Cold spell ahead - The The

The The was founded by Matt Johnson in the late Seventies, together with Keith Laws and Peter Fenton-Jones. The latter dropped out within a year, and Peter Ashworth and Tom Johnston were added to the band. They recorded and released the debut single 'Controversial subject'. After this, Johnston and Ashworth dropped out of the band. As a duo (Johnson and Laws), The The began playing shows with some of that era's most influential groups: Wire, Cabaret Voltaire and Scritti Politti amongst others. In 1981, Johnson issued a solo album on 4AD called 'Burning Blue Soul'; years later, it would be re-issued and credited to The The. In September 1981, the duo signed a contract with Some Bizzare Records, and released the 7" single 'Cold Spell Ahead'. Shortly thereafter, Laws left and the only remaining member of The The was Johnson.

'Cold spell ahead' was re-released in 1992. This re-release is in my collection - the original release it probably very expensive and hard to get.

My collection: 7" single no. 1755
Found: Tower Records, London, October 19, 1992

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Cold spell ahead' / 'Hot ice'

Teenage queenie - Pussycat

Taken from their 1981 album 'Blue lights', 'Teenage queenie' was a minor hit for the Dutch band Pussycat, peaking at number 36 in the Dutch Top 40. It was also their penultimate hit: 'Lovers of a kind' (1983) would get to number 15, but after that, the hits dried up. The band finally broke up in 1985.

Pussycat will always be remembered for their worldwide hit 'Mississippi', which gave them a number one hit in the UK in 1976. This song sounds very different from that one, though the band's signature sound, formed by slide guitars and Toni Willé's distinctive voice is still there.

My collection: 7" single no. 903

Found: All that music, Leiden, June 23, 1989
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Teenage queenie' / 'Who's gonna love you'

How can we hang on to a dream - Tim Hardin

Tim Hardin was born on December 23, 1941. His career as an American folk musician started in 1966, with the release of his debut album 'Tim Hardin 1'. This contained the song 'Misty roses', which reached the top 40 in America. His second album 'Tim Hardin 2' was released in 1967, and contained 'How can we hang on to a dream', which was his only UK hit, charting for one week on number 50. The song did considerably better in the Netherlands, where it made number during its ten week chart run.

Tim Hardin developed a heroin addiction, which took control of his life by the time his last album, 'Nine', was released in 1973. He died of a heroin and morphine overdose on December 29, 1980. In 1987, the song was re-released after it was used on the soundtrack of the Dutch movie 'Zoeken naar Eileen' ('Searching for Eileen'). This time around, the song peaked at number 4. I always considered it to be a very moving song.

My collection: 7" single no. 1813
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 9, 1993
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'How can we hang on to a dream' / 'Misty roses'

The girls are back in town - Risqué

'The girls are back in town' was the debut single by Risqué. Although their career continued for several years, it would prove to be their biggest chart success, peaking at number 13 in the Dutch Top 40.

I bought this single as part of a big shopping spree at Disco Market, my favourite little second hand shop in Den Haag. For once, I was allowed to go in the back room, where thousands of singles were stored, just waiting to be put in the shop. I bought a few dozen singles that day...

My collection: 7" single no. 3284
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'The girls are back in town' / 'Risqué disco'

Don't stop me now - Queen

Queen released 'Don't stop me now' in 1978 as a single from their album 'Jazz'. The song was written and composed by Freddie Mercury. On the studio version, Brian May's only guitar playing is in his guitar solo, but on live versions performed on the band's 1978 and 1979 tours, May would also play rhythm guitar throughout the rest of the song to add a rockier feeling to it. Despite all this, it is said that May did not like this song at all.

The single reached number 9 in the UK singles chart and number 14 in the Dutch Top 40. I bought the single over a year after Freddie Mercury died. After his death, I liked Queen a lot more than before. I still don't know why that is.

My collection: 7" single no. 1887
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, April 24, 1993

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Don't stop me now' / 'In only seven days'

Toccata - Sky

Sky was a UK-based instrumental group which came together in 1979. Members were John Williams (who was at that time already an accomplished instrumentalist in his own right), Kevin Peek (who'd worked with, amongst others, Cliff Richard, Manfred Mann and Jeff Wayne), Herbie Flowers (a former member of Blue Mink and T-Rex), Tristan Fry and Francis Monkman.

They fused together musical styles including rock, classical and jazz. Their second album 'Sky 2' was released in 1980, and from that album the single 'Toccata' was drawn. It peaked at number 5 in the UK and number 20 in the Netherlands. In both countries, it was the only Sky single to reach the chart, although at least two others were released.

My collection: 7" single no. 2150

Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, September 1, 1994

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Toccata' / 'Vivaldi'

Better the devil you know - Kylie Minogue

The release of 'Better The Devil You Know' marked a milestone in Kylie Minogue's career. While still being produced by Stock Aitken and Waterman like she had been throughout her musical career up to that point, she took creative control over her image. She recorded a video for the single which broke with the 'girl-next-door' image she'd had for several years.

The single became Kylie's fifth number 2 single in the UK, having also had four number 1 hitsingles. The Dutch audience was less impressed: the single peaked at number 22 only. I only discovered the song years later, after Kylie had made some more serious music. I had to admit some of her previous work was pretty nice too.

My collection: 7" single no. 3332

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 24, 2001

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'better the devil you know' / 'I'm over dreaming (over you)'