I need you - B.V.S.M.P.

Sometimes my memory plays dirty tricks on me. I remembered 'I need you' by B.V.S.M.P. as a nice popsong with some regrettable hip hop elements, but listening to it now I have to conclude that it was a dull hip hop song after all. Nothing can be worse than a song starting with the words 'Yo, hey, check this out'. The only thing missing here is the 'bitch' and 'motherfucker'.

The band consisted of Percy Nathan Rodgers, Calvin Williams and Frederick Eugene Byrd. 'I need you' reached number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 3895
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'I need you' / 'I need you (Radio instrumental)'

Come back and stay - Paul Young

Paul Young's 1983 hit single 'Come back and stay' was written by American musician Jack Lee. The song may have been written about one of his two teen sweethearts (with whom he fathered respectively a son and a daughter) or to his wife and mother of his two youngest daughters. This theme of loss of love, heartbreak and abandonment was derived from his life experiences that kept repeating.

Paul Young reached number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 with this track. The album version, which lasted for seven minutes, was edited to a 4'23 minute single remix version.

My collection: 7" single no. 3878
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Come back and stay (single remix version)' / 'Yours'

Listen to the man with the golden voice - Time Bandits

Alides Hidding started the band Time Bandits in the early Eighties. Their debut single 'Live it up' was a big hit in the Netherlands and the start of a career that would span the entire decade.

'Listen to the man with the golden voice' is released in April 1983 and reaches number 7 in the Dutch Top 40 - but also becomes a hit in other European countries. The track is sung with Hidding's distinctive falsetto voice.

My collection: 7" single no. 3877
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Listen to the man with the golden voice' / 'Words'

Labour of love - Hue and Cry

Hue and Cry are a pop duo formed in 1983 in Coatbridge, Scotland by the brothers Pat and Greg Kane. Their biggest hit was the 1987 single 'Labour of love', which peaked at number 6 in the UK singles chart. It was released as their second single after their first single 'I refuse' had failed to make the UK top 75.

The song is written from the perspective of a disillusioned working-class Conservative voter of the mid-Eighties who has worked hard to believe in Margaret Thatcher's story of a new proud, individualist Britain and who is now realising that there is less "gain" than "pain" in doing so.

My collection: 7" single no. 3888
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Labour of love' / 'Wide screen'

Singin' in the rain - Sheila B. Devotion

'Singin' in the rain' was originally written by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown in 1929. It was prominently featured in the movie of the same name from 1952, starring Gene Kelly.

Sheila B. Devotion recorded this disco version of the track in 1977. It was a big hit, peaking at number 3 in the Netherlands and number 11 in the UK singles chart. The most interesting bit in the song is Sheila's pronunciation of the word 'Rain'.

My collection: 7" single no. 3884
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Singin' in the rain part 1' / 'Singin' in the rain part 2'

The same old scene - Roxy Music

'Same old scene' was released as the second single from Roxy Music's 1980 album 'Flesh & Blood'. It peaked at number 12 on the UK charts and number 34 in the Netherlands.

The song plays during the opening credits of the 1980 film 'Times Square' and is included on the soundtrack album. The song was also used for the ending credits of the first episode of the 2008 series 'Ashes to Ashes', causing it to jump to the No.1 most downloaded Roxy Music song on iTunes for a short period.

My collection: 7" single no. 3890
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'The same old scene' / 'My only love'

No more tears (Enough is enough) - Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer

In 1979, Barbra Streisand, famous for her easy listening songs, and disco queen Donna Summer got together to record a duet. Entitled 'Enough is enough', it almost never made it onto Streisand's album 'Wet', because the lyric did not contain any reference to water (the theme of the album). Streisand really wanted the song on the album and thus changed the title of the song to 'No more tears (Enough is enough)', upon which the ballad introduction was written, to give more of an explanation of water to the song. 'It's raining, it's pouring, my love life is boring me to tears after all these years'.

