Beat the clock - Sparks

'This town ain't big enough for the both of us' was my favourite childhood song, but it was also the last hit by the Sparks as far as I knew. The chart book tells me they had another hit in 1974 with 'Amateur hour' and one in 1975 with 'Something for the girl with everything', but in 1979 the Sparks returned with 'Beat the clock'. It peaked at number 15. In the UK, it was the Sparks' first top 10 hit since 'Amateur hour'.

Listening to 'Beat the clock' you can tell that the band took on a very different sound at the end of the Seventies. The disco-influenced track with operatic vocals is, like much of the band's work, a one-off.

My collection: 7" single no. 3666

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 18, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Beat the clock' / 'Beat the clock (Alternative mix)'

Eres tu - Mocedades

In 1973, the Spanish group Mocedades ('Youth') represented Spain during the Eurovision Song Contest with this song, 'Eres tu'. They ended up in second place behind winning country Luxemburg, represented by Anne-Marie David with 'Tu te reconnaitras'. The difference between the two was only four points.

'Eres Tú' became a huge international hit. It also remains one of the only Spanish language songs to reach the top 10 in the United States, peaking at number 9 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2005, Eres Tú was nominated for the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert 'Congratulations' after being selected as one of the 14 most popular songs in Eurovision history, and finished eleventh. In the Netherlands, it was voted the most popular Eurovision song of all times that year. (That should have been 'Rapsodia' by Mia Martini, of course.)

I bought my copy of the single in a custom Polydor sleeve. Since the single was released on the Omega International label, that sleeve certainly was wrong. And so, no picture of the sleeve with this entry...

My collection: 7" single no. 3293

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Eres tu' / 'Dime senor'

Songbird - Kenny G

This is the kind of music you hear in elevators, supermarkets and bad restaurants. Kenny G is probably one of the most uncool artists on the planet. Yet his 'Songbird' is one of the most recognizable instrumentals around. It wasn't a very big hit in Europe, peaking at number 22 in the UK and number 25 in the Netherlands, but in America the single got to number 4 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

'Songbird' comes from Kenny G's multi-platinum album 'Duotones' (1986) and was featured prominently in the 1990 movie 'Pretty woman' and in the 2005 animation movie 'Robots'.

My collection: 7" single no. 1631

Found: Record fair, April 18, 1992

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Songbird' / 'Midnight motion'

One better day - Madness

'One better day' was not a hit in the Netherlands, but the video was shown regularly on music channels broadcasting from the UK, where the single peaked at number 17 in the summer of 1984. I thought the video was incredibly funny for reasons I could not exactly explain.

I searched for the single for many years, and I don't know exactly why it was so hard to find it. When I finally did find it, the single was made in Holland. I wonder why it wasn't available anywhere, then...

My collection: 7" single no. 2272

Found: Record fair, April 23, 1995

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'One better day' / 'Guns'

What comes naturally - Sheena Easton

After the album 'The lover in me', Sheena Easton seemed to want to pursue her career as a sex symbol in America even further. Her clothing became even flimsier and her music became less attractive as well. 'What comes naturally', the first single from the album of the same name, hovers dangerously towards the hiphop genre, but stays decent - but only just.

The UK audience had lost their interest in Easton, but the single did chart in the Netherlands, and even peaked at number 12 in the Dutch Top 40. In America it was her last hit single, peaking at number 19.

My collection: 7" single no. 1445
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, 1991
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'What comes naturally (7" single edit with rap)' / 'What comes naturally (7" single edit without rap)'

I'm falling - The Babys

I guess I've always liked fullblown popsongs with orchestral backings. 'I'm falling' is a good example of this: a strong popsong with beautiful music performed by a fullblown orchestra. The Babys didn't have a lot of success with this song, though: it didn't chart in the Netherlands.

I was too young to buy it in 1978 - not getting enough pocket money to buy all the good music that was around back then. Fortunately, in 1987 I did find it - and at a good price, too.

My collection: 7" single no. 567

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1987

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'I'm falling' / 'I believe in love'

Pourvu qu'elles soient douces - Mylene Farmer

Anyone who watched music video channels regularly in the eighties would get to know Mylene Farmer at some point. Her epic music videos were shown, usually in late night programmes, because of their regular inclusion of violence and nudity. The video for 'Pourvu qu'elles soient douces' was one of them.

Once I'd bought 'Désenchantée', I slowly started to collect more Mylene Farmer singles. I found 'Douces', the Dutch release of the mentioned song quite quickly, because it was re-released after the success of 'Désenchantée'. It didn't reach the Dutch Top 40, though.

