Sweet love - Fierce

'Sweet love' was a cover version of the 1986 Anita Baker track by the female trio Fierce, consisting of Chantal Alleyne, Aisha Peters and Sabrina Weathers. The group sang R&B tracks and had four hits in the UK, including this one. The original version was released on their only album, 'Right here right now' (1999) and produced by Jeremy Wheatley and Magnus Fiennes, while the single version, entitled 'Sweet love 2K' was produced by Stargate.

This double 12" release features remixes by Rhythm Masters and Trouser Enthusiasts. And there lies the answer to the question 'why did I buy this?'. The UK collective Trouser Enthusiasts have made some excellent remixes and this is one of them. It's very hard to get hold of them all but this 12" was pretty cheap when I found it online.

My collection: 12" single no. 640
Found: Discogs.com, received March 1, 2013
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Sweet love (Rhythm Masters vocal mix)' / 'Sweet love (Trouser Enthusiasts dub)' // 'Sweet love (Trouser Enthusiasts mix)' / 'Sweet love (Rhythm Masters dub)'

Spread a little happiness - Sting

When Police frontman Sting starred in the movie Brimstone and Treacle, an adaption of a play of the same name, he wrote and co-wrote the majority of the songs on the soundtrack. Most people tend to forget that 'Spread a little happiness', taken from this soundtrack, is actually Sting's debut solo single. It reached number 16 in the UK singles chart.

I did like the track but never got around to buying the single at the time because of budget constraints. Later on, the single would only turn up for ridiculous prices at record fairs and the like. So I was glad to get my hands on a copy for next to nothing this month.

My collection: 7" single no. 5333
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, February 5, 2013
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Spread a little happiness' / 'Only you'

Reactive - Sixteen Deluxe

The American band Sixteen Deluxe are a "psychedelic noise-pop band", according to their own biography, from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1994, they played for seven years together before breaking up in July 2000 after Carrie Clark left the band. Apparently they reformed ten years later - the website sixteendeluxemusic.com has been abandoned almost as soon as it was started but still gives that information from 2010.

This 7" single became part of my collection after I found out a cover of Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America' was featured on the B-side. There are many cover versions of Kim's debut hit, but this is a pretty hard to find one. It isn't actually too bad, if you're expecting the dozenth punk-inspired cover version.

My collection: 7" single no. 5300
Found: Discogs.com, received February 2, 2013
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Reactive' / 'Kids in America'

Flower - Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue is in the music business for 25 years now. Hard to believe that the Neighbours actress who brought us 'The loco-motion' and 'I should be so lucky' finally became a serious pop artist, with some very beautiful ("Put yourself in my place", "Finer feelings") and well-produced ("Can't get you out of my head", "On a night like this") pop songs in her repertoire.

An artist like Kylie is assumed to only perform well under highly produced and perhaps autotuned circumstances, but her latest album 'The Abbey Road sessions' contains some great versions of those wellknown pop songs - and it certainly sounds like her voice is as authentic as the orchestra that backs her up. The song 'Flower' is a new one and this one was released as a single. This picture disc 7" single proves both that Kylie can perform well and that Photoshop is a popular tool to create immaculate photographs with.

My collection: 7" single no. 5299
Found: Recordstore.co.uk, received November 17, 2012
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Flower' / 'Flower (instrumental)'

Skyfall - Adele

Who can still hum the melody of 'Another way to die', the previous Bond theme? Thought not. The steady decline of James Bond movie theme songs that had started at the end of the last century seems to have been halted when the powers that be decided that this year's Bond song would be performed by a British artist again. And that's the first time since 1985 when Duran Duran recorded 'A view to a kill'. 'Skyfall' is "Bond by numbers", some people commented. With a large orchestra to back her up, it certainly feels like a retro track.

Obviously I was wondering if a 7" single would be released, but even before I started looking out for it, my friend Puck contacted me because he'd seen the single during a shopping trip. I was very happy to get this little present, which will probably prompt me to start buying more "Bond singles". I missed out on a few during the last 50 years...  

My collection: 7" single no. 5298
Found: Den Haag, November 8, 2012
Cost: Nothing (a present)
Tracks: 'Skyfall' / 'Skyfall (instrumental)'

Love me do - The Beatles

I'm not a Beatles fan and not an expert either, but when I found out that 'Love me do' was to be re-released this month because of the fact it was originally released 50 years ago, my interest in this 7" single was raised. I think everyone is familiar with this song, as it is always played on the radio and some people consider it as the start of pop music as we know it now. The Beatles were the defining group of the Sixties, like Abba was in the Seventies and, well, many British bands were in the Eighties.

The was a slight f***up with this single because EMI pressed it with a wrong version of 'Love me do' (featuring Andy White instead of Ringo Starr on drums), causing its release to be postponed. (One does wonder: how does this even happen?) But, lo and behold, it was ultimately released on October 22, 50 years and 17 days after its original release.

My collection: 7" single no. 5297
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received October 30, 2012
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Love me do' / 'P.S. I love you'

Leaving - Pet Shop Boys

Released last month, the Pet Shop Boys’ latest album Elysium is a very consistent set of songs. The duo tried to maintain a mood for a whole album and they were pretty successful, even if one or two songs are very different from the others. The second single from the album was released last week and is entitled 'Leaving'. Even in this era where single releases are becoming quite scarce, the Pet Shop Boys have chosen to release two cd-singles, a 12" single and even a 7" single. Much to my delight, of course, because 7" singles are still the best format. It comes with an inner and outer sleeve, with Chris Lowe on the outer sleeve and Neil Tennant on the label of the A-side. The inner sleeve features a beautiful laminated photograph of clouds in a dark sky, befitting the mood of the song. The demo version, featured on the B-side, is slightly different from the finished recording and can be considered quite a treat for fans and casual listeners alike. One of the best tracks on the album as far as I'm concerned.

My collection: 7" single no. 5296
Found: Rough Trade website, received October 18, 2012
Cost: 6 pounds
Tracks: 'Leaving' / 'Leaving (demo version)'