 album 'Inside information', 'I don't want to live without you' was released as the second single from that album.
The single became the band's sixteenth and - to this day - final entry in the Billboard top 40, peaking at number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single did not chart in the UK, but reached number 19 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 1978 Found: London, October 17, 1993 Cost: 50p Tracks: 'I don't want to live without you' / 'Face to face'
'Talking in your sleep' was written and recorded by the Romantics in 1983. It was a hit in the USA, but failed to chart in the UK.
The song was picked up in 1984 by Bucks Fizz. Their version was recorded on their fourth album 'I hear talk' and released as a single. Their version reached number 15 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 3143 Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 18, 1999 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Talking in your sleep' / 'Don't think you're fooling me'
After having been a member of the Frank Boeijen Groep for a year, Maarten Peters embarked on a solo career that gave him some success in the second half of the Eighties. His first taste of chart success came when he released the single 'Away', a song written by himself and produced by Jos Haagmans, not coincidentally a member of the Frank Boeijen Groep.
The single reached number 36 in the Dutch Top 40 during a 4 week chart run. Not a high placing, but then better things were on their way in the years to come.
My collection: 7" single no. 514 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1986 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Away' / 'Away (instrumental)'
Although this single was released in 1983, I didn't hear it until 1988. When I did hear it, it was hard to believe that this was a Hot Chocolate track: it was a poppy track, but lacked the funky feel of most of their material. Still, I liked it a lot and after some time hunting for this single, I found it.
'I gave you my heart (didn't I)' was the last original hit single for Hot Chocolate in the UK, peaking at number 13 in early 1984. Although the band never formally broke up, they stopped releasing original material in 1984. Remixes and reissues did manage to get into the UK singles chart subsequently, but this single represents the end of Hot Chocolate as an active band.
My collection: 7" single no. 841 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 27, 1989 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'I gave you my heart (Didn't I)' / 'Jeannie'
Released in 1983, 'Hey now, whatcha gonna do' was another single by José that failed to chart in the Dutch Top 40. The song was written and produced by Pim Koopman and stayed faithful to the uptempo, major key popsongs that José was known for even when she was still a member of the girl trio Luv'. Still, the single failed to become a success.
I bought the single when it came out, and always wondered about the photograph on the sleeve: for a woman, the upper body looks decidedly, er, flat.
My collection: 7" single no. 219 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1983 Cost: 3,5 guilders Tracks: 'Hey now whatcha gonna do' / 'Hey now whatcha gonna do (instrumental)'
Micky was born as Miguel Ángel Carreño Schmelter in Madrid in 1943. He began his music career in 1962 leading the band Micky y Los Tonys, which released 30 singles and 5 albums. He started a solo career in the Seventies. After his single 'Bye bye fräulein' (1976) entered the charts in Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, he was chosen to represent Spain during the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest.
The song 'Enséñame a cantar' ('Teach me to sing') was written by Fernando Arbex. On the night of the Contest, it finished ninth in a field of 18 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 4458 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received January 28, 2010 Cost: 1,5 euro Tracks: 'Enséñame a cantar' / 'Profundamente'
'Young Turks' is a track on Rod Stewart's 1981 album 'Tonight I'm yours'. It was released as the second single from the album. In English slang, a 'Young Turk' is a rebellious kind of teenager who would go against the grain.
The single reached number 5 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 11 on the UK Singles chart. In the Dutch Top 40, the single reached number 9.
My collection: 7" single no. 445 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, August 9, 1986 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Young Turks' / 'Tora tora tora'
The last single taken from Lisa Stansfield's 1993 album 'So natural' was the dance track 'Little bit of heaven'. Written by Lisa Stansfield and her husband Ian Devaney, it was one of the few uptempo tracks on the album, and a bit of a return to form.
The single reached number 32 in the UK singles chart during a 4 week chart run. After this, Stansfield's career went into a nosedive, as subsequent albums failed to impress the recordbuying audiences.
