Casanova - Luv'

'Casanova' was Luv's fifth hit single, released in April 1979. First awarded the 'Alarmschijf', Radio Veronica's weekly tip for the chart, the single quickly moved up to sixth place in the Dutch Top 40. Nothing else is very spectacular about the song: it sounds a lot like the trio's earlier material.

I bought the single back when I was just an eight year old. I was a fan of Boney M, Abba and Luv', and having learned the importance of a record collection at a very early age from my older brother and sister, I bought anything they released. The least you can say about Luv' nowadays is that their records had great sleeves back then.

My collection: 7" single no. 20
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1979
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Casanova' / 'DJ'

What becomes of the broken-hearted - Jimmy Ruffin

Jimmy Ruffin was born on May 7, 1939 in Collinsville, Mississippi. Ruffin abandoned his gospel background to become a session singer in the early Sixties. He first signed with a Motown Records subsidiary, the short-lived Miracle, in 1961. He recorded a one-off single, before he was drafted for national service.

After leaving the U.S. Army, he returned to Motown. He turned down the opportunity to join the Temptations and instead recommended his brother David Ruffin for the job. In 1966 he released 'What becomes of the broken-hearted'. In the UK, the single peaked at number 8. When it was re-released in 1974, the single improved on this placing, peaking at number 4!

My collection: 7" single no. 3281
Found: February 9, 2001
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'What becomes of the broken-hearted' / 'Don't you miss me a little bit baby'

Giddyap a gogo - Ad Visser and Daniel Sahuleka

Ad Visser was born in Amsterdam on April 28, 1947. After a short spell in the avant garde trio Blurp and working for several record companies, he becomes the face of the weekly pop programme Toppop, broadcast in the Netherlands between 1970 and 1985.

In 1982 he writes the book 'Sobriëtas' with a soundtrack released on LP. The single 'Giddyap a gogo', with guest vocals from Dutch artist Daniel Sahuleka, is taken from this LP, and becomes a surprise hit. The single peaks at number 26 in the Dutch Top 40 and Ad Visser actually presents and performs his own song on Toppop.

My collection: 7" single no. 560
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Giddyap a gogo' / 'Relief of Demorzan'

Thriller - Michael Jackson

Somehow I couldn't imagine Michael Jackson playing 50 dates in London this year, but the way it doesn't come to pass is even more bizarre than I could ever have imagined. 'Where were you when you heard Michael Jackson died?'. Well, I saw the first reports coming in late last night and as the first rumour of his death appeared on the internet I went to sleep. The next morning I got up in the knowledge that he was probably dead. And the news only confirmed my expectation. It's a sad day.

Michael Jackson leaves behind an unequalled musical legacy. By themselves the songs aren't that extraordinary, but the whole catalogue of his hits is quite amazing. 'Thriller' is probably the song that confirmed his status as a superstar in 1984. With the guest voice of Vincent Price and the amazing music video, this is the one single that I chose to represent Jackson's amazing career.

My collection: 7" single no. 3758

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 27, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Thriller (special edit)' / 'Things I do for you (live)' (The Jacksons)

Midnight man - Sandra

'Midnight man' was released as the fourth and final single from Sandra's second album 'Mirrors'. The single charted in a few European countries, but didn't make the top 10 in any of them. In Germany, the single only reached number 24, making this Sandra's lowest charting single in that county.

I had started collecting Sandra singles when I bought this one. It was really quite easy to find them all as long as I went to record fairs.

My collection: 7" single no. 1924
Found: Record fair, June 5, 1993
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Midnight man' / 'Mirror of love'

Steam - Peter Gabriel

'Steam' was released as the second single from Peter Gabriel's 1992 album 'Us'. Peter Gabriel has said that the song is about a relationship in which the woman is sophisticated, bright, cultured, and knows everything about anything and that the man knows nothing about anything, except, he does know about the woman, and she doesn't know much about herself.

In a way, 'Steam' does take the listener back to the sound of 'Sledgehammer', and the video even reminds of that video as well. It became Gabriel's last top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at number 10. In the Netherlands, the single reached number 16.

