One more night - Sandra

'One more night' was written by Michael Cretu, Klaus Hirschburger and Frank Peterson. It was a ballad, taken from the album 'Paintings in yellow', released as its third and final single. The 7" single included a unique track on the B-side: an 2'42 edit of the album track 'The journey'. The cd-single and 12" single featured the original full length version of that track, clocking in at 7'27.

Released in September 1990, the single reached number 31 in the German charts, but did not chart in other countries. My copy of the single was made in France.

My collection: 7" single no. 2211
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 13 ,1999
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'One more night' / 'The journey (edit)'

Emma - Hot Chocolate

Errol Brown and Tony Wilson wrote 'Emma', a song that became a number 3 hit in both the UK and the Netherlnads in 1974. It was an unusually dark song for the band, who were known for their lightweight pop songs.

The song details the love of the (nameless) singer and a girl called Emmaline from the age of 5 all through a wedding at 17 until her suicide at an unspecified later date. Emma wanted to be a 'movie queen' but never got a break, eventually killing herself, explaining in a suicide note: 'I just can't keep on living on dreams no more'.

My collection: 7" single no. 465
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Emma' / 'Makin' music'

You little thief - Feargal Sharkey

'You little thief' was the fourth single taken from Feargal Sharkey's successful debut album 'Feargal Sharkey' (1985). It followed up the UK and Netherlands number 1 hit 'A good heart'.

This single became almost equally successful, peaking at number 5 in the UK singles chart. It also reached number 13 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 407
Found: V&D, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'You little thief' / 'The living actor'

The boys of summer - Don Henley

The title of this 1985 hit single is taken from the 1972 non-fiction book, 'The boys of summer' by Roger Kahn. Kahn's 'boys of summer' are the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers, a team that Kahn covered as a sportswriter for the New York Herald Tribune. The book is about how the lives of the former ballplayers had changed between the time he covered the team and the time he tracked each of them down twenty years later.

The lyric of Henley's song, which is driven by synthesizers and a LinnDrum, appears to be about the passing of youth and entering middle age, with the obvious theme of 'summer love' apparent in the choruses. In an interview, Henley explained that the song is more about aging and questioning the past, which is a recurring theme in Henley's lyrics.

My collection: 7" single no. 665
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, October 15, 1988
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'The boys of summer' / 'A month of Sundays'

Hold the line - Toto

Toto's debut single was the 1978 track 'Hold the line', taken from their self-titled debut album. The song peaked at number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 14 in the UK singles chart and number 25 in the Dutch Top 40.

My copy of the single is a bit tattered and torn, and comes in a standard Columbia sleeve. Although I have seen copies with a picture sleeve later on, I never felt the desire to replace the original copy I bought - even though the song is one of my favourite rock tracks ever.

My collection: 7" single no. 298
Found: Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Hold the line' / 'Takin' it back'

Nothing ever happens - Del Amitri

Del Amitri formed in Glasgow in 1980. The band consisted of Currie, Iain Harvie, Bryan Tolland and Paul Tyagi. The 1989 album 'Waking hours' proved to be their international breakthrough, containing their biggest hit, 'Nothing ever happens', which reached number 11 in the UK singles chart in January 1990.

The song deals with the banality of everyday life, with the refrain 'and we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow'. The song includes a startling penultimate line, 'they'll burn down the synagogues at six o'clock and we'll all go along like before', an apparent reference to the lack of popular opposition to Kristallnacht.

My collection: 7" single no. 1175
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, February 17, 1990
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Nothing ever happens' / 'No holding on'

De vuile zeeballade - Rubberen Robbie

'De vuile zeeballade' ('The ballad of the dirty sea') is a parody of the Dutch song 'De zuiderzeeballade' ('The ballad of the Zuiderzee'). The original song was an ode to the Zuiderzee, a lake in the Netherlands. The parody was all about environmental waste and people dumping oil and nuclear waste into the sea.

The real treat on this single, which didn't reach the Dutch charts, is the B-side. 'Broodje pindakaas' ('Peanut butter sandwich') is a parody of the Beatles' 'All you need is love'. The song starts with the immortal line 'I got fired last week / and that's a bit inconvenient', only to continue later on with 'the mice gnaw on my toes when I sleep / I'm so hungry'. The single was taken from Rubberen Robbie's self-titled debut album, which also didn't reach the Dutch albums chart. Still, it is a cult classic.

My collection: 7" single no. 106
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'De vuile zeeballade' / 'Broodje pindakaas'