Never in a million years - Boomtown Rats

In 1980, Gerry Cott left the Boomtown Rats. The group continued as a quintet and released their fifth album, 'V Deep' in February 1982. Before that, the beautiful single 'Never in a million years' was released. It was released in a remarkable sleeve, featuring six holes at the front, representing the zeros in 'million', but omitting the band name and the title of the song.

As a result, many did not know of the single's release. It only reached number 62 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 892
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, June 17, 1989
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Never in a million years' / 'Don't talk to me'

Mama - Kim Appleby

Mel & Kim Appleby wrote 'Mama' as a tribute to their mother. It's always a tricky subject, because the danger of writing a sappy lyric is always there. I'm still undecided on this one: the combination of melancholy for the past and the outright sentimentality in this song leaves me, well, cold.

The single was not a success in the Netherlands, as it didn't even chart. In the UK singles chart, 'Mama' reached number 19.

My collection: 7" single no. 1489
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, July 4, 1991
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Mama' / 'Don't worry'

Weekend - Earth and Fire

I'm proud to say that I never understood what was sexy about Jerney Kaagman, but back in 1979 most of the Netherlands was in raptures about this woman and her blue suit, when she performed 'Weekend' in Toppop, the weekly chart show where Earth & Fire promoted their single from the album 'Reality fills fantasy'.

'Weekend' became a number 1 hit in the Dutch Top 40, their biggest hit since 1972's 'Memories'. The 'sexy' Kaagman is now a botox-filled expressionless old witch.

My collection: 7" single no. 3287
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Weekend' / 'Answer me'

Lap of luxury - Jethro Tull

Buying my 400th single was quite a big deal. I was thinking hard what would be an appropriate buy. In the end, I settled on this double single. Not because I was a fan of Jethro Tull, but because it was the only double single available at the time for a reasonable price. And I thought it would be appropriate to have a double single as a festive treat.

The band had just released 'Under wraps' in 1984, a very electronic album with no live drummer but a drum machine. Although the band was reportedly proud of the sound, the album was not well received. However, the video for 'Lap of luxury' did manage to earn moderate rotation on the newly influential MTV music video channel. 'Lap of luxury' reached number 70 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 400
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 7,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Lap of luxury' / 'Astronomy' // 'Automotive engineering' / 'Tundra'

The touch - Kim Wilde

The second single from Kim Wilde's 1984 album 'Teases & dares', entitled 'The touch', didn't do much to restore her image in her native UK. She hadn't had a top 20 hit since 1982's 'View from a bridge', and this one didn't even make the top 50. Peaking at number 56, it qualified as a real disappointment.

Outside of the UK, things were not quite that problematic. The single reached number 20 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 29 in Germany. The single was also released as a shaped picture disc and featured for the first time a composition by Kim Wilde herself: 'Shangri-la' was included as the B-side track. Plus quite a lovely sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 252
Found: LP Top 100, 1984
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'The touch' / 'Shangri-la'

Woman - John Lennon

'Woman' was written by John Lennon as an ode to his wife Yoko Ono. In an interview for Rolling Stone magazine on December 5, 1980, Lennon said that 'Woman' was a 'grown-up version' of the song 'Girl'.

The song was released as the second single from Lennon's 'Double fantasy' album, and the first single released after his tragic death on December 8, 1980. It spent two weeks at number 1 in the UK singles chart and five weeks at number 1 in New Zealand. In the Netherlands, the single only managed to reach number 21, while in the US it reached number 2.

My collection: 7" single no. 2384
Found: House of Rhythm, London, July 1, 1995
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Woman' (John Lennon) / 'Beautiful boys' (Yoko Ono)

The sweetest taboo - Sade

Sade introduced her second album 'Promise' with this single, 'The sweetest taboo'. The track built on the sound that was laid down on her debut album 'Diamond life'. Although at first I was not convinced by this composition, it grew on me over the years.

The single peaked at number 31 in the UK singles chart, but did much better in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 5. In the Netherlands, 'The sweetest taboo' reached number 14. 'You're not the man' was a non-album track, although it was later included on the Compact Disc release of 'Promise'.

My collection: 7" single no. 340
Found: LP Top 100, 1985
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'The sweetest taboo' / 'You're not the man'

Nightshift - Commodores

Without Lionel Richie as their frontman, the Commodores soldiered on. They surprised everyone with this 1985 hit, 'Nightshift'. Written as a tribute to Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, two musicians who died in 1984. The single reached number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 1 in the Netherlands - the only number 1 hit for the Commodores in this country.

'Nightshift' won a Grammy Award in 1985 for best R&B Performance by a duo or group with vocals.