Not so much later, I saw the original French single. I had to admit this sleeve was a bit more daring, and since I liked the sleeve and the song, I decided to buy it on the spot. The two singles have the exact same tracklisting. The B-side is a beautiful ballad, which has quite moving lyrics. Or so I think, because my French is not so good.

My collection: 7" single no. 1888 / no. 1922
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, May 2, 1993 / Record fair, Amsterdam, June 5, 1993

Cost: 3 guilders / 8 guilders

Tracks: 'Pourvu qu'elles soient douces' / 'Puisque...'

I won't let you go - Agnetha Fältskog

After the virtual demise of Abba in 1982, Agnetha Fältskog enjoyed a lot of success with her solo album 'Wrap your arms around me' (1983). She followed this up with 'Eyes of a woman', released in 1985 and produced by Eric Stewart from 10CC. The album sold well in parts of Europe, but failed to match the success of its predecessor.

The first single from the album was 'I won't let you go', composed by Fältskog herself. It peaked at number 18 in the Netherlands, but did not chart in the UK. It would be 2003 before she returned in the singles chart in that country with 'If I thought you'd ever change your mind'.

My collection: 7" single no. 1134

Found: All that music, Leiden, December 28, 1989

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'I won't let you go' / 'You're there'

Oh l'amour - Dollar

During a promotional trip to Japan in February 1983, relations between the two members of Dollar, Tereza Bazar and David van Day, had become increasingly strained and Van Day quit the band. Both tried a solo career, but without one another, they weren't very successful. In 1986 they reformed and released two less successful singles, 'We walked in love' and 'Haven't we said goodbye before'. New success came when they recorded a cover version of Erasure's 'Oh l'amour' in 1987. It became one of their biggest hits and peaked at number 7 in the UK. In late 1988, after one more unsuccessful single, Dollar disbanded again.

This single has become an important one in my collection more or less by accident: it's the last single I ever bought in Disco Market. It's where I bought my first single, and literally hundreds of singles since then. The shop has closed down a couple of years ago, sadly. The last time I visited it, a year ago, I had to embarrass myself during a bachelor party. It had turned into a regular apartment.

My collection: 7" single no. 3373

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, January 11, 2003

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Oh l'amour' / 'B-beat'

Why can't we live together - Mike Anthony

Jamaican DJ Mike Anthony recorded a version of Timmy Thomas's 'Why can't we live together' in 1982. The version caused some controversy when it became apparent that Anthony had used the original recording by Thomas. The single was retracted and re-released with new recordings of the music.

This 12" single was pressed as a limited edition on white vinyl. The extended version on this disc is based on the original controversial version. The disc plays the same track on both sides.

My collection: 12" single no. 454

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 19, 2008

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'Why can't we live together (Super Dancing Discomix)' / 'Why can't we live together (Super Dancing Discomix)'

Woman in love - Three Degrees

I've got 'Out of love again', the B-side of this single, as the B-side of another single, 'The runner'. And the A-side, 'Woman in love', is on another single I own, 'Giving up giving in'. But in January 1979, 'Woman in love' was released as a single in the UK, and it was a big hit, peaking at number 3. While the Three Degrees are famous for their disco tracks, this is a soulful ballad.

I bought this single not because I knew the song, but because of the beautiful sleeve and the record, which was pressed on blue vinyl. Fortunately, the song isn't bad at all!

My collection: 7" single no. 3252

Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 20, 2000

Cost: 1,4 pounds

Tracks: 'Woman in love' / 'Out of love again'

Road to our dream - T'pau

'Road to our dream' was the second single from T'pau's second album 'Rage' (1988). This was the least successful of the three singles released from the album, peaking at number 42 in the UK, and not reaching the charts in other countries at all.

Truth be told, the track is a bit of a non-starter. I bought the cd-single before I bought the album and I almost lost the appetite to buy the 7" single - and subsequent singles. It's hard to pinpoint what is missing exactly, but for lack of a better word, I'll say that this song misses a 'soul'.

My collection: 7" single no. 714

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, January 6, 1989

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Road to our dream (edit)' / 'Time of our lives'

I'm just your puppet on a... (string!) - London Beat

London Beat had already had some big hits with songs like '9AM' and 'I've been thinking about you' when they decided to compete in the United Kingdom's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Their song, 'I'm just your puppet on a... (string!)' was an obvious reference to previous Contest winner 'Puppet on a string' by Sandie Shaw. While their song was funny and entertaining, the group lost out to the dull, hiphop-influenced (and, as a result, bad) song 'Love city groove' by a group of the same name. Not long after this, the group disbanded.

