Don't look back - Lloyd Cole

'Don't look back' was the second single taken from Lloyd Cole's first solo album, 'Lloyd Cole' (1990). It was released in a limited edition box set featuring the single (of course) and three prints. One wonder why they weren't just stuck into the sleeve of the single, but anyway...

Released in April 1990, the single didn't make the UK top 40, stalling at number 59 instead. I only knew 'No blue skies', Cole's previous single when I saw this boxset, but I took the gamble. I'm glad I did, because this song is equally great.

My collection: 7" single no. 1301

Found: Record exchange, London, October 15, 1990

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Don't look back' / 'Blame Mary Jane'

Speed of sound - Coldplay

Released as the first single from Coldplay's third album 'X&Y', the lyric of the song 'Speed of sound' was written by singer Chris Martin about his daughter Apple. He explains: 'That's a song where we were listening to a lot of Kate Bush last summer, and we wanted a song which had a lot of tom-toms in it. I just had my daughter up also, and was kind of feeling in a sense of awe and wonderment, so the song is kind of a Kate Bush song about miracles.'

The single was released in May 2005. It reached number 2 in the UK, being held off the top spot by Crazy Frog's cover of 'Axel F'. In America, the single peaked at number 8 and in the Netherlands it reached number 6.

My collection: 7" single no. 3413

Found: HMV, London, 2005

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Speed of sound' / 'Things I don't understand'

Save your kisses for me - Brotherhood of man

Songwriter and producer Tony Hiller formed the group Brotherhood of man in 1969. The early lineup consisted of John Goodison, Tony Burrows, Roger Greenaway, Sue Glover and Sunny Leslie. After a few years they were replaced by Martin Lee, Lee Sheriden, Sandra Stevens and Nicky Stevens. This lineup was the one that participated in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest in an effort to make a big impact in UK as well as in Europe.

'Save your kisses for me' was a number 1 hit in the UK two weeks before the Contest final. During the Contest final it was awarded the maximum twelve points by seven countries, totalling 164 points compared to the second-placed French entry with 147 points. After their Eurovision win, the song became the biggest selling single for a winning entry in the history of the Contest. It reached number 1 in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Norway and eventually sold more than five million copies.

My collection: 7" single no. 3569

Found: La la land, Den Haag, January 31, 2009

Cost: 1,5 euro

Tracks: 'Save your kisses for me' / 'Let's love together'

S.O.S. - Abba

'S.O.S.' was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. The title itself was coined by Stig, though the lyrics he provided were re-written by Ulvaeus. 'S.O.S.' was among the first three songs recorded for the group's upcoming 1975 album, ABBA. Despite the song's catchiness, it was passed over as the lead single from the album; the track 'So long' was chosen instead. 'So long' was chosen primarily because it had the same uptempo beat as their 1974 hit single, 'Waterloo'.

After 'So long' performed less well than expected, 'S.O.S.' became Abba's comeback single. It was a number one hit in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa. In the UK, the single peaked at number 6 and in the Netherlands at number 2. Abba would from then on remain a force to be recogned with in pop music.

I have two versions of the single: I first bought the French edition (pictured above) during a record fair. 18 months later I bought a Dutch pressing (pictured below). When I bought the cd-singles box set a few years ago, the sleeve of 'S.O.S.' was different. So now I'm still looking for the German edition...

My collection: 7" single no. 2049 / no. 2298

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, November 13, 1993 / Record fair, Utrecht, May 27, 1995

Cost: 3 guilders / 2 guilders

Tracks: 'S.O.S.' / 'Man in the middle'

S.O.S. - ABC

'S.O.S.' was the second single from ABC's second album 'Beauty stab'. Previous single 'That was then but this is now' was an obvious attempt to break with the band's glamorous pop image, performing loud rock music instead. But 'S.O.S.' seemed like a return to earlier singles.

It obviously confused the audience. The single only managed a lowly number 39 position in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 777

Found: All that music, Leiden, March 20, 1989

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'S.O.S.' / 'United Kingdom'

Et les oiseaux chantaient - Sweet People

Sometime in 1979 or 1980, someone had the brilliant idea of recording birdsong and scoring it with some laid back music. I think it must have been the first notion of so-called 'new age music'. The resulting single, 'Et les oiseaux chantaient' by the Sweet People, became a hit too. It felt really out of place in the post-punk charts of 1980.

But there it was, peaking at number 10 in the Netherlands and number 4 in the UK. I think I only started to like the track once it had left the charts and some time had gone by.

My collection: 7" single no. 2153

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 7, 1999

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Et les oiseaux chantaient' / 'Perce'

Franse auto - Het Goede Doel

'Franse auto' was the fourth single from Het Goede Doel's 1986 album 'Mooi en onverslijtbaar'. Even though the album brought forth several hit singles, this is not one of them. It didn't reach the Dutch charts at all.

The lyrics were probably a bit too eccentric for the audience: 'You're exactly like a French car / when the motor still wants to run the exterior is already rotten'. Oh well, there's always the instrumental version...

My collection: 7" single no. 520

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Franse auto' / 'Franse auto (instrumentaal)'