Always the sun - The Stranglers

'Always the sun' was released as the second single from the Stranglers' 1986 album 'Dreamtime'. In his book 'The Stranglers song by song', Hugh Cornwell mentioned that he thought it could have been as big as the band's earlier hit 'Golden brown'. He blamed their record company for its disappointing performance, peaking at number 30 in the UK singles chart: 'We'd given CBS something great to work with and I could see in this guy's face that he knew he hadn't delivered'.

The single performed poorly in the Netherlands as well, stalling at number 35 in the Dutch Top 40, but it did reach number 15 in France.

My collection: 7" single no. 489
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Always the sun' / 'Norman normal'

Africa - Toto

Toto's Steve Lukather commented in 2003: 'I didn’t think it was very good. That tells you what can happen when we pick our own singles!' Indeed, for 'Africa' became Toto's biggest hit ever. Taken from their 1982 album 'Toto IV', the single scored number1 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 3 in the UK singles chart.

'Africa' was almost omitted from the album prior to its release. Having spent a great amount of time producing the tune, the band became so tired of the song that they didn’t want it on the album. The song itself was very different from anything the band had done before, and some members felt that it didn’t sound like Toto.

My collection: 7" single no. 165
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Africa' / 'We made it'

Prayer for the dying - Seal

'Prayer for the dying' was released as the first single from Seal's second self-titled album. Released in May 1994, the single peaked at number 14 in the UK singles chart. A year later, in November 1995, the single was re-released as a double A-side with the track 'Don't cry'. This released stalled at number 51.

The B-side is a beautiful piano version of the album track 'Dreaming in metaphors'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2123
Found: Virgin Megastore, London, July 16, 1994
Cost: pounds
Tracks: 'Prayer for the dying' / 'Dreaming in metaphors (piano version)'

Visions of China - Japan

'Visions of China' was a single released by Japan in 1981. I discovered the track a few years later, when the music video appeared on television quite regularly. It was a strange music video, which stuck in my head. Later on, the song became a happy obsession for a while.

I finally found the single in 1996, after I'd found the live version on single in 1989. This single peaked at number 32 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2685
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, July 3, 1996
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Visions of China' / 'Taking island in Africa'

De ambulance - Rubberen Robbie

Although I realise the joke is lost on foreign readers, I have committed myself to putting my record collection online and that includes a handful of Rubberen Robbie singles. 'De ambulance' is a parody of the song 'De diligence' and is all about boozing and fighting in a nearby pub.

The pub that was frequented by the members of Rubberen Robbie - and often mentioned in their songs - was 'De hut van Ome Henne' (Uncle Henne's cabin), a pub in Leiden that still exists. The B-side of this single was apparently recorded live there too.

My collection: 7" single no. 2567
Found: November 19, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'De ambulance' / 'Witte en rooie radijs (live)'

Better than this - Keane

'Better than this' was the last single release from Keane's 2008 album 'Perfect symmetry'. The single did not reach the UK singles top 100.

The 7" single came with a pair of 3d glasses, by way of promoting a concert that was shown in 3d on the internet a few months ago. That concert is still accessible via the band's official website, www.keanemusic.com.

My collection: 7" single no. 3615
Found: Keanemusic.com webshop
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Better than this' / 'Better than this (Stuart Price demo mix)'

Romeos - Alphaville

In 1989, Alphaville released their third album 'The breathtaking blue'. The album was released as a CD+G, a shortlived format including graphic representations of songs on the cd, which people could view from a CD+G-enabled cd player.

'Romeos' was the second single from the album, which reached number 45 in the German singles chart. In other territories, this single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2732
Found: Record fair, September 7, 1996
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Romeos' / 'Headlines'