During the recording of the song, Summer is said to have passed out and fallen off her chair having been out partying the night before. Streisand supposedly carried on singing her long note and waited until she had finished it before stopping and asking Summer if she was okay. Another rumour regarding the song is that Streisand's son, Jason Gould, is the one who talked his mother into recording the duet as he was a fan of Summer's work. The single became a number one hit in the USA and Canada, peaking at number 3 in the UK and number 20 in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3896
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'No more tears (Enough is enough)' / 'Wet' (Barbra Streisand)

Raw - Spandau Ballet

After a break from recording, during which the Kemp brothers Gary and Martin established themselves as credible actors in the gangster film 'The Krays', Spandau Ballet released the album 'Heart Like a Sky' in 1989.

'Raw' was released as the first single in September 1988. It reached number 47 in the UK singles chart and number 27 in the Dutch Top 40, but in other territories the single flopped. Meanwhile, internal conflicts caused the band to split up in early 1990.

My collection: 7" single no. 3881
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 1989
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Raw' / 'Raw (Flip)'

Total eclipse of the heart - Bonnie Tyler

'Total eclipse of the heart' is one of those singles I thought I had for years, and then one day I discovered I didn't have it. It still didn't get to the top of my want list, because it's also one of those songs that have been played to death on radio and television in the mid-Eighties, the time when I was actually hooked on those media.

The song remains Bonnie Tyler's most successful song, peaking at number 1 in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands, surprisingly, it didn't do so well, peaking at number 24 in the Dutch Top 40. It's still a radio favourite these days.

My collection: 7" single no. 3893
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Total eclipse of the heart' / 'Take me back'

It hurts - The Lotus Eaters

The single 'It hurts' is an excellent track, and one of my (many) favourites of the Eighties. Finding this 12" single was a happy catch. It features not so much a remix of the song as it is a re-recording, featuring a few added lines. Hence the subtitle: 'There must be a taste of murder in it'.

With 12" singles like this, you have to wonder why remixes are so boring these days.

My collection: 12" single no. 502
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'It hurts (There must be a taste of murder in it)' / 'The evidence', 'It hurts (7" version)'

Rio - Maywood

According to the Dutch duo Maywood, Rio is a 'land of sun, samba and wine'. But of course, Rio de Janeiro is a city in Brazil. It does make you wonder what Alice May (one half of the duo) was thinking while she was composing the song.

Despite this ignorance, the single became Maywood's second biggest hit, peaking at number 3 in the Dutch Top 40. Most people don't listen to lyrics anyway...

My collection: 7" single no. 3869
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Rio' / 'It's a different world'

Arizona sky - China Crisis

'Arizona sky' was taken from China Crisis' fourth album 'What price paradise', released in 1986. The single was a minor success in the UK, reaching number 47 in the singles chart.

A few months ago I was frantically searching for China Crisis 12" singles, because there are quite a few extended versions around that have never been released on cd. What better way to get them on one disc than by buying all the original 12" singles myself and then compile them? But finding them is quite hard. You can imagine I was very pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon this one.

My collection: 12" single no. 501
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Arizona sky (full length version)' / 'Trading in gold'

(Baby tell me) Can you dance - Shanice Wilson

Shanice Wilson was born in Pittsburgh, USA on May 14, 1973. She was pushed by her mother and aunt who were interested in pursuing careers in the music industry. At the age of eight, she starred in a KFC commercial with Ella Fitzgerald. In 1984, she participated in the TV programme 'Star search' and was signed to A&M Records.

She recorded an album with Teena Marie producing, but the record company shelved the album. 1987 saw the release of 'Discovery', produced by Bryan Loren. The first single, '(Baby tell me) Can you dance' was an immediate hit, peaking at number 50 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 35 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 3871
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: '(Baby tell me) Can you dance' / 'Summer love'

Cruel summer 89 - Bananarama

Record company executives have brilliant ideas sometimes. Take for instance this single. Bananarama released a compilation album in 1989. Entitled 'The greatest hits collection', it comprised all of the trio's big hits and became their biggest success, peaking at number 3 in the UK albums chart.

The executives wanted to promote the album with a single release. What to do? The recipe was as follows: take a catchy song such as 'Cruel summer', take out all the life and soul, replace it with generic beats and a dull throbbing rhythm, and you've got a potential new hit! Except it wasn't. The single still made number 19 in the UK singles chart, but flopped everywhere else. In short: this is a rather disappointing release by the Bananaramas.

