Eagle / Thank you for the music - Abba

This double A-side single was also released as a double A-side single in Japan, with almost exactly the same sleeve - with some added Japanese on it, of course.

Personally I always preferred 'Eagle'. The song was written and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as a kind of tribute to a band that the two men admired at the time, the Eagles. The recording, which commenced on 1 June 1977, had the working titles of 'High, High' and 'The Eagle'. Ulvaeus said that with the lyrics, he was "trying to capture the sense of freedom and euphoria" that he got from reading Richard Bach's 1970 novella Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

My collection: 7" single no. 6151
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Eagle' / 'Thank you for the music' 

Take a chance on me - Abba

Contrary to most of those earlier Abba singles, 'Take a chance on me' came with a similar sleeve to European ones in Japan. The only thing added were the Japanese characters and the fact that the lettering was transparent instead of white. Other than that, it was probably the start of the Japanese record company copying off the European sleeves from then on. 

The origin of the song sprang from Ulvaeus, a keen runner, who would repeat a 'tck-a-ch'-style rhythm to pace himself. This evolved into "take-a-chance" and the eventual lyrics. Roger Palm, the drummer on the track, described the song as "ABBA at their most energetic and forceful". 

My collection: 7" single no. 6159
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Take a chance on me' / 'I'm a marionette' 

The name of the game - Abba

Yet another copy of 'The name of the game', this time from Japan. Originally, another track entitled 'Hole in Your Soul' was intended for release, but those plans were soon shelved. 'The Name of the Game' was released with a live version of 'I Wonder (Departure)' as the B-side. This B-side was one of several songs written for the mini-musical The Girl with the Golden Hair, written by Ulvaeus and Andersson and originally performed by ABBA on their 1977 world tour. 

The recording used on this single was recorded at Sydney Showground, Sydney, Australia on 3 or 4 March 1977. A studio recorded version of the song was included on ABBA: The Album. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6157
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'The name of the game' / 'I wonder (Departure)' 

Dancing queen - Abba

Abba (especially Benny Andersson) wanted to release 'Dancing Queen' as the follow-up single to 'Mamma Mia' but their manager, Stig Anderson, insisted that the more sedate and folksy 'Fernando' should be first, as he felt it would appeal to a broader audience and so was more likely to be a hit. Therefore, whilst 'Dancing Queen' premiered on both German and Japanese television during the spring of 1976, the song did not appear on vinyl until later that summer, having had its first live and domestic performance on 18 June 1976 during an all-star gala staged by Kjerstin Dellert at the Royal Swedish Opera (and shown on Swedish TV) in honour of King Carl XVI Gustaf and his bride-to-be, Silvia Sommerlath, who were married the next day.

The Japanese single came with a very different sleeve when compared to its European counterparts. Like most Japanese sleeves, it looks stylish and even after almost five decades the disc and sleeve are in pristine condition. The B-side is 'Tiger', instead of 'That's me'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6152
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Dancing queen' / 'Tiger'

Fernando - Abba

I went through some recent acquisitions pertaining to Abba yesterday, but I also bought a few Japanese pressings a bit longer ago, which I will go through today. 

The first one, chronologically, is 'Fernando', a single from 1976. The sleeve uses the same photograph but has a different layout. I bought this single along with a handful other Japanese Abba singles in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. At some point, I could only spend my money online, because all the shops were closed. Even when the shops reopened, I was buying the good stuff online - in this case directly from Japan!

My collection: 7" single no. 6156
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Tracks: 'Fernando' / 'Tropical loveland'

Voulez-vous / Angeleyes - Abba

In the UK, the double A-side single was called 'Angeleyes / Voulez-vous', but in Europe the non-alphabetical order 'Voulez-vous / Angeleyes' was preferred. To be fair, 'Voulez-vous' is the stronger track of the two, and also the title of the album where these two tracks came from. 

Presented here is the German copy, with the usual paperthin cover, and a photograph that would turn up years later on the cover of the Thank you for the music box set, which famously includes 'Abba Undeleted', a medley of some studio outtakes. How we wish they would release more from the vaults.

My collection: 7" single no. 5569
Found: Discogs.com, received 31 January 2018
Tracks: 'Voulez-vous' / 'Angeleyes'

Money, money, money - Abba

The song you knew as 'Money, money, money' was called 'Money, money' in Italy. At least, it seems that way when you look at this sleeve. On the label it clearly says 'Money, money, money'.

There's something else which is weird about this single release: the B-side features 'Knowing me, knowing you', which was of course a single in its own right. It replaces the track 'Crazy world', which was the B-side everywhere else. Again, this is one of those singles I wanted to have for the different sleeve design, but the weird B-side is a bonus.

