Won't you hold my hand now - King

While everyone remembers 'Love and pride' by King, the next single 'Won't you hold my hand now' is less wellknown. In the Netherlands, it didn't even chart, whereas in the UK it only managed a number 24 placing in the singles chart.

I bought this limited edition 4 track double single as part of a deal where the seller offered a discount on five singles bought together. (One of those 'buy 5 pay 4' deals). I already had four singles I really wanted to have, and then spotted this double single. Well, double singles are always nice to have - even if the live tracks aren't all that great.

My collection: 7" sigle no. 913

Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 25, 1989

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Won't you hold my hand now' / 'Fish (reprise) (live)' // 'Won't you hold my hand now (live)' / 'And as for myself (live)'

Fix you - Coldplay

'Fix you' was the second single taken from Coldplay's third album 'X&Y'. Chris Martin said about the song: 'My father-in-law Bruce Paltrow bought this big keyboard just before he died. No one had ever plugged it in. I plugged it in, and there was this incredible sound I'd never heard before. All these songs poured out from this one sound. Something has to inspire you, and something else takes over. It's very cloudy.'

The single was a big success, reaching number 4 in the UK and Canada, number 59 in the USA and number 8 in Ireland.

My collection: 7" single no. 3415

Found: hmv.co.uk, 2005

Cost: 3 pounds

Tracks: 'Fix you (edit)' / 'The world turned upside down'

The beat(en) generation - The The

In hindsight, I was always surprised that The The introduced their new album 'Mind bomb' with one of the less surprising tracks, 'The beat(en) generation'. For lack of a better description, I would qualify it as a straightforward rock track. But the strategy did pay off: the single peaked at number 18 in the UK singles chart.

Meanwhile, The The was an actual band again, Matt Johnson having recruited ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, ex-Nick Lowe bassist James Eller and ex-ABC drummer David Palmer as members.

My collection: 7" single no. 811

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, May 12, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'The beat(en) generation' / 'Angel'

Dancing in the dark - Kim Wilde

Kim Wilde always got a lot of criticism for singing the songs that were written and composed by her father Marty and her brother Ricky. So for 'Dancing in the dark', help was brought in. Nicky Chinn and Paul Gurvitz wrote the song, and it was included on Kim's third album 'Catch as catch can'.

The single was the biggest flop of her career so far, reaching only number 69 in the UK singles chart. It was still a top 10 hit in Denmark and Switzerland, but it didn't help matters much. Despite a pretty cover and a nice rocking B-side, this single was the first signal that there was a crisis at hand. And rather than just sit and wait, the Wilde team decided to take matters into their own hands. RAK Records was about to be abandoned.

My collection: 7" single no. 217
Found: LP top 100, Den Haag, 1983
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Dancing in the dark' / 'Back street driver'

Amiga Quartett - A-ha

Amiga was the state record company in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), also known as East Germany, before the wall came down. They released four track EP's of 'western' artists, as long as the songs were deemed 'clean' enough. The infectuous pop music of the Norwegian band A-ha apparently was innocent enough to be released in the country.

This Amiga Quartett (as the series of EP's was called) featured four tracks from A-ha's debut album 'Hunting high and low'. I really like the idea of owning records made in a country that does not exist anymore.

My collection: 7" single no. 2842

Found: Record fair, April 5, 1997

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Take on me', 'Train of thought' / 'The sun always shines on TV', 'And you tell me'

Download: Album 'Hunting high and low', including these tracks (password: http://newalbums2007.blogspot.com/)

Wild hearted woman - All about Eve

I had only just discovered All about Eve, when I found this single in my favourite second hand record shop. And cheaply, too! Naturally, though I didn't know the song, I had to try it out. And I'm glad I did, because it helped me to decide to buy the band's debut album. The up-tempo rock track 'Wild hearted woman' was coupled with the soft, beautiful ballad 'Appletree man', which showed the great diversity the band already had.

Frontwoman Julianne Regan commented in 1998: 'Please don't make the mistake of thinking that the boys wrote the 'boy' songs and I wrote the 'girly' ones, when the truth is that (...) Tim was the one behind 'Appletree man'.' The single peaked at number 33, improving again on the previous single's chart performance in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 703

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, December 17, 1988

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Wild hearted woman' / 'Appletree man'

Wedding bells - Godley and Creme

The title of this song can be misleading. When you read 'Wedding bells', you expect a romantic song, but the lyric is actually about a man who wants to avoid those wedding bells. The song was taken from Godley & Creme's 1981 album 'Ismism' (released as 'Snack attack' in the USA).

While 'Under your thumb', also taken from the album, had already reached number 3 in the UK singles chart, this was another top 10 hit for the duo, peaking at number 7.

My collection: 7" single no. 955

Found: All that music, Leiden, August 10, 1988

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Wedding bells' / 'Babies'