Josephine - Chris Rea

Chris Rea wrote the song 'Josephine' for his daughter of the same name. It was included on his 1985 album 'Shamrock diaries'. (He would pay the same compliment to his youngest daughter Julia on the 1993 album 'Espresso logic'.)

In the UK, the single reached number 67, but in the Dutch Top 40 it peaked at number 3. Part of this popularity was caused by an appearance of Chris Rea in the Dutch weekly chart show 'Toppop'. It was the last edition presented by longtime presenter Ad Visser. While Rea was playing this rather serious song, confetti and balloons were flying through the studio. The artist was visibly surprised and bewildered.

My collection: 7" single no. 311
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Josephine' / 'Josephine (edit remix version)'

Cover my eyes (Pain and heaven) - Marillion

Fish left Marillion in 1988, leaving the band with a big hole in their line-up. This hole was filled when they recruited Steve Hogarth, former keyboardist and sometime vocalist of The Europeans. The band had already recorded some demos for what was to become 'Seasons end', Marillion's fifth album. With Fish - who had written most of the lyrics for the four previous albums - gone, Hogarth set about writing new lyrics for the songs that had been demoed. The album was eventually released in 1989.

'Holidays in Eden', their next album, was the first the new line-up of the band actually created together. 'Cover my eyes (Pain and heaven)' was the first single from the album. It was a good success for them, reaching number 14 in the Dutch Top 40 (their biggest hit since 1985's 'Kayleigh') and number 34 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1507
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, August 10, 1991
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Cover my eyes (Pain and heaven)' / 'How can it hurt'

Ongelofelijk - Mam

Even for foreigners the Dutch single 'Ongelofelijk' ('Unbelievable') is easy to follow: the only lyric in the song is the title plus the phrase 'Het gaat maar door' ('It just goes on'). Makes no sense to you? Well, most Dutch people didn't understand this either, which is why it didn't reach the chart. Personally, I am rather fond of such nonsensical tracks.

The B-side, which is a lot more wordy, is equally nonsensical: it's about a man who wonders about his own sentimentality when he thinks back with shame about the time he met a man on the market who was offering him the fish he had been eating, as he didn't want the rest of it: he turned him down.

My collection: 7" single no. 872
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, June 2, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Ongelofelijk' / 'Lekkerbekje: het gesprek'

Message of love - The Pretenders

The second single from the Pretenders' second album 'Pretenders II' was the dynamic 'Message of love'. It was another UK success for the band, as it peaked at number 11 in the UK singles chart. They also managed to reach number 16 in the Australian singles chart.

This is one of those songs that I've always liked but I never could remember to buy it. It's only more recently that I've come to discover that I actually like quite a lot of Pretenders tracks.

My collection: 7" single no. 857
Found: May 27, 1989
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Message of love' / 'Porcelain'

Amsterdam - Maggie MacNeal

The Netherlands organised the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, stepping in for Israel, which had won the Contest twice in a row but were unable to do this in 1980 because of the fact that it was held at a national holiday. The Dutch used the same setup they had used in 1976, after Teach-In had won the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest.

Because of all of this, the Netherlands didn't hold a national final, but instead they elected Maggie MacNeal internally to sing the Dutch entry. During the voting, 'Amsterdam' was in first place for some time, but in the end ranked fifth in a field of 19 participants. The single reached number 33 in the Dutch Top 40, MacNeal's last hit single in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3136
Found: July 24, 1999
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Amsterdam' / 'Amsterdam (English version)'

Chain reaction - Diana Ross

It was Puck who introduced me to the 12" single of 'Chain reaction' by Diana Ross. I wasn't particularly fond of the track, despite the involvement of the Bee Gees in the writing of the track and the backing vocals. When I heard the special dance mix of 'Chain reaction', however, I had to admit this was a pretty good remix.

The confusing thing is that remixes of 'Chain reaction' were also released later on, when the track was re-released as a single. These remixes are available on several cd's. But this original dance remix is quite rare. Finding the 12" single for myself was therefore a relief.

My collection: 12" single no. 312
Found: Record fair, 1994
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Chain reaction (special dance remix)' / 'More and more', 'Chain reaction'

Get the balance right! - Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode's seventh single 'Get the balance right!' was released between albums in January 1983. Alan Wilder had officially joined the line-up of the band, and he wrote the B-side of this single together with Martin Gore.

The single reached number 13 in the UK singles chart and number 16 in Ireland, but it was not included on the album 'Construction time again', which was released later in the year.

My collection: 7" single no. 2672
Found: London, June 30, 1996
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Get the balance right!' / 'The great outdoors!'