Lord of darkness Andrew Eldritch invited Terri Nunn for vocals on this single, the ominous 'Under the gun'. Nunn is best known for her work in the band Berlin.
'Under the gun' was a new track on the compilation album 'A slight case of overbombing: greatest hits vol. 1' (1993). The single reached number 19 in the UK singles chart, and was the last hit single for the band.
My collection: 7" single no. 2007 Found: HMV, London, October 18, 1993 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'Under the gun' / 'Alice (1993)'
Luv' released their seventh consecutive hit single in February 1980. The girl trio were doing great business, performing live wherever they could and appearing in almost every TV programme in the Netherlands.
This single was a Mexican-flavoured popsong, using all the cliches of mariachi bands and the like. The single peaked at number 11 in the Dutch Top 40 and also appeared in several European charts. On the sleeve, the girls looked rather posh.
My collection: 7" single no. 33 Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Ann-Maria' / 'Flash'
I saw the music video for Vanessa Paradis' single 'Maxou' a couple of times in 1988 or 1989, and the song always stuck in my mind. The video was very cute (although it is a bit risqué with all those sensual images of a very young girl) and the music was very beautiful.
After I'd found the cd of the album 'M&J' I started searching for the 7" singles as well. In the Netherlands they were very difficult to get a hold of, because Paradis was a star in France only after her international hit 'Joe le taxi'. But I succeeded. The single also contains the best album track on the B-side.
My collection: 7" single no. 2262 Found: Record fair, April 8, 1995 Cost: 7 guilders Tracks: 'Maxou (remix)' / 'Le bon dieu est un marin'
Tom Jones had just had a reasonable hit with the atrocious 'If I only knew' when he released this duet with Tori Amos as the second single from his 1994 album 'The lead and how to swing it'. It was a smart move: Tori Amos had just become the hottest thing since sliced bread and the appeal to a younger audience would be massive... or so the record company must have thought.
The single did not chart, which is quite logical when you hear the stuff that Diane Warren has composed and written. Warren has a monopoly on cliched pop ballads. Sometimes they are effective, in that audiences fall for it, but this time around, they didn't.
My collection: 7" single no. 2260 Found: Record fair, April 8, 1995 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'I wanna get back with you' / 'If I only knew'
Not only do I have the 7" single of 'Snobbery and decay', I've got the 12" single too! Quite a feat, because these things became increasinly expensive during the Nineties, when record buyers were finally catching on to the phenomenon Act. According to Claudia Brücken: 'The whole idea was based on a programme called 'Lifestyles of the rich and famous'. That was when we discovered how much we wanted to write about that idea and what a great introduction it would be for Thomas and me to have a duet as a first single. Two characters talking about that whole thing.'
This 12" single also features a cover of 'I'd be surprisingly good for you' from the musical 'Evita', chosen according to Thomas Leer, because 'we both dislike Andrew Lloyd Webber intensely. We wanted to do something from a musical, something that was crap and that we could make great. It also fitted the idea of the package.'
My collection: 12" single no. 510 Found: ? Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Snobbery and decay (That's entertainment)' / 'Poison', 'I'd be surprisingly good for you'
'Dance away' was released as the second single from Roxy Music's 1979 album 'Manifesto'. The single reached number 2 on the UK singles chart and number 6 in the Dutch Top 40. In the US Billboard Hot 100 the single reached number 44.
The record shop where I bought this single is one of my most vivid memories of a shop ever. The place stank of urine (probably from the dog who was walking around there), there were boxes with singles everywhere and the state of most of them was deplorable. I rescued a few titles I really wanted to have and got out of there. Pity I don't remember the name of the place...
My collection: 7" single no. 856 Found: Den Haag, May 27, 1989 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Dance away' / 'Cry cry cry'
'Woman in chains' was the second single from Tears for Fears' 1989 album 'The seeds of love'. Band members Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith discovered Oleta Adams while she was singing in a seedy bar somewhere in America. They decided that she had to work with them on the album, and 'Woman in chains' was one of two tracks on which she appeared. The track features Phil Collins on drums.
