Kontakt - Frank Boeijen Groep

'Kontakt' was the third and final single from Frank Boeijen Groep's fourth album of the same name. You don't have to understand Dutch to hear how powerful the music in this track is: with great drums and an uplifting guitar solo at the end, it's hard to deny the attraction of this single, which was released in the summer of 1984.

Although I have to add that this single did not chart in the Netherlands. Possibly because most people already had the album and this single did not add anything new (except for the fact that the single version was a remix), but more probably because the demise of the Netherlands' most popular group Doe Maar caused a disinterest for any music that was recorded in the Dutch language. These days you'd wish that disinterest would have endured...

My collection: 7" single no. 239
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Kontakt' / 'Macho (live)'

Something about the way you look tonight / Candle in the wind 1997 - Elton John

Yesterday it was twelve and a half years ago that Diana, Princess of Wales, affectionately known as Lady Di, was killed during a mysterious road accident in a tunnel in Paris. The outpouring of grief in the UK was unprecedented, but also set a trend that equalled mass hysteria whenever somebody famous died.

Part of the funeral service was Elton John's performance of 'Candle in the wind', the lyric of which was rewritten to suit the circumstances of Diana's life and death. When the song was released as a single, the official A-side was the song 'Something about the way you look tonight', a track from his then-current album 'The big picture'. The single reached number 1 around the world.

My collection: 7" single no. 2924
Found: Record fair, November 30, 1997
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Something about the way you look tonight' / 'Candle in the wind 1997'

The prisoner - Howard Jones

The music video for Howard Jones' 'The prisoner' was notably innovative at the time, mixing multiple photo and video editing tricks at a time when computer-based graphics effects were not widely in use.

Although this, the second single from Howard's 1989 album 'Cross that line', didn't reach the UK singles chart, it did peak at number 30 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1000
Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1989
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'The prisoner' / 'Rubber morals'

Never let me down again - Depeche Mode

'Never let me down again' was released as the second single from Depeche Mode's 1987 album 'Music for the masses'. The single's cover art features a fragment of a Soviet map showing the northern part of Russia adjacent to the Arctic Ocean.

The single reached number 22 in the UK singles chart, but in Germany it peaked at number 2, while it was also a top 10 hit in most other European countries. In the Netherlands, like many other Depeche Mode singles, 'Never let me down again' was ignored.

My collection: 7" single no. 906
Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 25, 1989
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Never let me down again' / 'Pleasure little treasure'

My lucky love - Marty Wilde

Marty Wilde's career took off after he released his fourth single, 'Endless sleep', which reached number 4 in the UK singles chart. But if you think it was smooth sailing from then on, you're badly mistaken: his next two singles failed to hit the charts just like his first three did.

The first of those two was 'My lucky love', released in September 1958. It was followed by the equally unsuccessful 'No one knows'. 1959's 'Donna' was to revive Marty's career, after which he had three more consecutive top 10 hits in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 4610
Found: eBay.co.uk, received March 1, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'My lucky love' / 'Misery's child'

Sea of love - Marty Wilde

'Sea of love' was written by John Philip Baptiste and George Khoury. Baptiste, who was working as a bellboy in Lake Charles, Louisiana (USA), wrote the song for a love interest. He was introduced to local record producer George Khoury, who brought Baptiste into his studio to record the song. At Khoury's request, Baptiste took the stage name of Phil Phillips. It was his only chart hit in the USA; subsequent singles failed to chart.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the song was recorded by Marty Wilde and released simultaneously with Phillips' version. It reached number 3 in the UK singles chart, only one place lower than its predecessor, 'A teenager in love'.

My collection: 7" single no. 4609
Found: eBay.co.uk, received March 1, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Sea of love' / 'Teenage tears'

A teenager in love - Marty Wilde

In June 1959, Marty Wilde released the single that he would forever be associated with, the immortal 'A teenager in love'. It reached number 2 in the UK singles chart during a 17 week chart run. Although his career as a teenage idol was short (and cut short partly because he got married six months later), his hits gave him an appeal that lives on even to this day. Having been at two live concerts, I have seen with my own eyes how his fans of those days are still enraptured by his stage presence whenever he performs in the UK.

During one of these performances, Marty commented that it's quite strange to see a man in his sixties complaining that he is 'a teenager in love'. But such is the power of music.

My collection: 7" single no. 4608
Found: eBay.co.uk, received March 1, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'A teenager in love' / 'Danny'