Stay the night - Ghosts

I've had one single of 'Stay the night' for some time now, but since there were two different versions, I was still looking for the other one. Last week, I managed to find it in an online shop, and I ordered it along with a few other recent singles. When I received the package, it contained the single in the version I already had! But one e-mail sufficed to correct this error. So many thanks to the online shop.

This version of the single was pressed on light blue vinyl and contains two nice tracks. The B-side is an interesting instrumental track.

My collection: 7" single no. 3905
Found: 7inchsingles.nl, received July 27, 2009
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Stay the night' / 'Dark at 4'

Love... thy will be done - Martika

Martika was contacted by Prince after her debut album 'Martika' was a success. She agreed to become one of his protégées, and they wrote the song 'Love... thy will be done' together. It was another hit for the American singer.

The single became her last top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at number 9, and also reached the lower regions of the Dutch Top 40, peaking at number 30.

My collection: 7" single no. 1516
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, September 20, 1991
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Love... thy will be done' / 'Mi Tierra'

Hold on to love - Patty Brard

Patty Brard's career in music started promising with this debut single, 'Hold on to love', the first single drawn from her debut solo album 'All this way'. Released in January 1981, the single peaked at number 19 in the Dutch Top 40.

After this, things went quickly downhill. Despite releasing a handful of singles from three different solo albums, she never reached the chart anymore. Her career led her towards producing magazines, television programmes and reforming with her old band, Luv'.

My collection: 7" single no. 94
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1981
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Hold on to love' / 'Love keeps knockin''

Cokane in my brain - Dillinger

Dillinger was born as Lester Bullock on June 25, 1953 in Kingston, Jamaica. In the Seventies he started working with producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry, who suggested his stage name, after gangster John Dillinger.

In 1977, he recorded 'Cokane in my brain', a track that relied heavily on the main tune from 'Do it anyway you wanna' by The People's Choice. It became a number 1 hit in the Netherlands, where Dillinger was hyped somewhat by the weekly Hitkrant publication. They published stories like 'Does Dillinger even exist?' when he didn't turn up for a TV performance. Dutch artist Dingetje recorded a parody of this song, entitled 'Ik ga weg Leen'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2141
Found: White noise, Utrecht, August 2, 1994
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Cokane in my brain' / 'Power bank'

The look of love 1990 mix - ABC

Here's another ill-advised remix version of a classic. When ABC released their compilation album 'Absolutely' in 1990, the record company decided to promote it with a so-called '1990 mix' of 'The look of love', one of the band's biggest and most cherished hits from 1982. The track sounded very 1990, but it also sounded very crap, unfortunately.

This single was rewarded appropriately with a one week chart run at number 68 in the UK singles chart. Some would say this was even too much, but you know... a fan has to have everything. Even crap singles.

My collection: 7" single no. 2748
Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 28, 1996
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'The look of love 1990 mix' / 'Ocean blue'

Marilyn et John - Vanessa Paradis

'Marilyn & John' was the title track from Vanessa Paradis's 1987 debut album 'M&J', and one of the strongest tracks on the album. Sounding very unlike the debut single 'Joe le taxi', it was a hit in France but didn't reach the charts outside of France like the debut single had.

I got to know the track because I'd bought the album some time before. And as usual, when I like an album I have to have the accompanying singles as well... It's a strange habit but someone's got to do it.

My collection: 7" single no. 2224
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 17, 1994
Cost: 4 guilders
Tracks: 'Marilyn & John' / 'Soldat'

Love is all that matters - Human League

After the failure of 'I need your loving' in the UK, the record company decided to release no further singles from the Human League's 1986 album 'Crash', but to release a compilation album instead, in the hopes of reviving interest for the band (and earn some more money, of course).

The single 'Love is all that matters' was taken from 'Crash', oddly enough, and released to promote the greatest hits compilation that was released in 1988. The single peaked at number 41 in the UK singles chart. It comes in a foldout sleeve showing all three members of the group. The B-side is taken from the Human League's 1985 album 'Hysteria'.

My collection: 7" single no. 866
Found: All that music, Leiden, June 2, 1989
Cost: 7,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Love is all that matters (edit)' / 'I love you too much'