You keep me hangin' on - The Supremes

'You keep me hangin' on' was written by the famous Holland-Dozier-Holland writing team. It was recorded by The Supremes in 1966. Many elements of the recording, including the guitars, the drums, and Diana Ross's lead vocal, were multitracked (the parts were recorded multiple times and the takes layered over one another). This was done to create a fuller sound than the previous Supremes records. The song was recorded nine different times with the Supremes and session band The Funk Brothers before the producers got the version they were finally satisfied with.

'You keep me hangin' on' was the first single from the Supremes' 1967 album 'The Supremes sing Holland-Dozier-Holland'. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks in November 1966. In the Netherlands, it reached number 26.

My collection: 7" single no. 2979
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, April 4, 1998
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'You keep me hangin' on' / 'Hang on Sloopy'

Waltz darling - Malcolm McLaren

In 1989, Malcolm McLaren released the album 'Waltz darling', with tracks inspired by funk, disco and the new dance craze 'vogueing'. While for once McLaren's instincts failed him (there was no sudden interest in waltz music) it still helped to spread the news about the previously underground practice of vogueing. The most famous track coming forth from this craze is of course Madonna's 'Vogue', but Malcolm McLaren's track is more interesting than that one.

The single reached number 19 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 31 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1040
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Waltz darling' / 'Deep in vogue'

Wisdom chain - Jon and Vangelis

Most people know the songs 'I'll find my way home' and 'I hear you now', recorded by Jon and Vangelis in the Eighties. The fact that they released another album together in 1991 is less wellknown. The album was called 'Page of life' and 'Wisdom chain' was the first single released from that album. The single flopped, and there were no further albums by the duo.

The album 'Page of life' was re-released in 1998, but it included different tracks of which Vangelis did not approve.

My collection: 7" single no. 1605
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, March 28, 1992
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Wisdom chain' / 'Page of life'

Refuse/Resist - Sepultura

The music of Sepultura is loud, very loud. And for a while in the early Nineties, I was into loud sounds. The albums 'Blessed are the sick' by Morbid Angel and 'Arise' by Sepultura were on my favourites list and it was logical for me to start searching for singles by these bands. As far as I know, no 7" singles were released from these albums.

In 1994, Sepultura released the album 'Chaos A.D.' and the EP 'Refuse/Resist'. The intro to the song is the heartbeat of Max Cavalera's then-unborn first son Zyon. Needless to say, this music never became mainstream, but it did reach number 51 in the UK singles chart. Perhaps the poster sleeve of this release was an explanation?

My collection: 7" single no. 2079
Found: Amsterdam, March 8, 1994
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Refuse/Resist' / 'Inhuman nature', 'Propaganda'

One of us - Abba

'One of us' was one of the last songs Abba recorded for their final album 'The visitors'. Like more songs around that time, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson were writing about their personal lives, which involved the divorce of their female band members, Agnetha and Frida respecrtively. Despite the somewhat depressing context and reservations by manager Stig Anderson, 'One of us' was released as the first single from 'The Visitors'. It reached number 1 in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland. In the UK, it peaked at number 3.

The song was parodied in the UK television programme 'Not the nine o'clock news', in which the chorus was sung as 'One of us is ugly, 1 of us is cute / One of us you'd like to see in her birthday suit / Two of us write music, two have way a song /Sorry, in translation, that line come out wrong'.

My collection: 7" single no. 109
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1981
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'One of us' / 'Should I laugh or cry'

Freedom - George Michael

A long time before I bought the UK edition of the single 'Freedom' by George Michael, I bought the European one. It had a different B-side, the one that was used as the B-side of 'Waiting for that day' in the UK. The front sleeve was the same, however, which may have been confusing to some.

This single reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40, which was 20 places higher than the UK. I wonder if the B-side helped it do so well?

My collection: 7" single no. 1347
Found: Melody Maker, October 27, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Freedom' / 'Fantasy'

Paradise - Sade

'Paradise' was the second single from Sade's 1988 album 'Stronger than pride'. It was released in the summer of 1988 and reached number 16 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the UK, it reached number 29 and in the Netherlands it peaked at number 26.

