Time to let go - Eddy Grant

Much to my surprise, I already owned both tracks on this single - but both as B-sides of other singles. 'Time to let go' was released in 1984 as the B-side of 'Boys in the street' and 'California style' became the B-side of 'Till I can't take love no more' in 1983.

However, this single was released in 1981 and was never a hit. The album Can't Get Enough, from which the track was taken, was actually the first of his albums to chart in the UK. It was actually his sixth studio album.

My collection: 7" single no. 8324
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany)
Tracks: 'Time to let go' / 'California style' 

I wantcha' back - Delegation

While I was going through hundreds of singles, the title '12th house' leapt out at me. I am, of course, familiar with that title, because it is a track by New Musik from the early Eighties. And I am also familiar with the version by Delegation, because I bought it four years ago.

However, this single is a bit more interesting because it actually has a picture sleeve and a different A-side. 'I wantcha' back' is a good example of the sort of 'soul/dance' track that was popular in the Eighties. It's actually fun to add this single to my collection. 

My collection: 7" single no. 8323
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'I wantcha' back' / '12th house' 

Hold me now - Thompson Twins

A long, long time ago I bought the picture disc of the Thompson Twins' 'Hold me now'. When I saw the regular single - a German pressing - a few days ago I realized that I never bought it, and for just 1 euro, I couldn't pass it up. It was also the start of a "crate digging" session, if I can call it that. I visited a shop just across the border in Germany with the aim of buying as much singles as I wanted to buy, and this was a good start. 

'Emotionally, it was written as the result of some argument that was resolved between Alannah and myself', explained Tom Bailey in an interview. 'We actually decided, well, this is an interesting emotional subject. What it feels like to get back together again after separation and the kind of ideas that come up and the way that emotion and physicality somehow are brought together.'

My collection: 7" single no. 8322
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'Hold me now' / 'Let loving start'

Stand up - Howard Jones

For the first time since 1998, Howard Jones has released a single on 7" vinyl! The single came out last week and landed in my mailbox on Saturday. 'Stand up' is a short track but with a very long intro. As usual, the song comes with an uplifting message from its writer.

'Stand up' draws from Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1972 poem 'Stand up, black man', which Jones read after Jackson passed away in February. 'I wasn’t familiar with the poem', he explained in a recent interview, 'so I looked it up online and was very inspired to write something along those lines: "Stand up. You are somebody. Don’t let no one put you down".'

My collection: 7" single no. 8321
Found: Cherry Red website, received 11 July 2026
Tracks: 'Stand up' / 'The prisoner (live)' 

 

 

London Town - Bucks Fizz

Former Eurovision winners Bucks Fizz had an excellent run of hit singles between 1981 and 1983, and so a Greatest Hits album was a logical decision at the time. The album featured all of the eleven hit singles, including this one: 'London Town', released just two months before the album. Lead vocals on the track are by member Bobby G, although he was unhappy with the way his vocals were mixed, giving them a distorted quality, claiming that he "sounded like a munchkin".

Of course I already bought the single back in 1992, but the picture disc is a recent acquisition - in fact, I received it earlier today! And a pretty one it is, too.

My collection: 7" single no. 8320
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 June 2026
Tracks: 'London town' / 'Identity'

 

 

Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday - Boney M

With the intense heatwave we've had this week it makes sense to post some Boney M today, especially when it's a summery tune like 'Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday', complete with steel drums and a catchy chorus. The song and its B-side, 'Ribbons of Blue', were taken from the movie Disco Fever, billed as 'the first feature movie by Boney M' in 1978.  

The film soundtrack also included 'Rivers of Babylon', 'Rasputin', 'Dancing in the streets' and other performances by Eruption, La Bionda and Teens. If you don't remember this movie, you're not alone: it wasn't a big success. This picture disc, however, is a keeper.

My collection: 7" single no. 8319
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 June 2026
Tracks: 'Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday' / 'Ribbons of blue'

Westside - Athlete

The quest for Athlete singles led me to this, the band's earliest release. 'Westside' was released on 4 March 2002 on the independent Regal label. This 10" single came in a handsprayed cover with the stencil included inside the sleeve. 1000 copies were made; this is number 567. 

'Westside' was a hit, garnering airplay on BBC Radio 1 and paving the way for another single, 'You got the style' which cracked the UK singles chart in June 2002. Parlophone took notice and promptly signed the band, and this led to a successful career with three studio albums and several hit singles.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 June 2026
Tracks: 'Westside' / 'Dungeness', 'One of those days'