Happy New Year - Abba

Just like last year, the last entry in my bl
og for this year has to be 'Happy New Year' by Abba. They stayed true to their tradition of re-releasing the single in December. This time they opted for a black sleeve and a zoetrope picture disc. This edition was limited to 4500 copies. I was happy to order one right when it was first announced, so I didn't have to miss it. 

It's funny how the record company comes up with new ways to sell this single. In the past, there have been picture discs, silver and gold vinyl variations. I would propose a version with a poster sleeve and one with a gatefold sleeve in the future. Perhaps a double single? A single with a double groove? I have lots of ideas.

My collection: 7" single no. 7902
Found: Platenzaak.nl, received 6 December 2025
Tracks: 'Happy New Year' / 'Felicidad' 

 

Under attack - Abba

Just before the end of this year I succeeded in putting all the Abba singles I didn't post on this blog yet, although I've had them in my collection for quite some time. And the last one to post is also the last single they ever released - or so we thought - in 1982. 

'Under attack' was recorded for an album that never came, but it did end up in the compilation album The Singles - The first ten years. Different countries had different sleeves for this one. The most colourful one came from Germany. I bought it during my final visit to All That Music in Leiden in 2010. At the time the shop was closing down, and I was lucky enough to buy 52 singles during their final sale.

The French edition followed more recently, in 2022. I bought it online as part of a package that included some Eurovision singles. You would never guess it, but the seller was French.

My collection: 7" single no. 4687 / no. 6764
Found: All that music, Leiden, 13 March 2010 / Discogs.com, received 13 August 2022 
Tracks: 'Under attack' / 'You owe me one'

The day before you came - Abba

For those who knew Abba mainly for their upbeat songs like 'Waterloo', 'Dancing queen' and 'Mamma mia', it would have been a shock to hear 'The day before you came' for the first time. The moody, wistful track took most people offguard and because of the fact that the Seventies had turned into the Eighties, the overpowering popularity of Abba was starting to crumble. 

Still, 'The day before you came' is an epic track, and stands apart as one of my most favourite songs of the quartet. It is strange that I never bothered to buy other pressings of the single than the one I bought in 1982, but this year I corrected that by buying the UK edition of the single. The front cover isn't different this time, although the back cover definitely is - it says 'Taken from the double LP/Cassette ABBA - The Singles AVAILABLE SOON' under the same photograph that was used at the front. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7837
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 30 October 2025
Tracks: 'The day before you came' / 'Cassandra' 

One of us - Abba

In the UK, 'One of us' was released as a regular 7" single and as a picture disc. Although the picture disc of 'One of us' in the UK featured the men of Abba on the A-side, the front sleeve of the regular edition showed Frida and Agnetha. 

Whereas the sleeve used in most countries repeated the album cover photo, Epic Records wanted a different image for the British release and used separate photos of the group members together with a large ABBA logo. The photos were actually out-of-date, as Frida was depicted still with her frizzy perm, while Björn was beardless. 

It's worth listening to the B-side of this single, as it includes a spoken count-in (in Swedish) from Benny. This count-in appeared on the British and South African releases, but not internationally. The master tapes supplied to Epic contained the error, but were not picked up in time, and so appeared on the single release. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7181
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 April 2024
Tracks: 'One of us' / 'Should I laugh or cry' 

Super trouper - Abba

The single 'Super trouper' was featured on this blog a long time ago. It was the Dutch pressing, with I think the most perfect cover. The photograph wasn't obscured by any record company logo. 

In the case of the German and Austrian versions, the cover only differs because of that record company logo. You can compare them here. 

I bought the German version a long time ago at a record fair, when I had just bought the cd-singles box set, and decided I wanted to have their 7" counterparts (as the cd-single sleeves were all based on the German 7" single sleeves). 

The Austrian version joined my collection a few years later, during a visit to Vienna. I took the opportunity to buy a few Austrian pressings of Abba singles, because at the time I didn't have any Austrian 7" singles in my collection! 

My collection: 7" single no. 4318 / no. 5862
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 21 November 2009 / Teuchtler, Vienna, 25 September 2017
Tracks: 'Super trouper' / 'The piper'

Summer night city - Abba

The recording sessions for 'Summer night city' began in early 1978. The new recording studio, Polar Music, had opened in May 1978, but it wasn't ready to use, so the primary backing track had been recorded at Metronome Studio. Allegedly, mixing the single took at least a week, far more than it took to mix any other track in ABBA's recording history. In the end, the song had an enormous amount of compression applied to it to give it a more "driving" sound.

The Hungarian edition of the single has a sleeve with glossier paper than its Western European counterparts. The photographs of the band members are much clearer on this sleeve than on any other edition.

