Good thing - Fine Young Cannibals

The Fine Young Cannibals released their single 'Good thing' on various formats. There was a 7" single, a 12" single, a cd-single, a limited edition 7" single in a tin can and this double groove 10" single. The A-side played two different versions of 'Good thing': the regular version and a rare different version which replaces the piano solo midway through the song with a saxophone solo.

As far as I know, this alternative version wasn't released anywhere else, so the 10" single is really a rare item. And of course, records with double grooves are always funny items to have.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1989

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Good thing', 'Good thing [alternative version]' / 'Social security'

Download: 'Good thing [alternative version]', cd-single 'Good thing', including the two other tracks

1, 2, 3 - Catherine Ferry

Catherine Ferry was born on July 1, 1953. She represented France at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with '1, 2, 3' and finished second, behind Brotherhood of Man with 'Save your kisses for me'. The song received a total of 147 points, which is still the highest number France has ever achieved in the contest.

My collection: 7" single no. 3003

Found: June 20, 1998

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: '1, 2, 3' / 'Petit Jean'
Download: here

Come back - The Mighty Wah

Back in 1984, this video was on television on a daily basis. At first it looked rather interesting, but soon after that it started to irritate me a lot. There's something about seeing the same shots every day that gets on ones nerves. Nevertheless, the song stuck in my head, and so four years later I decided to buy the single after all.

'Come back' flopped in the Netherlands, but it reached number 20 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 632

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1988

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Come back' / 'The devil in Miss Jones'

Download: here

Severina - The Mission

When I became a fan of All about Eve in the late eighties, I quickly found out that Julianne Regan, lead singer of the band, had done some backing vocals on some tracks by The Mission. Most notably the single 'Severina', which is one of the best tracks in the Mission's catalogue. Naturally I wanted to have it, but I wasn't consciously searching for it all the time.

Then, of course, I stumbled into a special edition of that very single. It included a 21" x 14" colour poster of the band. Being a sucker for special editions, I bought this copy straight away. It was a great find during a sunny day during a holiday in the South of England. It didn't matter that in fact this item was slightly overpriced...

My collection: 7" single no. 2387

Found: Grammar School Records, Rye, July 3, 1995

Cost: 6 pounds

Tracks: 'Severina' / 'Tomorrow never knows'

Download: here

Don't try to tell me - Wendy and Lisa

By the end of the eighties, I'd started buying cd's. I was never much of an lp buyer, so this was actually a big change. Suddenly, I started discovering albums by artists instead of just the single releases. It affected the way I bought my singles as well: more often than not, when I liked an album, I would buy the singles drawn from these albums whenever I could.

'Don't try to tell me' was one of the strongest tracks of Wendy & Lisa's 1990 album 'Eroica', so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that it was also released as a single in the UK. The way I found out about this was pleasant as well: I saw the single in a shop where I was browsing the stock. It was a quick purchase.

My collection: 7" single no. 1750.

Found: Record Exchange, London, October 19, 1992

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'Don't try to tell me (edit)' / 'Balance'

Download: here

Promises (as the years go by) - IQ

IQ was one of a few British bands formed during the early eighties that continued with the progressive rock style that had been abandoned by seventies bands like Genesis and Yes. Although - or perhaps because - the music they made required complex musicianship and included intricate arrangements, commercial success always eluded the band.

When they released their 1987 album 'Nomzamo', the single 'Promises (as the years go by)' actually got some airplay in the Netherlands. This is how I found out about the single.

My collection: 7" single no. 680

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, November 12, 1988

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Promises (as the years go by)' / 'Nomzamo'

Download: Album 'Nomzamo', including both tracks

Love really hurts without you - Billy Ocean

'State alternatives wherever possible'. This line was famous in the eighties, when I was ordering records in the UK via mail order. Back then, you just sent your order form with some money and hoped you would receive the singles you ordered two weeks later. I was usually lucky, and so my alternative was never used. I always wrote down 'Love really hurts without you' by Billy Ocean, because I knew the song and in time I knew I wanted to have it, but I wasn't that hot for it. Well, that's a fact: I finally bought the single in a shop in 2003 and only played it this year for the first time.

Leslie Sebastian Charles was born in Trinidad on January 21, 1950 (exactly 59 years ago today) and moved to England with his parents at the age of eight. In 1975 he took on the stage name Billy Ocean, taking the surname from the 'Ocean Estate' where he lived in East London. His debut single, 'Love really hurts without you', reached number 2 in the UK singles chart, number 11 in the Netherlands and number 22 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

My collection: 7" single no. 3390

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2003

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Love really hurts without you' / 'You're running outa fools'

Download: here