Indulgence no. 2 - The Divine Comedy

In 1994, the Divine Comedy supported Tori Amos during her European tour. They played a few dozen dates all over Europe, including three in the Netherlands. I went to see Tori Amos on May 8 and in Scheveningen on May 9, and was pleasantly surprised by the support act. (That in itself was a remarkable feat!) The beautiful melodies and humorous lyrics appealed to me greatly.

It didn't take long to get 'Promenade', their then-current album, but soon I started to look for other things as well. I found this ep in London, while I was on holiday there. It contains three live recordings from that 1994 tour. Later it turned out to be a collector's item - I still haven't found 'Indulgence no. 1'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2183

Found: Sister Ray, London, September 28, 1994

Cost: 5 pounds

Tracks: 'A drinking song (live)' / 'When the lights go out all over Europe (live)', 'Tonight we fly (live)'
Download: here

Happy Birthday - Altered Images

'Happy Birthday' was Altered Images' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in the UK singles chart in the autumn of 1981. It was the third single taken from the album of the same name. 'Happy Birthday' was later included in the soundtrack to the John Hughes movie 'Sixteen Candles' (1984).

I bought this single as one of three Altered Images singles in December 2002, while I was following the Here and Now Tour in the UK. This was one of the tracks performed live by Clare Grogan, and one of those instantly hummable tunes you either love or loathe. In my case, I loved it.

My collection: 7" single no. 3370

Found: Record Exchange, December 2002

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Happy Birthday' / 'So we go whispering'

Download: here

Oops upside your head - The Gap Band

'Oops upside your head' is a 1979 funk track recorded by the Gap Band. It was the lead single from their third album, 'Gap Band'. This single became an international hit for the group upon its late 1979 release, though it failed to reach the US Billboard Hot 100. The song mainly features humorous spoken monologues by Gap Band lead singer Charlie Wilson, who was inspired by his cousin Bootsy Collins' own humorous slant in his songs. The song is said to be one of the first songs to use hiphop-styled monologues in a song.

When it came out, I hated this song, preferring the Gap Band's next single, 'Burn rubber'. Somewhere in the Nineties, I actually started to like it, preferring it to even worse hiphop tracks that were so prominent at that time. But I've come full circle: I hate it again. But the B-side is a nice song.

My collection: 7" single no. 2116

Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, June 11, 1994

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Oops upside your head' / 'The boys are back in town'

Download: here

Peaches - The presidents of the United States of America

The alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America formed in 1993 in Seattle, USA. The band consisted of Chris Ballew, Jason Finn, Andrew McKeag and Dave Dederer. In 1995 they released their self-titled debut album. Party thanks to the success of the singles, the album became a big hit in the USA, but it also did well in the UK.

Their biggest hit was the song 'Peaches'. It reached number 8 in the UK singles chart. Although the meaning has been argued, the band has stated that the song is just about peaches. Chris Ballew said that he wrote it about a girl he once had a crush on. He allegedly wrote this song after sitting under a peach tree she had in her yard while waiting for her.

My collection: 7" single no. 2652

Found: HMV, London, June 29, 1996

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Peaches' / 'Confusion'

Download: here

The eve of the war - Ben Liebrand

Ben Liebrand found fame in the Netherlands because of his remixes of hits during the Eighties. A weekly show during nighttime and a 'minimix', broadcast every Friday night on the popular Veronica radio station guaranteed a following that was quite big. By the end of the Eighties, Liebrand started to record cd's of his own. This resulted in the 1990 release of the album 'Styles'.

A year earlier, Liebrand created a remix of Jeff Wayne's 'Eve of the war', from his millionselling 1978 album 'The war of the worlds'. The single didn't chart, but it did become a collector's item for fans of the musical version of the H.G. Wells book.

My collection: 7" single no. 2694

Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, July 3, 1996

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'The eve of the war (radio edit)' / 'Mankind strikes back'

Download: here

Rock around the clock - Telex

Marc Moulin, Dan Lacksman and Michel Moers formed the Belgian synthpop group in 1978. Their debut single was a stripped-down synthesized cover of 'Twist à St. Tropez' by Les Chats Sauvages. They followed this up with 'Rock around the clock', which would become their only hit in the UK. It reached number 34 in that country in the Summer of 1979.

Like Kraftwerk, Telex built their music entirely from electronic instruments, and the sounds of the two groups have a certain similarity. However, unlike Kraftwerk's studied irony, Telex favour a more joyously irreverent humour.

My collection: 7" single no. 3112

Found: Big Company records, London, May 13, 1999

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Rock around the clock' / 'Moskow Diskow'

Download: here

Happy ever after - Julia Fordham

I heard 'Happy ever after' for the first time on a compilation cd. At first I figured I owned the track, but a true vinyl collector is never happy until he owns the original single too. And so when I found the single, I bought it.