My collection: 7" single no. 2091 Found: April 16, 1994 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Little bit of heaven' / 'Gonna try it anyway'
'Queen of rain' was originally written and recorded for Roxette's highly successful album 'Joyride' and considered as the closing track. When it was replaced by another ballad called 'Perfect day', the song reappeared on Roxette's next album, 'Tourism'.
It was released as the second single from that album in the autumn of 1992. It reached number 12 in Sweden, number 19 in Germany, number 28 in the UK singles chart and number 26 in the Dutch Top 40. The B-side was recorded live at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia in December 1991.
My collection: 7" single no. 1781 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, October 31, 1992 Cost: 6,5 guilders Tracks: 'Queen of rain' / 'It must have been love (live)'
'Empty garden' was written by Elton John after his friend John Lennon was murdered by an obsessed fan in front of his New York City apartment on December 8, 1980. He first performed the song live at Madison Square Garden in 1982, with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and their son Sean in the audience.
The 'Empty garden' referred to in the song is Madison Square Garden, where John Lennon did a duet with Elton in 1974 during his last stage performance. Elton has since performed the song several times at Madison Square Garden. The single was released in the summer of 1982, reaching number 13 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 51 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2435 Found: All that music, Leiden, August 19, 1995 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Empty garden' / 'Take me down to the ocean'
'Adieu sweet Bahnhof' is the title of the Nits' 1984 album, which they recorded with producer Jaap Eggermont, who became famous internationally thanks to his 'Stars on 45' project. The song was the title track of that album.
It is also the title of a single, which the Nits released five years later. The single version was recorded live and included on their 3LP box 'Urk', a collection of live recordings made in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Moscow in the winter of 1988. The single reached number 26 in the Dutch Top 40 and was their last hit single until 1992's 'Soap bubble box'.
My collection: 7" single no. 1124 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1989 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Adieu sweet Bahnhof (live)' / 'In the Dutch mountains (live)'
As the Eighties drew to a close, the career of Spandau Ballet was also seemingly coming to an end. The album 'Heart like a sky' did not meet the expectations commercially speaking, and the singles taken from the album also had little success in the charts.
'Empty spaces' was the third single from 'Heart like a sky', and stalled at number 94 in the UK singles chart. In other territories, the single did not chart at all.
My collection: 7" single no. 1142 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, January 13, 1990 Cost: 6,5 guilders Tracks: 'Empty spaces' / 'Fight for ourselves (live)'
'That's the way love goes' was written and produced by Janet Jackson with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jackson came up with the title, inspired by the downbeat tone of the music created by Jam and Lewis.
Although the record company wanted to have 'If' as the first single from Janet's new album in 1993, Jam and Lewis argued that 'That's the way love goes' would be the better choice. They were right: it was a number 1 hit in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, also reaching number 5 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 2 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2003 Found: HMV, London, October 18, 1993 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'That's the way love goes' / 'That's the way love goes (instrumental)'
Metallica's James Hetfield wrote this song while on the phone with his girlfriend. Since he held the phone with one hand, he plucked the four open strings with the other, which eventually made up the first two bars of the song. The lyrics were also dedicated to his girlfriend, which talk about being 'so close, no matter how far', indicating the bond they shared even when Hetfield was on tour. Initially, the song wasn't meant to go on the album, and Hetfield had written it for himself, but when drummer Lars Ulrich heard it, it was recorded for the album anyway.
The single reached number 5 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 6 in the UK singles chart. The band re-recorded the track with a full orchestra in 1999 for the album 'S&M'.
My collection: 7" single no. 1816 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, January 9, 1993 Cost: 6,5 guilders Tracks: 'Nothing else matters' / 'Enter sandman (live)'
Elpida Karayiannopoulou was born October 1, 1950 in Spercheiada, Greece. At 14, she moved to Athens with her two older brothers to study. After this, she started a career in music when she became a singer of an orchestra, eventually recording an album with them and then forging her own career.
She became internationally known when she represented Greece during the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Socrates'. She finished eighth out of 19 competitors. She returned to the contest in 1986, representing Cyprus with the song 'Tora zo'.