My collection: 7" single no. 7805
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'Money, money, money' / 'Knowing me, knowing you' 

The name of the game - Abba

I know I did an entry on 'The name of the game' in September, but that was before I went to Vienna and found this copy of the same single. Rather unsurprisingly, it's an Austrian copy, but with a totally different sleeve. And as I wrote back then, I probably won't easily get the Australian, Hungarian and Yugoslavian editions, but it was surprisingly easy to get a few Austrian ones. 

This sleeve comes with a unique design, placing a cropped version of the same photograph in the middle and surrounding it with an attractive shade of blue. It's a lovely variant!

My collection: 7" single no. 7804
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'The name of the game' / 'I wonder (Departure)'

Knowing me, knowing you - Abba

Along with 'I do, I do, I do' I bought another Abba single in Vienna with a strikingly different sleeve. And again, this one was made in Austria. With a smaller photograph and lots of white space this design is a lot more sophisticated than other sleeves for this single.

'Knowing me knowing you' is of course one of the more dramatic singles by Abba, foreshadowing all the divorce troubles the two couples would go through during the existence of the group.  

My collection: 7" single no. 7807
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'Knowing me, knowing you' / 'Happy Hawaii' 

Strangelove - Depeche Mode

When I bought 'Blasphemous rumours / Somebody' on red vinyl earlier this year, it was a bit of a lucky buy along with a few other singles. I didn't really see it as the start of a new obsession, but then I stumbled on 'Master and servant' last month, and the gates had opened. So when I spotted this one online, I simply decided to get this one as well. 

'Strangelove' was the last of the Depeche Mode singles to get an Erstauflage in rotem Vinyl in Germany. I ordered this copy online and was very pleased to see that both the disc and the sleeve were in pristine condition. Unfortunately this only encourages me to get all the other red vinyl Depeche Mode singles too. May something have mercy on my wallet.

My collection: 7" single no. 7846
Found: Discogs.com, received 7 November 2025
Tracks: 'Strangelove' / 'Pimpf' 

Amiga Quartett - Nena

Another one of those delicious Amiga Quartett EP's is dedicated to Nena. It was their first of two EP's released by the East-German state-run record company, but the one song you might expect to be on here, '99 Luftballons', is suspiciously absent. Probably the anti-war statement was a bit too much for the censors back then. 

Instead there are two other singles on here plus their respective B-sides. 'Nur geträumt' and 'Leuchtturm' were almost equally big in West-Germany, but not so much in other territories. Obviously some people in the GDR were very glad to hear some tracks from a German speaking superband. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7845
Found: Discogs.com, received 7 November 2025
Tracks: 'Nur geträumt', 'Kino' / 'Leuchtturm', 'Indianer' 

Freunde der Nacht - Pascalis, Marianna, Robert & Bessy

With 'Mathema solfege' the quartet consisting of Paschalis Arvanitidis, Marianna Tolli, Robert Williams and Bessy Argyrake represented Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977. I didn't check, but there are just a few opportunities where Greek Eurovision entries were also recorded in German. Vicky Leandros comes to mind, but other than that, I wouldn't know.

'Freunde der Nacht' is unique, because it completely sets aside the original idea of the lyrics, and replaces it with something else. The chorus of 'sol fa fa fa', mimicking solfege lessons, has disappeared, and with it, a lot of the charm of the song. It's always nice to have a different language version of a Eurovision song, but this time, the English version (appearing here on the B-side) wins. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7847
Found: Discogs.com, received 7 November 2025
Tracks: 'Freunde der Nacht' / 'Music lesson'

I do, I do, I do - Abba

The song most people know as 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do' was presented as 'I do, I do, I do' on this colour Austrian sleeve of this 1975 single by Abba. It was exactly this colourful sleeve that made me decide to buy the single, because it looked so different from the copies that I already owned. The Austrian record company certainly knew what it was doing!

On the label, the full title is displayed, by the way. The single was a reasonable success for the band, but obviously their biggest success was yet to come at that point in time. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7806
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do' / 'Rock me'

Phased - All About Eve

After All About Eve signed to MCA Records, incredibly, the releases on various formats kept coming, but they weren't as exciting as before. The 'Phased' EP was their first release on the new label, but the 10" single contained the same tracks as the 7" single, cassette single and the cd-single. It was a proper EP, but there were no real surprises unfortunately.

