Lost again - Yello

At only twelve, I was getting into electronic music really fast. I was aided somewhat by my sister, who is six years older than me and was already buying loads of singles. That is how I heard 'Lost again' (1983) by Yello, a mysterious-sounding track that, although it did not chart, ended up high in my personal top 100.

As I grew older, I had trouble finding the single. I was jealous as hell when my sister came home in 1985 with a double single of this track - but fortunately, she was willing to part with her original copy, and so I ended up owning this single anyway.

My collection: 7" single no. 369
Found: at home
Cost: - (present)
Tracks: 'Lost again' / 'Pumping velvet'

Thanks for the love - Earth and Fire

'Thanks for the love' was another hit single for the Dutch band Earth & Fire. It reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.

The B-side is an interesting one: it contains excerpts of the band's album 'To the world of the future', released a year earlier. The voice-over, Radio Veronica's DJ Lex Harding, explains that 'too few people know this album' and that the band 'has worked a half year on the album'. Back then, that was pretty impressive. These days bands need years of course...

My collection: 7" single no. 1371
Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, January 3, 1991
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Thanks for the love' / 'Excerpts from 'To the world of the future''

I owe you nothing - Bros

Originally released as their debut single in 1987, 'I owe you nothing' flopped. After the success of their breakthrough single 'When will I be famous?' it was re-released. It was accepted by the teenage audience as Bros mania was at its height. The single became the band's only UK number one, spending two weeks at the top in June 1988.

While the band ever broke through in America, the single did make number 10 on the Billboard dance chart. The single was also released as a lengthy 18 minute dance mix on a special 12" single.

My collection: 7" single no. 1032
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'I owe you nothing' / 'I owe you nothing (The voice)'

Ship of fools - World Party

World Party was essentially the project of Karl Wallinger, as he was the sole member of the band. The debut album 'Private revolution' was released in 1986 and contained the debut single 'Ship of fools', a retro-sounding track like most of the work on that album. The single reached number 42 in the UK singles chart and number 35 in the Dutch Top 40.

A 'Ship of fools' is actually an allegory that is a fixture in Western literature and art. The allegory depicts a vessel populated by human inhabitants who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, passengers aboard a ship without a pilot, and seemingly ignorant of their own direction.

My collection: 7" single no. 530
Found: Free Record Shop, 1987
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Ship of fools' / 'World groove (Do the mind guerrilla)'

Word up! - Cameo

'Word up!' was released by Cameo as a single from their 1986 album of the same name. The single peaked at number 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 10 in the Dutch Top 40.

In more recent years, the single has been covered by bands like Gun and Korn and former Spice Girl Melanie Brown.

My collection: 7" single no. 2423
Found: July 22, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Word up!' / 'Urban warrior'

Free your mind - En Vogue

'Free your mind' was released after the uprising that took place in Los Angeles, California from April 29 to May 4, 1992 following the acquittal of the police officers who had beaten up Rodney King. The song used the chorus line of a George Clinton song with his permission.

The track was taken from En Vogue's 1992 album 'Funky Divas'. It peaked at number 18 in the US Billboard Hot 100, number 16 in the UK singles chart and number 7 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1789
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, November 14, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Free your mind' / 'Giving him something he can feel'

You stole a little piece of my heart - Patty Brard

After leaving Luv', Patty Brard had a solo career in the first half of the Eighties. She recorded three albums in Los Angeles, of which 'You're in the pocket' (1983) was the second one. The single 'You stole a little piece of my heart' was an unusually hardrock-sounding track, released as the first single from that album.

The single did not chart, like most of her other singles. Still, it is an impressive popsong, even if Brard herself is an extremely irritating person these days.

My collection: 7" single no. 213
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1983
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'You stole a little piece of my heart' / 'Just a tease'

Walk out to winter - Aztec Camera

I never know what came first: the chicken or the egg. It's the same with this song: the lyric fits the music really well - or is it the other way around? The music sounds extremely 'wintery', but it might be because of the lyric that I think that.

The single reached number 64 in the UK singles chart and remains one of the band's best recognised songs.

My collection: 7" single no. 1983
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1993
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Walk out to winter' / 'Set the killing free'

Keeping the dream alive - Freiheit

Taken from the album 'Fantasy', 'Keeping the dream alive' is the English-language version of 'So lang' man Träume noch leben kann'. This single became the band's sole hit in the UK, reaching number 14 in the UK singles chart.