My collection: 7" single no. 4570 Found: Marktplaats.nl, received February 20, 2010 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Socrates' / 'Pou na ise agapi'
Written by Susanna Hoffs with Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, 'Eternal flame' was inspired by two eternal flames: one for Elvis Presley that Michael Steele saw when the band was at Graceland, and one at a local synagogue in Palm Springs which Steinberg attended as a child. Steinberg: 'Susanna was talking about The Bangles having visited Graceland, and she said there was some type of shrine to Elvis that included some kind of eternal flame. As soon as those words were mentioned, I immediately thought of the synagogue in the town of Palm Springs, California where I grew up. I remember during our Sunday school class they would walk us through the sanctuary. There was one little red light and they told us it was called the eternal flame.'
Released as a single from the Bangles' 1988 album 'Everything', it reached number 1 in the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Australia, Ireland, Norway and Sweden.
My collection: 7" single no. 734 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, February 7, 1989 Cost: 6,5 guilders Tracks: 'Eternal flame' / 'What I meant to say'
American-born Dutch singer Lori Spee released her third album 'Intuition' in 1983. The single 'Sugar' was taken from this album in January 1984. Supported by a concert tour in the Netherlands, the single still didn't manage to conquer a place in the Dutch Top 40.
It is actually a nice song, although it was maybe a bit too 'middle of the road' in this synthpop-dominated era in music.
My collection: 7" single no. 1236 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 25, 1990 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Sugar' / 'Time alone'
Personally, I think the best Police track is 'Synchronicity II', as it displays an amount of aggression that is not equalled in any other piece of music I know. The title refers to Carl Jung's theory of Synchronicity. It tells the story of an emasculated husband and harried father whose home, work life, and environment are terrible and depressing. One of the best lines in the track is 'every single meeting with his so-called superior/is a humiliating kick in the crotch', as the visual image underlines the music so well.
According to Sting: 'Jung believed there was a large pattern to life, that it wasn't just chaos. Our song 'Synchronicity II' is about two parallel events that aren't connected logically or causally, but symbolically.'
I have two copies of this single: the regular UK single featuring the B-side 'Once upon a daydream', and a Brazilian copy, which features the earlier single 'Wrapped around your finger' on the B-side. 'Synchronicity II' reached number 17 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 1166 / no. 3247 Found: Record fair, 1990 / London, October 20, 2000 Cost: 5 guilders / 1 pound Tracks (no. 1166): 'Synchronicity II' / 'Wrapped around your finger' Tracks (no. 3247): 'Synchronicity II' / 'Once upon a daydream'
Gry Johansen was born August 28, 1964. She represented Denmark during the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Kloden drejer' ('The planet's spinning'). The song finished 17th out of 20 competitors. She made two further bids for Eurovision in Denmarkt in 1989 and 2000, but both times she was unsuccessful.
This single features an English version of 'Kloden drejer', entitled 'We're like starlight'. It was released in several European countries, but without commercial success.
My collection: 7" single no. 4407 Found: Second Life Music, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'We're like starlight' / 'For one more night'
Following Depeche Mode's single 'A question of lust', 'A question of time' was released as Depeche Mode's 17th single in August 1986. The track was remixed for the single, running at a slightly faster temp and pitch than the album version on 'Black celebration'. The accompanying music video was the first to be directed by Anton Corbijn and brought forth a big relationship with him and the band which still lasts to this day.
The single reached number 17 in the UK singles chart, but was unsuccessful in many other territories.
My collection: 7" single no. 474 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1985 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'A question of time (remix)' / 'Black celebration (live)'
David Bowie has claimed that 'Modern love' was inspired by Little Richard, and it maintains the album's theme of a struggle between God and man. It was the first track on his 1983 album 'Let's dance' and released as its third single.
By the time 'Modern love' was issued and edited as a single, Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour was underway. The track had become a popular encore on the tour. A live version, recorded in Montreal on July 13, was on the B-side. It reached number 2 in the UK singles chart, number 9 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 14 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 1253 Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 24, 1990 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Modern love' / 'Modern love (live)'
This promotional 12" single was released in the USA in support of 'Spark', the first single from Tori Amos's 1998 album 'From the choirgirl hotel'. It is a very interesting item, because of the B-side: the instrumental version of 'Spark' was not released on any other format, either commercially or on any other promotional item. This is why this 12" single is still sought after among Tori Amos fans.
