Follow my rainbow - Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton made her acting debut in November 1987 in the television series 'Miami Vice', playing a singer named Caitlin Davies. She was to be protected by Sonny Crockett (played by Don Johnson) until her court appearance to render crucial testimony against certain corrupt music industry mavens. After five episodes, the character ended up being killed just moments after singing 'Follow my rainbow'.

The song was featured on the soundtrack album for 'Miami Vice', which was released in 1988, and subsequently also appeared on Easton's own album 'The lover in me', that same year. The single was released in late 1989, but did not chart. Personally I think the sleeve is better than the record, actually.

My collection: 7" single no. 2320

Found: Record fair, June 3, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Follow my rainbow' / 'Days like this'

Geluk - Verona

When I recently saw a report about Dutch presenter Harry Vermeegen on television, anouncing his comeback to television, I immediately thought of this single. Together with Henk Spaan he formed a satyrical duo making programmes in the Eighties. Initially their programme was called 'Pisa', but when they moved to a different broadcaster (Veronica) they changed the name of their programme to 'Verona'.

Under this name they released the 1986 single 'Geluk' ('Happiness'). The lyric of the song refers to a man who is searching for happiness. ('I've searched everywhere, it's making me unhappy'). The lyric cannot be translated without loss of a lot of Dutch wordplay, but the music, produced by Henk Temming from Het Goede Doel, is strong and transcends all language barriers.

My collection: 7" single no. 1407

Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, April 3, 1991

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Geluk' / 'Geluk (instr.)'

Zarah (Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehn) - Nina Hagen

'Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehn' was originally performed by Zarah Leander in the first half of the 20th century. Nina Hagen recorded this cover version in 1983 for her album 'Angstlos', produced by Giorgio Moroder.

Although not a hit in the Netherlands, I heard the song pretty soon after its release thanks to my sister. It was a remarkable cover, because for all its disco stomp in the second half, the first half of the song is a pretty faithful cover of the original version.

My collection: 7" single no. 1676

Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 28, 1992

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Zarah (Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehn)' / 'Frühling in Paris'

This heart of mine - Anders Frandsen

Anders Frandsen was born ub Denmark on December 8, 1960. Although not a trained actor, he made his stage debut during the Eighties in theatre performances. In 1991 he represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Lige der hvor hjertet slår', a jazz-influenced lovesong composed by Michael Elo. The song didn't do well at the Contest, and placed 19th with only 8 points. That didn't hurt his popularity however, and the following year at the Danish national final, he was the host.

This single features the English-language version on the A-side. The song sounds rather more intruguing in Danish, though.

My collection: 7" single no. 1837

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, January 23, 1993

Cost: 10 guilders

Tracks: 'This heart of mine' / 'Lige der hvor hjertet slår'

Flash - Duke of Burlington

Nothing beats a good instrumental track from time to time. This 'golden oldie' appeared as background music in a commercial on a local radio station I listened to a lot during the Eighties. In time, I found out the name and artist behind the music, and then I found out that it was actually released when I was just born.

I have no idea who hides behind the stage name Duke of Burlington, but this track was a success in the Netherlands nonetheless: it peaked at number 11 in the autumn of 1970.

My collection: 7" single no. 382

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 3,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Flash' / 'Viva Tirado'

Say you'll be mine - Amy Grant

I'd just discovered Amy Grant's albums 'Lead me on' and 'Heart in motion' when she started to release singles from her new album 'House of love'. One of those singles was 'Say you'll be mine'. I bought it on the hunch that this material might be just as good. I was not too disappointed: the songs were a bit on the bubblegum pop side, but still nice and melodic.

Grant didn't score a big hit with this: it roamed the UK singles chart for only two weeks in the autumn of 1994, peaking at number 41.

My collection: 7" single no. 2227

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 17, 1994

Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Say you'll be mine (radio mix)' / 'Life's gonna change'

Rock me - Riva

I wouldn't be surprised if this song was responsible for the war in Yugoslavia that would break out a couple of years later. It must rank as one of the worst winners in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Riva, a group of five fronted by singer Emilija Kokić debuted on Zagrebfest in 1988. They performed their song 'Rock me' in Serbo-Croatian as the last act on the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest. When they unexpectedly won the Contest, BBC TV commentator Terry Wogan described it as 'the death knell' for the Contest. The group parted ways in 1991 after being unable to build on their sudden success with this unlistenable song.

