Obcene phone caller - Rockwell

'Obscene phone caller' was Rockwell's second single and an attempt to follow up the highly successful debut 'Somebody's watching me' with an equally successful song. Where 'Somebody's watching me' could be construed as a song about voyeurs, this time around Rockwell sang about a heavy breather on the phone.

The audiences were not impressed. In the USA, where according to this sleeve the single was a 'Top hit', it peaked at number 35. In German, where this single was made, it only made number 53 and in the UK it stalled at number 79. It soon became obvious that Rockwell had gained a status as a one hit wonder.

My collection: 7" single no. 2471

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 16, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Obscene phone caller' / 'Obscene phone caller (instrumental)'

Jij bent mijn leven - Anneke Grönloh

Anneke Grönloh is celebrating her 50th year as a performing artist this year. It seems amazing, because she only ever had one big hit in the Netherlands ('Brandend zand'). But there is one more standout moment in this woman's career, and that was representing the Netherlands during the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest.

'Jij bent mijn leven' is a song about a woman accepting the lies and deceit of her man because 'you are my life'. It's obvious that there was no trace of emancipation back then. The song reached 10th place in the Contest and was only a minor hit in the Dutch chart, reaching number 30.

My collection: 7" single no. 3752

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 27, 2009
Cost: 5 euro

Tracks: 'Jij bent mijn leven' / 'Weer zingt de wind'

Long hot summer - The Style Council

The official title of this single is 'A Paris', a four track ep with 'Long hot summer' as the lead track. The Style Council had formed earlier on in 1983 and consisted of ex-The Jam frontman Paul Weller together with Mick Talbot, Steve White and Weller's then-wife, backing singer Dee C. Lee.

This single reached number 3 in the UK singles chart and remained the Style Council's biggest hit. In 1989 a new version of the track was released, but that one only made number 48.

My collection: 7" single no. 3756

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 27, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Long hot summer', 'Party chambers' / 'The Paris Match', 'Le départ'

Remember the time - Michael Jackson

Once I set out to do something, I usually succeed. Not so long ago I decided that I wanted to have all of Michael Jackson's hit singles. It's ambitious, but right now, I don't need to fill in that many blanks anymore. This was one of them.

'Remember the time' was released as the second single from Jackson's 1991 album 'Dangerous'. It was accompanied by a groundbreaking music video, clocking it at nine minutes. Featuring Eddie Murphy, Iman and Magic Johnson and set in ancient Egypt, the video was almost more memorable than the song. The single was a number 1 hit in New Zealand and made the top 10 almost everywhere else.

My collection: 7" single no. 3755
Found: Empire Records, May 27, 2009

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'Remember the time' / 'Come together'

Seven into the sea - In tua nua

In tua nua (roughly translated from Irish as 'A new tribe' formed in the early Eighties. Originally they set out to make early Roxy Music-style rock, but soon started to fuse this with traditional Irish music, with uillean pipes and acoustic guitars.

Some personnel changes resulted in 1986 in the following line-up: Leslie Dowdall, Martin Clancy, Ivan O'Shea, Jack Dublin, Paul Byrne, Aingeala de Burca and Brian O'Briain. This line-up recorded the album 'Vaudeville' and their most famous recording, 'Seven into the sea'. In the Netherlands, this single peaked at number 24.

My collection: 7" single no. 3757

Found: Empire Records, May 27, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Seven into the sea' / 'Balled of Irish love'

Koud hè - The V-boys

Henk Spaan and Harry Vermeegen have both become very irritating TV personalities, obsessed with sports programmes. But two decades ago they were actually funny at times. As Verona, named after the TV programme they made at the time, they released the song 'Geluk' in 1986, and while they were still making the TV programme Verona, they released this single a year later under a new pseudonym, the V-boys.

'Koud hè' ('Cold, isn't it?') evolved from an unfortunate interview outside a building where Spaan and Vermeegen were waiting to question Dutch celebrities. Due to the weather, Vermeegen could only utter 'Koud hè?' to one of them. In the end, this was all the duo asked anyone. This single made number 17 in the Dutch Top 40 in the winter of 1987/88.

My collection: 7" single no. 3750

Found: Empire Records, May 27, 2009

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'Koud hè' / 'Dat is lachen, dat is leuk'

Jij en ik - Bill van Dijk

Willem Edsger van Dijk was born in Rotterdam on December 22, 1947. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. After graduation he acted in various musicals in the Netherlands, where the genre was still in its infancy. Next to his acting he also made a name for himself in music: performing live with the Skymasters and the Metropole Orkest for radio and television in the Seventies and Eighties.

In 1982 he represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Jij en ik' ('You and me'). It was not a successful performance: he ended up in 16th place out of 18 participants. As a result, the single did not reach the charts in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3743

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, May 23, 2009

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Jij en ik' / 'Leven is'