Xanadu - Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra

'Xanadu' was the theme song from the movie of the same name. The movie starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly and was an unofficial remake of the 1947 film 'Down to earth' with Rita Hayworth.

A rare collaboration for Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra, the single was the band's only UK number 1 single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. The song peaked at number 1 in the Netherlands as well, and at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

I recently bought a UK copy of this single with a limited edition gatefold sleeve at the record fair in Utrecht (on November 22, 2008), but the original single came into my collection soon after it was released.

My collection: 7" single no. 59

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Xanadu' / 'Fool country'

Download: Album 'Xanadu', including both tracks

Legendary - Spectral Display

'Legendary' was another single from Spectral Display's second album 'Too much like me'. This single came in a special single mix. The single mix is slightly different from the album version: the beat is stronger and the track sounds a bit brighter. It didn't help the sales, because the single didn't chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3307

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Legendary (Special single mix)' / 'Here with me'

Download: here

We came to dance - Ultravox

'We came to dance' was the last single taken from Ultravox's sixth album Quartet. It was produced by George Martin and released on April 18, 1983. The song reached number 18 in the UK singles chart, while it didn't chart in the Netherlands.

With its demented synthesizer melody and its emotionally charged vocals, it's a bit weird that the lyrics are slightly naff. Still, I loved the track as a child and seized the opportunity a decade later to buy this single, pressed, like many more Ultravox singles, on clear vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 2187

Found: London, September 28, 1994

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'We came to dance' / 'Overlook'
Download: Album 'Quartet', including both tracks

The Piano - Michael Nyman

The movie 'The piano' was released in 1994. I saw it in the cinema a year after it was released. One of the attractions in the movie was the beautiful soundtrack. One of my main sayings is: 'it's still a soundtrack', meaning that it doesn't really connect with me when the visual images are missing. But Michael Nyman's main theme for 'The piano' is a pleasant exception.

'The heart aske pleasure first' is a beautiful theme, even without the movie to accompany the music. It sounds like classical music, and in a way, of course, it is. Even if it was composed in the Nineties.

My collection: 7" single no. 2329

Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, June 3, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'The heart asks pleasure first / The promise (edit)' / 'Big my secret', 'All imperfect things'

Download: Album 'The Piano: Original Soundtrack', including these tracks

Hard to say I'm sorry - Chicago

'Hard to Say I'm Sorry', a hit for Chicago in 1982, was written by band member Peter Cetera and producer David Foster. The song hit Number 1 for two weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry' segued into a second song titled 'Get Away', which was closer to the older horn-driven Chicago sound of the Seventies.

Deviating from Chicago's practice of having mostly band members playing on their albums, 'Hard to say I'm sorry' featured several session musicians. The song featured three members of the American rock band Toto: Steve Lukather on guitar, David Paich and Steve Porcaro on synthesizers. The song's vocals were performed by Cetera and new member Bill Champlin.

My collection: 7" single no. 156

Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Hard to say I'm sorry/Get away' / 'Sonny

Download: Album 'Chicago 16', including both tracks

Intimate strangers - T'pau

T'pau debuted in 1987 with their single 'Heart and soul'. Originally, it didn't sell much in the UK, so the second single was soon released: 'Intimate strangers'. This second single also failed to reach the UK singles chart. 'Intimate strangers' is the same track that would appear on T'pau's debut album 'Bridge of spies' (1987) as 'Sex talk'.

Meanwhile, 'Heart and soul' became a number 4 hit in the USA, so it was re-released in the UK and T'pau finally made the singles chart then. 'Intimate strangers' sunk without a trace, it's one of the rarest singles in T'pau's catalogue.

My collection: 7" single no. 3155

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 27, 1999

Cost: 10 guilders

Tracks: 'Intimate strangers' / 'No sense of pride'

Download: here

Jolene - Strawberry Switchblade

'Jolene' tells the tale of a housewife confronting a beautiful seductress who she believes is trying to steal away her husband. Originally performed by Dolly Parton, the song became her second solo number one single on the country charts after being released as a single in late 1973. It was released as a single in the UK the following year, where it reached number seven in the UK singles chart.

Strawberry Switchblade covered this song and released it as their fourth single. It reached number 53 in the UK singles chart in the autumn of 1985.

My collection: 7" single no. 2773

Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, October 31, 1996

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Jolene' / 'Being cold'
Download: here