Julia Fordham was born in Portsmouth, England on August 10, 1962. In 1988, she released her debut album, simply titled 'Julia Fordham'. The single 'Happy ever after' introduced her as a singer with considerable vocal range. It reached number 27 in the UK singles chart. 'Happy ever after' was re-recorded and re-released in 1998, but that version didn't chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2073

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, February 19, 1994

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Happy ever after' / 'My lover's keeper'

Download: cd-single 'Happy ever after', including both tracks

The nameless one - Wendy James

After Transvision Vamp disbanded, Wendy James set out to start a solo career. She wrote a letter to Elvis Costello asking for his guidance. In response Costello wrote a full album's worth of material for her. These songs became the tracks on her 1993 solo album 'Now ain't the time for your tears'. The album entered at number 43 in the UK Albums chart - and then disappeared again. The single did slightly better, peaking at number 34 in the Singles chart.

It's great to hear this single even now. The vocals are slightly over the top, but they sizzle with venom and a touch of hysteria that is always apparent in miss James's vocals.

My collection: 7" single no. 1869

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, March 27, 1993

Cost: 10 guilders

Tracks: 'The nameless one' / 'I just don't want it anymore'

Download: cd-single 'The nameless one', including both tracks (password: pwemb.blogspot.com )

Fantasy Island - Tight Fit

In 1981, record producer Ken Gold came up with the idea to record a single made up of a medley of 60s songs, following in the footsteps of Starsound and their Stars on 45 singles. He put together a group of session singers and released 'Back to the 60s' under the title Tight Fit. The song reached number 4 in the UK Singles chart. 'Back to the 60s Part 2' was released soon after and also hit the UK top 40.

Later in the year record producer Tim Friese-Greene recorded the song 'The lion sleeps tonight' with another group of session singers. The song was released in early 1982, again by Tight Fit. It caught a lot of attention and so a group was formed to front it. Dancer, singer and male model Steve Grant was teamed up with female singers Denise Gyngell and Julie Harris. The song reached number 1 in the UK for three weeks and the line-up were catapulted into sudden and unexpected stardom. Satisfied that this line-up could actually sing in their own right, Friese-Greene produced their next single, 'Fantasy Island', a cover of the song which had been a hit for the Millionaires earlier that year. While not charting in the Netherlands, it did become a hit in the UK and reached number 5.

My collection: 7" single no. 3359

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 2002

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Fantasy Island' / 'Saturday heartbreak'

Download: here

Free - Deniece Williams

Born as June Deniece Chandler, Deniece Williams debuted in the Seventies when she performed backing vocals for Stevie Wonder, together with Minnie Riperton and Syreeta Wright. In 1976, she signed to Columbia Records and recorded her debut album 'This is Niecy'.

The first single from this album was 'Free'. It reached number 25 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and in the UK it topped the chart for two weeks. I got to know the song because of a compilation cd and eventually when I came across the single, I bought it.

My collection: 7" single no. 3343

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, 2001

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Free' / 'Cause you love me baby'

Download: Album 'This is Niecy', including both tracks

A girl called Johnny - The Waterboys

'A girl called Johnny' was released in March 1983, as the first single from the album 'The Waterboys'. The song was a tribute to Patti Smith. It reached number 80 in the UK singles chart.

I bought the single during an outdoor music festival. It turned out to be an Italian pressing. Always nice to buy foreign pressings, because they seem more worthwhile to me.

My collection: 7" single no. 1458

Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 27, 1991

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'A girl called Johnny' / 'The late train to heaven'

Download: here

Underwater - Harry Thumann

Harry Thumann was a German electronic music composer and sound engineer. He was quick to adapt to new technologies and started working with synthesizers early on in the Seventies. His single 'Underwater', released originally in 1979, was embraced in several European countries. Released in the Netherlands in the summer of 1980, it shot to number 12 in the Dutch Top 40.

Harry Thumann died in 2001.

My collection: 7" single no. 1946

Found: Leiden, August 20, 1993

Cost: 0,25 guilder

Tracks: 'Underwater part I' / 'Underwater part II'

Download: here

Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais - Jo Lemaire + Flouze

Jo Lemaire was born on January 5, 1956 in Gembloux, Namur (Belgium). She debuted in the late Seventies with her musical group, Jo Lemaire + Flouze. When they released the synthpop track 'Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais', a moody uptempo track, they became instantly wellknown in Europe and Canada. A year later, in 1982, the group separated, and Lemaire divorced Philippe Depireux, a fellow former bandmember. She moved to Bilzen with her new partler, Fa Vanham, and started a solo career.

'Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais' is still one of the great synthpop classics and personally it's one of my all-time favourites.

