Aubrey - Bread

The American band Bread consisted of David Gates, Jimmy Griffin, Robb Royer, Mike Botts and, later, Larry Knechtel. They signed to Elektra records in 1968. 'Aubrey' (1973) was their last hit before the band split up due to internal conflicts.

I got to know Bread thanks to a compilation cd owned by my sister. My interest in the group was so big that I started to buy their singles initially. Only later did I eventually buy the same compilation cd myself. I found this particular single, made in Japan, in a shop in the centre of Brussels, amid a whole collection of Japanese singles for discount prices.

My collection: 7" single no. 1538

Found: Record shop, Brussels, 1991

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Aubrey' / 'Didn't even know her name'

Download: Album 'Guitar man', including both tracks

El Norte - Cock Robin

'El Norte' was the third and last single taken from their second album 'After here through midland'. Cock Robin had found some success in the Netherlands with four of their singles, but the second single 'The biggest fool of all' didn't reach the charts. CBS Records tried again with 'El Norte', and commissioned popular remixer Ben Liebrand to deliver some remixes of the track for the 12" single.

As always, Ben Liebrand did a very decent job with this track. He added lots of extra beats to the track to give it extra power. The setup wasn't successful: 'El Norte' flopped and Cock Robin were back into the studio to record their third album for CBS. It would be their last...

My collection: 12" single no. 341

Found: ?

Cost: ?

Tracks: 'El Norte (Reinforced dance mix)', 'For dear life' / 'El Norte (El Club mix)', 'El Norte (Los Bonus Beats)'

Download: here

Elle adore le noir pour sortir le soir - T.C. Matic

Sometimes all a song needs is exposure at the right time to get into my record collection. A week before I was going to a record fair, I saw 'Elle adore le noir pour sortir le soir' by T.C. Matic on television. I loved the melody and the rough vocals. If I'd heard the song at another time I might have completely forgotten about it - but now I found the single soon afterwards. And I was lucky, because it's a great song from an otherwise uninteresting band - IMHO of course.

T.C. Matic was a Belgian rock band, mixing diverse styles like new wave, blues, funk, hard rock, avant-garde and even French chansons, resulting in nervous metropolitan rock. The band performed all over Europe, but without international success. They broke up in 1986 and frontman Arno Hintjes pursued a solo career.

My collection: 7" single no. 1524

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 21, 1991

Cost: 6,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Elle adore le noir pour sortir le soir' / 'Act like a dog'

Download: here

Don't tell me - Blancmange

Blancmange is a jelly or pudding dessert made of milk, sugar, gelatin and flavouring. It is also the name of the band formed by Neil Arthur and instrumentalist Stephen Luscombe in Harrow, London in 1979. Their single 'Don't tell me' made it to no. 8 in the UK singles chart in May 1984. It is one of the most energetic pop songs of that era.

I expected much from the 12" single of this track, hoping to get an extended version of this. Frankly, I was disappointed: the remix breaks the tension built up in the original version and adds chaotic sound effects. No wonder I didn't buy another 12" by Blancmange after this...

My collection: 12" single no. 257

Found: Record Exchange, London, 1995

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'Don't tell me [extended]' / 'Get out of that'

Download: here

Désenchantée - Mylene Farmer

To people outside of France, the French music scene is somewhat of a mystery. It seems a very isolated country in this respect. Radio stations are obligated to play a percentage of French music, and because of this, French music has become very popular in France. Outside of France, no-one really cares.

This is also how a megastar in France can go almost unnoticed in the rest of Europe. Mylene Farmer is a good example: in France she's compared to people like Madonna in terms of popularity. It was only when she released the single 'Désenchantée' that she reached other European charts. In the Netherlands, she made it to no. 18. And into my record collection. It was actually the start of my Mylene Farmer collection - because she does make damn fine music.

My collection: 7" single no. 1487

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, July 3, 1991

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Désenchantée' / 'Désenchantée (Chaos mix)'

Download: cd-single 'Désenchantée', including both tracks

You know what to do - Carly Simon

Carly Elisabeth Simon was born on June 25, 1945. Her solo music career started in 1971 with the debut album 'Carly Simon', quickly followed by a second album entitled 'Anticipation'. She scored the biggest success of her career in 1972 with the song 'You're so vain'. Further hits were 'Nobody does it better' (taken from the James Bond movie 'The spy who loved me'), 'Coming around again' and the classic album 'Boys in the trees'.

'You know what to do' was released in 1983 and only made no. 36 in the UK, whereas it didn't even chart in the Netherlands. I liked the song a lot, though, and so I bought it six years later when the opportunity presented itself.