My copy of the single is an American pressing. For some reason, a European pressing was hard to come by at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 641
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, July 23, 1988
Cost: 4 guilders
Tracks: 'Paradise' / 'Super bien total'

Lucky one - Amy Grant

'Lucky one' was released as the first single from the album 'House of love' by Amy Grant in 1994 in the UK. In the USA, it was the second single, following the title track, which was a duet with Vince Gill. The single performed slightly better on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 18.

In the UK, this single reached number 60 in August 1994.

My collection: 7" single no. 2196
Found: HMV, London, September 29, 1994
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Lucky one' / 'Baby baby'

Rainbow lake - Wendy and Lisa

'Rainbow lake' was released as the second single from Wendy & Lisa's third album 'Eroica'. Released in November 1990, it was their last chart hit in the UK, although it only reached number 70 during the one week it charted.

After this single, only 'Don't try to tell me' was released, after which the duo stopped recording for a long time.

My collection: 7" single no. 2402
Found: July 8, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Rainbow lake (Album remix)' / 'Rainbow lake (12 into 7 remix)'

Violet - Seal

Seal released 'Violet' as the fifth and last single from his self-titled debut album. It featured acoustic versions of tracks from the album, with all the royalties from the single donated to charity. Unfortunately, the single was not the biggest success from the album: it reached number 39 in the UK singles chart.

Nevertheless, the versions of 'Violet' and 'Wild' on this single are in their own way just as good as the Trevor Horn-produced album versions.

My collection: 7" single no. 2263
Found: Record fair, April 8, 1995
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Violet' / 'Wild'

Sister of mercy - Thompson Twins

'Sister of mercy' was the fourth single taken from the Thompson Twins' hugely successful 1984 album 'Into the gap'. The single version was different from the album version, in that it started out as a ballad. The B-side was a megamix of wellknown Thompson Twins tracks, such as 'We are detective', 'Into the gap' and 'Hold me now'.

The single reached number 11 in the UK singles chart, but did not chart in other territories.

My collection: 7" single no. 238
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Sister of mercy' / 'Out of the gap'

When the snow falls - Ten Sharp

'When the snow falls' was originally Ten Sharp's debut single back in 1985. The single did not chart, and since subsequent singles were not a big success either, the band broke up in 1987. When they returned in 1991 with the single 'You', they had a European hit on their hands. The album 'Under the water-line' consisted of nine new tracks, but also a version of 'When the snow falls'.

This version was edited and released as the fourth single from the album. This version is slightly different from the original single and it also contains a different B-side. It didn't bring the band the success they might have hoped for: again, it failed to reach the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1967
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 25, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'When the snow falls' / 'Some sails'

Don't be aggressive - Sandra

I cited the words 'I could be your friend, I could be your slave, I could be anything you want me to / But please, don't be aggressive' to a friend back in 1992, when she wanted to hit me because I was pulling her hair again. The words stuck in my mind, and subsequently I bought the single just after it had failed to reach the Dutch Top 40.

Written by Michael Cretu and Klaus Hirschburger, 'Don't be aggressive' sounded a lot like a track by Enigma, the newly created project by Cretu. The single reached number 17 in Germany and was only a top 10 hit in Norway, where it peaked at number 7.

My collection: 7" single no. 1592
Found: Free Record Shop, March 21, 1992
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Don't be aggressive' / 'Seal it forever'

To know someone deeply is to know someone softly - Terence Trent d'Arby

Whenever I play this song, I'm very curious what drove the record company to release this as a single. The quirky song with its strange title was not exactly chart material and anyone with one ear could easily admit that. After the commercial failure of 'This side of love', this single was sure not to improve matters much.

Still, the single did manage to reach number 55 in the UK singles chart. It is a success of sorts, since 'This side of love' only managed number 83. I didn't think this single was released on 7" single, until I found it five years after its release.

