Ghosts - Ghosts

I already wrote about the Ghosts' single 'Stay the night'. 'The world is outside', their next single, peaked at number 35 in the UK singles chart. 'Ghosts' was released a few months after that, but achieved no chart placing in the UK. Still, this is an interesting single, if only for the remix of 'The world is outside'. While this remix misses the sparkle of the original track, it does keep certain elements of the song intact and makes it interesting to listen to. 'The world is outside' was one of my favourite tracks of 2008 (although it was released a year earlier, but how was I to know...) and so I was glad to get this single. And it's pressed on white vinyl, too!

My collection: 7" single no. 3574

Found: eBay, received February 2, 2009

Cost: 3 pounds

Tracks: 'Ghosts' / 'The world is outside (Stellasound remix)'

Download: here

The Fear - Lily Allen

When you read the long, long entry on Lily Allen in Wikipedia, you would think this girl has spent decades in the entertainment business. But in fact she's only released one album, with her second one underway right now. 'The fear' is the first single drawn from this second album, and it was released last month on cd-single and this picture disc 7" single.

Lily Allen was born on May 2, 1985 as the daughter of British actor/musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. While the songs on her debut album were mostly about former boyfriends and short-lived love affairs, the new album supposedly contains some more adult oriented lyrics. 'The fear' is a good example: it reflects on fame and what it can do to a young woman like Lily.

My collection: 7" single no. 3578

Found: digitalstores.co.uk website, received February 2, 2009

Cost: 3 pounds

Tracks: 'The fear' / 'Kabul shit'

Download: here

Let's all chant - Michael Zager Band

A fabulous disco track from 1978. 'Let's all chant' by the Michael Zager Band reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 8 in the UK singles chart. Michael Zager was born on January 3, 1943 in Passaic, New Jersey. He was a member of Ten Wheel Drive from 1968 to 1973, and then went on to record a couple of album as the Michael Zager Band. 'Let's all chant' remains his best known song, and was even re-released in 2000 in a remixed version.

Michael Zager went on to produce and compose music for many artists, such as Gladys Knight, Deniece Williams, Luther Vandross and Whitney Houston.

My collection: 7" single no. 2291

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, May 13, 1995

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Let's all chant' / 'Love express'

Download: here

Are 'friends' electric? - Tubeway Army

One of the most famous hits from the Eighties is actually a song from the Seventies: 'Are 'friends' electric?' was released in 1979. Tubeway Army consisted of many different musicians, but the main members were Gary Webb (a.k.a. Gary Numan) and Paul Gardiner. 'Are 'friends' electric?' became their first hit after appearances in 'Whistle Test' and 'Top of the pops'. The single climbed steadily to stay at number one in the UK charts for 4 weeks. After this hit, Tubeway Army disbanded and Gary Numan went on solo.

These days, the track is a regular on Eighties compilation cd's. They were obviously ahead of their time...

My collection: 7" single no. 1216

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, April 22, 1990

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Are 'friends' electric?' / 'We are so fragile'

Download: Album 'Replicas', including both tracks

Eat it - Weird Al Yankovic

In a world where Michael Jackson was just about the most famous person alive, it was no wonder that other people tried to make some money out of his work. Or try to parody him. Weird Al Yankovic shot to worldwide fame when he made a parody of Michael Jackson's video for 'Beat it', and a song to match. Entitled 'Eat it', the video was a shot-for-shot parody.

In America, the single made number 12 of the Billboard Hot 100, while it made number 36 in the UK singles chart. The single didn't chart in the Netherlands, but the video was on TV quite regularly.

My collection: 7" single no. 1917

Found: Record fair, Leiden, May 22, 1993

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Eat it' / 'That boy could dance'

Download: Album 'In 3D', including both tracks

Blue emotion - Fiat Lux

Fiat Lux followed up their single 'Secrets' with the up-tempo track 'Blue emotion'. Some sounds on this track reminded me very much of Ultravox, and if someone had told me it was their new single, I probably would have believed it. My sister played this single a lot when I was younger, so when I came across this single years later, I still knew I wanted to have it.

I was really surprised, then, to find out I'd bought a copy on coloured vinyl. 'Blue emotion' was released on - wait for it - blue vinyl. How imaginative.

My collection: 7" single no. 2369

Found: House of Rhythm, London, July 1, 1995

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Blue emotion' / 'Sleepless nightmare'

Download: here

Kiss me - Indecent Obsession

Indecent Obsession formed in 1987 in Brisbane, Australia. David Dixon, Andrew Coyne, Michael Szumowski and Daryl Sims hit the Australian chart in 1989 with their single 'Say goodbye'. follow-up single 'Tell Me Something' peaked at number 17 two months later, but would be the band's last Australian Top 20 single.

Their second album 'Indio' spawned the single 'Kiss me', which became an international hit. It was number one in South Africa for an amazing 27 weeks. By comparison, they had a modest hit with this in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 21 in the summer of 1992. In the UK, where I bought this limited poster bag edition of the single, it didn't chart at all.

My collection: 7" single no. 1773

Found: Kensington Market, London, October 21, 1992

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Kiss me' / 'Mystery'

Download: here