Mexican girl - Smokie

Smokie was formed in 1965 by Chris Norman, Terry Uttley, Alan Silson and Ron Kelly. After releasing their debut album 'Pass it around' in 1975, they developed a softer signature sound, comprising string arrangement, acoustic guitars and close harmony vocals. Their biggest hit, 'Living next door to Alice' has become a classic, but in the second half of the Seventies they released several singles, sounding a lot like that one.

I bought 'Mexican girl' in London as part of a set of 10 singles for a pound, and - as you can see - afterwards I pulled out the center of the disc. This kind of vandalism is unthinkable these days, but at the time the small hole in the middle was incompatible with my other - mostly European - singles. Children can be silly.

My collection: 7" single no. 9

Found: London, 1979

Cost: 10p

Tracks: 'Mexican girl' / 'You took me by surprise'

Download: Album 'The Montreux album', including both tracks

Glad it's all over - Captain Sensible

'Glad it's all over' was produced by Tony Mansfield. No wonder then, that this track sounds suspiciously like a New Musik song. After having been out of sight for more than a year, Captain Sensible had a top 10 hit with this in the UK in May 1984. The double A-side single also featured 'Damned on 45', a 'Stars on 45'-inspired medley of tracks by The Damned, the band in which Captain Sensible found his fame in the Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 2702

Found: 7" single no. 2702

Cost: 4 guilders

Tracks: 'Glad it's all over' / 'Damned on 45'

Download: here

Good thing - Fine Young Cannibals

'Good thing' was the second single taken from the Fine Young Cannibals's second album 'The raw and the cooked'. It peaked at number 7 in the UK.

Like its predecessor, a limited edition of the single was released housed in a tin can. My copy of the single is pressed on black vinyl, but I suspect that it originally contained a coloured vinyl single. However, I haven't found any reference to this on the web.

My collection: 7" single no. 3154

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 27, 1999

Cost: 12 guilders

Tracks: 'Good thing' / 'Social security'

Download: cd-single 'Good thing', including both tracks

Tænker altid på dig - Bamses Venner

In 2005, the Dutch NOS broadcast a repeat of the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, owing to the fact that it was the last contest to be held in the Netherlands -25 years earlier. It was very interesting to see this old contest a day before the new one (the 2005 edition) was held. Of course everyone remembers the winner (Johnny Logan with 'What's another year'), but many songs were long forgotten. Among them, this Danish entry by Bamses Venner. It finished 14th out of 19 contestants - and a lot of it has to be down to the presentation of this group. They seemed to have been pulled from the street.

The song itself was nice enough, so when I was in Denmark and I spotted this single, I jumped at the opportunity to own it. And it was cheap, too.

My collection: 7" single no. 3432

Found: Esbjerg, Denmark, June 17, 2006

Cost: 10 Danish crowns

Tracks: 'Taenker altid på dig' / 'Venner kom og se'

Download: here

Everything counts - Depeche Mode

While the original version of 'Everything counts' was released as a single in 1983, this 10" single and associated releases appeared in 1989 in support of Depeche Mode's live double album 101, a recording of their live appearance at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in 1988 in America. This 10" single was the only release at the time that didn't feature the live version, but rather three remixes of 'Everything counts' plus an American 7" edit of the album track 'Nothing'.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1989
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'Everything counts (Absolut mix)' / 'Everything counts (original 1983 remix)', 'Nothing (US 7" mix)', 'Everything counts (Reprise)'
Download: here

Is it a crime? - Sade

In 1985 and 1986, Sade's 'Is it a crime?' was one of my favourite songs of all time. Its intensity, the beauty of the melody, the subtle tones in the music and the dynamics of the song (from soft to loud and back) were a true revelation. A few years later, I would buy the cd of 'Promise' for this song alone - although the rest of the album was pretty beautiful too.

The 12" single didn't come into my collection after years of doubting. Sure, I loved the song, but Sade B-sides are not always that interesting - and this 12" featured two B-sides. Both tracks are instrumentals, performed by Sade's band. But without Sade Adu's voice, it's a lot less interesting. Even if the lyric is a bit bland, like on 'Is it a crime?'.

My collection: 12" single no. 293

Found: Record fair, Netherlands, 1996

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Is it a crime?', 'Wired' / 'Punch drunk'

Download: here

One more chance - Pet Shop Boys

In August 1983, music journalist Neil Tennant is sent to New York to interview The Police for his employer, Smash Hits magazine. While he is there, he decides to also have lunch with producer Bobby Orlando. Flattered by Neil's compliments about his hi energy music productions, Bobby O agrees to make a record with the Pet Shop Boys, the duo Neil has formed two years earlier with Chris Lowe. The first single they release together is an early version of 'West end girls'. This single is the follow-up: an early version of 'One more chance'. This version sounds a lot more mechanic and tinny than the version that would appear on their 1987 album 'Actually'.

I found this single, which is made in Sweden, in Denmark. It was very cheap for an item that can be considered a collector's item among Pet Shop Boys fans.

My collection: 7" single no. 3429

Found: Esbjerg, Denmark, June 17, 2006

Cost: 10 Danish crowns

Tracks: 'One more chance' / 'One more chance (remix)'

Download: here