My collection: 7" single no. 2242
Found: February 18, 1995
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Steam' / 'Games without frontiers (Massive/DB mix)'

Fanfare for the common man - Emerson Lake and Palmer

'Fanfare for the common man' is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Copland's fanfare was reincarnated in 1977 by British rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer on their album 'Works Volume I'. Keith Emerson had long been an admirer of Copland's Americana style. The track became one of the band's biggest hits when an edited version was released as a single that year. It reached number 2 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2644
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 24, 1996
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Fanfare for the common man' / 'Brain salad surgery'

Catch me - Marsha Raven

Marsha Raven recorded 'Catch me' in 1983. It was originally released as a simple dance song but it didn't hit the charts. It was remixed in 1984. This version featured a recording of London's Big Ben. In this version, the track became a hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 4. It is quite remarkable that this single did not chart in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 1286
Found: All that music, Leiden, August 31, 1990
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Catch me' / 'Catch me (instrumental)'

Touchy! - A-ha

Although I was a fan of A-ha's music ever since they hit it big with 'Take on me', I grew increasingly unimpressed by their choice of singles in 1988. The album 'Stay on these roads' was decent enough, but the record company had a knack for choosing the most bland tracks as a single. Things hit rock bottom - in my opinion, of course - when 'Touchy!' was released in the summer of 1988. It was A-ha's most 'autopilot'-inspired track. The audiences still fell for it: the single peaked at number 11 in the UK and number 14 in the Netherlands.

I only bought the single when I found this limited edition with an extra outer sleeve. It features the A-ha logo with green liquid in it. Unfortunately, time has caused a leak in this logo, so my copy does not contain much liquid anymore. I'm curious if anyone reading this still has an intact copy of this.

My collection: 7" single no. 1852
Found: Record fair, January 23, 1993
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Touchy!' / 'Hurry home'

Blinded (by the beauty of your eyes) - The Kick

Buying this single was actually a mistake. When I was only nine years old, sometimes I got confused by all these bands and their names. I was actually looking for 'My Sharona' by The Knack, but arrived home with 'Blinded (by the beauty of your eyes)' by The Kick.

The Kick was a short-lived Dutch band. In fact, they were so short-lived that no information about the band has survived today. All I can gather from the single itself is that their song was written by W.S. van Vugt and that they were produced by famous Dutch producer/songwriter/DJ Will Luikinga. This single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 74
Found: Rapsody, Den Haag, 1980
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Blinded (by the beauty of your eyes)' / 'Like a puppet'

Living in a box - Living in a box

Richard Darbyshire, Marcus Vere and Anthony Critchlow formed Living in a box in Sheffield in 1985. Their most commercially successful single, 'Living in a box', peaked at number 5 on the UK singles chart and was the band's only single to chart in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, peaking at number 17. In the Netherlands, the single peaked at number 10.

The Penthouse mix, which appears on the B-side of this single, was mixed by Arthur Baker.

My collection: 7" single no. 525
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Living in a box' / 'Living in a box (The Penthouse mix)'

Free fallin' - Tom Petty

'Free Fallin'' is the opening track from Tom Petty's 1989 solo album, 'Full moon fever'. The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne. The duo wrote and recorded the single in two days, making it the first song completed for the album.

The single peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1990. In the UK it stalled at number 64.

My collection: 7" single no. 1143
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, January 13, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Free fallin'' / 'Love is a long road'

Peace - Depeche Mode

'Peace' is the second single from Depeche Mode's current album 'Sounds of the Universal'. It was released two weeks ago on two different cd-singles and this numbered limited edition 7" pressed white marbled vinyl. This is number 10891. Martin Gore told The Sun newspaper that 'Peace' is one of his favourite songs of the ones that he has ever written.

The single peaked at number 57 in the UK singles chart, just like their debut single 'Dreaming of me' in 1981. In Germany, 'Peace' reached number 25.

