Heart of the country - Ultravox

Ultravox released one of the best deluxe editions of any album ever when they released Lament last year, and also The Collection. It remains one of my favourite bands from the Eighties, even if I didn't really enjoy all their albums equally. The singles were almost always ace.

'Heart of the country' is the one that got away. As far as I know it was released in Germany only, and I discovered this one last year when checking out their discography. I never knew this was a single release! Only one copy was on offer online, and I bought it. Even in Germany, this single didn't make the chart, and so it remains the most obscure Ure-era Ultravox single!

My collection: 7" single no. 7937
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 February 2026
Tracks: 'Heart of the country' / 'Man of two worlds'

Find the time - Five Star

The British quintet Five Star lost one of their members last year, when Stedman passed away on 10 March. You would think that this fact would get more attention than it did, because Five Star were absolutely on top of the charts in the Eighties. It just proves that fame can be ever so fickle.

'Find the time' was one of the band's finest singles, and it was released on a picture disc. It was on my want list for some time, because it looks quite stunning, both when you're playing it and when you're just looking at it. It's the fine art of creating great artwork, and the British band was quite good at it! 

My collection: 7" single no. 7936
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 February 2026
Tracks: 'Find the time' / 'Sky'

Leaving - Fra Lippo Lippi

This arty cover hides an Italian magazine that was released in 1985, featuring articles about Catherine Deneuve, Tove Jansson and Yoko Ono. It also includes a 7" single with two tracks: 'Leaving' by Fra Lippo Lippi and 'Suite maniacal' by Minox. 

It's an odd package, but the Fra Lippo Lippi track is what made me buy this one online. I was intrigued enough to want to have it, although in the end 'Leaving' is just an outtake from the album Songs which I already own. But still, it's a beautiful little package that hides its own mysteries. Why was this made? What target audience did this have? Why would Italians listen to Norwegian music? Many questions without answers.

My collection: 7" single no. 7935
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 February 2026
Tracks: 'Leaving' (Fra Lippo Lippi) / 'Suite maniacal' (Minox)
 

Du gingst fort ohne Abschied - Alain Barrière

In 1963 Alain Barrière competed in the Eurovision Song Contest, representing France, with 'Elle était si jolie'. As per usual back then, he also recorded the song in different languages, such as the Italian version 'Era troppo carina' and this one, the German version. 

Although 'Du gingst fort ohne Abschied' was released as a single with a picture sleeve in Germany, copies are now changing hands for rather large amounts. Fortunately, the track also appears on this EP with four different tracks from four different artists. And so, this selection also features tracks by Paul Anka, Rita Pavone and Peggy March. It's a good deal, I think, for just a few euros.

My collection: 7" single no. 7934
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 February 2026
Tracks: 'Zwei Mädchen aus Germany' (Paul Anka), 'Mein Jack, der ist zwei Meter gross' (Rita Pavone) / 'Wenn der Silbermond' (Peggy March), 'Du gingst fort ohne Abschied' (Alain Barrière) 

 

A little rain must fall - Fra Lippo Lippi

I've been listening to Fra Lippo Lippi a lot recently. It was caused by the fact that I rediscovered the album Light and Shade, which I've had for many decades now. I remember I wasn't impressed by that album at first, because it sounded very different from their peak album Songs, which I bought back in the late Eighties.

Anyway, it made me wonder if there were any singles by the band that I didn't have already. As it turns out, there was this obscure single, released in 1989. It was taken from The colour album, which was the band's fifth studio album. It was released for promotion only in Germany, hence the generic sleeve and the 'Ariola Single Facts' included in it. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7932
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 February 2026
Tracks: 'A little rain must fall' / 'You bring me joy' 

Vuggevise - Ellen Winther

Having written three books about the Eurovision Song Contest (in Dutch) that were published last year, I've been buying a lot of Eurovision singles during that time in order to be able to include pictures of the sleeves in those books. I still haven't got them all, but one particularly irritated me, because it was on my wantlist for so long and the only dealer offering it had three copies for extortionate prices. 

But I finally got lucky last month when another dealer offered this single. 'Vuggevise' was the Danish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962. It was performed by Ellen Winther in that old opera style that was so popular during the early years. Finally I have a copy, so I can cross this one off my wantlist.

My collection: 7" single no. 7930
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 February 2026
Tracks: 'Vuggevise' / 'Vinden går og nynner' 

Bad Boy - Tex Rubinowitz

Marty Wilde made history when he had a hit with his self-penned song 'Bad Boy'. It was quite unusual for Rock 'n' Rollers to write their own material, but Marty tried his hand at it when good songs were hard to come by at the end of the Fifties. 

Perhaps not amazingly, the song was picked up years later by the American rocker Tex Rubinowitz, who recorded 'Bad Boy' on 16 December 1978. Rubinowitz was born on 10 October 1944 in Abilene, Texas, where his father, an Army officer, was stationed during part of World War II. He recorded a lot of rockabilly material through the Eighties, although chart success eluded him.

My collection: 7" single no. 7929
Found: Discogs.com, received 2 February 2026
Tracks: 'Bad Boy' / 'Feelin' right tonight'