My collection: 7" single no. 5891
Found: Discogs.com, received on 31 January 2018 
Tracks: 'Summer night city' / 'Medley: Pick a bale of cotton / On top of old Smokey / Midnight special'

Dancing queen - Abba

'Dancing queen' was released in 1976 with a photograph of the members of Abba wearing hats. The photograph was used in most territories, but the sleeve design was different in almost every country. The Swedish version (which I don't have yet) was the most straightforward one, with the photograph splashed across the front, but in other countries the record companies wanted some fancy borders.

Take for instance the German version, with its orange border and the logo of the band taking centre stage. Or the French one, where the title of the song takes up almost half of the front sleeve.  

Some people will think I'm mad for collecting all these different sleeves, but I quite enjoy watching them. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7608 / no. 7609
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 March 2025
Tracks: 'Dancing queen' / 'That's me' 

Does your mother know - Abba

Although 'Does your mother know' was one of Abba's big hits, I never really connected with the song. As a result, I only had one copy of the single for a long time, until I started collecting more pressings of Abba singles quite recently. 

Earlier this year I found the French pressing of 'Does your mother know'. The sleeve is slightly different from other versions, because it doesn't announce the new album Voulez-Vous on the front cover and because the back cover is the standard template that the Vogue label used for their singles. This made it a nice addition to my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 7836
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 30 October 2025
Tracks: 'Does your mother know' / 'Kisses of fire' 

Tell me tomorrow - Princess

When I bought the pink vinyl version of 'Tell me tomorrow' online from a Danish dealer, he also had the blue vinyl version on offer. It was only logical that I would buy that one too, because it would only leave the white vinyl version for me to find. 

Next year the white vinyl version will undoubtedly arrive too, and that will complete the quartet. That's something to look forward to in 2026, I guess.

My collection: 7" single no. 7893
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 November 2025
Tracks: 'Tell me tomorrow' / 'Say I'm your number one (original demo)' 

Tell me tomorrow - Princess

When I bought 'Tell me tomorrow' on yellow vinyl last month, I announced that the song would likely be featured a few more times on this blog, because the single was released in multiple colours of vinyl.

So here we are, with the pink vinyl edition of 'Tell me tomorrow'. While I found the yellow vinyl version at a record fair, I ordered this version online, just because I could. It was part of a larger order which included seven singles and a cd. The dealer was based in Denmark, which makes it rather surprising that he had this UK pressing of the single on offer.

My collection: 7" single no. 7892
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 November 2025
Tracks: 'Tell me tomorrow' / 'Say I'm your number one (original demo)' 

It's called a heart - Depeche Mode

'It's called a heart' was released in september 1985 as a single from the compilation album Singles 81 - 85, which was called Catching up with Depeche Mode in the USA. 

Band member Alan Wilder disagreed with releasing 'It's called a heart', instead suggesting that the song 'Fly on the windscreen' would be a superior choice. He said: 'I felt ['It's called a heart'] was really going backwards, it was so poppy and trite.' However, the rest of the band outvoted Wilder, and 'Fly on the windscreen' was released as the single's B-side. A year later, singer Dave Gahan admitted that 'It's called a heart' was a poor choice, and the band remixed and added 'Fly on the windscreen' to their next studio album, Black celebration. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7756
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 6 September 2025
Tracks: 'It's called a heart' / 'Fly on the windscreen' 

Get the balance right - Depeche Mode

My obsession with red vinyl editions of early Depeche Mode singles was a new one this year, and just before the year ends I need to enter the two remaining purchases of that subcollection. 

'Get the balance right' was a unique single for the band, because it wasn't included on any album (except obviously compilation albums that were released a few years later). For the first time the new band member Alan Wilder was involved in the recording process. 'Get the balance right' was not included on Depeche Mode's following album, Construction time again (1983), because the band felt that there was little in common with the songs and sound of their newer material. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7754
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 6 September 2025
Tracks: 'Get the balance right' / 'The great outdoors' 

Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord - Boney M

I have a few different versions of this single, all of them bought at the same place in 2019. But this French version approaches the design differently, which made it interesting for me to buy this one as well. It was a steal, anyway, at just 1 euro.

Contrary to the different versions released in the Netherlands and Germany, this version comes with a dark blue background, while most of the design remains the same. The Christmas song on the A-side remains a yuletide classic, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 7889
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Mary's boy child / Oh my Lord' / 'Dancing in the streets'

Xmas - Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue seems to be one of the hardest working women in the music business, with a successful album Tension to her name, followed by an equally successful Tension II last year and now this Christmas single. She got the UK Christmas number one with this last weekend, and that seems well deserved. 

