As long as you follow - Fleetwood Mac

The production process of making 7" vinyl singles has been successful for millions of copies: you take a piece of vinyl, press the grooves on it, cut off the edges to make a round piece of vinyl and punch a hole in the middle. But sometimes, things go wrong. My copy of 'As long as you follow' by Fleetwood Mac had a hole in the middle, but it was not exactly in the middle. As a result, the sides were unlistenable.

I never went back to the shop with the single, but I did buy a promotional copy of it, made in Spain, seven years later. This copy featured 'As long as you follow' on both sides. For this blog, I used my original copy to record the B-side. It's a matter of putting the record on the right spot on the record player. I think the recording still turned out alright!

'As long as you follow' was a new track on the compilation album 'Greatest hits', released in 1988 after Fleetwood Mac's previous album 'Tango in the night' was very successful. Lindsey Buckingham had left the band and he was replaced by Billy Burnette (mainly for lead vocals) and Rick Vito. The single reached number 13 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 66 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 756 / no. 2612
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, February 23, 1989 / Record fair, Den Haag, February 10, 1996
Cost: 6 guilders / 3 guilders
Tracks (no. 756): 'As long as you follow' / 'Oh well (live)'
Tracks (no. 2612): 'As long as you follow' / 'As long as you follow'

To be with you again - Level 42

The album 'Running in the family' by Level 42 was a big success, and part of the success was the singles that kept entering the charts. 'To be with you again' was the third single from the album and it was just as successful as the previous two.

'To be with you again' reached number 6 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 10 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2752
Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 29, 1996
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'To be with you again' / 'Microkid (live)'

Last days of summer - Imagination

'Last days of summer' was released in the summer of 1985 as a single by Imagination. Their last hit was 1984's 'Thank you my love', and this new single would be the second in a long line of singles that would be unsuccessful in all territories.

The B-side featured a live recording of the earlier hit 'Shoobedoo da dabba doobee', recorded at Hammersmith Odeon in London.

My collection: 7" single no. 3107
Found: Big Company Records, London, May 13, 1999
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Last days of summer' / 'Shoobedoo da dabba doobee (live)'

Oye mi canto - Gloria Estefan

'Oye mi canto' showed off some of Gloria Estefan's musical roots, much like in the style of her earlier music with Miami Sound Machine, and is in the style of the earlier hit 'Conga', which is included on this single as the B-side track.

Released as the fourth single from her album 'Cuts both ways', it reached number 48 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 16 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1058
Found: London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Oye mi canto' / 'Conga'

If - Janet Jackson

In the song 'If', Janet Jackson is consumed with sexual fantasies of a man who doesn't even know she exists. An electric guitar and a sample from Diana Ross & the Supremes' 1969 song 'Someday we'll be together' are the musical ingredients for this fast-paced track. The single contains a B-side track called 'One more chance', which is a cover of a song her brother Randy wrote, produced, and performed for The Jacksons' 1984 album 'Victory'.

'If' was released as the second single from Janet's album 'janet.' in the summer of 1993. It reached number 1 in Canada, number 14 in the UK singles chart, number 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 10 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2004
Found: HMV, London, October 18, 1993
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'If' / 'One more chance'

Girl you know it's true - Milli Vanilli

The tale of Milli Vanilli is all too familiar: they had a lot of success in the late Eighties, then people found out that they didn't actually sing the songs themselves and started burning their records. I never quite understood that attitude: you like a song or you don't, and it doesn't really matter who sings them, does it? Sure, it is misleading, but Frank Farian was never the most honest man in pop: Boney M's songs were rarely sung by the band members either - and no-one ever complained about that.

Anyway, 'Girl you know it's true' is a fine example of a Milli Vanilli track. (And let's be honest: when you've heard one, you've heard them all.) This remix is of special interest for Boney M fans. What a coincidence!

My collection: 12" single no. 528
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 199X
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Girl you know it's true (Super club mix)' / 'Girl you know it's true (radio mix)', 'Magic touch'

E.S.P. - Bee Gees

E.S.P. stands for Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability, but it's also the title track of the Bee Gees' 1987 album, which was released as a single in the autumn of 1987. The acapella intro on the album version was edited out for the single version.

The single reached number 51 in the UK singles chart and number 32 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2596
Found: Utrecht, December 30, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'E.S.P.' / 'Overnight'