Walk out to winter - Aztec Camera

I never know what came first: the chicken or the egg. It's the same with this song: the lyric fits the music really well - or is it the other way around? The music sounds extremely 'wintery', but it might be because of the lyric that I think that.

The single reached number 64 in the UK singles chart and remains one of the band's best recognised songs.

My collection: 7" single no. 1983
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1993
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Walk out to winter' / 'Set the killing free'

Keeping the dream alive - Freiheit

Taken from the album 'Fantasy', 'Keeping the dream alive' is the English-language version of 'So lang' man Träume noch leben kann'. This single became the band's sole hit in the UK, reaching number 14 in the UK singles chart.

Like its German counterpart, the track was performed with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Jackson Singers. It was one of my favourite tracks from 1989, even though it was released in late 1988.

My collection: 7" single no. 701
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, December 15, 1988
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Keeping the dream alive' / 'The land of fantasy'

Boom bang-a-bang - Lulu

'Boom bang-a-bang' was the United Kingdom entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. It was sung by Lulu. The song famously became one of four winning entries. The single peaked at number 2 in the UK singles chart and at number 19 in the Dutch Top 40.

The song was the second entry with a nonsense title to win (after Massiel's triumph in 1968 with 'La la la'), and became infamous in the comedy world - most notably inspiring Monty Python's Flying Circus to parody it with 'Bing tiddle-tiddle bong'. Over two decades after its first release, the song was infamously included on a blacklist of banned songs issued by the BBC during the 1991 Gulf War.

My collection: 7" single no. 3693
Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 5, 2009
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Boom bang-a-bang' / 'March!'

Money, money, money - Abba

'Money, money, money' was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, and at first had the working title 'Gypsy girl'. The dramatic structure of the song suited well for Anni-Frid Lyngstad's lead vocal. The song is an early indication of Björn and Benny's abilities to write dramatic music suitable for a musicals.

'Money, money, money' was the second worldwide hit from Abba's album 'Arrival'. The single topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, West Germany, Mexico and New Zealand, and reached the Top 3 in Norway, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria and the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 174
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1980
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Money, money, money' / 'Crazy world'

Heaven must be missing an angel (remix) - Tavares

'Heaven must be missing an angel' was written by Freddie Perren and Keni St. Lewis. It was recorded by Tavares in 1976. The original version was a hit all over the world, at the height of 'disco fever'.

Dutch remixer Ben Liebrand made a remix of the song in 1985, which made it a hit for the second time. The single reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40 in September 1985, and number 21 in the UK singles chart in March 1986.

My collection: 7" single no. 343
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: - (present)
Tracks: 'Heaven must be missing an angel (remix)' / 'Whodunit'

Love in your eyes - Limahl

Limahl got rid of his extravagant haircut and started making 'serious' music in 1986. His album 'Colour all my days' was mostly produced by Giorgio Moroder. The first single, 'Love in your eyes' was a minor hit for the ex-Kajagoogoo singer.

Around this time, a UK tabloid published a photograph of Limahl leaving an unemployment office, with the caption, 'how the once mighty can fall'. But while only reaching number 80 in the UK Singles chart, 'Love in your eyes' fared much better in the rest of Europe, particularly in Germany, where the single reached number 28 and Italy, where the single peaked at number 22.

My collection: 7" single no. 439
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 26, 1986
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Love in your eyes' / 'Love will tear the soul'

Run to you - Bryan Adams

'Run to you' was recorded by Bryan Adams in 1984. It became his first worldwide hit, peaking at number 11 in the UK and number 14 in the Netherlands. It was the first single from Adams' fourth studio album 'Reckless'.

Most of all I remember the music video, which I found very impressive with all that snow...

My collection: 7" single no. 1526
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 21, 1991
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Run to you' / 'I'm ready'

EDIT (April 5, 2010): I received a notice from Blogger that this post was complained about. I trust it's from the same people who posted a reaction on this post. They are obviously terrified that anyone should hear any Bryan Adams music, even if it's any good. The message these people are sending is: don't listen to music, you might get inspired to buy it yourself. And they wonder why the music industry is in such terrible shape...