Há sempre alguém - Nucha

I bought this single as soon as it appeared in the shops. Not because I liked the Portuguese entry of the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest so much, but because it was quite remarkable that so many Eurovision tracks were released as a single. I realised right away that this was a good opportunity to find more singles than ever before.

Nucha was sent to Eurovision with a song in the impenetrable Portuguese language (as prescribed by the rules of the Contest at the time), and reached 20th place in a field of 22 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 1232
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, May 18, 1990
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Há sempre alguém' / 'Together'

How can I keep from singing? - Enya

A day at the Enya producer's office (II)

'HeyNicky Ryan, it's time for a new Enya single!'
- 'Really? Already? We've just had that 'Caribbean blue' single.'
'Yeah I know, but it's almost December and people still want to buy this stuff. I thought this time we could do a track with a real lyric again.'
- '(Sigh) Oh Lord, that's too much hard work. Do I have to? It's so difficult to piece together the words that woman has sung in the past.'
'Well, you could always ask her to sing a few new words...'
- 'Are you serious? She's hiding in her dark castle, I haven't seen that woman in years.'
'Oh well, you'll figure something out. Make it sound like that 'Evening' song, that will really work come Christmas time.'
- 'Okay, I'll try and glue together one new song. But the B-side will have to be that Christmas track. I don't want to work two days on this single.'
'No problem mate. I know you'll make something out of this.'
- 'Yeah I think this one will go down great at funerals too.'

My collection: 7" single no. 1960
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 25, 1993
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'How can I keep from singing?' / 'Oiche Chiun (Silent night)'

Halo of flies - Alice Cooper

In 1973, the Dutch offshore radio station Veronica broadcast their annual Top 100 of all times, compiled by listeners. For the first time, it featured Alice Cooper's 'Halo of flies', from his 1971 album 'Killer'.

His record company was quick to recognise the commercial potential, and released a single of this track. A lengthy single: the A-side clocked in at 8'21 minutes. Quite impressive, given that it was still a 45 rpm disc. The single was only released in the Netherlands, where it reached number 5 in the Dutch Top 40 in the summer of 1973.

My collection: 7" single no. 2947
Found: Record fair, Leiden, January 31, 1998
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Halo of flies' / 'Under my wheels'

License to kill - Gladys Knight

One of the presents I got for my birthday was the dvd of 'Quantum of solace', the most recent James Bond movie. I didn't see this one in the cinema. When I watched it yesterday, I really enjoyed it, but I also realised that a lot had changed since the Eighties. This movie had been stripped of everything that makes it a James Bond movie, which I think is a shame. Some cliches should never be lost.

The same goes for the theme song: 'Another way to die' by Jack White and Alicia Keys is a tuneless, soulless affair, while Gladys Knight's 'License to kill' from twenty years ago is still spot on. It was Gladys Knight's last hit, peaking at number 6 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 926
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, July 1, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'License to kill' (Gladys Knight) / 'Pam' (Michael Kamen)

Don Quichotte - Magazine 60

'No señor, Don Quichotte y Sancho Panza no están aqui' is the most important message in this song. When you enjoy thoughtful lyrics, this song will not exactly oblige you. But this message is one I used quite frequently, together with a friend, while we were following Spanish classes almost 20 years ago. A few years ago I decided I wanted to have the track.

Magazine 60 is a French synthpop trio consisting of Jean-Luc Drion, Dominique Régiacorte and Véronique Oliver. Although this single did not chart in most European countries, it was a modest hit in America.

My collection: 7" single no. 3297
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Don Quichotte' / 'Circonvolution'

The riddle - Nik Kershaw

'Near a tree by a river there's a hole in the ground / Where an old man of Aran goes around and around / and his mind is a beacon in the veil of the night / For a strange kind of fashion there's a wrong and a right'. What does it mean? These lyrics caused so much confusion that the record company MCA decided to run a competition to work out the meaning. However, according to Nik Kershaw himself, the lyic had no meaning at all: '[it was] nonsense, rubbish, bollocks, the confused ramblings of an 80s popstar'.

Despite all this, it gave Kershaw a considerable hit. It reached number 3 in the UK singles chart in December 1984, his biggest hit up to that point. In the Netherlands, the single reached a more modest number 19.

My collection: 7" single no. 2767
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 29, 1996
Cost: 40p
Tracks: 'The riddle' / 'Progress'

Some kind of lover - Jody Watley

A sticker on the sleeve of this single announces that Jody Watley was a Grammy Award winner in the category Best New Artist in 1987. Which in fact is a bit strange, since Watley had been active in the music business all through the decade, first as a member of Shalamar, and then solo.

'Some kind of lover' was released as the fourth single from her self-titled debut album. The single only reached number 81 on the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2189
Found: Record Exchange, London, September 29, 1994
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Some kind of lover' / 'Some kind of lover (dub)'