Witch's promise - Jethro Tull

'The witch's promise' was recorded by All About Eve as a B-side for 'December', but it was originally recorded by Jethro Tull and written by their frontman Ian Anderson. When you've heard All About Eve's version, the original version pales in comparison, to be honest. But still, I wanted to have this single because I was curious about this track.

'Witch's promise' is one of the few recorded by Jethro Tull to feature the Mellotron, a tape replay keyboard that could emulate a string section, and the only single released by the band to feature the instrument. It was intended to be the last standalone single from the band that was not taken from an LP. Anderson said the band would issue singles from future albums in order to gain radio play, but he was not particularly interested in promoting them.

My collection: 7" single no. 7781
Found: Alt & Neu, Vienna, 13 October 2025
Tracks: 'Witch's promise' / 'The teacher'

Rovers return - The Korgis

During the Eighties, the Korgis were at the top of their game. I can easily say that, because I heard some of their later recordings and they had neither crack nor taste, as we say in Dutch. I thought I had all of their singles from that decade, but then I saw this one, featuring not one, but two A-sides: both 'Rovers return' and 'If it's alright with you baby' were released as singles in their own right. This single was released in Germany, and it brings both tracks together. It's not a chore to listen to these again; it's pop music at its most brilliant.

My collection: 7" single no. 7780
Found: Alt & Neu, Vienna, 13 October 2025
Tracks: 'Rovers return' / 'If it's alright with you baby' 

Tightrope ride - The Doors

Buying singles can be confusing sometimes, when you have a big collection. Did I already buy this one? It does look familiar, but I am still not sure. Well anyway, it isn't that expensive so I guess I'll just take it. And then you get home and... 'd'oh!', it's already there. 

Fortunately this version of 'Tightrope ride' comes in a slightly different sleeve, and that's because this is the German pressing, whereas the other one was a Dutch one. Maybe I'll let go of one of them at some point, but meanwhile it is here for you to enjoy.

My collection: 7" single no. 7779
Found: Alt & Neu, Vienna, 13 October 2025
Tracks: 'Tightrope ride' / 'Variety is the spice of life' 

Džuli - Daniel

I never knew that the original version of 'Julie' was released in Germany, but then I saw this single. It comes in a sleeve that is quite similar to the one featuring the English version, but it announces that this one features the 'Jugoslawische originalversion' and the 'Jugoslavenska originalnaverzija', which is German and Croatian for 'Yugoslavian original version'. 

After a few seconds of being very surprised by this one, I checked the label of the disc, and it did indeed announce 'Džuli' as the A-side track. What's more, the B-side includes another original track by Daniel, which doesn't appear on the Yugoslavian single. I guess my collection is now complete.

My collection: 7" single no. 7777
Found: Alt & Neu, Vienna, 13 October 2025
Tracks: 'Džuli' / 'Bio sam naivan'

You think you're a man - Divine

"You Think You're a Man" is a song by American performance artist Divine, released as a single in 1984. The song appeared on the compilation album The Story So Far, released the same year. It was written by Geoff Deane, formerly the lead singer and main songwriter with both the Leyton Buzzards and Modern Romance, and his occasional songwriting partner Keith Miller. Deane later went on to write the cross dressing-themed film Kinky Boots.

The single was a hit in the UK, where it peaked at number 16 in the UK singles chart. Oddly, the single didn't chart in the Netherlands. I rediscovered the track when it was included in a 12" singles compilation recently, and when I saw the single, that was my cue to buy it.

My collection: 7" single no. 7776
Found: Alt & Neu, Vienna, 13 October 2025
Tracks: 'You think you're a man' / 'Give it up' 

Strange way - All About Eve

Those limited editions kept coming when All About Eve released their third album, Touched by Jesus. There was no 10" single for the lead single, but when they released 'Strange way', there it was again. I was lucky enough to buy number 5111 of the limited edition of 10,000 copies (still an impressive number by today's standards) and found a photo card inside, advertising the fanclub which I never joined.

Musically this disc was a little underwhelming, since two tracks were taken from the album and the third one was also included on other formats. As far as All About Eve's 10" singles go, this was probably the least interesting of the lot. Still, it's a keeper.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered] 
Found: Wreckastow, Rotterdam, 1991
Tracks: 'Strange way' / 'Share it with me', 'Drawn to earth'

Child of earth - Karoline Krüger

There have been several 'environmentally friendly' Eurovision songs, but the Norwegian entry from 1988 was not recognized as such by most people because of the difficult language Karoline Krüger had to sing in. So she did what any sensible artist would do: she also recorded an English version.

I bought 'For vår jord' in 2022, thinking I might never get this English version because it was a bit on the expensive side. But look, a few years later the single isn't that expensive anymore and I got to order a copy from Norway. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7775
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 October 2025
Tracks: 'Child of earth' / 'For vår jord'