A child's prayer - Hot Chocolate

Released in the summer of 1975, 'A child's prayer' was Hot Chocolate's fifth top 10 hit in the UK and the last single release before one of the band's best known hits, 'You sexy thing'. This song is very different from that one, however, with quite 'deep' lyrics.

The B-side, by contrast, has a very simple message: 'Everything should be funky'. Well maybe.

My collection: 7" single no. 5198
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'A child's prayer' / 'Everything should be funky'

Woman of the 80's - Julia Fordham

Kim Wilde. Kate Bush. Cyndi Lauper. Sam Brown. Sade. Judie Tzuke. Hazel O'Connor. Thereza Bazar. Cheryl Baker. Naomi Campbel. Carol Decker. Margaret Thatcher. Cindy Crawford. Olivia Newton-John. Julianne Regan. Tracey Thorn. Sonia. Kylie Minogue. Toyah Willcox. Tracey Ullman. Belinda Carlisle. Samantha Fox. Sabrina.

But what, exactly, is a woman of the 80's? Julia Fordham explains...

My collection: 7" single no. 5197
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 10p
Tracks: 'Woman of the 80s' / 'Behind closed doors'

Rubber bullets - 10CC

Written and sung by Kevin Godley, Lol Creme and Graham Gouldman and produced by 10CC, "Rubber Bullets" was the band's first number 1 hit in the United Kingdom, spending one week at the top in June 1973. The track is a tongue in cheek homage to 'Jailhouse Rock' with a Beach Boys influence.

Band member Eric Stewart recalled: 'I was amazed, but pleased that the BBC never banned the track, although they limited its airplay, because they thought it was about the ongoing Northern Ireland conflicts. In fact, it was about an Attica State Prison riot like the ones in the old James Cagney films.'

My collection: 7" single no. 5196
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Rubber bullets' / 'Waterfall'

Brand new friend - Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

'Brand new friend' was the first single from Lloyd Cole & the Commotions' second album 'Easy pieces'. The title betrayed the content of the album: Lloyd Cole was never known for making 'easy' music. This single is a fine example of a carefully crafted song with subtle instrumentation.

The single actually did better than all of the singles before it, reaching number 19 in the UK singles chart, while also reaching the Irish singles chart for the first time, peaking at number 11.

My collection: 7" single no. 5195
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Brand new friend' / 'Her last fling'

The fame and fortune EP - Various

The UK magazine Record Mirror sometimes released a 7" single as a freebie, featuring rare and exclusive tracks. Fortunately, decades later, these EP's still pop up in second hand stores now and again - a great opportunity to still get your hands on these tracks.

In this case, it was the remix of the Beloved's 'Your love takes me higher' I was after. The other three tracks, unfortunately, aren't much to write home about.

My collection: 7" single no. 5194
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'I'll be with you' (Brother Delphi), 'Your love takes me higher (Depth & Desire mix)' (The Beloved) / 'Rave on' (Happy Mondays), 'I dream of you' (Adamski)

For America - Red Box

The biggest hit from the duo Red Box is undoubtledly 'For America'. For some reason, neither the 7" single nor the 12" single have made it onto this blog so far (but I am sure they will) - but this 10" single is quite a rare find.

It features a different mix of the track, although it is only slightly different from the album mix. Both B-sides also turn up on the 12" single.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 14, 2011
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'For America (Boys Own mix)' / 'Ain't got no... I got life', 'R 'n' A'

That's the way it is - Mel and Kim

The excellent remastered and expanded edition of Mel & Kim's only album, 'F.L.M.' by Cherry Pop, released last year, collected a lot of remixes of their singles, but these 'acid' remixes of their last hit single 'That's the way it is' were omitted.

Stylistically they're very different from most of the remixes on that package, so that could be an explanation for this, but it's also possible that they couldn't be found in the archives. They're probably never going to be released on cd, so enjoy these rare gems while you can.

My collection: 12" single no. 64
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1988
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'That's the way it is (Acid House remix)' / 'That's the way it is (Acid dub)', 'You changed my life'