The only surprise, if one might call it that, was that the 10" single was pressed on blue vinyl. Obviously the music has stood the test of time.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: HMV, London, 1992
Tracks: 'Phased', 'Mine' / 'Infrared (instrumental)', 'Ascent/descent'

In the heat of a passionate moment - Princess

After I found 'I'll keep on loving you' on 12", I also found this one by Princess. 'In the heat of a passionate moment' is a lesser known track by the singer, but the 12" single presents an attractive eight minute remix, along with an instrumental version and the original album mix, which also approaches the eight minute mark. It was reason enough for me to take this one home too. 

Princess retired from the music scene and moved to the USA after the death of her mother and the assassination of her brother. From 1991 to 2003 she lived in the U.S., before returning to England in 2003. That same year she formed her own music label with her brother Donovan, OnDa Ground Music Label, which has released all her music since, and released her first single in 14 years, 'Ride', with rap ensemble EEDB. A music video was also filmed which referenced her retirement. In April 2014, she released her third album, The Emergence, the first in 27 years. It was meant to be the first in a trilogy of albums, the other ones titled The Passion and The One. 

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 30 October 2025
Tracks: 'In the heat of a passionate moment (The So Long mix)' / 'In the heat of a passionate moment (instrumental)', 'In the heat of a passionate moment (album mix)'

I can't give everything away - David Bowie

With the recent release of the box set I Can't Give Everything Away, David Bowie has been promoted heavily by the 'serious' music press. The French Rolling Stone released a single of 'Slow burn' and the German version had to follow suit.

They came up with the brilliant idea of releasing the title track from the box set, and in a radio edit version too. The sleeve is actually the same as the one that was used back in 2016 when the track was originally released for promotional purposes. The B-side is empty except for some etching. That is probably the only disappointing thing about this release.

My collection: 7" single no. 7844
Found: Rolling Stone Germany, received 31 October 2025
Tracks: 'I can't give everything away (radio edit)' 

Electric blue - Icehouse

Every time when I order something from far away - in this case, an American promotional cd-single by Cock Robin that I'd been after for some time - I try to look for singles that the seller might have. This particular seller didn't really have anything that I might fancy, but this item was nice and cheap enough to include with my order.

After a long wait, the package arrived this week, and it turns out to be a gorgeous blue vinyl single. I didn't actually know the track 'Electric blue' by Icehouse, but it is one of those Eighties tunes that goes down well. And so this is a nice addition to my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 7843
Found: Discogs.com, received 31 October 2025
Tracks: 'Electric blue' / 'Over my head' 

I'll keep on loving you - Princess

Although I have become hesitant to buy 12" singles of late, because a lot of them have been released on cd recently on the excellent series Now 12", there are some exceptions. This is a good example: it comes in a gatefold sleeve and contains three remixes of the song. 

Princess became famous because of her collaboration with producers Stock Aitken & Waterman, and that trio was famous for releasing multiple remixes of their hit singles. In this case, Funky Sisters, the New York DJ Cheese and Chad Jackson each contribute a remix, and it makes this disc an attractive purchase. I wasn't disappointed.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 30 October 2025
Tracks: 'I'll keep on loving you (Funky Sisters mix "Say Dub It")' / 'I'll keep on loving you (Cheese's "Keep on scratching it" mix)', 'I'll keep on loving you (Chad's "Scratch, Mix and Dub Mix")'

Never / These dreams - Heart

I have been buying a lot of singles by Heart recently, but 12" singles weren't on my radar yet. I was quite surprised to bump into one with an 'extended remix' of 'Never', one of the songs from the album Heart which was released in 1985. This 12" single (and the accompanying 7" single) was released in 1988, after the band was very successful with the song 'Alone'. 

The extended remix of 'Never' isn't very shocking - it simply adds a few more instrumental parts of the song - but it is a nice addition to my growing Heart collection.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 30 October 2025
Tracks: 'Never (extended remix)', 'These dreams' / 'Never (remix)', 'These dreams (7" version)' 

For America - Red Box

After the release of the box set Anthology 1980-1990 last year, you might think that there's no reason to buy any Red Box vinyl from that period anymore. But this 10" single was too attractive to leave it in the store. 

It is packaged in a gatefold sleeve and comes with a free shaped 7" single of 'Lean on me'. 'For America' appears here in remixed form. Actually, this purchase made me wonder where the previous 10" single came from. And indeed, it was never released in a fully red sleeve. I was cheated in 2011! At least everything is good now.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 30 October 2025
Tracks: 'For America (Boys Own mix)' / 'Ain't got no... I got life', 'R 'n' A' // 'Lean on me' / 'Stinging bee'