Ten American girls - Bolland

The Bolland brothers made some excellent music and quite a few duds too. But when they were at the top of their game, they made 'Ten American girls'; a track that youngsters these days would call a 'banger'. I've had the 7" single for four decades now, but I was not aware that there was also a 12" single of this track. 

Until now, that is. I found this wonderful 12" single. pressed on clear yellow vinyl and featuring extended versions of both the A- and B-sides of the single! I quite like the extended version of 'Ten American girls', but the extended version of 'Night of the shooting stars' is even better, to be honest. Check it out!

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 April 2026
Tracks: 'Ten American girls (extended version)' / 'Night of the shooting stars (extended version)'

Eve's volcano - Julian Cope

Although I only own single by Julian Cope - Eve's volcano - it is such a brilliant song that I wouldn't mind hearing an extended version of it. I was in luck this weekend, because I found a 12" single of the track. Well, I thought I was lucky, because upon getting home I discovered that the disc was seriously warped. And that was caused by the extremely large poster included in the sleeve. It's a huge thing the size of an Underground poster, the kind you see all over London still these days. 

Fortunately I was able to find the tracks online, and so I have the doubtful honour of owning a disc I can't play with a poster that I don't really need. At least the item was cheap!

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 April 2026
Tracks: 'Eve's volcano (Vulcano Lungo)' / 'Spacehopper - Annexe', 'Almost beautiful child (I & II)'

Jack in the box - Clodagh Rodgers

In 1971, Clodagh Rodgers was internally selected to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. During a national final she had to sing six songs. Due to a postal strike, viewers were unable to cast votes for the songs this year, so 8 regional juries, consisting of 10 jurors with just one vote each for their favourite song, were constructed from members of the public. These juries were located in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, London, Manchester, and Norwich. The winning song was 'Jack in the box'. 

This EP, recorded in mono, presents four of the six songs. ('Look left, look right' was later released on the album Rodgers and heart, while 'In my world of beautiful things' has never been officially released in any form.) I bought this EP because of the low price and the birth of Venus-imitating photo on the sleeve!

My collection: 7" single no. 8273
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 April 2026
Tracks: 'Jack in the box', 'Another time, another place' / 'Someone to love me', 'The wind of change' 

Cloudbusting - Kate Bush

It seems appropriate that I managed to find a rare Kate Bush single this weekend, because today marks a small milestone in my own life which I will reveal more about later in the year. This South African copy of 'Cloudbusting' is a nice item to mark today with. 

I found it on a stand from a dealer who only had South African records, and this was the only Kate Bush item he had. It's a lovely copy with a wraparound sleeve and a disc with a small center hole. 'Cloudbusting' is, of course, one of the biggest songs of Kate's career and I will put this moment.... 
....here.

My collection: 7" single no. 8271
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 April 2026
Tracks: 'Cloudbusting' / 'Burning bridge'

Baby baby - Nicole & Hugo

The Belgian duo of Nicole and Hugo represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with the song 'Baby baby'. They recorded the song in several languages, including this French version. As luck would have it, I found this French pressing of the song. 

The duo became famous for their outlandish costumes in purple, with a flamboyant choreography, earning them the name 'purple flamingoes' in later years. Still, decades later, 'Baby baby' is still a catchy song.

My collection: 7" single no. 8272
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 April 2026
Tracks: 'Baby baby' / 'Ton amour et moi'

A little peace - Nicole

Although I already own a UK pressing of Nicole's 'A little peace', I was quite surprised to find this version with a different, almost anonymous, sleeve. I must have seen it a few times before, but this time I was sure that I didn't own it already. And so I added it to my collection of Nicole's winning Eurovision song. It's her only song I own, but in many different versions.

The back sleeve features a small black and white photograph of the singer, along with the typo for the B-side: 'Thank you, mercy' - which of course should be 'merci', as in the French word for 'thank you'. I guess the British got confused.

My collection: 7" single no. 8270
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 April 2026
Tracks: 'A little peace' / 'Thank you, merci' 

Under attack - Abba

The very first item I found during the record fair in Den Bosch this weekend was this single by Abba. It's another copy of 'Under attack' - this time the UK pressing. UK pressings are always interesting, of course, and in this case the back of the sleeve features an advert for the compilation album The Singles - The First 10 Years. 

Maybe my collection of Abba singles is getting out of hand - but it's always a pleasure to find a version that I don't already have. 

My collection: 7" single no. 8269
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 April 2026
Tracks: 'Under attack' / 'You owe me one'