El Norte - Cock Robin

'El Norte' was the third and last single taken from their second album 'After here through midland'. Cock Robin had found some success in the Netherlands with four of their singles, but the second single 'The biggest fool of all' didn't reach the charts. CBS Records tried again with 'El Norte', and commissioned popular remixer Ben Liebrand to deliver some remixes of the track for the 12" single.

As always, Ben Liebrand did a very decent job with this track. He added lots of extra beats to the track to give it extra power. The setup wasn't successful: 'El Norte' flopped and Cock Robin were back into the studio to record their third album for CBS. It would be their last...

My collection: 12" single no. 341

Found: ?

Cost: ?

Tracks: 'El Norte (Reinforced dance mix)', 'For dear life' / 'El Norte (El Club mix)', 'El Norte (Los Bonus Beats)'

Download: here

Elle adore le noir pour sortir le soir - T.C. Matic

Sometimes all a song needs is exposure at the right time to get into my record collection. A week before I was going to a record fair, I saw 'Elle adore le noir pour sortir le soir' by T.C. Matic on television. I loved the melody and the rough vocals. If I'd heard the song at another time I might have completely forgotten about it - but now I found the single soon afterwards. And I was lucky, because it's a great song from an otherwise uninteresting band - IMHO of course.

T.C. Matic was a Belgian rock band, mixing diverse styles like new wave, blues, funk, hard rock, avant-garde and even French chansons, resulting in nervous metropolitan rock. The band performed all over Europe, but without international success. They broke up in 1986 and frontman Arno Hintjes pursued a solo career.

My collection: 7" single no. 1524

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 21, 1991

Cost: 6,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Elle adore le noir pour sortir le soir' / 'Act like a dog'

Download: here

Don't tell me - Blancmange

Blancmange is a jelly or pudding dessert made of milk, sugar, gelatin and flavouring. It is also the name of the band formed by Neil Arthur and instrumentalist Stephen Luscombe in Harrow, London in 1979. Their single 'Don't tell me' made it to no. 8 in the UK singles chart in May 1984. It is one of the most energetic pop songs of that era.

I expected much from the 12" single of this track, hoping to get an extended version of this. Frankly, I was disappointed: the remix breaks the tension built up in the original version and adds chaotic sound effects. No wonder I didn't buy another 12" by Blancmange after this...

My collection: 12" single no. 257

Found: Record Exchange, London, 1995

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'Don't tell me [extended]' / 'Get out of that'

Download: here

Désenchantée - Mylene Farmer

To people outside of France, the French music scene is somewhat of a mystery. It seems a very isolated country in this respect. Radio stations are obligated to play a percentage of French music, and because of this, French music has become very popular in France. Outside of France, no-one really cares.

This is also how a megastar in France can go almost unnoticed in the rest of Europe. Mylene Farmer is a good example: in France she's compared to people like Madonna in terms of popularity. It was only when she released the single 'Désenchantée' that she reached other European charts. In the Netherlands, she made it to no. 18. And into my record collection. It was actually the start of my Mylene Farmer collection - because she does make damn fine music.

My collection: 7" single no. 1487

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, July 3, 1991

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Désenchantée' / 'Désenchantée (Chaos mix)'

Download: cd-single 'Désenchantée', including both tracks

You know what to do - Carly Simon

Carly Elisabeth Simon was born on June 25, 1945. Her solo music career started in 1971 with the debut album 'Carly Simon', quickly followed by a second album entitled 'Anticipation'. She scored the biggest success of her career in 1972 with the song 'You're so vain'. Further hits were 'Nobody does it better' (taken from the James Bond movie 'The spy who loved me'), 'Coming around again' and the classic album 'Boys in the trees'.

'You know what to do' was released in 1983 and only made no. 36 in the UK, whereas it didn't even chart in the Netherlands. I liked the song a lot, though, and so I bought it six years later when the opportunity presented itself.

My collection: 7" single no. 897

Found: All that music, Leiden, June 23, 1989

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'You know what to do' / 'Orpheus'

Download: Album 'Hello big man', including both tracks

D for Desire - All about Eve

I found out about All About Eve thanks to a music special on television. Their tracks 'Every angel' and 'Martha's harbour' were the first I heard and after buying those singles I started to become more interested. It didn't take me long to want to have their complete output. Thus the nightmare of the collector soon became apparent: that elusive first single. 'D for Desire' was originally released in 1985 - and only on 12" single.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a 7" single of this track. After buying it for a rather high amount, I found out that this particular release was a bootleg. It didn't matter: I had those first two rare tracks - and I would never find the 12" single for a reasonable price anyway.

My collection: 7" single no. 1349

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, October 28, 1990

Cost: 20 guilders

Tracks: 'D for Desire' / 'Don't follow me (March Hare)'

Download: here

It's my life - Talk Talk

These days, Talk Talk's 'It's my life' is universally seen as a classic track. Remarkably, it didn't reach very high places in the charts when it was released. It didn't even make the top 20 in most countries. But it's still a track everyone knows, even now.

I was very impressed with Talk Talk when they burst onto the scene in 1984. I didn't, however, get a chance to buy all their singles. So of course I had to buy them later. In this case, it led to an interesting collector's item: the Brazilian single contained the extended version on the A-side and the single version on the B-side. It was the first time I bought a 12" version on a 7" single.

My collection: 7" single no. 1218

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, April 22, 1990

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'It's my life (extended version)' / 'It's my life'

Download: extended version, album version