I was lucky enough to find a copy during a record fair in the Netherlands, and I've treasured the item ever since.
My collection: 12" single no. 365 Found: Record fair, 1998 Cost: 25 guilders Tracks: 'Spark' / 'Spark (instrumental)'
According to Jeff Lynne, 'The diary of Horace Wimp' is 'a song about a lucky lad who somehow defies the odds and gets the girl. Really wild use of the vocoder.' Originally released on the album 'Discovery' (1979) by the Electric Light Orchestra, it was subsequently released as a single.
The single reached number 8 in the UK singles chart, number 10 in Ireland and number 48 in Australia.
My collection: 7" single no. 1023 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989 Cost: 10p Tracks: 'The diary of Horace Wimp' / 'Down home town'
During the first half of the Eighties, the Dutch band Doe Maar achieved the status of superband within the boundaries of the Netherlands with their Dutch language songs. They were going in against the trend of bands singing in English, during a period when Dutch language music was anything but cool. With a mixture of ska and funk (simply named 'Skunk' by the band) they created music that had an inexplicable appeal to young girls.
The single 'De bom' ('The bomb') was all about the threat of nuclear weapons that ran rampant during this cold war period. The lyric underlined the meaninglessness of life when a bomb was hanging over our heads. It gave the band their first number 1 hit in November 1982 - and in the two years that followed, Doe Maar's fanbase was often compared to the one of the Beatles during their heydays.
My collection: 7" single no. 2250 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, March 4, 1995 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'De bom' / 'Skunk', 'Man o man'
'It's alright (Baby's coming back)' was a slight return by Eurythmics to the electronic-based sounds of their earlier albums. Driven by a subtle drum machine track, Lennox sings a straightforward ode to a lover returning to her after a long absence. The instrumental passages feature some elaborate multitracked harmony guitar parts from Stewart.
The track was released as the fourth and final single from their album 'Be yourself tonight'. It peaked at number 12 in the UK singles chart and number 20 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 2027 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 19, 1993 Cost: 50p Tracks: 'It's alright (Baby's coming back)' / 'Conditioned soul'
'Another weekend' was a comeback of sorts for Five Star. It was the first single from their fourth album 'Rock the world'. Due to declining record sales, the group were intent on changing their clean-cut image. They opted for a new, raunchier leather-clad look, whilst the track demonstrated a slightly harder edged dance sound. Vocals sounded a bit like the Michael Jackson style of singing, with lots of exclamations.
The single was released as a limited edition in the UK, featuring a gatefold sleeve and five 7" square stickers, each featuring one band member. The single reached number 18 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 3192 Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 16, 2000 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'Another weekend' / 'The mews'
I wouldn't exactly mind if Margaret Thatcher, the former leader of the UK's Conservative Party, would have a very long, painful and unpleasant death bed. I don't often wish for bad things for people, but that sorry excuse for a woman has caused so much grief in her country, that she deserves nothing less than a revengeful payback.
Thankfully, I am not alone in feeling this way: Morrissey once recorded the very pleasant track 'Margaret on the guillotine' (with the repeated line 'When will you die?') and Simply Red recorded 'Your mirror' on their 1992 album 'Stars'. It is an extended critique of the Thatcherite politics. The song criticises the selfishness, individualism and nationalism (including attachment to nuclear weapons) that typified it. The opening verse references Thatcher's famous 'There is no such thing as society' speech. The song suggests these attitudes are inhuman and unnatural by contrasting them with the human instinct towards sharing, and (more fancifully) with the natural environment - the birds singing their 'faithful song' - and a sense of inner beauty. The single reached number 17 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 1688 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, August 1, 1992 Cost: 6,5 guilders Tracks: 'Your mirror' / 'Your mirror (live)'
'Oye mi canto' showed off some of Gloria Estefan's musical roots, much like in the style of her earlier music with Miami Sound Machine, and is in the style of the earlier hit 'Conga', which is included on this single as the B-side track.