My collection: 7" single no. 3800
Found: eBay.co.uk, received June 25, 2009
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Peace (single version)' / 'Come back (Jonsi remix)'

La dolce vita - Anneli Saaristo

When you listen to 'La dolce vita' by Anneli Saaristo and you know it is a Eurovision song, the assumption is quickly made that it is a Spanish song. But nothing could be further from the truth: this 1989 entry was actually sent in by Finland!

The result was not bad: the song finished seventh in the Contest in a field of 22 participants.

My collection: 7" single no. 3799
Found: eBay.co.uk, received June 25, 2009
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'La dolce vita [Finnish]' / 'La dolce vita [English]'

We are the champions - Queen

When the band Queen was good, they were good. And when they were awful, they were truly awful. But I could never quite make up my mind with this single: which was it?

'We are the champions' and 'We will rock you' can be considered a double A-side single, since both tracks have gained a prominence in pop culture that is quite unrivalled. 'We are the champions' is (mis)used for sports events, while 'We will rock you' is no stranger to pop concerts. The single reached number 2 in the UK and the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 379
Found: Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'We are the champions' / 'We will rock you'

Is this love - Alison Moyet

Alison Moyet celebrated a lot of success with her debut solo album 'Alf' (1984), but it also presented an interesting task to come up with a successful follow-up album. 1987's 'Raindancing' could not compare to the success of its predecessor but still came up with a few reasonably successful singles.

The first one was 'Is this love', co-written by the Eurythmics' David A. Stewart, who used the pseudonym Jean Guiot. The single peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 11 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 3191
Found: September 16, 2000
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Is this love' / 'Blow wind blow'

Imagination - Belouis Some

Belouis Some was born as Neville Keighley on December 12, 1959. He released his debut album 'Some people' in 1985. The single 'Imagination' was taken from this album. On its first release in April 1985, it only reached number 50 in the UK singles chart. When it was re-released in January 1986, the single reached number 17.

The provocative music video was a regular on television for a year. No wonder then, that I remember this song well even now.

My collection: 7" single no. 383
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Imagination' / 'Have you ever been in love'

Dancing queen - Abba

Originally titled 'Boogaloo', 'Dancing Queen' was recorded in August 1975. During the sessions, Benny Andersson brought a tape home with the backing track on it and played it to his fiance, singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who apparently started crying when listening. She commented later: 'I thought the song was so beautiful'.

'Dancing Queen' became Abba's only American number one hit in April 1977. Before that, the single had already been a number one hit in Sweden (where it spent 14 weeks at the top), Norway, Ireland, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

In 1993, on the occasion of Queen Silvia's 50th birthday, Abba's Frida performed an accapella version of the song together with The Real Group. A video recording of this performance exists on 'Frida - The DVD', a documentary DVD released in 2005.

My collection: 7" single no. 2256
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, March 22, 1995
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Dancing Queen' / 'That's me'

Say hello wave goodbye - Soft Cell

Not only do I have the 12" single of 'Say hello wave goodbye', I've also got the 7" single. The single basically cuts the extended version of the 12" single into two parts, in which the first part becomes the instrumental version on the B-side, the second part is the single version on the A-side.

Soft Cell reached third place in the UK singles chart with this, one of their most acclaimed tracks in their career. It was covered by English singer David Gray in 1999.

My collection: 7" single no. 1929
Found: June 27, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Say hello wave goodbye' / 'Say hello wave goodbye (instrumental)'

Evening falls - Enya

'Evening falls' was the second single taken from Enya's breakthrough second album 'Watermark'. It was a typically silent song like she would record many times after this album and single. While her previous single 'Orinoco flow' was a number one hit in the UK, this one was less successful, peaking at number 20 only.

The B-side was a Gaelic version of the Christmas traditional 'Silent night' entitled 'Oiche Chiún', an apparent misspelling of 'Oiche Chiúin'.

My collection: 7" single no. 751
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, February 17, 1989
Cost: 4 guilders
Tracks: 'Evening falls' / 'Oiche Chiún'