My collection: 7" single no. 2520
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, November 1, 1995
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'To know someone deeply is to know someone softly' / 'Loose variations on a dead mans vibe in C# M'

Rockin' over the beat - Technotronic

Technotronic finally managed to create one track which did not include rapping. The singing on this track was still pretty substandard, but at least it was a kindof decent tune. The lyric is another poetic masterpiece: 'Rockin' over the beat / Rollin' over the melody'.

The single reached number 9 in the UK singles chart and went top 20 all over Europe. In the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, the single managed to get to number 95. And this single concluded by Technotronic collection. Yes, it got out of hand a little.

My collection: 7" single no. 1280
Found: August 23, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Rockin' over the beat' / 'Raw'

Break it down again - Tears for Fears

Roland Orzabal surprised many when he returned in 1993 on his own under the Tears for Fears band name. Curt Smith had left the group and the album 'Elemental' was created without him. The song 'Fish out of water' on the album was apparently about Curt Smith. Roland has often referred to this song as his 'How Do You Sleep', in reference to the scathing song John Lennon wrote about former bandmate Paul McCartney. Curt released a formal response to this tune four years later, in the song 'Sun King' from his album 'Mayfield'.

'Break it down again' is a less explosive song. It was released as the first single from 'Elemental' in May 1993 and reached number 20 in the UK singles chart and number 16 in the Dutch Top 40. In the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, it reached number 25.

My collection: 7" single no. 1918
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, June 5, 1993
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Break it down again' / 'Bloodletting go'

Radio Musicola - Nik Kershaw

'Radio Musicola' is the title track from Nik Kershaw's third album. Both the album and the single were released in 1986 by MCA Records. The album deals with subjects of integrity, media skepticism (particularly towards tabloid journalism), privacy, insecurity and mass produced run-of-the-mill pop.

All this intelligence was probably too much for the audience to handle: the single only reached number 43 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3065
Found: House of Rhythm, London, May 9, 1999
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Radio Musicola' / 'L.A.B.A.T.Y.D.'

Belfast child - Simple Minds

I still remember vividly the first time I heard 'Belfast child' by the Simple Minds. It was a Saturday evening and I had a splitting headache. I'd taken a few pills to combat this, and started playing some music. As always, I'd borrowed the new cd-singles my sister had bought, and this was one of them. I was listening to this new track with a lot of attention and was very impressed with the buildup and climax near the end of the track. When the song was over, my headache was gone.

The song uses the music from the Irish folk song 'She moved through the fair', but has completely different words. Jim Kerr commented: 'I first heard the melody a few days after the Enniskillen bombing, and like everybody when you see the images I was sick. In the second part of the song, I'm trying to relate to people in Northern Ireland who lost loved ones. I'm trying to talk about the madness, the sadness and the emptiness. I'm not saying I have any pearls of wisdom, but I have a few questions to ask.' The single, released in early 1989, reached number 1 in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 735
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, February 7, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Belfast child' / 'Mandela Day'

Newgrange - Clannad

Newgrange (Irish: Sí an Bhrú) is a passage tomb of the Brú na Bóinne complex in County Louth. It was originally built between c. 5500 and 2900 BC. It is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, and indeed the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites.

It is also the title of this Clannad song, released as the third single from their 1982 album 'Magical ring'. It reached number 65 in the UK singles chart during a one week chart run.

My collection: 7" single no. 2682
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, July 3, 1996
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Newgrange' / 'Seachràn Charn tSiail'

Adolescent sex - Japan

Taken from their debut album of the same name, 'Adolescent sex' was the first hit for Japan, reaching number 27 in the Netherlands and number 20 in Japan. The single did not chart in the UK, where it was not played on the radio because of the title.

The song sounds very different from Japan's later material, and these days many people find it hard to believe that this is actually a track sung by David Sylvian.

My collection: 7" single no. 2942
Found: Record fair, Leiden, January 31, 1998
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Adolescent sex' / 'Sometimes I feel so low'