Can't give you anything (but my love) - The Stylistics

'Can't give you anything (but my love)' was a UK number 1 hit in August 1975 for three weeks by The Stylistics. After splitting from record producer Thom Bell in 1974, songwriters/producers Hugo & Luigi and George David Weiss took over, with arrangements by Van McCoy. Although the split with Bell proved disastrous in the US, The Stylistics continued to be popular in the UK and this was their first and only UK number 1 single.

In 2006, it was used as the base for a Japanese advertisement campaign by Gatsby, to launch their new male hair styling product, 'Moving Rubber'. The campaign was successful due to the tune and that the commercial featured one of Japan's most popular celebrities, Takuya Kimura, of the pop group, SMAP.

My collection: 7" single no. 2806
Found: Record fair, January 25, 1997
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Can't give you anything (but my love)' / 'I'd rather be hurt by you (than be loved by somebody else)'

Road to your soul - All about Eve

All about Eve had a troubled time while recording their second album. Having just found success with 'Martha's harbour', they were suffering from internal conflicts and uncertainty about their new direction. 'Scarlet and other stories' became a flawed masterpiece as a result.

Not that I knew anything about this: I picked up the brand new single by All about Eve while on holiday in London in October 1989. 'Road to your soul' was the single that turned me into an All about Eve fan almost overnight. I heard it upon return home and was immediately hooked. The UK audience had more trouble with it, apparently: the single peaked at number 37 and did not become the number one hit it should have been.

My collection: 7" single no. 994
Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1989
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Road to your soul' / 'Pieces of our heart'

In my house - Mary Jane Girls

After seeing Prince become successful with proteges like Vanity 6, Rick James decided to start a similar project. He brought together Joanne McDuffie, Kimberly Wuletich, Ann Bailey and Candice Ghant and named them Mary Jane Girls, commonly believed to be named after the drug Marijuana. Soon after the release of their debut album Bailey left the group, to be replaced by Yvette Marine.

When the first single from their second album 'Only four you' (1985), 'Break it up' was not a big success, 'In my house' was chosen as the second single. It gave them their only hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 6 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1984
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, October 17, 1993
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'In my house' / 'In my house (instrumental)'

In the evening - Sheryl Lee Ralph

Sheryl Lee Ralph was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on December 30, 1956. Ralph began her career on the stage and was nominated in 1982 for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Deena Jones in 'Dreamgirls'.

In 1984, she debuted as a singer with the album 'In the evening'. The title track was released as a single and became her only international hit. It reached number 64 in the UK and number 16 in the Netherlands. The B-side is incorrectly labeled as the instrumental version of 'In the evening'. But I don't know which song this is really.

My collection: 7" single no. 1825
Found: Record palace, Amsterdam, January 13, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'In the evening' / 'In the evening (instrumental)'

Cruel - Tori Amos

Tori Amos recorded her 1998 album 'From the choirgirl hotel' after she suffered a miscarriage. The sense of loss and blame were obvious in a lot of the tracks. 'Each song would show me a certain side of herself because of what I was going through. So a song like 'Cruel' came to me out of my anger. 'She's Your Cocaine' and 'iieee' came out of a sense of loss and sacrifice. And other songs celebrated the fact that I found a new appreciation for life through this loss.'

'Cruel' was released as the album's third single in the USA. It did not chart, and no further singles were released from the album after this.

My collection: 7" single no. 3050
Found: Record fair, February 20, 1999
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Cruel (Shady feline mix)' / 'Raspberry swirl (Lip gloss version)'

Every day hurts / My oh my - Sad Café

Released in September 1979, 'Every day hurts' was the biggest hit of Manchester-based band Sad Café in the UK. It peaked at number 3, making it the only top 10 hit the band ever had in that country. On this 'Old gold' single, the track is coupled with 'My oh my', their second biggest hit, released in March 1980 and reaching number 14 in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 1326
Found: London, October 16, 1990
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Every day hurts' / 'My oh my'

Black pearl - Margriet Eshuijs Band

Margriet Eshuijs was born on October 14, 1952. Both her parents were musicians. They owned a music store and also gave lessons in music. It was almost inevitable that she would become involved in music herself too. In 1972 she joined the band Lucifer, a Dutch band that would be immortalised with their 1974 hit 'House for sale', on which Margriet performed the vocals. By the end of the Seventies the band broke up.

In the early Eighties the Margriet Eshuijs Band started. The album 'Right on time' (1981) contained the single 'Black pearl', which would reache number 13 in the Dutch Top 40 in March 1982.

My collection: 7" single no. 1136
Found: All that music, Leiden, December 28, 1989
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Black pearl' / 'Single day'