Mag het licht uit - De Dijk

The Dutch band De Dijk has had a career of almost thirty years up until now, with only a dozen hit singles to show for it. One of them was this single, 'Mag het licht uit' ('Turn off the lights), which reached number 23 in the Dutch Top 40 in the summer of 1983.

Even if you can't understand the lyric, you can appreciate the musical buildup of this track: a slow, tense ballad which turns into a rock song midway. The fact that the lyric isn't that interesting doesn't even matter if you don't understand Dutch anyway.

My collection: 7" single no. 542
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Mag het licht uit' / 'Wat een vrouw (niet kan doen)'

Binnen zonder kloppen - De Dijk

The Amsterdam-based Dutch band De Dijk released one of their better known songs 'Binnen zonder kloppen' ('Enter without knocking') in early 1985. The single failed to chart but is remembers within the Netherlands until this day.

During the first Gulf War, the song ended up on a list of boycotted songs for radiostations, probably because of the title...

My collection: 7" sigle no. 1364
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, December 28, 1990
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Binnen zonder kloppen' / 'Wat nog meer'

Bloedend hart - De Dijk

The Dutch band De Dijk ('The Dike') released the single 'Bloedend hart' ('Bleeding heart') in the summer of 1982. The amusing tale of the Christian broadcaster NCRV always stuck with me: they took offence to the line 'Ik kijk wat door de ramen / en ik krab wat aan mijn kont' ('I'm looking through the windows / and I'm scratching my ass') and through some clever manipulation they managed to change the line to '...en ik krab wat aan mijn hond' ('...and I'm scratching my dog'). Personally, I think scratching your dog is a lot nastier than scratching your own ass.

This minor controversy didn't help the single: it failed to reach the Dutch Top 40 when it was released.

My collection: 7" single no. 158
Found: Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Bloedend hart' / 'Geldgebrek en rock & roll'