Min kärlekssang till dej - Lars Berghagen

In 1974 the Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, called Melodifestivalen, had ten competitors. One of them was Lars Berghagen, who competed with his self-penned 'Min kärlekssang till dej'. It was a quaint litte song that almost made it to the top. Almost, because he was surpassed by a quartet called Benny, Björn, Agnetha and Anni-Frid - who called themselves ABBA and performed a song called 'Waterloo'. 

Can you imagine what would have happened if Lars Berghagen had won? I can: he wouldn't have stood a chance against Olivia Newton-John and Mouth & MacNeal. I'm not sure what would have happened to ABBA. The outcome that actually did happen meant that Lars would compete again the next year, and in 1975, he represented Sweden with 'Jennie, Jennie'.  

My collection: 7" single no. 7925
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, 24 January 2026
Tracks: 'Min kärlekssang till dej' / 'De' e' slut'

Dr. Mabuse / Duel - Propaganda

The magazine Electronic Sounds did it again! They released their latest issue with a cover story on Propaganda and included a clear vinyl 7" single with it. When this issue was announced I read something about a 'David Kosten mix', so I ordered it right away.

It turns out that David Kosten was the one who reconstructed the album A Secret Wish from the original master tapes. So these mixes are not remixes, but just reconstructions of the original versions. In that sense, this single doesn't contain anything unique.

My collection: 7" single no. 7924
Found: Electronic Sounds website, received 22 January 2026
Tracks: 'Dr. Mabuse - The first life (David Kosten mix)' / 'Duel (David Kosten mix)' 

Prisoner of love - Miami Sound Machine

'Prisoner of Love' was the second single released by the American band Miami Sound Machine on their first English language album, and eighth overall, Eyes of Innocence. The song was written by the band's drummer Enrique "Kiki" Garcia. 

The single was released worldwide following the release of the album with great expectations. The lead single, 'Dr. Beat', also written by Enrique Garcia, had moderate success, also in Europe. 'Prisoner of Love' was unable to follow the success, debuting on the UK singles chart at only number 98 and failing to chart elsewhere. The single was only released in Europe, Australia and Japan.

My collection: 7" single no. 7923
Found: Record Palace, Amsterdam, 18 January 2026
Tracks: 'Prisoner of love' / 'Toda tuya' 

Japanese lovesong - Ten Sharp

I always thought Ten Sharp's 'Japanese lovesong' was the weakest track they released in the mid-Eighties. Still, I bought the 7" single in 2009, and now here's the 12" single.

I was quite surprised at the extended mix included on this disc. It runs just over ten minutes and contains a great little jam right in the middle of the track. It's a big improvement on the mediocre single version. 

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Palace, Amsterdam, 18 January 2026
Tracks: 'Japanese lovesong (extended dance mix)' / 'Goin' on' 

Windpower - Thomas Dolby

I bought the 7" single of 'Windpower' almost twenty years ago. No wonder that the sleeve of this 12" single looked familiar, but I quickly realized that I'd never heard an extended version of the track.

The single was taken from Dolby's debut album The golden age of wireless (1982) and released on 26 July 1982.  

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Palace, Amsterdam, 18 January 2026
Tracks: 'Windpower (high power extended play)' / 'Flying North (High Altitude extended play)' 

Sloop John B - The Beach Boys

'Sloop John B' is a Bahamian folk song from Nassau. A transcription was published in 1916 by Richard Le Gallienne, and Carl Sandburg included a version in his The American Songbag in 1927. There have been many recordings of the song since the early Fifties.

In 1966, American rock band the Beach Boys recorded a folk rock adaptation that was produced and arranged by Brian Wilson and released as the second single from their album Pet Sounds. The record peaked at number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100, number 2 in the UK singles chart, and topped the charts in several other countries. It was innovative for containing an elaborate a cappella vocal section not found in other pop music of the era, and it remains one of the group's biggest hits.

My collection: 7" single no. 7922
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, 18 January 2026
Tracks: 'Sloop John B' / 'You're so good to me'

I'm the man - Joe Jackson

Joe Jackson released the album I'm the man in October 1979, just nine months after his first album Look sharp!. On his website, he explained: 'This is really Part Two of Look Sharp! – it was released less than a year later. I don't know how I even had the time to write and record a slightly more mature record, but I think it is, and the best of the first three.'

Besides the LP version, there was also a box set of five 7" singles, featuring all ten tracks of the album (one on each side), as well as a poster of the sleeve image. I was surprised to find a copy of this box set in such great condition for just 10 euros, and I bought it despite the fact that I only knew one track: the single 'It's different for girls'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7921
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, 18 January 2026
Tracks: 'On your radio' / 'The band wore blue shirts' // 'Geraldine and John' / 'Don't wanna be like that' // 'Kinda kute' / 'Amateur hour' // 'It's different for girls' / 'Get that girl' // 'I'm the man' / 'Friday'