My collection: 7" single no. 3885
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Cruel summer (Swing beat version)' / 'Venus (The greatest remix)'

Together we are beautiful - Fern Kinney

Fern Kinney began singing in the late Sixties. She joined the vocal group The Poppies, replacing the previous singer Patsy McClune. In the early Seventies she also started working as a session musician. Having settled as a housewife, Kinney finally tried to attempt a comeback with 'Groove me'.

The next single 'Together we are beautiful' became a surprise worldwide hit. Originally recorded by British vocalist Steve Allan eighteen months earlier, Kinney made it a sultry disco hit. It didn't reach the chart in her native America, but in the UK it became a number one hit. It also reached number 24 in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3870
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Together we are beautiful' / 'Baby, let me kiss you'

Ain't no pleasing you - Chas and Dave

At the age of eleven, just before I was leaving junior education, the school organised a dance for its pupils. The memory of dancing with the girl Francisca had left my mind for a long time, but it came back when I heard this song, because this was the song we danced to. I left school full of hope for the future, but it would take no less than 11 years before I ever danced with a woman again.

It was Chas & Dave's only hit in the Netherlands, reaching number 20 in May 1982. In the UK, where the duo was more successful, this was their biggest hit, peaking at number 2 in the singles chart the month before.

My collection: 7" single no. 3891
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Ain't no pleasing you' / 'Give it some stick Mick!'

Blood on the dancefloor - Michael Jackson

I already wrote about 'Blood on the dancefloor' on an earlier entry. I'd found a rare UK pressing of the single and I assumed it was just about the only 7" vinyl that existed of this title. But how wrong I was! The single was also made in the USA, and what's more: it's got a different B-side! I ordered this copy right away, because those latter day Michael Jackson singles are very appealing to me.

The remix of 'Dangerous' by Roger on the B-side also appeared on the cd-single for 'Blood on the dancefloor', and so it isn't that rare. But circa 1997 all 7" singles were becoming rarities, and so it is still a worthwhile addition to my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 3898
Found: eBay.com, received July 22, 2009
Cost: 10 dollars
Tracks: 'Blood on the dancefloor' / 'Dangerous (Roger's Dangerous Edit)'

Follow me - Amanda Lear

Amanda Lear has made a point of being unclear about her childhood. She was alledgedly born as Amanda Tapp in Hong Kong on November 18, 1939, but the stories she told the press have been deliberately conflicting, with her date of birth ranging between 1939 and 1948 and her place of birth reported as Switzerland, Saigon, Hanoi as well as Hong Kong.

After a career in modelling she moved into music in the mid-Seventies. 'Follow me' has become her signature song. It was taken from her second album 'Sweet revenge' and released in the summer of 1978. It reached number 3 in the Netherlands, Germany and South Africa. Amanda later recorded several remakes of 'Follow me' trying to revive her career: in 1987, 1989, 1993, 1998 and one version in the early 2000s.

My collection: 7" single no. 3883
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Follow me' / 'Mother look what they've done to me'

(You really) Rock me - Nick Gilder

Nick Gilder was born on December 21, 1951 in London, England. He began his career in music as the frontman of the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. In 1977, Gilder went solo. His first album, 'You know who you are' (1977) flopped, but the second album 'City nights' (1978) spawned the Canadian number one hit 'Hot child in the city'.

'(You really) Rock me' was taken from Gilder's third album 'Frequency' and reached number 35 in the Canadian singles chart, and number 57 in the US Billboard Hot 100. In the Netherlands, the single did not chart, but I still vaguely remembered it. Glad I found it.

My collection: 7" single no. 3882
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: '(You really) Rock me' / 'Got to get out'

Tomb of memories - Paul Young

I've resisted it for more than two decades, but this week I finally caved and bought a few Paul Young singles. Well, at this price, who can blame me. Paul Young was my sister's idol, and as she was always criticizing my taste in music I felt I had to be ruthless in my dislike of Paul Young. That was easy at the time: I didn't like his voice and I thought his songs were crap.

Time has been kind to him, even if his voice has deteriorated so much that he really shouldn't perform live anymore. His songs have aged well, and this, the fourth single from his UK number one album 'The secret of association', is proof of that. 'Tomb of memories' is a lively song, backed with a beautiful, ghostly B-side.

My collection: 7" single no. 3879
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, July 20, 2009
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Tomb of memories' / 'Man in the iron mask'