My collection: 7" single no. 1722
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, October 3, 1992
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Nightshift' / 'I keep running'

One more try - George Michael

'One more try' was written by George Michael to express his unwillingness to return to a new relationship because he had been emotionally hurt so many times previously. The song concludes with temptation taking over, and Michael ends by singing the title of the song for the only time.

The song was released as the fourth single from George Michael's debut album 'Faith'. Despite the fact that the song clocks in at almost six minutes, it was still a hit in several countries. It peaked at number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100, number 4 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 8 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2453
Found: Record fair, September 2, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'One more try' / 'Look at your hands'

Lambada - Kaoma

The summer is almost over, so it's high time I would present this single, Kaoma's summer hit from 1989. It is kindof tricky, because this song is cheesier than a Gruyere these days. When I bought it, it was still fresh, although it was already clear that it was becoming a bigger hit than it should. Twenty years later, you will hear this song regularly whenever and wherever you don't want it.

In 1988 a French entrepreneur, Olivier Lamotte d'Incamps, visited Porto Seguro and discovered locals dancing the tightly syncopated lambada to a melody that turned out to be Bolivian. With a lot of publicity, d'Incamps originated a lambada dance craze, largely by promoting a European tour of Kaoma, a band formed from a Porto Seguro dance group Touré Kunda. He bought the musical rights of about 300 lambada songs. He went back to France, and created the Kaoma Band. They turned Lambada into a worldwide known style. When Kaoma recorded 'Lambada' in 1989, it became a worldwide hit, reaching number 1 in several countries including the Netherlands. However, the song was an unauthorized translation of the song 'Llorando se fue' (1982) from the Bolivian group Los K’jarkas. Due to the clear act of plagiarism, Los Kjarkas successfully sued Kaoma.

My collection: 7" single no. 1073
Found: HMV, London, October 19, 1989
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Lambada' / 'Lambada (instrumental)'

Around my heart - Sandra

'Around my heart' was released as the fourth single from Sandra's third album 'Into a secret land'. The song was written by Hubert Kemmler, Markus Lohr, Sör Otto's, Frank Peterson, Klaus Hirschburger and produced by Michael Cretu. The track was remixed for the single release.

The single peaked at number 6 in Israel, number 11 in Germany, number 19 in Switzerland, number 23 in Austria and number 28 in France. My copy of the single includes a biography of Sandra in Spanish.

My collection: 7" single no. 1778
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, October 25, 1992
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Around my heart' / 'Around my drums'

Here we'll stay - Frida

'Here we'll stay', the third single from Frida's 1982 album 'Something's going on', went by almost unnoticed. So much so, that I forgot all about it when I wrote about the previous single, 'To turn the stone'. The track was originally recorded as a duet with Phil Collins, who produced the album. For the single version, his voice was omitted. The single was unsuccessful: it only reached number 100 in the UK singles chart.

I originally bought the single back in 1983 or 1984. When I arrived home with it, I noticed that the single was broken in two. I could have gone back for a refund but I think I was afraid they wouldn't believe me when I said I bought it like that. So that was 1 or 2 guilders down the drain. I only bought it again one and a half decade later.

My collection: 7" single no. 3049
Found: Record fair, January 30, 1999
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Here we'll stay' / 'Strangers'

Breath of life - Erasure

The fourth and final single taken from their 1992 album 'Chorus', Erasure's 'Breath of life' is written from the point of view of someone who is beginning to experience life on his own terms, finding love and making decisions without the control of outside influences.

This 7" single contains three versions of the song, including the original album version. The single reached number 8 in the UK singles chart. I bought my copy during a holiday in Austria.

My collection: 7" single no. 1682
Found: Deutschlandsberg, Austria, July 2, 1992
Cost: 54 Schilling
Tracks: 'Breath of life (7" mix)' / 'Breath of life', 'Breath of life (Acapella dub remix)'

Rockollection - Laurent Voulzy

Laurent Voulzy was born on December 18, 1948 in Paris, France. After leading the English-pop-influenced band Le Temple de Vénus in the Sixties, he worked with Pascal Danel between 1969 and 1974. He started writing songs with Alain Souchon and released this debut single 'Rockollection' in 1977.