My collection: 7" single no. 3599

Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, March 14, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Rock me baby (Original version)' / 'Rock me baby (English version)'

Slow emotion replay - The The

In 1993, it became increasingly difficult to find 7" vinyl singles of songs that were released as a single. More often than not, I could only find a cd-single version. It became quite a challenge to still find vinyl singles and I always had a sense of victory when I succeeded. This was one of those proud achievements.

Taken from the album 'Dusk', The The released 'Slow emotion replay' as the second single from that album. While 'Dogs of lust', single number one, was released as a limited edition 7" single in the UK, this one was only released on two different cd-singles. I found this Spanish promotional 7" with just one track on one side: the other side was not even playable. Which made this item all the more desirable, because a one-sided 7" single is a rarity in itself.

My collection: 7" single no. 2654

Found: London, June 29, 1996

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Slow emotion replay'

There's more to love - The Communards

This was the last single released by the Communards before Richard Coles and Jimmy Somerville split up. The upbeat song comes with a serious message: 'There's more to love than boy meets girl / For love is strange and uncontrolled and it can happen to anyone'. Not surprisingly for this band the subject of the song was gay rights.

The B-side of this single is also interesting: it's a cover of the 1934 song written and composed by James F. Hanley. It was performed in the Broadway revue 'Thumbs up!'. The most famous version was performed by Judy Garland.

My collection: 7" single no. 2382

Found: House of Rhythm, London, July 1, 1995

Cost: 60p

Tracks: 'There's more to love' / 'Zing went the strings of my heart'

If you want my love - Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick made a name for themselves with the big hit 'I want you to want me'. I thought it was a very irritating song, and it had its effect: I hated the band for a long time. It took some getting used to that 'If you want my love' was actually a rather accomplished pop/rock ballad.

When I bought the single, it was in the middle of the period I've described on this blog a couple of times before: when my sister and I decided to buy different singles. She hated this song, I liked it. So I bought it - and she wasn't impressed with my choice.

My collection: 7" single no. 145

Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'If you want my love' / 'Four letter word'

Can't set rules about love - Adam Ant

Adam Ant was one of the big names of the Eighties. That statement alone says a lot about how he was perceived by the general public circa 1990: almost forgotten. After having been out of the charts since 1985, he had a brief comeback with 'Room at the top', which reached number 13 in the UK singles chart in 1990. The next single was 'Can't set rules about love', which peaked at number 47.

I didn't hear this song until three years later, when I got my hands on a promotional instore video of various artists. I wasn't impressed by the video, but the song was nice enough. I spent several years trying to find the single.

My collection: 7" single no. 2868

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 1997

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Can't set rules about love' / 'How to steal the world'

In too deep - Belinda Carlisle

I'm not the world's biggest Belinda Carlisle fan, but I do have a few singles by her. And this is one of them: a rather attractive limited edition picture disc 7", bought during a holiday in England.

The interesting thing is, I've forgotten all about the A-side track 'In too deep' but I still remember the B-side track '(We want) The same thing'. I know why, too: I once saw her perform that song live in Bournemouth, in the middle of the summer, with Ricky Wilde backing her on guitar. It was an extremely happy sunny day.

My collection: 7" single no. 2714

Found: HMV, London, July 4, 1996

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'In too deep' / '(We want) The same thing'

Want you to be mine - Kayak

The Dutch band Kayak formed in 1972. Their early single 'Mammoth' featured on this blog a couple of months ago. 'Want you to be mine' was released five years later, in 1978. It's a more straightforward rock song, sounding rather a lot like much of their work around that time.

I don't remember how I got to hear this song, but I know I was very impressed when I did. I went searching for the single and found it within a few months.

My collection: 7" single no. 850

Found: All that music, Leiden, May 27, 1989

Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Want you to be mine' / 'Golddust'

Diggi loo diggi ley - The Herrey's

The Swedish brothers Per, Richard and Louis Herrey were the first act to perform on stage in Luxemburg during the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest. The nonsensical title harked back to previous winning entries such as 'Boom bang-a-bang', 'Ding-a-dong' and 'La la la'.