My collection: 7" single no. 2336

Found: HMV, London, June 26, 1995

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'I'm just your puppet on a... (string!)' / 'Unnecessary'

Nellie the elephant - Toy dolls

Toy Dolls are an English punk rock band formed in 1979. While much punk rock is political or angry, Toy Dolls expressed themselves mostly in a funny way, with songs such as 'Yul Brynner Was A Skinhead' and 'James Bond lives down our street'.

'Nellie the elephant' was originally written in 1956 by Ralph Butler and Peter Hart. It became a children's favourite thanks to the original rendition by child actress Mandy Miller, which was never a hit single but was played countless times on BBC national radio in the UK in the Fifties and Sixties. The Toy Dolls recorded their version just in time for Christmas 1984. The single peaked at number 4 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3619
Found: eBay, received April 16, 2009
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Nellie the elephant' / 'Fisticuffs in Frederick street'

The Lebanon - Human League

Taken from their 1984 album 'Hysteria' and released as its first single, 'The Lebanon' was a radical departure from what was accepted as the soft synthpop sound of the Human League. The lyrics were an attempt to make a political statement on the Lebanese civil war which had been exacerbated by Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon of 1982. The song tells the story of a man who joins a militia to help his community and ends up fighting in the civil war.

The single peaked at number 11 in the UK, which was considered to be a relative failure. Because the track is a very 'concert friendly' track it has been played by the band live frequently ever since its release and is nearly always on their set list to this day.

My collection: 7" single no. 3231

Found: Record Exchange, London, 2000

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'The Lebanon' / 'Thirteen'

Train - Red Box

After the success of 'The circle and the square' and its singles in 1985, things went rather quiet for some time. Due to increasingly strained working relations between the band and the record company, Julian Close left to work in A&R and Simon Toulson-Clarke took time out from writing and recording in order to travel. In the late Eighties Toulson-Clarke was persuaded to record a second album. Together with new partner Alastair Gavin and producer David Motion he made the album 'Motive'.

'Train' was released as the first (and only) single from that album. The 12" single features four versions of the track, some even more eccentric than the original track.

My collection: 12" single no. 263
Found: Record Exchange, London, 1995
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Train (Fantasy Island)', 'Train (Traveller fare)' / 'Train (Mr. Chandra is upstairs)', 'Train (7" version)'

Get the message - Electronic

'Get the message' was the first single taken from Electronic's self-titled debut album, but not their debut single: that was 'Getting away with it', released a year before. Electronic consisted of Bernard Sumner from New Order and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. During recording, Primal Scream backing singer Denise Johnson added a vocal at the end of the song. The single featured a non-album track as its B-side: 'Free Will', a sample-heavy dance track.

'Get the message' peaked at number 8 in the UK singles chart. I didn't know the song when I bought this single, however I did know a few of Electronic's singles and hoped that this one would be equally good. And it was.

My collection: 7" single no. 2987

Found: House of Rhythm, London, May 23, 1998

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Get the message' / 'Free will'

Golden hits volume 2 - Prefab Sprout

I bought this 'golden' single during the first record fair I ever went to. I thought it was a great find, because it featured 'Goodbye Lucille', which I thought was an earlier version of the single 'Johnny Johnny', which I'd bought a couple of years before. As it turned out, it was pretty much the same as that single, only the title was different.

Still, this is an interesting little EP, because of the colour of course, but also because of the great selection of hit singles. Although 'hit singles' might be stretching that term a bit: none of these tracks made the UK top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1220

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

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Golden calf (edit)', 'Faron Young' / 'Goodbye Lucille no. 1', 'Hey Manhattan'

Go west - Village People

Another track I've featured on this blog before, but now in the shorter single version, as opposed to the long 12" version. 'Go west' peaked at number 31 in the Netherlands in the summer of 1979. At the same time, it made number 15 in the UK.

At the time, I was spending my weekly allowance of 3 guilders in the local record shop. While chart singles cost 6 guilders, the shop discounted them once they left the Top 40. I went round that shop almost every week, hoping for something good to be available. I seem to recall that this catch was a relative disappointment, since more singles had left the chart, but they were already sold out. So I made do with this one. I'm glad I have it now, because of course it is the original version of the Pet Shop Boys' 1992 cover version. But how was I to know?

My collection: 7" single no. 23

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1979

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Go west' / 'I wanna shake your hand'

Doot doot - Freur

As written before, 'Doot doot' was Freur's debut single and only hit. The 7" single was a revelation for me, I bought almost as soon as it hit the Dutch 'bubbling under' chart. The single didn't make the Dutch Top 40, which at the time I saw as a big injustice.

Earlier editions of the single didn't have the explanatory '(Freur)' in the upper left corner. I've always searched for a copy of that, but so far, without luck.

My collection: 7" single no. 196

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1983

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Doot doot' / 'Hold me mother'