Come undone - Duran Duran

When the cd-single became the preferred format in the late Eighties, vinyl was quickly pronounced dead by the record companies, not realising they were digging their own graves at the time. But before they did, there were some efforts made to sell vinyl discs, for instance with exclusive tracks.

This 12" single of Duran Duran's 1993 single 'Come undone' for instance features the 'TV synth strings' mix of 'Come undone', which was not available on either of the two (!) cd-singles available in the UK. But it is suspicious that this 12" single was released in Italy in. So buying this in a shop in Amsterdam two years after its release was a bit of a fluke...

My collection: 12" single no. 237
Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, 1995
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Come undone (edit)', 'Ordinary world (acoustic version)' / 'Come undone (FGI Phumpin' 12"), 'Come undone (La fin de siecle)', 'Come undone (TV synth strings)'

Rubberband girl - Kate Bush

When Kate Bush finally released a new album in 1993, four years after the previous one, I was looking forward to it like never before. The world really needed new music from Kate Bush, as the music scene in 1993 had become boring and predictable. Kate Bush was never that: her new single showed an unexpected whimsical style.

'Rubberband girl' was released a month before a holiday in London, so I had to wait a while before I got my hands on this picture disc 12" single. Featuring the same tracks as the cd-single, the real treat was the picture disc itself which showed a still from the movie 'The line, the cross & the curve' which was released in 1994.

My collection: 12" single no. 174
Found: HMV, London, October 1993
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Rubberband girl (extended version)' / 'Rubberband girl', 'Big stripey lie'

Radio Musicola - Nik Kershaw

Nik Kershaw got through his first two albums okay, but when the 'difficult third album' came up, he was out of luck: although his music was still very interesting, it proved 'too difficult' for the record-buying audience. Hence, 'Radio Musicola', as the album was called, never got the attention it deserved.

The title track was one of the tracks to be released as a single and this 12" single features an extended version of it, which is not spectacular, but nice nonetheless.

My collection: 12" single no. 425
Found: Record Exchange, London, 2000
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Radio Musicola (extended version)' / 'L.A.B.A.T.Y.D.', 'Radio Musicola'

Mothers talk - Tears for fears

As written before, there is a difference between the extended version of Tears for Fears' 1984 single 'Mothers talk' and the so-called 'Beat of the drum mix' of that track. This 12" single is the only one that contains the latter mix, although a German pressing with the sleeve shown here claims to feature it as well.

Now if you expect to get a really good remix, you're bound to be disappointed. Personally I find this remix noisy and a bit 'too much'. But any collector of Tears for Fears will be delighted to hear this mix nonetheless, as it's pretty rare. It only found its way onto cd in 2006 when Mercury released the 'Deluxe edition' of 'Songs from the big chair'.

My collection: 12" single no. 632
Found: All that music, Leiden
Cost: 14,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Mothers talk (Beat of the drum mix)' / 'Empire building'

Break the chains - Private lives

Although the British band Private Lives never hit it big, they certainly had their chances since three different singles were taken from their only album release. 'Break the chains' is probably the least wellknown of the three, but it was still released on 7" and 12".

This 12" version features both the radio mix of the track and an extended version - although the latter is not announced as such on the sleeve. While it's a mystery to me why other singles 'Living in a world (turned upside down)' and 'From a river to a sea' did so bad, I can understand it better for this one. Although I like the tune, it certainly isn't spectacular by any standard.

My collection: 12" single no. 635
Found: Discogs.com, received 2009
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Break the chains [extended]' / 'Break the chains (radio mix)', 'You've got to win'

Cambodia - Nobody

Nobody covered Kim Wilde's 1981 hit, 'Cambodia'. Well, there were actually quite a few of them (including a Swedish death metal band, an American dance queen, a pop singer from Luxembourg and a Norwegian electro-band), but this 12" single was released by Nobody.

A strange name for an act, but then the Belgians usually have a tendency to be quirky. Vocals on this version were by one Loredana and the track was produced by Starfighter & Club Genius. If that still doesn't tell you anything, you know just as much as me.

My collection: 12" single no. 447
Found: German website, 2007
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Cambodia (original extended mix)' / 'Cambodia (Ion rmx)'

Dancing in the city - Marshall, Hain

Although I was only seven years old when this single was released, I can say that I've loved this song from the very beginning. I bought the single years later, but that was only because I had a double LP with this track on it since early 1979. And then there was this 12" single...

Every year in June there was a street market in a street near to my parents' house. The first time ever I went there I found this 12" single, featuring 'Dancing in the city', and pressed on blue vinyl. I was stunned. Even if it wouldn't contain an extended version, I simply had to have it. And so I bought it. It didn't even cost that much, although I'm sure it's pretty rare and hard to find now. But I might be wrong of course.

My collection: 12" single no. 9
Found: Braderie, Den Haag
Cost: 3 guilders or so
Tracks: 'Dancing in the city' / 'Take my number'