Unfortunately I have to say that whoever designed the sleeve of this single deserves to be slapped on the wrists for a day or two. It's quite possibly the ugliest christmas single sleeve design I've ever seen. As for the song, it's a catchy tune, perhaps not entirely in tune with most of the Christmas repertoire you'd hear in December - and personally I prefer the B-side. But I've always had a different taste to most people, of course. The gold-coloured vinyl is a nice touch!

My collection: 7" single no. 7909
Found: Kylie webstore, received 23 December 2025
Tracks: 'Xmas' / 'Office party'

Hij was maar 'n neger - Zangeres zonder naam

'Hij was maar 'n neger' was written by Johnny Hoes with lyrics by Fred van Dam. The song, which opposes racism, is a modern take on the Christmas story and tells the story of a black man who is not allowed anywhere because he is black. The title could cause offense these days, especially when people don't care to listen to the entire song. 

The sleeve of this single proclaims that the song was performed by 'Mary', but the label mentions 'Zangeres zonder naam' ('Singer without a name'), which is the name Mary Servaes would use throughout her career. The single has become a rarity, so it was especially pleasing to finally find a copy of it earlier this year.

My collection: 7" single no. 7610
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 March 2025
Tracks: 'Hij was maar 'n neger' / 'Het kerstkindje wilden ze zien' 

It's gonna be a cold cold Christmas - Dana

Dana was the sweet innocent Irish singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970 with 'All kinds of everything'. In 1977 she released 'Fairytale', the song I remember from my childhood and which I bought back in 1992. 

In between, there was this seasonal hit: the wistful 'It's gonna be a cold cold Christmas'. When I say 'hit', I don't mean in the Netherlands, because the single didn't chart over here. But in the UK it reached number 4. Dana went on to become a politician in Ireland, saying all kinds of unfortunate things about abortion. She was also vocal for her opposition to divorce and same sex marriage, along with a Eurosceptic line on the EU. She may have a good singing voice, but I'd rather she'd keep her mouth shut to be honest.

My collection: 7" single no. 7612
Found: Discogs.com, 17 March 2025
Tracks: 'It's gonna be a cold cold Christmas' / 'The goodbye song' 

Love in itself - Depeche Mode

While Depeche Mode are releasing yet another live album (with four new studio tracks, unfortunately, because that means I will have to buy it!) I am going back to almost the beginning of the band's singles output. 

'Love in itself' came out in 1983 and as per usual the Germans were treated to a red vinyl version. This is one of their finest singles, because not only is the A-side very good, the B-side is almost as catchy as their best work during this period. Their music would turn out much darker in the second half of the Eighties.

My collection: 7" single no. 7755
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 6 September 2025
Tracks: 'Love in itself' / 'Fools' 

Komm, komm, komm - Monique Melsen

How do you translate a song called 'Pomme, pomme, pomme' into German? German producer and songwriter Fred Wyrich came up with 'Komm, komm, komm', and wrote the lyric for this Eurovision song for the German market.

Monique Melsen performed her song at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 for Luxembourg, with medium success. She could have scored higher if she hadn't worn a red blouse, red stockings and rather strange dungarees, I think.

My collection: 7" single no. 7903
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 December 2025
Tracks: 'Komm, komm, komm' / 'Fa-fa-fa' 

Wake me early in the morning - Mary Roos

In 1972 Mary Roos represented Germany during the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Nur die Liebe lässt uns leben'. She also recorded the song in English. The song 'Wake me early in the morning' is contained on this single, along with a B-side that is also translated. 

I bought the French version 'Nous' just a month ago, and it's funny how the singles of these two versions are housed in sleeves with a similar design - but with totally different photographs. This is the kind of thing I really like about having a physical collection, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 7904
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 December 2025 
Tracks: 'Wake me early in the morning' / 'When you're singing (don't forget)'

Det' lige det - Hot Eyes

There's something decidedly camp about the Danish entries for the Eurovision Song Contest during the Eighties, and the epitome of that was the duo Kirsten & Søren, known internationally as 'Hot Eyes' (also a very dodgy name). I remember I didn't like their songs at all back then, but with age comes a lot of longing for the past, I guess.

'Det' lige det' isn't necessarily a very good song, but the fact that the duo decided to record multiple versions shows attitude. I already owned the single with the English version on the B-side, and now here's the one with the German version on the B-side. The sleeve is almost identical, so I was quite lucky not to scroll past it online when I bought this.

My collection: 7" single no. 7905
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 December 2025
Tracks: 'Det' lige det' / 'Mit dir will ich zusammen sein'