Jedan dan - Dubrovački Trubaduri

Forget Johnny Logan, forget Sandra Kim and forget all the noise of recent years: it's songs like this we remember the Eurovision Song Contest so fondly for. 'Jedan dan' is melodious, it includes some elements of folk music and it is instantly memorable when you hear it.

The song was performed during the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest by the Dubrovački trubaduri, representing Yugoslavia. The song reached seventh place in the Contest and was subsequently released as a single all over Europe (this single is actually a Dutch pressing). The group, in different line-ups, existed until the early Eighties when they broke up.

My collection: 7" single no. 4276
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Jedan dan' / 'Trubadurska serenada'

The lady in red - Chris de Burgh

Chris de Burgh is often seen as the epitome of uncool, but he has written a few gorgeous love songs. 'The lady in red' is one of them. The song was written in reference to (though not specifically about) his first wife Diane. The song was inspired by the memory of the first time he saw her, and how men so often cannot even remember what their wives were wearing when they first met.

When the track from his 1986 album 'Into the light' was released as a single, it reached number 1 in the UK singles chart, number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 6 in the Dutch Top 40. Few would confess they have this single in their collection now. Well, I'm coming clean anyway.

My collection: 7" single no. 475
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'The lady in red' / 'Borderline'

Brass in pocket - The Pretenders

'Brass in pocket' was released as the Pretenders' third single. It was their first success, reaching number 1 in the UK singles chart in January 1980. In the Dutch Top 40, the single reached number 7. The song takes its title from an expression Hynde heard from a member of a Yorkshire-based support band who was looking for his money.

Chrissie Hynde commented about 'Brass in pocket' two decades after its release: 'When we recorded the song I wasn't very happy with it and told my producer that he could release it over my dead body, but they eventually persuaded me. So I remember feeling a bit sheepish when it went to number one.'

My collection: 7" single no. 1011
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Brass in pocket' / 'Swinging London', 'Nervous but shy'

To miss someone - Feargal Sharkey

'To miss someone' is another single from Feargal Sharkey's 1991 album 'Songs from the mardi gras'. Since I liked the album and especially the near-title track ('After the mardi gras'), I decided to buy all the singles from that album. 'To miss someone', however, is not one of the strongest tracks on the album. The real treat here is the acoustic performance of 'I'll take it back', originally also a track on the album.

The single did not chart in the UK, and the fact that this single is a promotional copy adds some credibility to the assumption that DJ's rather sold off the disc than play it.

My collection: 7" single no. 2339
Found: London, June 26, 1995
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'To miss someone' / 'I'll take it back (live)'

Liberation - Pet Shop Boys

'Liberation' was released as the fourth single from the Pet Shop Boys' 1993 album 'Very'. The single reached number 14 in the UK singles chart and was the lowest charting single from the album. The single was released on several formats, including two cd-singles, a double 12" single set and this 7" single.

The music video was full of computer generated graphics, which is true for all the videos from the album 'Very'. The wonderful B-side 'Decadence' features Johnny Marr from the Smiths on guitar.

My collection: 7" single no. 2099
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, April 16, 1994
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Liberation' / 'Decadence'

African and white - China Crisis

So this is the debut single from China Crisis, released on the indie label Inevitable Records in 1982. Even though this single was unsuccessful in a commercial sense, it was re-released after they signed with Virgin Records, and that remixed version, which was described on this blog here, reached number 45 in the UK singles chart.

The B-side 'Be suspicious' was never re-recorded or re-released, so that's an exclusive on this record only. I think these days, this single is pretty hard to come by.

My collection: 7" single no. 4317
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2009
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'African and white' / 'Be suspicious'

Guilty - Mike Oldfield

'Guilty' was Mike Oldfield's attempt to capitalise on the disco/dance music trend of the late Seventies. It sounded a lot more danceable than his previous singles. When released in April 1979, the single reached number 22 in the UK singles chart.

I've had the 12" single of 'Guilty' for some time now, and I decided I wanted to have the 7" single as well. After all, you don't really own a single unless you've got the 7" single, do you?

My collection: 7" single no. 4316
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2009
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Guilty' / 'Excerpt from Incantations'