Club Tropicana - Wham!

Wham! had made a name for themselves with socially conscious singles like 'Wham rap' and 'Young guns'. When they released 'Club Tropicana' it seemed like a deliberate move away from that. But in reality, the song was a satire of the boom for cheap package holidays for young, single people.

The B-side is what interests me the most on this single. It's the track 'Blue (Armed with love)', which is a bit of a rarity in Wham!'s catalogue. I've known this track for a long time, but I didn't know it was the B-side of 'Club Tropicana'. I'm glad to finally have it on 7" vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 3702

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 5, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Club Tropicana' / 'Blue (Armed with love)'

Talk it over - Frizzle Sizzle

After representing the Netherlands during the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Alles heeft ritme', Frizzle Sizzle continued their pop career with songs in English. Their first attempt 'Never give up' was not successful, but the next single 'Talk it over', released in January 1987 was an immediate success. It peaked at number 14 in the Dutch Top 40, which made it a bigger hit than their Eurovision song.

Unfortunately it went downhill from there: the next single stalled at number 38 and further singles did not chart. In 1990, Frizzle Sizzle broke up.

My collection: 7" single no. 3698

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 5, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Talk it over' / 'Talk it over (instrumental)'

Après toi - Vicky Leandros

Vicky Leandros was born as Vassiliki Papathanasiou on August 23, 1949. In 1958 her parents took her to Germany where she stayed with her father permanently after her parents' divorce. She revealed her talent at a young age while taking guitar, music, dance, ballet and singing lessons. In 1967 she received an offer to sing for Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'L'amour est bleu'. She finished in fourth place but the song became one of the biggest worldwide hits of the year and was covered by many artists.

In 1972 she represented Luxembourg at Eurovision for the second time and won the contest with the song 'Après toi'. It became a number one hit in the Netherlands. Translated into English as 'Come what may' it was also a big hit in the UK reaching number 2 on the charts. Leandros recorded the song in seven languages.

My collection: 7" single no. 3401

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2001

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Après toi' / 'La poupée, le prince et la maison'

Little bird / Love song for a vampire - Annie Lennox

While the fourth single from Annie Lennox's album 'Diva' (1992), 'Cold' was not released on 7" vinyl, it was a surprise that the fifth single was. It was a double A-side single, featuring 'Little bird' in a remixed version from the album, plus a new track: 'Love song for a vampire', recorded for the soundtrack of the movie 'Bram Stoker's Dracula'.

The single reached number 3 in the UK singles chart, but did not chart in other territories.

My collection: 7" single no. 2548

Found: Record Exchange, London, November 1, 1995

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Little bird' / 'Love song for a vampire'

All of my heart - ABC

Released as the fourth single from their debut album 'The lexicon of love', ABC hit number 5 in the UK and number 19 in the Netherlands with 'All of my heart', a beautiful ballad with orchestral backing. It was one of the standout tracks from the album.

The orchestral theme was visible on the whole of the release: the four members of the band posed as classical musicians on the sleeve and the B-side was 'Overture', essentially a medley of tracks from 'The lexicon of love' played by a full orchestra.

My collection: 7" single no. 1188

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, March 3, 1990

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'All of my heart' / 'Overture'

My foolish friend - Talk Talk

Released in 1983, 'My foolish friend' was the first Talk Talk single of that year, in between singles taken from their debut album 'The party's over' (1982) and 'It's my life' (1984). 'My foolish friend' did not appear on any of their albums, but the B-side 'Call in the night boys' would appear on 'It's my life'.

The single was not very successful, stalling at number 57 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2167

Found: Record Exchange, London, September 26, 1994

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'My foolish friend' / 'Call in the night boys'

Your love takes me higher - The Beloved

'Your love takes me higher' was a hit for the Beloved in March 1990, as a single drawn from their debut album 'Happiness'. However, this is not that single: this single was released a year before and features both band members on the sleeve instead of a drawing which featured on the sleeve of the 1990 release.

Jon Marsh and Steve Waddington released this single ten months before 'The sun rising', which would become their first real UK hit. 'Your love takes me higher' was re-released after 'Hello' was their second hit in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 2277

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, May 6, 1995

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Your love takes me higher' / 'Paradise (My darling, my angel)'