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' 

Same old story - Ultravox

Just 31 years after I first bought 'Same old story' by Ultravox, I found this rather handsome picture disc of the same single. As far as I know it's the only picture disc they ever released with a band photo on it. Unfortunately, the line-up had shrunk to three persons at that time, because Warren Cann was dismissed, citing 'musical differences' at the time. In later years Midge Ure would reflect on that decision as 'a mistake'. 

The same could be said for the entire U-Vox album, which isn't a favourite among fans. Released after Ure's adventures around Band Aid and Live Aid, the album was a strange affair, mixing rock and folk influences but ditching most of the synth-based material that they had become famous for. 'Same old story' is a good example of that: it is not by any means a strong Ultravox track. But it's a pretty picture disc!

My collection: 7" single no. 8266
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 March 2026
Tracks: 'Same old story' / '3' 

Rovers return - Korgis

After 'Everybody's got to learn sometime' and 'If it's alright with you baby', I was totally surprised by the next Korgis single, 'Rovers return'. It was an instrumental piece with just a few dogs barking during it. I'm not exactly a dog lover, but the melody was strong enough to keep me hooked. It was the kind of synthpop I absolutely loved back in 1980 - and kept loving ever since. 

Through the years I've bought my fair share of 'Rovers return' singles: the original Dutch version, a French version and this version which features two singles on one disc. The latest addition is the original UK pressing, which is a double A-side with 'Wish you a merry Christmas'. It's a bit early for that. 

My collection: 7" single no. 8262
Found: De Waterput, Bergen op Zoom, 6 March 2026
Tracks: 'Rovers return' / 'Wish you a merry Christmas'