It ain't easy / Give up your guns - Ritty McGarrety

You'd be forgiven if you've never heard of Ritty McGarrety - I hadn't either. It was purely by chance that I saw this single and decided to buy it, based on one of the titles on this sleeve. 'Give up your guns' was originally recorded by the Buoys, and I absolutely love that song. So I was quite curious what this person had made of it. 

It turns out that Ritty was actually named Ritty van Straalen. He was a Dutch drummer, best known for his years with the succesful Utrecht-based band, Continental Uptight Band. He released a couple of solo singles and 'Give up your guns' was one of them, scraping into the Tipparade, just outside of the Dutch Top 40. Quite why the song appears on this 'maxi single' remains unknown, although the record company probably wanted to profit from its near-hit status. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7693
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'It ain't easy' / 'Give up your guns', 'Please, look back'