Don't you want me - Jody Watley

Jody Watley's debut album 'Looking for a new love' yielded five hits, of which 'Don't you want me' was the second. It reached number 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 55 in the UK singles chart.

Even though I am really impressed with the album as a whole and all the hit singles as well, I do wonder why Jody Watley posed on the sleeve of this single in such a lack of clothes. It doesn't look particularly classy...

My collection: 7" single no. 1749
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 19, 1992
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Don't you want me' / 'Don't you want me (radio remix)'

I don't like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats

'I don't like Mondays' was written by the lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, Bob Geldof after he read a telex report at Georgia State University's campus radio station, WRAS, where he was giving an interview. The report was about Brenda Ann Spencer, aged 16 at the time, firing at children playing in a school playground across the street from her home in San Diego, California. She killed two adults and injured eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime, and her full explanation for her actions was 'I don't like Mondays, this livens up the day'.

Geldof had originally intended the song as a B-side, but changed his mind after the song went down well with audiences on the Boomtown Rats' US tour. Spencer's family tried unsuccessfully to prevent the single from being released in the United States. It reached number 73 in the US Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, it was a number 1 hit, and in the Netherlands the single reached number 2. The single was one of two singles I got from my parents as a birthday present.

My colection: 7" single no. 27
Found: present, August 31, 1979
Cost: nothing
Tracks: 'I don't like Mondays' / 'It's all the rage'

Irresistible - Stephanie

When an artist records two versions of a song, one in French and one in English, it's quite easy to make an extended remix: you just use the verses of both versions and before you know it the song is about seven minutes long.

That's what happened with Stephanie's 'Irresistible', which she also recorded in French as 'Ouragan', on this 12" single. Fortunately, there are also a few interesting instrumental passages, but the whole thing is not very imaginative. Still, like all the material from Stephanie's debut album, it's pleasant enough to listen to.

My collection: 12" single no. 511
Found: ?
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Irresistible (extended)' / 'Irresistible', 'Ouragan'

The way it is - Bruce Hornsby and the Range

Such is the nature of beautiful music, that these days even people with not an inch of artisticity in their body recycle it to make their own filth. Bruce Hornsby's 'The way it is' fell victim to Tupac Shakur when he made the track 'Changes', which for reasons that are still a mystery to me became a worldwide hit.

'The way it is' itself is a thing of rare beauty. I've always been attracted to keyboard-based songs and the way the piano is used in this track is truly phenomenal. The lyric tends a bit towards the preachy side, but with a Christian Scientist upbringing, Hornsby probably couldn't help himself. The single was a number 1 hit the Netherlands and the USA. And in this case, that's not a mystery to me.

My collection: 7" single no. 915
Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 25, 1989
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'The way it is' / 'The red plains'

Killer - Adamski

Adamski was born as Adam Tinley on December 4, 1967 in the New Forest, England. In the late Eighties, at the time of acid house, Adamski made a name for himself in the club circuit, touring with Daddy Chester and later with Seal. With the latter, he wrote 'Killer', which would become Adamski's breakthrough single, but is better known as the track that launched Seal's career.

The single reached number 1 in the UK singles charts and peaked at number 2 in the Netherlands and Germany. While Adamski had no more notable hit singles, Seal started a solo career that would see him reach the charts around the world with hits like 'Crazy', 'Kiss from a rose' and many others.

My collection: 7" single no. 1405
Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, April 3, 1991
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Killer' / 'Bassline changed my life'

It would take a strong strong man - Rick Astley

I bought this single of 'It would take a strong strong man' in 1995. I didn't know it had been released as a single, but since this was an American pressing I assumed it was only released over there. I was right, to a degree: this single reached number 10 in the US Billboard Hot 100, but it also reached number 2 in Canada and number 4 in Ireland.

The real treat here is the B-side: just like 'It would take a strong strong man', 'You move me' was taken from Astley's debut album 'Whenever you need somebody'. But 'You move me' is the best track on the album, a bouncy, soulful track that is still fresh two decades later. And the lyric is very appropriate for these times of crisis and people losing their jobs.

My collection: 7" single no. 2317
Found: Record fair, June 3, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'It would take a strong strong man' / 'You move me'

Advice for the young at heart - Tears for Fears

'Advice for the young at heart' was the third single taken from the 1989 Tears for Fears album 'The seeds of love'. The song was written by Roland Orzabal and keyboardist/singer Nicky Holland. The lyric 'Love is a promise, love is a souvenir once given, never forgotten, never let it disappear' is a quote from John Lennon. The lead vocal on the song was sung by Curt Smith; the only track he sang on the whole album. The single peaked at number 36 in the UK singles chart and number 22 in the Dutch Top 40.

In the UK, this single was released in a limited edition box set (pictured below) including four postcards. The front of the box set states that it's 'part one', but I've never seen 'part two'.

The music video for this single was the last Tears for Fears video to feature both Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith before their acrimonious split in the early Nineties. It would be 15 years before they made a video together again ('Closest thing to heaven' in 2005).

My collection: 7" single no. 1230
Found: Esprit Mail Order, received July 1990
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Advice for the young at heart' / 'Johnny Panic and the bible of dreams'