Be thankful - Massive Attack

Massive Attack had two hit singles in 1991, 'Unfinished sympathy' and 'Safe from harm'. They followed this up in early 1992 with 'Be thankful', the fourth and last single from their debut album 'Blue lines'. This proved to be a very unsuccessful release, as it only reached number 49 in the Australian singles chart, while failing to chart everywhere else.

I bought this single out of curiosity and because of the fact that the shop didn't have much else to buy. Sometimes I had this mood where I just had to buy cheap singles, and when there's nothing much on offer, I tend to buy whatever I think might be good. And this was, well, reasonably good.

My collection: 7" single no. 2251
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, March 4, 1995
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Be thankful (Paul Oakenfold mix)' / 'Hymn of the big wheel (Nellee Hooper mix)'

Sweet talkin' woman - Electric Light Orchestra

'Sweet talkin' woman' was originally named 'Dead end street', but the name changed to avoid confusion with a 1966 hit of the same title by the Kinks. Some words that survived from that version can be heard in the opening of the third verse, 'I've been livin' on a dead end street'. It was recorded on ELO's 1978 album 'Out of the blue' and released as the fourth single from the album.

Initial copies of the 7" single were pressed on transparent purple vinyl in the UK. It reached number 6 in the UK singles chart and number 27 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1163
Found: January 27, 1990
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Sweet talkin' woman' / 'Bluebird is dead'

Do what you do - Jermaine Jackson

After Michael Jackson's phenomenal success with 'Thriller', it seemed like all of his siblings wanted a piece of the pie as well. Janet Jackson started a very successful career together with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Jermaine Jackson signed with Arista records to release 'Dynamite', an album featuring a couple of hit singles. One of them was 'Do what you do', which some say featured Michael Jackson on backing vocals.

The main revelation for me was the music video at the time. I was already familiar with the fact that belly buttons can be 'innies' or 'outies', but I'd never seen a spine so deeply hidden in someone's back (scroll to 3'21 to see this anatomical phenomenon). Meanwhile, 'Do what you do' reached number 4 in the UK singles chart and the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 257
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Do what you do' / 'Tell me I'm not dreamin' (Too good to be true)' (duet with Michael Jackson)

She makes my day - Robert Palmer

'She makes my day' was released as the third single from Robert Palmer's 1988 album 'Heavy nova'. While the first single 'Simply irresistible' became a rock classic, the second one 'Early in the morning' went by almost unnoticed. 'She makes my day' was a top 10 hit in the UK and Australia, peaking at number 6 and 9 respectively, but was ignored in the rest of the world.

I loved the song when it was released in 1988, but twenty years later it sounds a little too syrupy for my taste.

My collection: 7" single no. 720
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, January 21, 1989
Cost: 3,5 guilder
Tracks: 'She makes my day' / 'Disturbing behaviour'

Fire - Pointer Sisters

'Fire' was written by Bruce Springsteen and was originally intended to be used by Elvis Presley. Robert Gordon ended up being the first artist to record the song in 1978. Later that year, the Pointer Sisters recorded their version. It gave them major worldwide success, reaching number 34 in the UK singles chart and number 1 in the Dutch Top 40.

Although he performed the song live from his 1978 tour onwards, Springsteen himself did not release his own recording of the song until his 1986 'Live/1975-85' album, which contains his (heavily edited) December 16, 1978 performance.

My collection: 7" single no. 1624
Found: Disco Market, April 18, 1992
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Fire' / 'Love is like a rolling stone'

Beautiful girl - INXS

'Beautiful girl' was recorded as a track on INXS's 1992 album 'Welcome to wherever you are'. The song was written by Andrew Farriss, inspired by the birth of his newly born baby daughter. In an interview he explained: 'I was writing lyrics like 'Baby don't cry' and 'Beautiful girl' and lyrics just about how wonderful it is to have something else in your life besides yourself to worry about and think about.'

'Beautiful girl' was released as the fourth single from the album. In the UK, the single was released in a limited edition gatefold sleeve. It reached number 23 in the UK singles chart and number 46 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1920
Found: Record fair, June 5, 1993
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks: 'Beautiful girl' / 'Strange desire (original recording)'

Thank you my love - Imagination

When Imagination left their production duo of Steve Jolley and Tony Swain behind, commercial success soon eluded them. However, 'Thank you my love', which was produced by Nigel Wright and Imagination, was an exception. This single was released in 1984 and reached number 22 in the UK singles chart.

The single was a new track on the compilation album 'Gold', which included all their previous hit singles.

My collection: 7" single no. 3125
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 24, 1999
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Thank you my love' / 'Point of no return'