I'm not afraid - Black

Through the years I have heard some horrendous single edits, but none have been as monstrous as the 7" edit of Black's 'I'm not afraid'. Someone took a blunt knife and started hacking into this track, particularly during the last few minutes. You can hear the voice being cut during singing, each and every cut is audible. And all this to bring down the length of this track with one minute. Perhaps they should just have released the five minute version.

Consequently, this single, the follow-up to Black's biggest hit 'Wonderful life', did not chart. What's interesting about the sleeve is that the German version, pictured here, features the entire lyric of the song on the front, whereas on the UK single (which I don't own, unfortunately) only the refrain, printed in blue, is shown.

My collection: 7" single no. 589
Found: Gé Hofenk, Leiden, February 16, 1988
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'I'm not afraid' / 'Have it your own way'

Let's dance - Chris Rea

Chris Rea released his ninth studio album 'Dancing with strangers' in 1987. The single 'Let's dance' was taken from this album: a bouncy pop song about, well, dancing.

Released in June 1987, 'Let's dance' became Rea's biggest hit up to that point, reaching number 12 in the UK singles chart during a 10 week chart run.

My collection: 7" single no. 931
Found: July 6, 1989
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Let's dance' / 'I don't care anymore'

Verkeerd om terug te kijken - Boeijen en Pennings

You can bet that there are loads of people in the Netherlands desperately searching for this single, willing to pay a small fortune for it too. Meanwhile, I accidentally found it in a second hand shop in 1991 for the equivalent of 1 euro.

'Verkeerd om terug te kijken' ('Wrong to look back') is the only single released by the Dutch duo Frank Boeijen and Wout Pennings. They met in 1977 and recorded and released one album in 1978. They were picked up by the Dutch record label CNR, which enabled them to re-record the album, which like this single was released in 1979. Both the album and the single flopped, but Frank Boeijen went on to form the Frank Boeijen Groep and had a lot of success during the Eighties, after which he went solo, founding a career that is still going strong now.

My collection: 7" single no. 1494
Found: H. v.d. Horst, Den Haag, July 18, 1991
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Verkeerd om terug te kijken' / 'De zee'

The rain - Oran 'Juice' Jones

The 12" single of Oran 'Juice' Jones' 'The rain' featured the album version, and as such the longest version that exists of this track. Both sides were taken from his debut album 'Juice', which was a modest success in America but failed to make much of an impression in Europe.

After Jones failed to have significant follow-up success, he left the music industry to tend to his terminally ill mother and raise his family.

My collection: 12" single no. 51
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks: 'The rain' / 'Your song'

The rain - Oran 'Juice' Jones

Oran 'Juice' Jones was born in 1959 in Houston, Texas and raised in Harlem, New York. He was the first artist who was signed to OBR Records, a subsidiary of Def Jam. In 1986 he released his debut album 'Juice', which spawned the hit single 'The rain'. This single was promoted with a music video that was based on the album version of the song, even though the single was shortened by two minutes, omitting a speech to a girl who has committed foul play.

The single reached number 9 in the BIllboard Hot 100 chart and number 5 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 503
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'The rain (short version)' / 'Your song'

Only when you leave - Spandau Ballet

'Only when you leave' was the first single from Spandau Ballet's fourth album 'Parade'. The previous album, 'True', had brought the band a lot of success, and so the new album explored the territory of smooth and commercial pop songs a little further, without taking too many chances.

The strategy paid off: without much trouble the single reached its peak position of number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40. It was all downhill from there.

My collection: 7" single no. 1033
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 10p
Tracks: 'Only when you leave' / 'Paint me down (live)'

It started with a kiss - Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate was very popular in the Seventies with several top 3 hits, but in the Eighties, things weren't as good for them. 'It started with a kiss', released in the summer of 1982, would turn out to be their last big hit, after which they would still have several chart hits in the UK, but the majority would land outside the top 10.

'It started with a kiss' reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 4 in the Dutch Top 40. The song was written by frontman and lead singer Errol Brown.

My collection: 7" single no. 385
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'It started with a kiss' / 'Emotion explosion'