I found out - The Christians

A little while ago I discovered that I never bought the 7" single of the Christians' 'I found out'. There's probably a good reason for that: I didn't have a lot of money in 1990 and I made some choices. I did buy the 10" single of that song, because it came with an attractive art print (pictured here). There was no need to buy the 7" single after that. Which is not to say that I could have bought it at some later date in the 34 yeas after that, but who knows, I may find a copy sometime soon.

Meanwhile, this is the 10" single, which features three tracks, just like the CD-single (which I also bought at some point). 'I found out' reached number 56 in the UK singles chart, but didn't reach the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: 1990
Tracks: 'I found out' / 'Save us from our friends', 'Sent here to shine'

Cambodia - Pulsedriver

Kim Wilde's 'Cambodia' has been covered by many different artists, but it was at the turn of the century when the track became almost omnipresent on the dance floors. Acts like Nobody, Marco V, Vorwerk and DJ Rasputin all got in on the action. And so did Pulsedriver.

Slobodan Petrovic jr. uses the name Pulsedriver for his projects in the dance music field. He began his career as a DJ in 1990 in northern German clubs and played mostly house, techno and trance music. His first hit was 'Kiss that sound', followed by a handful of other singles. In 2001, he recorded his version of 'Cambodia', which gave him a hit in Germany (peaking at no. 11) and Austria (no. 5). In 2002 he remixed Kim Wilde's unexpected hit single 'Loved'. This 10" single features club mixes of 'Cambodia' and the B-side 'Recycle'. Many more remixes of 'Cambodia' were made, but only released on CD.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: 2002
Tracks: 'Cambodia (club mix)' / 'Recycle (club mix)'

Head over heels - Tears for fears

You may find my collecting of Tears for fears 10" singles a bit weird, but there's just no explanation for this particular insanity. I just like 10" singles and I like Tears for fears. I actually completed this subcollection recently with the purchase of 'Head over heels'. (Although there are two more Tears for fears 10" singles in my collection which haven't been featured on this blog yet - so watch this space!)

This one replicates the tracks on the 7" single, which I also own. This version is just a bit bigger.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 June 2024
Tracks: 'Head over heels' / 'When in love with a blind man'

Martha's harbour - All About Eve

The first All About Eve single I ever bought was 'Martha's harbour', and coincidentally it was also the band's biggest hit in the UK. Since discovering the band I bought lots of singles, CD-singles and 12" singles... including the 12" single of 'Martha's harbour'. 

The A-side features both sides of the 7" single, which leaves space on the B-side for a bonus track. It's a live version of one of the album's most fiery tracks, 'In the meadow'. Unfortunately the sleeve gives no information on when and where this version was recorded. But Tim Bricheno does give you one of his excellent guitar solos.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, unknown date
Tracks: 'Martha's harbour', 'Another door' / 'In the meadow (live)'

Eenzame nachten - Annie

'It's now or never', sang Elvis Presley once, and before that, some Italians would sing 'O Sole Mio'. Leave it up to Dutch singer Annie to give this song a dark turn: 'Eenzame nachten' ('Lonely nights') is sung from the perspective of a woman who has been left behind by her man, but she threatens him with blackmail. She sings: 'Ik ken je fouten / en ook jouw geheimen' ('I know your faults / and also your secrets') and this should coax the man back to her. In the meantime, she is spending lonely nights, waiting for him to return.

The Dutch repertoire is full of bad singers and weird songs, but somehow Annie managed to find her way into my collection because her singles are full of bizarre lyrics. They call it 'camp', I think...

My collection: 7" single no. 2870
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985
Tracks: 'Eenzame nachten' / 'Het mooiste in het leven'

I believe - Tears for Fears

Such was the success of Tears for fears with their second album Songs from the big chair, that the record company was confident enough to release a fifth single from it. Which is remarkable, since the album only had eight tracks.

I bought the 7" single (a double single, in fact) back in 1985, around the time it was released, but it took me four decades to decide that I also wanted to have the 10" single. My recent obsession with 10" singles has something to do with that. While the double 7" has four tracks, this 10" single only has three, which seems odd. But it's a good selection of more laidback tracks from the band.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 June 2024
Tracks: 'I believe (a soulful re-recording)' / 'I believe', 'Sea song'

So far away - Dire Straits

One of the most catchy songs from their album Brothers in Arms is Dire Straits' third single from that album, 'So far away'. It's a calm piece of work with a guitar hook that stays in your mind once you've heard it. For some reason I didn't really like the song when it came out, but I learned to appreciate it a couple of years later. Which is why I eventually bought the 7" single. 

Flash forward to now, and I bought the 10" single. It contains exactly the same tracks, but in the attractive 10" format. Sometimes I don't know why I buy the things I do, but 10" singles have become my latest obsession I guess.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 July 2024
Tracks: 'So far away' / 'Walk of life'