Let her down easy - Terence Trent d'Arby

Like many artists before him, Terence Trent d'Arby started making beautiful music when commercial success eluded him. Or is that the other way around? Whatever... 'Let her down easy' is a beautiful introspective ballad that should have been the biggest hit of his career. It still became a respectable top 20 hit in the UK, but in other countries, it failed to reach the charts.

My copy of the 7" single was pressed as a limited edition on white vinyl. I was happy to find a vinyl single at all, because in 1993 they became increasingly rare, with only the UK still producing them.

My collection: 7" single no. 2066

Found: January 29, 1994

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Let her down easy' / 'Turn the page'

Download: here

Don't you love me anymore - Joe Cocker

Highly acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, Joe Cocker has used his ruined voice to build quite a career for himself. Starting out in 1968, he's had numerous worldwide hits including the Beatles cover 'With a little help from my friends', 'Up where we belong' (with Jennifer Warnes) and 'Unchain my heart'.

I've never been much of a Joe Cocker fan, for his voice is mostly irritating. On the melodramatic 'Don't you love me anymore', however, it is used quite effectively. Written by Diane Warren and Albert Hammond, you can't help but wonder why this poor man with almost no voice left was left out in the rain by a woman who, according to the lyric, 'used to hold [him] so close'. The extended version further drags out the misery, with the most terrible screams you will ever have heard. It's quite humorous, actually.

My collection: 12" single

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag

Cost: 2,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Don't you love me anymore (extended version)' / 'Tell me there's a way', 'Don't you love me anymore (single version)'

Download: here

Oxygene - Jean Michel Jarre

French composer Jean Michel Jarre composed, produced and performed 'Oxygene' in 1976 after he got inspired by a painting given to him by his future wife Charlotte Rampling. The painting was made by Michel Granger and showed the earth peeling to reveal a skull (This image also appears on the cover of the album).

'Oxygene' consists of six tracks, simply numbered I to VI. Part IV was released in edited form as a single. As is evident from the sleeve of the (French) single which I bought, the music was also used as a theme song for broadcasts of basketball games on the French channel Europe 1.


My collection: 7" single no. 1893
Found: May 2, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Oxygene IV' / 'Oxygene VI'
Download: here

Move away - Culture club

'Move away' was the first single drawn from Culture Club's 1986 album 'From luxury to heartache'. The recording sessions for this album dragged on for a long time because of singer Boy George's addiction to cocaine. Nevertheless, this single became a hit for the band, because it reached number 7 in the UK and number 12 in the USA.

Besides the regular 7" single, the record company released a collectable cd-sized picture disc in a cardboard cd-single-esque sleeve. The picture disc featured a photograph of band member Jon Moss. Both singles are pictured here: you will notice that the regular sleeve has purple blocks, where the cd-sized sleeve has green blocks.

My collection: 7" single no. 2248 / 5" single no. 2504

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, March 4, 1995 / House of Rhythm, London, October 30, 1995

Cost: 1 guilder / 1 pound

Tracks: 'Move away' / 'Sexuality'

Download: Album 'From luxury to heartache', including both tracks

The coldest days of my life - The Chi-lites

The intro of this song was used in the sappy Dutch radio programme 'Candlelight', in which a presenter with a deep, dark voice read out corny poems from listeners. The atmospheric, soft-focus track was recorded in 1972 by the Chi-lites, a group consisting of Eugene Record, Robert Lester, Creadel Jones and Marshall Thompson. Their most famous song is probably 'Have you seen her', a number three hit in the UK.

This single flopped in most territories, but reached number 47 in the US Billboard Hot 100. The single split the eight minute track in two parts.

My collection: 7" single no. 1847

Found: January 28, 1993

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'The coldest days of my life (part 1)' / 'The coldest days of my life (part 2)'

Download: here

Fred Astaire - Mo

'Fred Astaire' was the Mo's biggest hit in the Netherlands. It was released in January 1981 and reached number 18 in the Dutch Top 40. It was taken from the self-titled album 'Mo', which reached number 10 in the albums chart.

Ironically, out of all the Mo singles I have, it took me the longest time to buy this single. I couldn't remember how this song went, and when I finally did, the single didn't pop up in record stores and record fairs anymore. But in 2000 I succeeded in adding this one to my collection. It's a good thing, too: the B-side 'Band with bassoon' is just as good as the A-side.

My collection: 7" single no. 3220

Found: October 12, 2000

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Fred Astaire' / 'Band with bassoon'

Download: here

The foolish thing to do - Heaven 17 featuring Jimmy Ruffin

Heaven 17 teamed up with Jimmy Ruffin to record this single, 'The foolish thing to do', in 1986. Ruffin was famous for the hit single 'What becomes of the broken hearted' and further hit singles recorded on the Motown label in the late Sixties and early Seventies, whereas Heaven 17 had had several hit singles in the first half of the eighties. Working together, they made a modern sounding soul song. Unfortunately, their effort wasn't rewarded by the audience: the single didn't chart anywhere.

For me, it was the first Heaven 17 single I ever bought. I quite resisted buying Heaven 17 singles because my sister was so into them. She was putting down my favourites, so it was only fair that I did the same with hers. But in the end, I couldn't resist this song.

My collection: 7" single no. 1408
Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, April 3, 1991
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'The foolish thing to do (version 1)' / 'My sensitivity (gets in the way)'
Download: here