You ain't seen nothin' yet - Bachman Turner Overdrive

'You ain't seen nothin' yet' was written by Randy Bachman. The chords of the chorus riff are very similar to the ones used by The Who in their song 'Baba O'Riley', and also, the stuttering vocal is reminiscent of 'My generation'. Randy insists that the song was performed as a joke for his brother, Gary, who had a stutter, with no intention of sounding like 'My generation'. They only intended to record it once with the stutter and send the only recording to Gary.

The first single from the Not Fragile album was 'Roll on down the highway', appearing here on the B-side. It performed well, reaching number 4 on the Canadian charts, but eventually stalled at number 14 on the US charts. 'You ain't seen nothin' yet', meanwhile, was becoming a hit as an album cut. Radio stations all over the USA were giving it a great deal of airplay. So much so that Bachman was embarrassed because he thought it was a stupid song, just something that he wrote as a joke. Fach would regularly call him with airplay reports, asking for permission to release the track a single. Bachman says, 'And I refused for three weeks... I was producer, so I had final say on what went out. I woke up one day and asked myself, 'Why am I stopping this?' Some of my favorite records are really dumb things like 'Louie, Louie'... so I said to Charlie, 'O.K., release it. I bet it does nothing.' The song went on to become a charttopper and a rock classic.

My collection: 7" single no. 5368
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'You ain't seen nothin' yet' / 'Roll on down the highway'

Talking in your sleep - Romantics

'Talking in your sleep' is a chart-topping hit song by Detroit rock band The Romantics. It appeared on the Romantics' 1983 album 'In heat' and was the Romantics' biggest chart hit, garnering substantial radio airplay and a million in U.S. 45 RPM single sales. The song reached number 3 - where it held for three weeks - on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984.

The song's music video, widely aired at the time on MTV and elsewhere, featured the band performing while surrounded by standing, but seemingly sleeping women who were dressed in lingerie, pajamas, and other sleepwear. The song was unsuccessful in the UK, but went on to reach number 15 in the UK singles chart when it was covered by Bucks Fizz.

My collection: 7" single no. 5464
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Talking in your sleep' / 'Rock you up'

If you don't know me by now - Simply Red

If You Don't Know Me by Now" is a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and recorded by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. The song was originally written for Labelle (a trio led by Patti LaBelle) but they never recorded it.

The song was later covered by the English band Simply Red, also becoming their best-known hit after reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in July 1989. It peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart. The B-side was recorded live in Manchester on February 22, 1989.

My collection: 7" single no. 5447
Found: unknown
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'If you don't know me by now' / 'Move on out (live)'

Like a surgeon - "Weird Al" Yankovic

Although "Weird Al" Yankovic refuses to use parody ideas from other people, Madonna is partly responsible for 'Like a surgeon'. Madonna asked one of her friends how long it would take until Yankovic satirized her song 'Like a virgin' as 'Like a surgeon'. This friend was a mutual friend of Al's manager, Jay Levey. When word got back to Yankovic, he decided it was a good idea and wrote the song. This is the only known time that Yankovic has gotten a parody idea directly from the original artist.

The music video, which takes place in a hospital, can be considered an extension of the parody. Several features of the 'Like a virgin' music video — famously set in Venice - are mimicked: shots of Yankovic singing on a moving gurney are substituted for footage of Madonna on a canal boat, and both videos feature a lion at the beginning.

My collection: 7" single no. 5416
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Like a surgeon' / 'Slime creatures from outer space'

Love her madly - The Doors

'Love her madly' is a song by The Doors that was released as a single in March 1971. Composed by guitarist Robby Krieger, it served as the lead single from L.A. Woman, their final album with frontman Jim Morrison. Session musician and TCB Band member Jerry Scheff played bass guitar on the song. The single became one of the highest-charting hits for The Doors. It peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and reached number 4 in the Dutch top 40.

The B-side of the single is one of only three non-album B-sides by The Doors. 'Don't go no further' was subsequently released on the album 'Weird scenes inside the gold mine', a compilation album from 1972.

My collection: 7" single no. 5391
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Love her madly' / 'Don't go no further'

Hyperactive - Thomas Dolby

"Hyperactive!" is a single by British musician Thomas Dolby, taken from his second album 'The flat earth', released in 1984. Additional vocals were provided by Louise Ulfstedt. According to Thomas Dolby, he initially composed the song for Michael Jackson, whom he met in 1982. He decided to record it by himself since he never got any feedback from Jackson after sending him a demo tape.

It was the first single to be taken from the album and peaked at number 17 on the UK singles chart, but only reached number 62 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A remix was also done of the song, which became quite popular in clubs and on dance charts.

My collection: 7" single no. 5384
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Hyperactive' / 'White city'

Nee voor mij - Daniela Simons

It doesn't happen very often that a Eurovision artist chooses to re-record their song in Dutch. Nicole did it with her 'Ein Bisschen Frieden', and there's a Dutch version of Carola's 'Främling', but aside from a few lesser known releases, that's about it.

Daniela Simons, who represented Switzerland in 1986 with the song 'Pas pour moi', did it with 'Nee voor mij' ('No for me'). Hilariously, she pronounces the word 'man' ('man') as 'maan' ('moon'). Still, she speaks Dutch better than I do French, so I won't make too much a fuss about it. However, the single didn't chart in the Netherlands and I have no info about any other artist attempting to release a Dutch cover of their Eurovision entry after 1986.

My collection: 7" single no. 5625
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received August 28, 2014
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Nee voor mij' / 'Pas pour moi (instrumental)'