I thought it wasn't a very spectacular song, and would have thought that Italy's Alice & Franco Battiato with 'I treni di Tozeur' would win. Instead, this song went away with victory. It's one of many occasions when I felt really disappointed with the winner in the Contest. I did buy the single, though, starting a tradition of buying winning songs in that year - although I would 'forget' to buy it in later years. The B-side is interesting for its lyric about an obsessive fan.

My collection: 7" single no. 234

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1984

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Diggi loo / Diggi ley' / 'Every song you sing'

I promised myself - Nick Kamen

Nick Kamen was born as Ivor Neville Kamen on April 15, 1962 in Harlow, Essex, England. He was first brought to the public's attention in 1984 when Ray Petri featured him on the front cover of the UK magazine The Face. A year later, he appeared in a Levi's commercial. In 1986, he released his debut single 'Each time you break my heart', written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray.

In 1990, he released his fourth album 'Move until we fly'. It contained the self-penned 'I promised myself', which would be his biggest hit in Europe. The single topped the chart in Austria and Sweden, and reached number 6 in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 1636
Found: April 20, 1992
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'I promised myself' / 'You are'

Cathedral song - Tanita Tikaram

Tanita Tikaram was born in Münster, Germany on August 12, 1969 as the daughter of Fatimah Rohani of Malaysian descent and Indo-Fijian British Army officer Pramod Tikaram. She grew up in Basingstoke, England. She released her debut album 'Ancient heart' when she was only nineteen years old.

'Cathedral song' was the third single taken from that album. It reached number 48 in the UK singles chart. Like other tracks on the album, it was a moody, guitar-based song.

My collection: 7" single no. 765
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, March 11, 1989
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Cathedral song' / 'Sighing innocents'

Oh what a circus - David Essex

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote the musical Evita in 1976. The best known song from that musical is of course 'Don't cry for me Argentina', recorded by Julie Covington and Madonna, amongst others. The same melody line was used for this single, 'Oh what a circus', performed by David Essex. Like 'Argentina', this song was taken from the musical 'Evita'.

Essex had a hit with this single: it reached number 3 in the UK and number 18 in the Netherlands. It didn't become quite the classic that 'Don't cry for me Argentina' is now. My copy of the single was bought at Beanos, a wellknown record shop in the South of London. It's housed in a custom Beanos sleeve - probably because the original sleeve has gone missing.

My collection: 7" single no. 2889

Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, October 29, 1997

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Oh what a circus' / 'High flying adored'

Don't feed the animals - Fay Lovski

Fay Lovski was born as Fay Luyendijk in Leiden on September 11, 1955. Her music career started in 1980 with the album 'Sound on sound', named after the recording technique she used to make her songs.

'Don't feed the animals' was a single taken from her third album 'Origami' (1983). Like the majority of her singles it didn't make the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2138

Found: Grammofoonplatenwinkel, Utrecht, August 2, 1994

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Don't feed the animals' / 'Palmtree luxury'

L'oiseau et l'enfant - Marie Myriam

Hard to believe, but it's now 32 years ago that a French-language song won the Eurovision Song Contest. Amina came close in 1991, but it's been mainly English songs since 1977. Between 1956 and 1977, 11 songs in French won the contest. And this was the last one: 'L'oiseau et l'enfant' by Marie Myriam.

She was born as Miriam Lopes on May 8, 1957 in Braga, Portugal. She represented France in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest and won with 15 points more than the number 2, 'Rock bottom' by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran for the United Kingdom.

My collection: 7" single no. 3609

Found: eBay, France, received March 20, 2009

Cost: 3 euro

Tracks: 'L'oiseau et l'enfant' / 'On garde toujours'

Hot water - Level 42

Level 42 was founded in 1979 by Mark King, Mike Lindup, Rowland Gould and Phil Gould. 'Hot water' was a single taken from their fifth album 'True colours'. The single was a big hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 3. By comparison, it fared worse in the UK, where it only got to number 18.

When this single charted, it was played on the radio so often that I didn't need to buy the single. I went on to buy some Level 42 singles in the Nineties, but this one never got into my collection. On my birthday in 2007, my wife (who was then still my girlfriend) gave me this single, which she'd gotten from a Kringloop store while looking around there. It was really funny, because I don't think she knew I didn't have this yet and probably had no clue what this song sounded like. I'm glad to have it now.

My collection: 7" single no. 3614
Found: Birthday present, Den Haag, August 31, 2007
Cost: nothing
Tracks: 'Hot water' / 'Standing in the light'