Cours apres le temps - Svetlana

'Cours après le temps' ('Run after time') was the Luxembourgish entry in the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, performed in French by Svetlana. The song deals with the focus of the modern world - with Svetlana suggesting that it is all about running after 'time', 'money' and 'glory', when that is ultimately going to cause problems. As she explains, 'If I have to run all the time/What would I do with the money?' As the song concludes, she explains that she will simply love - and if this is madness, she wants to meet other mad people.

The song did pretty good during the night, ending up in 6th place in a field of 18 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5236
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 19, 2011
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Cours apres le temps' / 'Heureuse aupres de toi'

Ribbon in the sky - Stevie Wonder

Shortly after Stevie Wonder had a big hit with the slightly dodgy 'Ebony and ivory' together with Paul McCartney, he released 'Ribbon in the sky' as a new single from his greatest hits compilation 'Original Musiquarium'. It is a beautiful ballad that shows off his craftsmanship better than most of his singles at the time.

Astonishingly, the single wasn't a big hit although it did reach number 9 in the American R&B charts. The song was later covered by Intro, Ivete Sangelo and Boys II Men.

My collection: 7" single no. 5234
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 19, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Ribbon in the sky' / 'The secret life of plants'

Luka - Suzanne Vega

'Luka' was released as the second single from Suzanne Vega's second album 'Solitude standing' in early 1987. It remains her highest-charting hit in the United States, peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. This song was one of the earliest to deal with child abuse and domestic violence.

The single reached number 23 in the UK singles chart and number 26 in the Dutch Top 40. The song was later covered by the Lemonheads, British indie group Easyworld and Chinese singer Olivia Ong.

My collection: 7" single no. 5232
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 19, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Luka' / 'Straight lines (live)'

Walking wounded - Everything but the girl

After Everything but the girl had a surprise hit with a remix of their song 'Missing' by Todd Terry and Tracey Thorn had a hit with Massive Attack's 'Protection', the duo thought that dance music could be the way to go if they wanted any success in the future. Their subsequent albums 'Walking wounded' and 'Temperamental' showed the band's musical progress as well as establishing Watt as a dance music producer.

'Walking wounded' was their first 'dance' single produced on their own, and this promotional one-sided 10" single featured a remix of the track by Dave Wallace. Further remixes appeared on other formats.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 19, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Walking wounded (Dave Wallace remix)'

Baby baby - Nicole & Hugo

Nicole & Hugo's 'Baby baby' could be the biggest surprise of the day for me. When I bought the single yesterday, I had a vivid memory of a ridiculous couple dress in purple jumpsuits singing a song slightly too loud with strange expressions on their face. But ridiculous clothing aside, this is actually a very good song! The video is included here for your pleasure, but listen to the track first - you will be pleasantly surprised.

Probably thanks to their appearance, the song ended 17th at the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest - out of 17 competitors. Recent reviews have described it as 'a relatively tacky song' and 'a Eurovision turkey'. But personally I think the music on this track is impressive. Although the lyric is indeed pretty bad...



My collection: 7" single no. 5237
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 19, 2011
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Baby baby' / 'Jij en ik en wij'

Upside down - Diana Ross

'Upside down' was written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers (of the band Chic) with Aretha Franklin in mind to record. When Franklin turned down the offer to record the album Motown passed the material and project to Ross. In a 2011 interview, Nile Rodgers said 'Diana Ross was the first big star we ever worked with and we took it very seriously.'

The single was her first release in the Eighties and also her biggest solo hit of the decade, reaching number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 2 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 5229
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 19, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Upside down' / 'Friend to friend'

Doot doot - Freur

I bought the single 'Doot doot' by Freur back in 1983 when it came out, but I was unaware that there was a clear vinyl/picture disc edition of this single until last April, when I spotted it at the record fair in Utrecht. However beautiful, I didn't buy it because the price was too high: 3 euros.

That same dealer was here again yesterday, but this time all the singles were priced down to 50 eurocents. It's the old Puck-trick all over again: wait until the price drops, and then get it.

My collection: 7" single no. 5228
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Doot doot' / 'Hold me mother'