Living in a box - Living in a box

Richard Darbyshire, Marcus Vere and Anthony Critchlow formed Living in a box in Sheffield in 1985. Their most commercially successful single, 'Living in a box', peaked at number 5 on the UK singles chart and was the band's only single to chart in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, peaking at number 17. In the Netherlands, the single peaked at number 10.

The Penthouse mix, which appears on the B-side of this single, was mixed by Arthur Baker.

My collection: 7" single no. 525
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Living in a box' / 'Living in a box (The Penthouse mix)'

Free fallin' - Tom Petty

'Free Fallin'' is the opening track from Tom Petty's 1989 solo album, 'Full moon fever'. The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne. The duo wrote and recorded the single in two days, making it the first song completed for the album.

The single peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1990. In the UK it stalled at number 64.

My collection: 7" single no. 1143
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, January 13, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Free fallin'' / 'Love is a long road'

Peace - Depeche Mode

'Peace' is the second single from Depeche Mode's current album 'Sounds of the Universal'. It was released two weeks ago on two different cd-singles and this numbered limited edition 7" pressed white marbled vinyl. This is number 10891. Martin Gore told The Sun newspaper that 'Peace' is one of his favourite songs of the ones that he has ever written.

The single peaked at number 57 in the UK singles chart, just like their debut single 'Dreaming of me' in 1981. In Germany, 'Peace' reached number 25.

My collection: 7" single no. 3800
Found: eBay.co.uk, received June 25, 2009
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Peace (single version)' / 'Come back (Jonsi remix)'

La dolce vita - Anneli Saaristo

When you listen to 'La dolce vita' by Anneli Saaristo and you know it is a Eurovision song, the assumption is quickly made that it is a Spanish song. But nothing could be further from the truth: this 1989 entry was actually sent in by Finland!

The result was not bad: the song finished seventh in the Contest in a field of 22 participants.

My collection: 7" single no. 3799
Found: eBay.co.uk, received June 25, 2009
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'La dolce vita [Finnish]' / 'La dolce vita [English]'

We are the champions - Queen

When the band Queen was good, they were good. And when they were awful, they were truly awful. But I could never quite make up my mind with this single: which was it?

'We are the champions' and 'We will rock you' can be considered a double A-side single, since both tracks have gained a prominence in pop culture that is quite unrivalled. 'We are the champions' is (mis)used for sports events, while 'We will rock you' is no stranger to pop concerts. The single reached number 2 in the UK and the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 379
Found: Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'We are the champions' / 'We will rock you'

Is this love - Alison Moyet

Alison Moyet celebrated a lot of success with her debut solo album 'Alf' (1984), but it also presented an interesting task to come up with a successful follow-up album. 1987's 'Raindancing' could not compare to the success of its predecessor but still came up with a few reasonably successful singles.

The first one was 'Is this love', co-written by the Eurythmics' David A. Stewart, who used the pseudonym Jean Guiot. The single peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 11 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 3191
Found: September 16, 2000
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Is this love' / 'Blow wind blow'

Imagination - Belouis Some

Belouis Some was born as Neville Keighley on December 12, 1959. He released his debut album 'Some people' in 1985. The single 'Imagination' was taken from this album. On its first release in April 1985, it only reached number 50 in the UK singles chart. When it was re-released in January 1986, the single reached number 17.

The provocative music video was a regular on television for a year. No wonder then, that I remember this song well even now.

My collection: 7" single no. 383
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Imagination' / 'Have you ever been in love'