Teen wave - Ricky Wilde

Ricky Wilde's career never really took off outside of Scandinavia - which is quite extraordinary for a British artist. Ricky only released six singles on the UK records label, before concluding that the life of a pop star wasn't something he wanted. The fact that he was teased in the school yard because of his musical aspirations probably didn't help either.

'Teen wave' was the last single release of Ricky, released in 1974. The song was written and produced by his father Marty Wilde and is the roughest of his singles, leaning heavily into the glam rock genre.

My collection: 7" single no. 2921
Found: Record fair, November 9, 1997
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Teen wave' / 'Round and round'

Hier komt de storm - Frank Boeijen Groep

The third and last single from the Frank Boeijen Groep's seventh album 'Welkom in Utopia' was 'Hier komt de storm' ('Here comes the storm'). The single version was heavily edited, which detracted a bit from the track. As a result, the single failed to reach the Dutch Top 40.

Meanwhile, the band had concluded their theatre tour across the Netherlands and work was already underway for the next album. They had never been as popular as they were right at that moment.

My collection: 7" single no. 584
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1988
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Hier komt de storm' / 'Oorlog der liefde'

Time - Kim Wilde

The second single from Kim Wilde's 1990 album 'Love moves' was 'Time' - at least, it was in the UK and Australia. The record company in Europe opted for 'Can't get enough (of your love)' instead, and so a nightmare was born. Back in 1990, it was very hard to get hold of English singles.

I had to wait until a holiday in London in October - four months after the release of the single - to find a copy. And even then, it was very hard to find one. I eventually found a copy in a dark second hand shop off Kensington High Street - and it was the only copy I saw that week.

My collection: 7" single no. 1320
Found: London, Otcober 16, 1990
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Time' / 'Someday'

Hounds of love - Kate Bush

I've got very strong principles when it comes to my record collection: I never buy a single twice, unless it's from my favourite artists. Kate Bush is one of them, and so when I saw this American pressing of 'Hounds of love', I had to have it. Of course, there's always the small matter of the price: I never bought her Japanese singles because they are way too expensive.

But I happened on this American pressing for a reasonable price, and so I could get my hands on it. Not only the sleeve is different: the B-side is 'Burning bridge', which in Europe was the B-side to 'Cloudbusting'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2864
Found: Record fair, 1995
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Hounds of love' / 'Burning bridge'

On the chart tip EP - Various artists

The British music magazine Record Mirror released an EP with four tracks from various artists from time to time. This, apparently, was the first, released in 1989. It brings together two album tracks from INXS and Black plus an exclusive track from Transvision Vamp and an exclusive remix from Neneh Cherry.

I bought the EP mainly for 'You don't always do what's best for you', a track from Black's then-current album 'Comedy'. Although this is the album version, it fades away 30 seconds earlier and so this is an exclusive edit of the track.

My collection: 7" single no. 2032
Found: Sounds Familiar, London, October 19, 1993
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Johnson's Aeroplane' (INXS), 'Child of the age' (Transvision Vamp) / 'Buffalo stance (The There's Nothing Wrong Mix (Sukka Mix II))', 'You don't always do what's best for you' (Black)

Vanavond ga ik uit - Clouseau

'Vanavond ga ik uit' ('I'm going out tonight') was written by famous Belgian singer/songwriter Raymond van 't Groenewoud. He gave the song (together with another song, 'Verlangen' ('Desire')) to Clouseau, who recorded it on their new album 'Doorgaan' ('Going on') in 1992.

Released as the second single from the album, it reached number 26 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 9 in the Belgian singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1650
Found: Melody Maker, May 9, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Vanavond ga ik uit' / 'Er kan nog iemand mee'

Bye bye I love you - Ireen Sheer

Ireen Sheer was born on February 25, 1949 in Basildon, England. Sheer was discovered at the beginning of the Sixties through a talent competition, but still took time to graduate from a bank apprenticeship in spite of her early success. She sang for several pop groups, such as The Family Dogg, before she went solo in 1970. She was marked an official success when 'Goodbye Mama' became a Top 5 hit on the German charts in 1973. After that, she released several records, almost every one going on to become a hit.

In 1974 she represented Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Bye bye, I love you'. It reached 4th place in a field of 17 competitors. It wouldn't be the last time she appeared in the Contest: she returned in 1978 for Germany and in 1985 for Luxembourg again.

My collection: 7" single no. 4833
Found: eBay.be, received April 14, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Bye bye I love you' / 'Tous les grands sentiments'