The harder they come - Joe Jackson Band

'The harder they come' was originally written and recorded by Jimmy Cliff, who released it as a single in 1972. It was written for the movie of the same name. 

In 1980 Joe Jackson and his band recorded a cover version of the song. The single was not a hit in the UK, but reached number 35 in the Dutch Top 40. I remember the song from long ago and so I decided to buy the single when I came across a copy recently. 

My collection: 7" single no. 8261
Found: De Waterput, Bergen op Zoom, 6 March 2026
Tracks: 'The harder they come' / 'Out of style', 'Tilt' 

Won't you hold my hand now - King

The sleeve of this 7" single is similar to the American 12" single in my collection, but with green lettering instead of red. The B-side features a track that doesn't appear on that 12" single. 

The single made less of an impression than the biggest hit the band ever had, the ubiquitous 'Love and pride'. Ironically, the last single by King I bought - just last year - was also 'Won't you hold my hand now', but that was the 1985 re-release.

My collection: 7" single no. 8259
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 March 2026
Tracks: 'Won't you hold my hand now' / 'Endlessly' 

I could be happy - Altered Images

Clare Grogan was just seventeen years old when she started Altered Images with her bandmates Gerard "Caesar" McInulty (guitar), Michael "Tich" Anderson (drums), Tony McDaid (guitar), and Johnny McElhone (bass guitar). Two years later they had a big hit in the UK with the first single from their second album Pinky Blue. 

'I could be happy' is a song that always cheers you up with its bright sound and cheerful singing. This picture disc was released at the time to boost sales of the single, which ended up peaking at number 7 in the UK singles chart. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7944
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 March 2026
Tracks: 'I could be happy' / 'Insects' 

Visions in blue - Ultravox

The discovery of several picture discs of Ultravox singles has triggered a new obsession: trying to catch them all. And I've been rather successful recently. A recent acquisition was this picture disc of 'Visions in blue', a song I first discovered when I bought the greatest hits collection LP four decades ago, imaginatively titled The Collection.

This picture disc simply recreates the sleeve of the single and is perhaps a superfluous addition to my collection, but anyway, I think it's worth it.

My collection: 7" single no. 7943
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2026
Tracks: 'Visions in blue' / 'Break your back' 

Kate Bush - Viva City

Viva City was a band consisting of Trev Stardust, Ali Allerdyce, Bruce Tate and Chris Cairns. There isn't a lot of information about this band and the only website they ever had was on the now mostly defunct Myspace.com. 

And so we're left with this track 'Kate Bush', named after one of the best musicians in the world. This single was pressed on white vinyl. I would like to know more about the background of this track, but unfortunately there is no way of knowing! 

My collection: 7" single no. 7942
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2026
Tracks: 'Kate Bush' / 'Wealth' 

Gimme some love - Gina G

After Gina G represented the United Kingdom with 'Ooh aah... Just a little bit' she released an album called Fresh, from which several singles were released. Most of them didn't appear on vinyl, however, which makes this particular 10" single a bit of a rarity. 

'Gimme some love' was released as the final single from the album on 25 August 1997. This one-sided promotional 10" single features one of the remixes of the song, created by Hysteric Ego. While writing this piece I found out a 7" single also exists, so who knows... you might see it on this blog soon!

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 March 2026
Tracks: 'Gimme some love (Hysteric Ego "Raaah" mix)'

Where do I go - Marissa Nadler / Happy Rhodes

The name Happy Rhodes may not ring any bells with you, dear reader, but for me she is a true legend. I discovered her during the early days of internet, way back in 1993. She was presented as the American version of Kate Bush in the newsgroups devoted to the British legend. At that point, Happy had already released six cd's, which I bought within a couple of months. (The record shop Fame in Amsterdam had a good supply back then!)

Although Happy hasn't released any new music in years, she recently toured with Security Project, performing songs by Peter Gabriel, and indeed a couple of Kate Bush songs as well. The record company Numero Group released a compilation of Happy Rhodes tracks in 2018, and that was the final release by her - or so I thought. 

I was browsing Discogs last week and found this single. It was apparently released in 2024 and features two versions of 'Where do I go' - a track from Happy Rhodes' second cd. It is not one of her best tracks ever, but a nice taster if you've never heard her. The song was covered by Marissa Nadler - and both versions appear on this 7" single. Funny enough, this is the only 7" ever with a Happy Rhodes song on it! 

My collection: 7" single no. 7939
Found: 33 | 45 Records, Den Haag, 4 March 2026
Tracks: 'Where do I go' (Marissa Nadler) / 'Where do I go' (Happy Rhodes)