Monté la rivié - Kali

In 1992, France decided to send a reggae king to the Eurovision Song Contest. Kali's 'Monté la rivié' was a beautifully arranged reggae track, sung in French and Haitian Creole. The lyrics are full of metaphors about the river, which the listener should 'go up'. The listener is told that 'One day you'll see the source of the river'. Thus, the lyrics deal with the need to find peace and love in the modern world.

The b-side of the single contains a live cover of the Bob Marley track 'One drop'. I bought my copy of the single in Vienna during a holiday. Not the most predictable place to find a French single...

My collection: 7" single no. 1931

Found: Vienna, July 6, 1993

Cost: 55 Austrian Schilling

Tracks: 'Monté la rivié' / 'One drop (live)'

Download: here

Nearly there - One 2 Many

Well, at least they were optimistic. After the failure of previous single 'Another man', One 2 Many followed up with another single, 'Nearly there'. Like its predecessor, it didn't trouble the charts. The 12" single is an attractive proposition, nonetheless, because it features an extended version of 'Nearly there'. I didn't know about this single, so I was very surprised when I found this 12". It was 1990, a year after it was released. I was even more surprised a couple of years later when I found out that there was even a cd-single. Strangely enough, I never found a 7" single of this!

My collection: 12" single no. 101

Found: Record Exchange, London, October 1990

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'Nearly there (extended version)' / 'In my heart'

Download: here

Message in the box - World Party

World Party is a British pop/rock band, consisting of only one member, Karl Wallinger. He started World Party after he left the Waterboys in 1985. In 1987, he released the first album titled 'Private Revolution', but it wasn't until 1990, when he released 'Goodbye Jumbo', that his music got more widespread notice. 'Message in the box' was the first single taken from the album. It reached number 39 in the UK singles chart.

I bought this single box set in 2004, when I visited London. The box included, besides the single, a button and a large poster, both promoting the album.

My collection: 7" single no. 3408

Found: Record Exchange, London, December 2004

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Message in the box' / 'Nature girl'

Download: here

Mad world - Tears for fears

These days, 'Mad world' is considered to be a ballad performed by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules, but I am old enough to remember the original version, released by Tears for fears in 1982. The single reached no. 3 in the UK singles chart, making it the band's first hit. Roland Orzabal said about the song: 'That came when I lived above a pizza restaurant in Bath and I could look out onto the centre of the city. Not that Bath is very mad - I should have called it 'Bourgeois World'!'

I bought the single of 'Mad world' in 1990. It wasn't until 1999 that I found the double single version, which included the rare 'World remix' of the track. The second single featured 'Suffer the children' and 'Ideas as opiates', both in versions that were different from the ones that would be recorded for Tears for fears's debut album 'The Hurting' (1983).

My collection: 7" single no. 1334 / 7" double single no. 3163

Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1990 / Record fair, Utrecht, 1999

Cost: 50p / 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Mad world' / 'Ideas as opiates'

Tracks (double single): 'Mad world' / 'Mad world (World remix)' // 'Suffer the children' / 'Ideas as opiates'

Download: here

I'll keep on loving you - Princess

This beautiful 12" picture disc appeared on a record fair a couple of years ago. I bought it because it was really cheap, but also because remixes of Stock/Aitken/Waterman tracks in the mid-80's were usually worth a listen. This one, fortunately, is no exception. The disc includes an extended version and a US remix by Bruce Forest - who, for a change, made a remix that was actually quite good.

Princess was one of many faces who were a success in the heydays of Stock/Aitken/Waterman. This single, released in April 1986, was her biggest hit since her debut 'Say I'm your number one', reaching no. 16 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 12" single

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 2002

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'I'll keep on loving you [extended]' / 'I'll keep on loving you (US Remix by Bruce Forest)'

Download: here

Can't stand losing you - The Police

The Police's 1978 single 'Can't stand losing you' was banned by the BBC in the UK because of the sleeve pictured here. According to Sting, in an interview in the magazine Revolver: 'The reason they had a problem with 'Can't Stand Losing You' was because the photo on the cover of the single had Stewart standing on a block of ice with a noose around his neck, waiting for the ice to melt'. The single was released on blue vinyl. I thought it was more attractive to own this single than the later version with an alternate cover, and so I bought it.

My collection: 7" single no. 3019

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 5, 1998

Cost: 15 guilders

Tracks: 'Can't stand losing you' / 'Dead end job'

Download: Album 'Message in a box, disc 1', including both tracks

Kiss you all over - Exile

Most people, including me, got to know the group Exile because of this single. 'Kiss you all over' went to number 4 in the Dutch Top 40, and peaked at number 6 in the UK. It would prove to be their biggest hit, with further single reaching only the lower regions of the charts.

I liked the song a lot in 1978, when it was in the charts, but at the time I didn't have the budget to buy all the singles I liked. A decade later, it still became part of my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 1099

Found: All that music, Leiden, November 11, 1989

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Kiss you all over' / 'There's been a change'

Download: Album 'Mixed emotions', including both tracks