Like its German counterpart, the track was performed with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Jackson Singers. It was one of my favourite tracks from 1989, even though it was released in late 1988.

My collection: 7" single no. 701
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, December 15, 1988
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Keeping the dream alive' / 'The land of fantasy'

Boom bang-a-bang - Lulu

'Boom bang-a-bang' was the United Kingdom entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. It was sung by Lulu. The song famously became one of four winning entries. The single peaked at number 2 in the UK singles chart and at number 19 in the Dutch Top 40.

The song was the second entry with a nonsense title to win (after Massiel's triumph in 1968 with 'La la la'), and became infamous in the comedy world - most notably inspiring Monty Python's Flying Circus to parody it with 'Bing tiddle-tiddle bong'. Over two decades after its first release, the song was infamously included on a blacklist of banned songs issued by the BBC during the 1991 Gulf War.

My collection: 7" single no. 3693
Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 5, 2009
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Boom bang-a-bang' / 'March!'

Money, money, money - Abba

'Money, money, money' was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and at first had the working title 'Gypsy girl'. The dramatic structure of the song suited well for Anni-Frid Lyngstad's lead vocal. The song is an early indication of Björn and Benny's abilities to write dramatic music suitable for a musicals.

'Money, money, money' was the second worldwide hit from Abba's album 'Arrival'. The single topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, West Germany, Mexico and New Zealand, and reached the Top 3 in Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria and the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 174
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1980
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Money, money, money' / 'Crazy world'

Heaven must be missing an angel (remix) - Tavares

'Heaven must be missing an angel' was written by Freddie Perren and Keni St. Lewis. It was recorded by Tavares in 1976. The original version was a hit all over the world, at the height of 'disco fever'.

Dutch remixer Ben Liebrand made a remix of the song in 1985, which made it a hit for the second time. The single reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40 in September 1985, and number 21 in the UK singles chart in March 1986.

My collection: 7" single no. 343
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: - (present)
Tracks: 'Heaven must be missing an angel (remix)' / 'Whodunit'

Love in your eyes - Limahl

Limahl got rid of his extravagant haircut and started making 'serious' music in 1986. His album 'Colour all my days' was mostly produced by Giorgio Moroder. The first single, 'Love in your eyes' was a minor hit for the ex-Kajagoogoo singer.

Around this time, a UK tabloid published a photograph of Limahl leaving an unemployment office, with the caption, 'how the once mighty can fall'. But while only reaching number 80 in the UK Singles chart, 'Love in your eyes' fared much better in the rest of Europe, particularly in Germany, where the single reached number 28 and Italy, where the single peaked at number 22.

My collection: 7" single no. 439
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 26, 1986
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Love in your eyes' / 'Love will tear the soul'

Run to you - Bryan Adams

'Run to you' was recorded by Bryan Adams in 1984. It became his first worldwide hit, peaking at number 11 in the UK and number 14 in the Netherlands. It was the first single from Adams' fourth studio album 'Reckless'.

Most of all I remember the music video, which I found very impressive with all that snow...

My collection: 7" single no. 1526
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 21, 1991
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Run to you' / 'I'm ready'

EDIT (April 5, 2010): I received a notice from Blogger that this post was complained about. I trust it's from the same people who posted a reaction on this post. They are obviously terrified that anyone should hear any Bryan Adams music, even if it's any good. The message these people are sending is: don't listen to music, you might get inspired to buy it yourself. And they wonder why the music industry is in such terrible shape...

Handle with care - Traveling Wilburys

After Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne had a meal together, they decided to come together at Bob Dylan's home studio in Malibu, California, to record an additional track as a B-side for the single release of Harrison's 'This is love'. Harrison had left his guitar at Tom Petty's house, and so he became involved as well.

When they'd recorded the song, 'Handle with care', the five decided that it was too good to be used as a B-side, and they enjoyed working together so much that they even decided to record a whole album together. And so the Traveling Wilburys were born. 'Handle with care' became the first single from their album 'Volume 1'. It became a hit in various countries including the UK (peaking at number 20) and the Netherlands (peaking at number 24).