My collection: 7" single no. 667

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1988

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais' / 'Escape'

Download: Album 'Pigmy world', including both tracks

Dreiklangs dimensionen - Rheingold

In 1980 Rheingold was formed by Bodo Staiger, Lothar Manteuffel and Birgitte Kunze. They released their self-titled debut album that same year. Although this album contained 'Dreiklangs dimensionen' and the single reached number 17 in the German singles chart, it took two years for the single to break through in the Netherlands and reach number 20 there.

Rheingold was part of the 'Neue Deutsche Welle' movement, and they were the first band to get into the German top 20 with a single. It's still a modern synthpop classic.

My collection: 7" single no. 2051

Found: Record fair, November 20, 1993

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Dreiklangs dimensionen' / 'Rendezvous'

Download: here

On the border - Al Stewart

Everyone remembers Al Stewart's hit 'Year of the cat', and rightfully so, because it's a classic track. It was also his only hit in the UK. But in the Netherlands it's a different story: 'Year of the cat' reached number 6 in the Dutch Top 40, but the next single, 'On the border', did even better, reaching number 5.

I bought this single, with a slightly tattered sleeve, in 1995. When I saw the man live on February 16, 1996, I took the sleeve with me. And I was lucky: I actually met the man after the concert and got this sleeve signed, as well as the cd I bought there. I consider this quite a collector's item, although I don't know how much people would give for an Al Stewart signature these days...

My collection: 7" single no. 2566

Found: All that music, Leiden, November 19, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'On the border' / 'Flying sorcery'

Download: Album 'Year of the cat', including both tracks

Fantasy Island - The Millionaires

In 1982, the Dutch national final for the Eurovision Song Contest was pretty exciting. It took place in Scheveningen and was presented by Lenny Kuhr (who had won the contest in 1969). The three songs 'Fantasy Island', 'Pierement' and 'Jij en ik' were all sung by three contestants: Bill van Dijk, Bonnie St. Claire and the Millionaires.

'Fantasy island' was the big favourite of the audience. A jury of experts preferred 'Jij en ik'. When this was announced, the audience reacted with a lot of booing and whistling. Bill van Dijk was chosen as the best performer of this song, and he went on to represent the Netherlands at the Contest. His single flopped, whereas the Millionaires recorded 'Fantasy island' and had a minor hit with it, reaching number 31 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 3139

Found: Den Haag, July 24, 1999

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Fantasy Island (Dutch version)' / 'Fantasy island (English version)'

Download: here

Catch - The Cure

The Cure's then-current single 'Catch' was not at the top of my list of singles I wanted to buy when I went to London in the summer of 1987. But when I saw this limited edition, I quickly changed my mind. I knew about clear vinyl discs, but with the sleeve also transparent, this truly was an eyecatcher!

'Catch' was the second single taken from the Cure's album 'Kiss me kiss me kiss me'. It reached number 27 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 549

Found: Tower Records, London, 1987

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Catch' / 'Breathe'

Download: here

Radio Heart - featuring Gary Numan

Gary Numan's career is well described in sources like Wikipedia, but there is no information about the project Radio Heart in which he participated in 1987. It was a top 30 hit in the UK, and although I can't remember how I first heard it, I knew I liked it right away. 'Radio heart' is a very radiofriendly track (no pun intended!) and it stays in your mind once you've heard it.

My collection: 7" single no. 2175

Found: House of Rhythm, London, September 27, 1994

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Radio heart' / 'Radio heart (instrumental)'

Download: here

I caught you out - Rebecca de Ruvo

Rebecca de Ruvo was born in Stockholm in 1969. She debuted on Swedish television in 1988, presenting the youth programme 'Druvan'. Soon after that, she started presenting programmes like 'Awake on the wild side' and 'Dial MTV' on MTV Europe (back when they were still broadcasting music programmes). Personally I always had a soft spot for her, because of her bubbly presentation and extremely beautiful appearance.

In 1994, she tried her hand at music. The single 'I caught you out' was released in the autumn, but unfortunately it wasn't a commercial success. A solo album may have been recorded, but it was never released. De Ruvo joined the band Breaker a few years later, but they were equally unsuccessful.

My collection: 7" single no. 2161

Found: HMV, London, September 26, 1994

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'I caught you out (Ben Liebrand's Station Edit)' / 'I caught you out (Nellee Hooper's Album Mix)'
Download: here

Communication - Spandau Ballet

You could say that 'Communication' was the last credible single by Spandau Ballet before they sold out to smooth middle-of-the-road pop blandness. Although it was the second single from the album 'True', it wasn't until the title track was released as the third single that the band was put down by critics.

'Communication' was Spandau Ballet's first hit in America, reaching number 59 in the Billboard Hot 100. In Europe it didn't do much, although it reached number 12 in the UK. I bought the single after I'd seen the video on TV, and I was pleasantly surprised by the short but sweet remix on the B-side.

My collection: 7" single no. 374

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Communication' / 'Communication (edited club)'

Download: here