Oh baby - Münchener Freiheit

According to Wikipedia, 'Oh baby' was the first single by Münchener Freiheit, released in 1984. In reality it was actually their fourth single, taken from their second album Licht, released in 1983. The single is notable for its slightly primitive pop sensibility; the track isn't as polished as their later work. 

'Oh baby' was, however, the first hit the band had. It reached number 23 in Germany in the year before 'Ohne dich (schlaf ich heut Nacht nicht ein', which became number 2 and a charttopper in Austria and Switzerland. Good things were ahead for the band, but how were they to know?

My collection: 7" single no. 7815
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'Oh baby' / 'Melancholie' 

Boom boom - Mabel

While it is lovely to have a French copy of Mabel's 'Boom boom', after fifteen years I saw this German version and I was impressed by the design of this sleeve. Quite why the band wanted to be seen inside a heart was not immediately clear to me, but of course the lyrics speak of 'a feeling in my heart'.

The other side of this single contains 'I'm only here to rock 'n' roll', which was a hit for the band in 1977. 'Boom boom' was, of course, their Eurovision entry for Denmark in 1978, which made this release an attractive package for German record buyers.

My collection: 7" single no. 7812
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'Boom boom' / 'I'm only here to rock 'n' roll' 

Dim all the lights - Donna Summer

'Dim all the lights' was written by Donna Summer herself, which means that this is the only hit single that she wrote on her own. The single reached number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 29 in the UK singles chart, whereas it didn't chart in the Netherlands. 

This version is a German pressing, with a different sleeve compared to other territories. During my week in Vienna I saw various copies, and I finally bought one, impressed as I was with the design of this sleeve. Of course, I already owned another copy of 'Dim all the lights', but that shouldn't bother us too much, should it? 

My collection: 7" single no. 7811
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'Dim all the lights' / 'There will always be a you' 

Rise - PIL

'Rise' was written by John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) and Bill Laswell about apartheid in South Africa, specifically about Nelson Mandela as Lydon stated in a 2013 Glastonbury interview. Lydon also referred to alleged Royal Ulster Constabulary interrogation techniques, such as electric torture, in an MTV interview in 1987. The song contains the phrase 'may the road rise with you', which is a direct translation of the old Irish blessing "go n-éirí an bóthar leat" (usually translated as "may the road rise up to meet you"). The phrase "anger is an energy" became the title of Lydon's 2014 autobiography. 

It was one of the group's biggest commercial hits, peaking at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. I remember being impressed with the song when it came out, but somehow I never bought the single. So finally, here it is, almost four decades later.

My collection: 7" single no. 7810
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'Rise' / 'Rise (instrumental)' 

Jones the rhythm - Grace Jones

Perhaps it's no wonder that I bought this single because the sleeve is much more interesting than the 'Jones the rhythm' single I bought in 2009. The picture is a crop from the album which this track is traken from: Slave to the rhythm, the experimental remix album released in 1985, circling around 'Slave to the rhythm', Grace Jones's hit single from that year.

'Jones the rhythm' was not a charting success, having been somewhat overshadowed by the huge success of the lead single, and partially due to lack of promotion.  

My collection: 7" single no. 7809
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'Jones the rhythm' / 'Junkyard' 

Master and servant - Depeche Mode

During the first few years of their career, Depeche Mode released many singles and the German record company released them on red vinyl for the first edition. I started buying them recently - 'Blasphemous rumours / Somebody' being the first one - and I was lucky enough to find another one in Vienna.

'Master and servant' is a rather blunt song that Depeche Mode would never play live again these days. In fact, a live album is released soon, and this track is missing once again. It's not a bad song, but I think Martin and Dave are a bit embarrassed by it now. Pretty red disc though.

My collection: 7" single no. 7808
Found: Lenny's Music Store, Vienna, 17 October 2025
Tracks: 'Master and servant' / '(Set me free) Remotivate me' 

Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus - Egon Egemann

Two singles by Egon Egemann made it into my collection until now: 'A song goes out around the world', featuring the English and German version and 'A song goes out around the world' with an instrumental version on the B-side. But the original version is of course this Swiss pressing, featuring 'Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus' on the A-side and the English version on the B-side.

The song was of course the Swiss entry of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1990. Egon Egemann made 11th place with it.

My collection: 7" single no. 7803
Found: Seven Star Records, Vienna, 14 October 2025
Tracks: 'Musik klingt in die Welt hinaus' / 'A song goes out around the world'