Roland Orzabal explained about the lyric: 'The song is also about how men traditionally play down the feminine side of their characters and how both men and women suffer for it.... I think men in a patriarchal society are sold down the river a bit - okay, maybe we're told that we're in control but there are also a hell of a lot of things that we miss out on, which women are allowed to be.' The single peaked at number 26 in the UK singles chart and number 12 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 1115 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, November 17, 1989 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Woman in chains' / 'Always in the past'
'In 't leven' ('In life') was the debut single of Het Goede Doel, a Dutch band formed by Henk Temming and Henk Westbroek. The lyric of the song described a one night stand, initiated by a woman who was interested in love nor money. The singer finds himself smelling the sweat of her body when he's eating a sandwich a few days later.
The single did not chart in the Dutch Top 40, despite repeated airplay in 1982, when it was released. Things turned out alright for the band: they would have a dozen hit singles during the Eighties.
My collection: 7" single no. 3761 Found: Marktplaats.nl, received June 3, 2009 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'In 't leven' / 'Alleen'
Released in September 1986, 'Same old story' was the first single from Ultravox's final album in the classic line-up with Midge Ure, 'U-vox'. The band moved away from their previous synth-based pop songs and showcased a more rock-oriented sound on this single.
The single wasn't a big hit for the band, peaking at number 31 in the UK singles chart. This limited edition version of the single is a nice item: the outer pvc sleeve has stripes on it, with which you can make the inner sleeve 'invisible', i.e. just a green square and no letters.
My collection: 7" single no. 2457 Found: Record fair, September 9, 1995 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'Same old story' / '3'
In 1989, the Scottish band The Blue Nile released their second album after five years of absence from the music scene. It was accepted by music critics with rave reviews, including a rare five-star rating from the UK's Q magazine.
The lead single from the album was 'The downtown lights', one of the few up-tempo tracks from the album. For the first time, the band reached the UK singles chart at number 67 during a one week chart run. The track was later covered by Annie Lennox on her second album 'Medusa'.
My collection: 7" single no. 990 Found: Tower Records, London, October 16, 1989 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'The downtown lights' / 'The wires are down'
'Together forever' was the fourth single from Rick Astley's debut album 'Whenever you need somebody'. The track was remixed for the single by Pete Hammond.
The single reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and number 2 in the UK singles chart. In the Netherlands, the single reached number 12.
My collection: 7" single no. 2445 Found: September 2, 1995 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Together forever (Lover's leap remix)' / 'I'll never set you free'
In 1990, the album 'Red Hot and Blue' was released in order to raise funds for AIDS research. Twenty artists contributed cover versions of Cole Porter songs to the album. Neneh Cherry's version of 'I've got you under my skin' was released as the lead single from the album.
She did a rather creative cover version of the track, with some added raps and lyrics, a strong bassline and a little less melody. Still, the track stands up well. The single reached number 25 in the UK singles chart and number 14 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 2136 Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, August 2, 1994 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'I've got you under my skin' / 'I've got you under my skin (instrumental)'
Such is the nature of my record collection, that I sometimes buy a single I moderately like when the limited edition version is attractive enough. This single came in a foldout box set with four postcards. The price was right, so I bought it.
'Get on your feet' is taken from Gloria Estefan's album 'Cuts both ways'. The single peaked at number 23 in the UK singles chart and number 12 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 2909 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 31, 1997 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: 'Get on your feet' / '1, 2, 3 (live)'
'Nothin' at all' was the fourth single taken from Heart's self-titled 1985 album. It is a love song which describes a new relationship which falls into place without effort or conflict. The track was remixed for this single. In the remix, a vibrant alternate lead vocal take from Ann Wilson is featured with striking embellishments; Howard Leese's guitar solo is vastly different.
The single hit number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It only managed to reach number 76 on the UK singles chart, but a reissue in 1988 managed to reach number 38. The B-side of this single is a rather curious choice: the track was taken from Heart's 1978 album 'Magazine'.
My collection: 7" single no. 2473 Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 16, 1995 Cost: 3 guilders Tracks: 'Nothin' at all (remix)' / 'I've got the music in me'
'Different air' was the last single by Living in a box to reach the UK singles chart, albeit at number 57 only. After the ballad hit 'Room in your heart', this single was a decidedly middle of the road track, that didn't touch a lot of people.
Artistic differences, as well as changes to their record label Chrysalis, caused the band to break up in 1990 before they could record a third album.