Long before the world came to know Stars on 45, he introduced the idea of mixing together wellknown classic songs - but in this case, interspersed with an original lyric by Souchon and himself. On the A-side you can hear him singing 'The locomotion', 'A hard day's night', 'I get around', 'Gloria' and 'Satisfaction', followed on the B-side by 'Massachussetts', 'Mellow yellow' and 'California dreaming'. The single was an international hit, although it did not chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 2427
Found: Den Haag, August 19, 1995
Cost: nothing
Tracks: 'Rockollection (part 1)' / 'Rockollection (part 2)'

Tom's diner - DNA featuring Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega originally wrote 'Tom's diner' as an acapella song in 1981. It was released on her album 'Solitude standing' in 1987. The acapalla track was then used by two British record producers in 1990 to create the DNA remix of 'Tom's diner' without Vega's permission. Rather than sue them, record company A&M decided to buy the track and release it as a single. It was a wise move: this version reached number 1 in Austria and Germany, and went top 10 almost everywhere else. A year later, Vega released 'Tom's album', a compilation of different versions of the song, in various different versions.

The original version of 'Tom's diner' (on the B-side of this single) was used by Karlheinz Brandenburg to develop the audio compression scheme known as MP3. He recalled: 'I was ready to fine-tune my compression algorithm...somewhere down the corridor, a radio was playing 'Tom's diner'. I was electrified. I knew it would be nearly impossible to compress this warm a cappella voice.'

My collection: 7" single no. 2287
Found: May 6, 1995
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Tom's diner' (DNA featuring Suzanne Vega) / 'Tom's diner' (Suzanne Vega)

Are you just using me - Richenel

Richenel was born as Hubertus Richenel Baars in Amsterdam in 1957. He forged a career in pop music in the Netherlands. In 1986 he scored his first big hit, 'Dance around the world', which also reached the top of the charts in Italy, Germany and Scandinavia.

Much was made of his 1989 single 'Are you just using me'. It was written by R. Phillips, which actually was a pseudonym for George Michael. Surprisingly, this didn't help: the single did not chart in the Netherlands - or anywhere else.

My collection: 7" single no. 812
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, May 12, 1989
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Are you just using me' / 'Are you just using me (instrumental)'

Há sempre alguém - Nucha

I bought this single as soon as it appeared in the shops. Not because I liked the Portuguese entry of the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest so much, but because it was quite remarkable that so many Eurovision tracks were released as a single. I realised right away that this was a good opportunity to find more singles than ever before.

Nucha was sent to Eurovision with a song in the impenetrable Portuguese language (as prescribed by the rules of the Contest at the time), and reached 20th place in a field of 22 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 1232
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, May 18, 1990
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Há sempre alguém' / 'Together'

How can I keep from singing? - Enya

A day at the Enya producer's office (II)

'HeyNicky Ryan, it's time for a new Enya single!'
- 'Really? Already? We've just had that 'Caribbean blue' single.'
'Yeah I know, but it's almost December and people still want to buy this stuff. I thought this time we could do a track with a real lyric again.'
- '(Sigh) Oh Lord, that's too much hard work. Do I have to? It's so difficult to piece together the words that woman has sung in the past.'
'Well, you could always ask her to sing a few new words...'
- 'Are you serious? She's hiding in her dark castle, I haven't seen that woman in years.'
'Oh well, you'll figure something out. Make it sound like that 'Evening' song, that will really work come Christmas time.'
- 'Okay, I'll try and glue together one new song. But the B-side will have to be that Christmas track. I don't want to work two days on this single.'
'No problem mate. I know you'll make something out of this.'
- 'Yeah I think this one will go down great at funerals too.'

My collection: 7" single no. 1960
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 25, 1993
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'How can I keep from singing?' / 'Oiche Chiun (Silent night)'

Halo of flies - Alice Cooper

In 1973, the Dutch offshore radio station Veronica broadcast their annual Top 100 of all times, compiled by listeners. For the first time, it featured Alice Cooper's 'Halo of flies', from his 1971 album 'Killer'.

His record company was quick to recognise the commercial potential, and released a single of this track. A lengthy single: the A-side clocked in at 8'21 minutes. Quite impressive, given that it was still a 45 rpm disc. The single was only released in the Netherlands, where it reached number 5 in the Dutch Top 40 in the summer of 1973.

My collection: 7" single no. 2947
Found: Record fair, Leiden, January 31, 1998
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Halo of flies' / 'Under my wheels'

License to kill - Gladys Knight

One of the presents I got for my birthday was the dvd of 'Quantum of solace', the most recent James Bond movie. I didn't see this one in the cinema. When I watched it yesterday, I really enjoyed it, but I also realised that a lot had changed since the Eighties. This movie had been stripped of everything that makes it a James Bond movie, which I think is a shame. Some cliches should never be lost.

The same goes for the theme song: 'Another way to die' by Jack White and Alicia Keys is a tuneless, soulless affair, while Gladys Knight's 'License to kill' from twenty years ago is still spot on. It was Gladys Knight's last hit, peaking at number 6 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 926
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, July 1, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'License to kill' (Gladys Knight) / 'Pam' (Michael Kamen)