Midnight man - Sandra

'Midnight man' was released as the fourth and final single from Sandra's second album 'Mirrors'. The single charted in a few European countries, but didn't make the top 10 in any of them. In Germany, the single only reached number 24, making this Sandra's lowest charting single in that county.

I had started collecting Sandra singles when I bought this one. It was really quite easy to find them all as long as I went to record fairs.

My collection: 7" single no. 1924
Found: Record fair, June 5, 1993
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Midnight man' / 'Mirror of love'

Steam - Peter Gabriel

'Steam' was released as the second single from Peter Gabriel's 1992 album 'Us'. Peter Gabriel has said that the song is about a relationship in which the woman is sophisticated, bright, cultured, and knows everything about anything and that the man knows nothing about anything, except, he does know about the woman, and she doesn't know much about herself.

In a way, 'Steam' does take the listener back to the sound of 'Sledgehammer', and the video even reminds of that video as well. It became Gabriel's last top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at number 10. In the Netherlands, the single reached number 16.

My collection: 7" single no. 2242
Found: February 18, 1995
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Steam' / 'Games without frontiers (Massive/DB mix)'

Fanfare for the common man - Emerson Lake and Palmer

'Fanfare for the common man' is a 20th-century American classical music work by American composer Aaron Copland. The piece was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Copland's fanfare was reincarnated in 1977 by British rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer on their album 'Works Volume I'. Keith Emerson had long been an admirer of Copland's Americana style. The track became one of the band's biggest hits when an edited version was released as a single that year. It reached number 2 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2644
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 24, 1996
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Fanfare for the common man' / 'Brain salad surgery'

Catch me - Marsha Raven

Marsha Raven recorded 'Catch me' in 1983. It was originally released as a simple dance song but it didn't hit the charts. It was remixed in 1984. This version featured a recording of London's Big Ben. In this version, the track became a hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 4. It is quite remarkable that this single did not chart in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 1286
Found: All that music, Leiden, August 31, 1990
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Catch me' / 'Catch me (instrumental)'

Touchy! - A-ha

Although I was a fan of A-ha's music ever since they hit it big with 'Take on me', I grew increasingly unimpressed by their choice of singles in 1988. The album 'Stay on these roads' was decent enough, but the record company had a knack for choosing the most bland tracks as a single. Things hit rock bottom - in my opinion, of course - when 'Touchy!' was released in the summer of 1988. It was A-ha's most 'autopilot'-inspired track. The audiences still fell for it: the single peaked at number 11 in the UK and number 14 in the Netherlands.

I only bought the single when I found this limited edition with an extra outer sleeve. It features the A-ha logo with green liquid in it. Unfortunately, time has caused a leak in this logo, so my copy does not contain much liquid anymore. I'm curious if anyone reading this still has an intact copy of this.

My collection: 7" single no. 1852
Found: Record fair, January 23, 1993
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Touchy!' / 'Hurry home'

Blinded (by the beauty of your eyes) - The Kick

Buying this single was actually a mistake. When I was only nine years old, sometimes I got confused by all these bands and their names. I was actually looking for 'My Sharona' by The Knack, but arrived home with 'Blinded (by the beauty of your eyes)' by The Kick.

The Kick was a short-lived Dutch band. In fact, they were so short-lived that no information about the band has survived today. All I can gather from the single itself is that their song was written by W.S. van Vugt and that they were produced by famous Dutch producer/songwriter/DJ Will Luikinga. This single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 74
Found: Rapsody, Den Haag, 1980
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Blinded (by the beauty of your eyes)' / 'Like a puppet'

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)'