Every little thing she does is magic - The Police

Although I bought a lot of singles by the Police through the years, amazingly this Dutch number one hit was still missing. Although the song was recorded in 1981, Sting wrote it in early 1977 around the time of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, prior to the formation of the Police. His split from his wife, Frances Tomelty, was controversial; as The Independent reported in 2006, Tomelty "just happened to be Trudie [Styler]'s best friend (Sting and Frances lived next door to Trudie in Bayswater, West London, for several years before the two of them became lovers)". 

In a 2025 interview, Sting revealed that Trudie Styler, whom he later married and is still married to, was his inspiration for the song.

My collection: 7" single no. 7712
Found: Kay's Experience, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Every little thing she does is magic' / 'Shambelle' 

Controversy - Prince

Prince released 'Controversy' in September 1981 as the lead single and title track to his fourth album (1981). The song was written and produced by him, and addresses speculation about Prince at the time such as his sexuality, gender, religion, and racial background, and how he could not understand the curiosity surrounding him. Prince played almost all the instruments on the track, except perhaps some drums by Morris Day and backing vocals by Lisa Coleman.

The single reached number 70 in the US Billboard Hot 100, but only reached the chart in the UK when it was re-released in 1993. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7711
Found: Kay's Experience, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Controversy' / 'When you were mine' 

Geef mij maar drank - Rubberen Robbie

The group members of Rubberen Robbie lived in a commune in an apartment building on the Arendshorst in Leiden's Merenwijk district. In the car on the way to the studio to record a punk record, they jokingly wrote the song 'Zuipen' ('Drinking') as a B-side for their debut single, 'Geef mij maar drank' ('Give me some booze'). 

'Geef mij maar drank' was set to the melody of 'Ça plane pour moi' by Plastic Bertrand. The name of that artist also inspired the group name: 'Rubberen Robbie' means 'Rubber Robbie'. The single didn't become a hit, but when DJ Hugo van Gelderen started playing the B-side, that one did reach the Dutch Tipparade. A copy of 'Zuipen' is already in my collection; this one was much harder to find.

My collection: 7" single no. 7710
Found: Kay's Experience, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Geef mij maar drank' / 'Zuipen'

Rette mich - Nena

When I received this Amiga EP featuring four Nena tracks, I realized that the only single that I didn't have was 'Rette mich'. I was planning the trip I made to Wagenberg last Saturday and I figured that 'the biggest record store of the Netherlands' might actually have a copy. And so they did! It made me smile, because it actually completes my subcollection of Nena singles as far as I know.

'Rette mich' was released as the second single from the band's album ? (Fragezeichen) and became a big hit in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the Netherlands it was the band's first single not to reach the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 7709
Found: Kay's Experience, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Rette mich' / 'Susi K.'

Adolescent sex - Japan

The stuff David Sylvian releases these days is world away from this Japan single from 1978. 'Adolescent sex' was the title track of Japan's debut album and released as a single after the band re-recorded the track to make it sound punchier. It became the band's only single to chart outside of the UK, reaching number 27 in the Dutch Top 40.

David Sylvian has since spoken out against the debut album, saying: 'I regret the first album, Adolescent Sex, in the sense that we were too young, too naive to make it. The people around us should have realised that and not had it released. The second album is okay as a first album.'

My collection: 7" single no. 7708
Found: Kay's Experience, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Adolescent sex' / 'Sometimes I feel so low' 

Knowing me, knowing you - Abba

The sleeve of this single may announce 'Conociendome, conociendote', but the single still features the 'ordinary' English language version: 'Knowing me, knowing you'. The Spanish record companies had a rather annoying habit of translating song titles, while most artists never recorded their songs in Spanish. 
Abba did, of course: there are a few singles performed in Spanish, but not this one.

When I bought this single some time ago I was aware of this, but the sleeve still seduced me. It's one of the more beautiful photographs of the Swedish quartet, and the song is one of the best in their repertoire. I just never featured it on this blog. I discovered quite a few singles that were never on here, so expect some more Abba in the weeks to come.

My collection: 7" single no. 5985
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 January 2019
Tracks: 'Knowing me, knowing you' / 'Money, money, money'

Touch the wind - Mocedades

Mocedades recorded their Eurovision entry 'Eres tu' in many other languages besides Spanish. One of the other versions was recorded in English. 'Touch the wind' was released on many different labels internationally, but never with a picture sleeve. And so I didn't feel too bad when I ordered this copy. 

This copy was made in the USA, but pressings from Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa also exist. The English version was also recorded by many other artists; I own a version by Eydie Gorme.

My collection: 7" single no. 7707
Found: Discogs.com, received 11 July 2025
Tracks: 'Touch the wind (Eres tu)' / 'Eres tu (Touch the wind)'