Juliana - Kinderen van Nederland

A guest single today, from my friend Puck. Although, when you listen to this you would start to wonder why I have such strange friends. 'Juliana' was an ode to the queen of the Netherlands in 1979, on the occasion of her 70th birthday. I wonder at the lack of taste of people in this country every day, but I'm still amazed that this actually peaked at number 10 in the Dutch Top 40 during its five week run.

The lyric of this song is full of interesting statements. Apparently, queen Juliana singlehandedly took care of prosperity in Holland's post-war years, and 'wakes day and night'. The children hope she will continue to take care of her people for many years to come. Well, the queen listened to this and decided to abdicate in January 1980.

Tracks: 'Juliana' / 'Wilhelmus van Nassauwe'

Food for thought - UB40

'Food for thought' was originally the debut single of UB40 in 1980. It was an attempt to publicize and condemn the Ethiopian famine in Africa, comparing it with the Western over-indulgent celebration of Christmas, a full five years before Band Aid brought the subject to widespread attention.

This live version was released in early 1983 and taken from the album 'UB40 live'. It was a big hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 4. It was their first top 5 hit in the Netherlands. A few months later, their next single 'Red red wine' would become a charttopper.

My collection: 7" single no. 3690

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

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Food for thought (live)' / 'The piper calls the tune (live)'

Popcorn - M and H band

The M&H Band's version of 'Popcorn' was not just released as a 7" single (see it here), but also as a 12" single. This disc adds an extended remix which lasts for over six minutes. It may be one of the first extended remixes of a cover version of 'Popcorn' ever - later cover versions would be remixed as a matter of course.

My collection: 12" single no. 496

Found: Mail order, 2000

Cost: 8 guilders

Tracks: 'Popcorn (Remix version)' / 'Popcorn (Radio version)', 'Ordinopaso'

My bag - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

'My bag' was the first single taken from the 1987 album by Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, 'Mainstream'. Though not a very accessible song, it reached number 46 in the UK singles chart. 'Mainstream' was the last album by Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, produced by the group and Ian Stanley, keyboard-player of Tears for Fears.

My collection: 7" single no. 3700

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

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'My bag' / 'Jesus said'

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'