My collection: 7" single no. 897

Found: All that music, Leiden, June 23, 1989

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'You know what to do' / 'Orpheus'

Download: Album 'Hello big man', including both tracks

D for Desire - All about Eve

I found out about All About Eve thanks to a music special on television. Their tracks 'Every angel' and 'Martha's harbour' were the first I heard and after buying those singles I started to become more interested. It didn't take me long to want to have their complete output. Thus the nightmare of the collector soon became apparent: that elusive first single. 'D for Desire' was originally released in 1985 - and only on 12" single.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a 7" single of this track. After buying it for a rather high amount, I found out that this particular release was a bootleg. It didn't matter: I had those first two rare tracks - and I would never find the 12" single for a reasonable price anyway.

My collection: 7" single no. 1349

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, October 28, 1990

Cost: 20 guilders

Tracks: 'D for Desire' / 'Don't follow me (March Hare)'

Download: here

It's my life - Talk Talk

These days, Talk Talk's 'It's my life' is universally seen as a classic track. Remarkably, it didn't reach very high places in the charts when it was released. It didn't even make the top 20 in most countries. But it's still a track everyone knows, even now.

I was very impressed with Talk Talk when they burst onto the scene in 1984. I didn't, however, get a chance to buy all their singles. So of course I had to buy them later. In this case, it led to an interesting collector's item: the Brazilian single contained the extended version on the A-side and the single version on the B-side. It was the first time I bought a 12" version on a 7" single.

My collection: 7" single no. 1218

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, April 22, 1990

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'It's my life (extended version)' / 'It's my life'

Download: extended version, album version

Emotional jungle - David Roach

Again, it was my sister who discovered David Roach. His 'Emotional jungle' was a great, but very obscure, track. David's album 'I love sax' was in the UK album chart for one week, and the single never even reached the singles chart. My sister bought a copy of the single and we played it for weeks on end. Later on she also found the 12" single.

I had to wait for a long time until I located the 12" myself: eleven years to be exact. Finding a rare record like that is always a triumph.

My collection: 12" single no. 250

Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 1995

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Emotional jungle [extended]' / 'Sleepwalkers'

Download: here

Highway to hell - AC/DC

In 1979, the relatively new TV station Veronica broadcast a live concert by AC/DC during their music programme Countdown. I loved seeing this strange man in a school uniform performing this "horrible music" (quote from my parents). It was no wonder that only a week later I would buy a discounted single from this band. 'Highway to hell' was the loudest piece of "garbage" (again...) I owned at that point.

The rockers from Australia are more famous, of course, for their 1980 anthem 'Whole lotta Rosie'. I would buy that one much later...

My collection: 7" single no. 25

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1979

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Highway to hell' / 'If you want blood you've got it'

Download: Album 'Highway to hell', including both tracks

Don't give up on us - David Soul

David Soul was born in Chicago, Illinois as David Richard Solberg. He gained superstar status in the 1970's when he played the role of detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson on the TV series Starsky & Hutch. While this series was still broadcast, David launched a successful singing career. His debut single, 'Don't give up on us' reached no. 1 in America and the UK. In the Netherlands, it made no. 3.

I got to know the song, like many songs in the late Seventies, through the radio and the singles collection my sister had. Twelve years later, I bought my own copy of that single. It's still a beautiful ballad.

My collection: 7" single no. 807

Found: All that music, Leiden, May 5, 1989

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Don't give up on us' / 'Black bean soup'

Download: here

Running with the devil - Van Halen

Hardrock was a genre that I got slightly lured into because of my fascination for Kiss. I was only nine years old when Van Halen stormed the charts with their single 'Running with the devil'. I loved the solid sound of the track, and the manic, bizarre vocal acrobatics of singer David Lee Roth. Later in life I would learn that Van Halen wasn't really playing the hardest variety of hardrock, but it sounded impressive enough to me.

My collection: 7" single no. 51

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Running with the devil' / 'You really got me'

Download: Running with the devil, You really got me

Emotional disguise - Peter Godwin

I heard 'Emotional disguise' on a local radio station (repeatedly) and started to become very interested in this song. It took me a while to find out who was singing this song, because it didn't reach the charts in the Netherlands. Even in the UK, Peter Godwin remained largely unknown.

My sister finally bought the single later in the year and so I got to know Peter Godwin. It would take me even more years to finally own the single myself.

My collection: 7" single no. 1159

Found: All that music, Leiden, January 27, 1990

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Emotional disguise' / 'French emotions'

Download: here

High hopes - Pink Floyd

Although Pink Floyd was never known as a 'singles band', there were two singles taken from their album 'The Division bell' (1994). 'Take it back' was a reasonable success, and so the release of 'High hopes' hoped to repeat that success. The 7" single was released on clear vinyl and with a poster sleeve. Both the 7" single and the cd-single featured edited versions of the A and B-sides. It's a shame, because the full length version of especially 'High hopes' is really worth hearing. I couldn't resist buying the single, though, because it looked fabulous. By 1994, 7" singles had become rarities I wanted to have whenever a good song was released on that format.

