Leave in silence - Depeche Mode

'Leave in silence' was the sixth single by Depeche Mode, and the first one with the 'Bong' label, which is still used to this day. It was also the first song that was remixed several times. When it was released, it reached number 18 in the UK singles chart.

The B-side of this 7" single was quite unique, as it can be played on 45rpm as well as 33rpm. Both versions have been included below.

My collection: 7" single no. 538
Found: 1986
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Leave in silence' / 'Excerpt from My Secret Garden'

Tragedy - Bee Gees

'Tragedy' was recorded by the Bee Gees for their 1979 album 'Spirits having flown'. It was released as a single in January 1979 and reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK singles chart. In the Dutch Top 40, it got to number 4.

Though not originally in the movie 'Saturday night fever', 'Tragedy' has subsequently been added to the musical score of the West End version of the musical version of that movie. In 1979, NBC aired 'The Bee Gees Special' in whcich Barry Gibb showed how the sound effect for the explosion in this song was created: he cupped his hands over a microphone and made an exploding sound. Several of these sounds were then mixed together creating one large boom heard on the record.

My collection: 7" single no. 379
Found: Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Tragedy' / 'Until'

Play the game - Queen

The Eighties started for real when Queen accepted synthesizers on their recordings. Until 1980, they had a strict 'no synths' policy, but the track 'Play the game' on their 1980 album 'The game' features some unmistakable synthesizer noises. The track begins with overlapping noises from an Oberheim OB-X synthesizer.

When the track was released as a single, it reached number 42 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 14 in the UK singles chart and number 15 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2109
Found: June 4, 1994
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Play the game' / 'A human body'

Take that look off your face - Marti Webb

'Take that look off your face' was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black for the musical 'Tell me on a Sunday' (1978). It was recorded and released by Marti Webb in 1980. It became a number 3 hit in the UK singles chart and peaked at number 7 in the Dutch Top 40. Marti Webb re-recorded the song on her 2003 album 'Limelight'.

There are several cover versions of this song, performed by singers like Bernadette Peters, Denise van Outen and Sarah Brightman. Nothing beats the original, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 4339
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, December 1, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Take that look off your face' / 'Sheldon bloom'

Do not disturb - Bananarama

'Do not disturb' was written and produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain and recorded by Bananarama as a stand-alone single, released in 1985. It reached number 31 in the UK singles chart. The track was subsequently included on Bananarama's third album 'True confessions', released in 1986.

The trio did not like the song. Group member Keren Woodward later said of the 'True confessions' album: 'It is all our ideas, it is what we wanted to sound like and sing about. Except 'Do Not Disturb' which Swain and Jolley wrote and which we don't think is very good. Thats why there's eleven songs on the LP instead of ten'.

My collection: 7" single no. 4327
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, December 1, 2009
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Do not disturb' / 'Ghost'

Katinka - De Spelbrekers

Theo Rekkers (born April 24, 1924) and Huub Kok (born February 10, 1918) formed the Spelbrekers in 1945. They met in a German arms factory where they were performing forced labour in 1943. They had their first hit in 1956 with 'Oh wat ben je mooi' ('Oh how beautiful you are').

In 1962, they represented the Netherlands during the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Katinka'. They ended up in joint last place, failing to score any points. This result was partly to blame on a bad broadcast: during their performance the image on television went almost entirely black, causing the two to look almost like criminals. Still, in their homeland they reached number 9 in the charts in May 1962.

My collection: 7" single no. 4274
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2009
Cost: 3,5 euro
Tracks: 'Katinka' / 'Carnaval'

Dracula's tango - Toto Coelo

'Dracula's tango (Sucker for your love)' sounds a lot like songs performed by various other girl groups at the time - even Dutch ones. The single was released in November 1982 and reached number 54 in the UK singles chart. It was their last single to reach the chart, although they did release a handful of other singles after that.

My collection: 7" single no. 4338
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, December 1, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Dracula's tange (Sucker for your love)' / 'Mucho macho'