Vox - Sarah McLachlan

Sarah McLachlan released her debut single 'Vox' in 1988. It was apparently a hit in Canada, but failed to reach the charts in other territories. I would have to assume that the 7" single that I have, which was made in Germany in 1989, is quite a rarity. It will have been pressed in a reasonable quantity in Germany, but there's no reference to it on discogs.com and Wikipedia.

The single features a radio version which is slightly shorter than the album version on 'Touch', Sarah McLachlan's debut album (1989).

My collection: 7" single no. 2235

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, January 21, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Vox (radio version)' / 'Touch'

Download: here

King without a crown - ABC

The third single from ABC's successful comeback album 'Alphabet street' was 'King without a crown'. Besides the single, 12" single and cd-single there were also some promo 12" singles doing the rounds. This one-sided disc was one of them. I scooped it up in a record shop in London, some time after its release. It's one of those moments when you know that you've bought something exclusive. The remix on this disc wasn't released commercially, and that makes it very worthwhile.

My collection: 12" single no. 131

Found: London, 1992

Cost: 5 pounds

Tracks: 'King without a crown (The Mendelsohn mix)'

Download: here

Terry - Kirsty MacColl

Amazingly, the wonderful video for Kirsty MacColl's 'Terry' cannot be found on YouTube. It was this video that made me interested in the song after a long time. At first I couldn't stand the video, then I began to think it was pretty funny and in the end, I had to admit that the song was pretty amazing too.

Still, it would be 1990 before I bought the single, because when I finally liked the song the single had disappeared from all the record shops.

My collection: 7" single no. 1366

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, December 28, 1990

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Terry' / 'Quietly alone'

Download: here

Midnight blue - Louise Tucker

Louise Tucker was born in Bristol. She set out to train as an opera singer and studied singing at the famous Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She achieved success in the early eighties by recording two albums with producers Charlie Skarbek and Tim Smit. The albums are notable for combining Tucker's classically-trained opera voice with synthpop music.

Her 1982 album 'Midnight blue' is regarded as one of the first combinations of classical melody in a popular idiom to have enjoyed world-wide success. I bought this single when it reached the Dutch Top 40, where it peaked at number 13 near the end of 1982.

My collection: 7" single no. 162

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 3,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Midnight blue' / 'Voices in the wind'

Download: Album 'Midnight blue', including both tracks (password: louise)

It must be love - Labi Siffre

Made famous in 1981 by Madness, 'It must be love' was originally written and recorded by Labi Siffre. He was born on June 25, 1945 and recorded his debut album in 1970. 'It must be love' was released a year later as a track from his album 'Crying Laughing Loving Lying'. The original version is notable for its simplicity, whereas the Madness version was more heavily produced.

My collection: 7" single no. 3537

Found: Empire Records, January 9, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'It must be love' / 'To find love'

Download: here

Dancing in the dark - Tony Sherman

I found out about Tony Sherman's cover of 'Dancing in the dark' more than a decade after it was released. It was released in the same year as Kim Wilde's version, in 1983. Kim's version wasn't a hit, and neither was Tony Sherman's version. But a 12" single was released, and that was an item worth searching for.

Well, the search went on and on... but the disc never surfaced. Imagine my surprise when I finally found it, just two weeks ago, in my hometown! A very rare item, even if the music isn't very exciting.

My collection: 12" single no. 476

Found: La La Land, Den Haag, January 3, 2009

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'Dancing in the dark [extended]' / 'Another fool, another love'

Download: here

Cars - Gary Numan

One more time on this blog: Gary Numan's track 'Cars'. After the releases in 1979 and 1987, 'Cars' was released once again in remixed form in 1993. The cd-single featured all seven versions that had appeared since then, whereas the 7" single only contained the '93 remix and an instrumental 'Top Gear' version. The single also included a poster bag, featuring a drawing of 1976 Formula 1 champion James Hunt by Brian Reaney.

My collection: 7" single no. 2432

Found: Fame, Amsterdam, August 19, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Cars ('93 sprint)' / 'Cars (Top Gear)'

Download: here