My collection: 7" single no. 1146 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, January 19, 1990 Cost: 3,5 guilders Tracks: 'Different air' / 'All the difference in the world'
I depend on my photographic memory when it comes to buying records for my collection. This doesn't always work, as is demonstrated with this single. I bought the German pressing of 'That girl' (pictured above) back in 1989. A decade later, I found the UK version of that same title (pictured below), but because the sleeve was so different, I didn't recognise it and bought it again (I didn't register where and when, so that data is missing below). The French version has a different sleeve, so I'll have to watch out that I won't buy that one too in the future.
The 1982 release 'That girl' was the lead single from Stevie Wonder's Greatest Hits compilation, 'Original Musiquarium' as one of four new songs from the collection. The single reached number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 39 on the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 797 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, April 15, 1989 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'That girl' / 'All I do'
While recording the movie 'Evita', Madonna had finally had some much-needed vocal coaching. After more than a decade in music, she finally learned how to handle her voice during singing. The effects didn't wear off immediately, as shown on her 1998 album 'Ray of light'. The first single from that album was 'Frozen', showing a remarkable change in direction: from superficial pop to melodic trance. Producer William Orbit had a lot to do with this, of course.
Seemingly recorded with Animal from the Muppets on drums, 'Frozen' reached number 1 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40. This American 7" single is probably the only 7" single that exists as the format had been abondoned in almost every territory by 1998.
My collection: 7" single no. 3021 Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 8, 1998 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Frozen' / 'Shanti/Ashtangi'
Since this single is also included in the box set for 'Atlantic', I've got two copies of it. But originally I bought this single soon after it came out in 2006. The song was written about the war in Iraq. Tim Rice-Oxley explained: 'It's probably the one song that most expresses our dismay and confusion about what it means to be a British citizen, in terms of what our society's contributing to the world at large. It's very hard to make sense of why Britain feels it needs to sign up with George Bush's attacks on Iraq and the whole Afghanistan thing. It feels like there's a whole lot of trouble brewing up over Iran, and you just don't know where it's going to end. On a personal level, for people of our age, it's really unsettling...'
The single peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart. It reached number 7 in the Dutch Top 40 during an amazing 17 week chart run.
My collection: 7" single no. 3438 Found: HMV, London, June 19, 2006 Cost: 3 pounds Tracks: 'Is it any wonder?' / 'Let it slide'
George Michael released his second solo single 'A different corner' in April 1986, while still a member of Wham!, although their farewell concert had already been announced. This song was written, arranged and produced by George Michael himself and the sleeve proclaimed that the song was 'dedicated to a memory'. It is rumoured that the song was written about his brief relationship with Pat Fernandez. Fernandez appeared in the Wham! videos 'Wake me up before you go-go' (as one of the dancers with Pepsi and Shirlie) and 'Last Christmas'.
The single was another number one hit for George Michael, in the Netherlands, the UK and Norway. It also reached number 7 in the US Billboard Hot 100. I recently bought the 12" single but found out that the tracks on it are exactly the same as the ones on the 7" single I've had for 20 years.
My collection: 7" single no. 880 / 12" single no. 507 Found: All that music, Leiden, June 16, 1989 / Songs for sale, Rotterdam, July 31, 2009 Cost: 3 guilders / 2 euro Tracks: 'A different corner' / 'A different corner (instrumental)'
After her success with the Pet Shop Boys in 1987 and 1989, Dusty Springfield finally returned to recording music after an absence from the music business for almost 20 years. The resulting album, 'Reputation' was released in June 1990. The album included the previous two hits 'Nothing has been proved' and 'In private'. This single, 'Reputation' was the title track and the first single by Springfield circa 1990 that was not produced by the Pet Shop Boys.
Perhaps that was why the single only managed to reach number 38 in the UK singles chart. Meanwhile, the album reached number 18 in the UK albums chart, finally resurrecting Springfield's career once and for all.
My collection: 7" single no. 2436 Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, August 19, 1985 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Reputation' / 'Rep u dub 1'
Lord of darkness Andrew Eldritch invited Terri Nunn for vocals on this single, the ominous 'Under the gun'. Nunn is best known for her work in the band Berlin.
