Refuse/Resist - Sepultura

The music of Sepultura is loud, very loud. And for a while in the early Nineties, I was into loud sounds. The albums 'Blessed are the sick' by Morbid Angel and 'Arise' by Sepultura were on my favourites list and it was logical for me to start searching for singles by these bands. As far as I know, no 7" singles were released from these albums.

In 1994, Sepultura released the album 'Chaos A.D.' and the EP 'Refuse/Resist'. The intro to the song is the heartbeat of Max Cavalera's then-unborn first son Zyon. Needless to say, this music never became mainstream, but it did reach number 51 in the UK singles chart. Perhaps the poster sleeve of this release was an explanation?

My collection: 7" single no. 2079
Found: Amsterdam, March 8, 1994
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Refuse/Resist' / 'Inhuman nature', 'Propaganda'

One of us - Abba

'One of us' was one of the last songs Abba recorded for their final album 'The visitors'. Like more songs around that time, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson were writing about their personal lives, which involved the divorce of their female band members, Agnetha and Frida respecrtively. Despite the somewhat depressing context and reservations by manager Stig Anderson, 'One of us' was released as the first single from 'The Visitors'. It reached number 1 in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland. In the UK, it peaked at number 3.

The song was parodied in the UK television programme 'Not the nine o'clock news', in which the chorus was sung as 'One of us is ugly, 1 of us is cute / One of us you'd like to see in her birthday suit / Two of us write music, two have way a song /Sorry, in translation, that line come out wrong'.

My collection: 7" single no. 109
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1981
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'One of us' / 'Should I laugh or cry'

Freedom - George Michael

A long time before I bought the UK edition of the single 'Freedom' by George Michael, I bought the European one. It had a different B-side, the one that was used as the B-side of 'Waiting for that day' in the UK. The front sleeve was the same, however, which may have been confusing to some.

This single reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40, which was 20 places higher than the UK. I wonder if the B-side helped it do so well?

My collection: 7" single no. 1347
Found: Melody Maker, October 27, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Freedom' / 'Fantasy'

Paradise - Sade

'Paradise' was the second single from Sade's 1988 album 'Stronger than pride'. It was released in the summer of 1988 and reached number 16 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the UK, it reached number 29 and in the Netherlands it peaked at number 26.

My copy of the single is an American pressing. For some reason, a European pressing was hard to come by at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 641
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, July 23, 1988
Cost: 4 guilders
Tracks: 'Paradise' / 'Super bien total'

Lucky one - Amy Grant

'Lucky one' was released as the first single from the album 'House of love' by Amy Grant in 1994 in the UK. In the USA, it was the second single, following the title track, which was a duet with Vince Gill. The single performed slightly better on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 18.

In the UK, this single reached number 60 in August 1994.

My collection: 7" single no. 2196
Found: HMV, London, September 29, 1994
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Lucky one' / 'Baby baby'

Rainbow lake - Wendy and Lisa

'Rainbow lake' was released as the second single from Wendy & Lisa's third album 'Eroica'. Released in November 1990, it was their last chart hit in the UK, although it only reached number 70 during the one week it charted.

After this single, only 'Don't try to tell me' was released, after which the duo stopped recording for a long time.

My collection: 7" single no. 2402
Found: July 8, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Rainbow lake (Album remix)' / 'Rainbow lake (12 into 7 remix)'

Violet - Seal

Seal released 'Violet' as the fifth and last single from his self-titled debut album. It featured acoustic versions of tracks from the album, with all the royalties from the single donated to charity. Unfortunately, the single was not the biggest success from the album: it reached number 39 in the UK singles chart.

Nevertheless, the versions of 'Violet' and 'Wild' on this single are in their own way just as good as the Trevor Horn-produced album versions.

My collection: 7" single no. 2263
Found: Record fair, April 8, 1995
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Violet' / 'Wild'