Forever young - Alphaville

'Forever young' is the title track of Alphaville's 1984 debut album. It became the group's highest charting hit in Europe. It reached number 18 in the Dutch Top 40.

Since its release, it has been covered by numerous other acts, such as Laura Branigan, Bushido, Karel Gott, Interactive, Paul Michiels and the Australian rock band Youth Group.

My collection: 7" single no. 2562
Found: All that music, Leiden, November 19, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Forever young' / 'Welcome to the sun'

Love bites - Def Leppard

It's easy to discard Def Leppard for their cliched Eighties rock songs, their hairstyle and their lyrics. There's nothing innovative in there, it's all been done numerous times by other rock bands. And yet, they've been at it since 1977 and they're still touring. There must be something to it then.

'Love bites' is the only Def Leppard single I own, and that will probably not change. I didn't play it much, although the song itself is reasonably nice. A popular rumor about the song concerns the final seconds. After the line 'If you got love in your sights / Watch out, love bites', what is seemingly heard is 'Jesus of Nazareth, go to hell'. This rumor has been refuted by the band. The line is in fact producer Mutt Lange rambling in a Yorkshire accent, to the effect of 'Yes it does, it will be hell', with the aid of a vocoder.

My collection: 7" single no. 706
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Love bites' / 'Billy's got a gun (live)'

Rhythm of life - Hugh Harris

I don't think I would have had this single if I hadn't gotten it for free. I was a regular customer at Melody Maker, buying all my singles there, and one day I got this as an extra. Hugh Harris? I'd never heard of him.

Hugh Harris was born in 1964 and his song 'Rhythm of life' was featured in the movie 'Uncle Buck'. It was taken from his 1989 album 'Words for our years'. Both the single and the album did not chart. Due to serious illness Hugh withdrew from the music business. In 2002 he re-emerged with the album 'Flowers', which he'd recorded in 1992.

My collection: 7" single no. 1272
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, July 28, 1990
Cost: nothing
Tracks: 'Rhythm of life' / 'Juice (edit)'

Rhythm of life - Oleta Adams

Oleta Adams was born on May 4, 1953 in Seattle, Washington as a daughter of a preacher. She was raised with gospel music. She tried to pursue a career in music in the Seventies but her work was often rejected. In 1986, her fortunes changed when she was performing live in a bar in Kansas City. She met Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith from the band Tears for Fears. They were so impressed with her singing that they wanted her to collaborate on their 1989 album 'The seeds of love'. After this was a success, Adams signed her own record deal and released her debut album 'Circle of one'.

'Rhythm of life' was released as the album's first single, reaching number 52 in the UK singles chart and number 31 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1321
Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1990
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Rhythm of life' / 'Don't look too closely'

Love the one you're with - Bucks Fizz

'Love the one you're with' was originally written and performed by Stephen Stills in 1970. It was the first single from his debut solo album 'Stephen Stills'.

Since then, the track was covered numerous times by acts such as the Isley Brothers, Tight Fit, Will Young and Dennis Rollins. This 1986 cover version by Bucks Fizz was taken from their 1986 album 'Writing on the wall'. It reached number 47 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3253
Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 20, 2000
Cost: 80p
Tracks: 'Love the one you're with' / 'Too hard'

Real cool world - David Bowie

'Cool world' is a 1992 live action/animation movie, starring Gabriel Byrne, Brad Pitt and Kim Basinger. The story of the movie is about a cartoonist who finds himself in the animated world he created, and is seduced by one of his characters, a vamp who wants to be real. The movie got negative reviews, but I actually still want to see it. It's hard to find nowadays.

None other than David Bowie provided the title song for the movie. The track marked a reunion with Nile Rodgers, with whom Bowie recorded his 1983 album 'Let's dance'. The single is one of Bowie's hidden classics. It reached number 53 in the UK singles chart (during its one week in the chart!) and number 21 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1701
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, August 29, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Real cool world' / 'Real cool world (instrumental version)'

High energy - Evelyn Thomas

Evelyn Thomas was born as Ellen Lucille Thomas. She is an American singer from Chicago, Illinois, best known for her dance hit 'High energy'. It became one of the earliest hit songs within the genre of music that has become known as Hi-NRG. The song was produced and written by Ian Levine and Fiachra Trench. For some reason, it was Levine who received all the royalties for the song, and neither Trench nor Thomas ever got paid for their work.

The single reached the charts worldwide, peaking at number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 3 in the Dutch Top 40. Amusingly, the sleeve of this Belgian pressing is based on the sleeve of the 12" single, listing both tracks with a duration of over 7 minutes. Of course, both sides of this 7" single feature the edit of these two tracks.

My collection: 7" single no. 3120
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 24, 1999
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'High energy' / 'High energy (Instrumental dub)'