My collection: 7" single no. 2218
Found: Record fair, Netherlands, 1994
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'High hopes (edit)' / 'Keep talking (edit)'
Download: here

This town ain't big enough for both of us - Sparks

My sister told me that I was fascinated by the Sparks when I was only three years old. They had a hit with 'This town ain't big enough for both of us' in 1974, and even at this young age I was watching music shows on television with her. Every week I would ask if 'the man with that moustache' would come again. I was rarely disappointed, because the top 10 hit was on heavy rotation on Toppop, the chart show of those days.

In my teenage years I had to search for this single extensively. I finally found it in 1988, and even though the sleeve was torn and the vinyl wasn't in the best quality, I was happy to have this souvenir of memories I didn't have anymore.

My collection: 7" single no. 685

Found: ?

Cost: ?

Tracks: 'This town ain't big enough for both of us' / 'Barbecutie'

Download: Album 'Kimono my house', including both tracks

Cars - Gary Numan

As a little boy I was regularly playing with toy cars. That was in the days that I didn't realise they were stinking, noisy, environment-devastating machines. The appeal of Gary Numan's song 'Cars' back then was obvious. I didn't understand the lyrics yet, but the subject and the inventive use of crashing sounds (I was often playing car accidents with my toy cars) were a real turnon.

'Cars' was effectively Gary Numan's debut single, after he had abandoned the Tubeway Army moniker. His electronic music was preceding all the synthbands that would come to colour the eighties.

My collection: 7" single no. 50

Found: Rapsody, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Cars' / 'Asylum'

Download: Album 'The pleasure principle', including both tracks (password: +++Hellion88+++)

Shake your head - Was (not was)

Was (Not Was) biggest claim to fame is the hit single 'Walk the dinosaur', a hideous late-eighties top 10 hit which made me cringe everytime I heard it. 'Shake your head' was a more interesting, albeit less successful song. At least, in the Netherlands: in the UK it was their biggest hit. Was it the video starring Kim Basinger that did the trick? It certainly did for me: that's why it stuck in my head and that's why I wanted to buy it. It was the time in which 7" singles were getting increasingly difficult to find, and so buying this one was one of my minor triumphs during that time.

My collection: 7" single no. 1689

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, August 1, 1992

Cost: 6,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Shake your head' / 'I blew up the United States'

Download: cd-single 'Shake your head', including both tracks

When your heart runs out of time - Glenn Gregory & Claudia Brücken

Glenn Gregory is the lead singer of Heaven 17 and Claudia Brücken was one of the lead singers of the German group Propaganda. Together they recorded this song, 'When your heart runs out of time', in 1985. According to the sleeve of this record, the song is taken from the motion picture 'Insignificance'. The record was released on the ZTT label, which became famous for their Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Grace Jones releases.

And that's about it. No information to be found on this record on the internet, and I never heard from it myself. I bought it last month on the basis of the good work the performers did on their own. As it turns out, the song is very decent. A good find.

My collection: 12" single no. 456

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 22, 2008

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Out of time', 'The voices of Gary Busey, Michael Emil and Theresa Russell', 'When your heart runs out of time' / 'When your heart runs out of time (drumless)', 'The voices of Michael Emil and Theresa Russell', 'Forever (what the hell)', 'Out of time'

Download: here

Hypnotise - Scritti Politti

'Hypnotise' is the least successful of the four singles that were released from Scritti Politti's 1985 album 'Cupid & Psyche', despite (or maybe because of) the fact that it didn't sound radically different from other tracks on this album. With a great hook and the signature vocals of Green Gartside, the single only reached no. 68 in the UK singles chart.

When I was on holiday in London in 1989, I went around the town visiting every record shop I could find. It was my first encounter with the Record Exchange shops, that were offering hundreds of old vinyl singles for discount prices. I had a chance to buy many singles I wanted to have for years, and so I did...

My collection: 7" single no. 1026

Found: Record Exchange, Notting Hill, London, October 17, 1989

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'Hypnotise' / 'Hypnotise (version)'

Download: here

Shandi - Kiss

Taken from their eighth album 'Unmasked', 'Shandi' was only a small hit compared to the three singles taken from the previous album, 'Dynasty'. Written by vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley and producer Vini Poncia, the song title was inspired by the Bruce Springsteen song '4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)'.

Paul Stanley was the only member of the band to have actually played on the track. Session drummer Anton Fig plays drums, Kiss roadie Tom Harper plays bass and professional songwriter Holly Knight plays keyboards, while Stanley sings lead and plays all guitars. Vini Poncia provided backing vocals to the track.

My collection: 7" single no. 56
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Shandi' / 'She's so European'

Download: Album 'Unmasked', including both tracks