My collection: 7" single no. 1466
Found: Record Exchange, London, June 30, 1991
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Handle with care' / 'Margarita'

Slide - The Big Dish

When the compact disc format was a new event, every single disc in the house was a true event. My sister had a couple of cd's, I owned one or two, but my brother had managed to find a few cd's very cheaply. One of them was a compilation on which this song featured: 'Slide' by the Big Dish. I'd never heard of the group, but the song - which sounded a bit like Tears for Fears - intrigued me. Naturally, when I saw the single some time later I had no reservations about buying it.

The Big Dish were a Scottish rock band, formed in Airdrie, Scotland in 1983. The band was formed by Steven Lindsay, Mark Ryce and John Harper. Early live performances in support of Lloyd Cole gave them a wider audience. However, this single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 698
Found: V&D, Den Haag, December 6, 1988
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Slide' / 'Reverend killer'

Moonlight shadow - Mike Oldfield

An early version of 'Moonlight shadow' was entitled 'Midnight passion' with vocals performed by British singer Hazel O'Connor. When Oldfield re-recorded the song with Maggie Reilly, a girlfriend of one of the roadies when he was on tour, Virgin Records were immediately happy with the song and wanted more pieces similar to it.

There was a long running urban myth (largely fuelled by the tabloid press) that the lyrics are a reference to the murder of John Lennon. Oldfield responded in a 1995 interview: 'It was originally inspired by a film I loved - Houdini, starring Tony Curtis, which was about attempts to contact Houdini after he'd died, through spiritualism'.

The single was one of Oldfield's biggest hits, reaching number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Netherlands. Over the past few years, the song has been wrongly attributed to Kim Wilde on various filesharing networks.

My collection: 7" single no. 1894
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, May 2, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Moonlight shadow' / 'Rite of man'

Caribbean blue - Enya

A day at the Enya producer's office

'It's almost time to release a new single by Enya'.
- 'Really? It isn't so long ago since the previous album.'
'Yes, I know, but people are buying the stuff in droves, so we better make a profit now.'
- 'Okay... So do you still have the tapes?'
'Yes, I've got all the 'oohs' and 'aahs' she sung a couple of years ago.'
- 'Right. So any ideas for a new song?'
'Not really, but I think you could write a lyric, something along the lines of that one song, you know...'
- 'Orinoco flow?'
'That's the one! That way, I don't have to spend hours composing and arranging.'
- 'So have you got any lyric yet?'
'Yep, I'm almost there. It's a good thing we have those tapes in which she sang random words; we can glue them together and form some lyric with that.'
- 'Okay. What about the B-side?'
'Hmmm... I guess we'll just stick that Orinoco thingy on it'.
- 'Wouldn't that be a bit obvious?'
'I don't know. We'll see, won't we? If people buy this single, we can make a whole album with this stuff.'
- 'Right, good thinking mate...'

My collection: 7" single no. 1544
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, November 2, 1991
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Caribbean blue' / 'Orinoco flow'

Falling - Julee Cruise

One of the best TV-series of all time, 'Twin Peaks' was blessed with a gripping soundtrack, taken care of by Angelo Badalamenti. He scored the series, but also worked together with David Lynch on an album by Julee Cruise. 'Falling' appeared on both the soundtrack album for 'Twin Peaks' and the solo album by Cruise, 'Floating into the night'.

In the UK, the single reached number 7 in the singles chart. In the Netherlands, the single charted twice; once in January 1991, reaching number 20 and again in October of that year, reaching number 16. So why did this happen? It's easy: in September 1991, 'Twin peaks' started being broadcast in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 1431
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, April 13, 1991
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Falling' / 'Twin Peaks theme'

Die Zeit ist einsam - Timna Brauer

This is one of the hidden gems of the Eurovision Song Contest. It can be compared to the likes of 'Rapsodia' by Mia Martini (Italy 1992) and 'Sama' by Justyna Steczkowska (Poland 1995) as one of those songs that make you suicidal upon hearing it. Not because of the quality, mind, but because it's so moody and beautiful.

Timna Brauer was born on May 1, 1961 in Vienna, Austria and represented her country in 1996 with 'Die Zeit ist einsam' ('Time is lonely'). The international juries were not impressed and she ended up in 18th place in a field of 20 participants. They were obviously looking for something with more depth and substance - the winning song was 'J'aime la vie' ('I love life').

My collection: 7" single no. 2974
Found: Bea Records, March 1, 1998
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks: 'Die Zeit ist einsam' / 'And when the night comes'