Luka - Suzanne Vega

'Luka' was released as the second single from Suzanne Vega's second album 'Solitude standing' in early 1987. It remains her highest-charting hit in the United States, peaking at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. This song was one of the earliest to deal with child abuse and domestic violence.

The single reached number 23 in the UK singles chart and number 26 in the Dutch Top 40. The song was later covered by the Lemonheads, British indie group Easyworld and Chinese singer Olivia Ong.

My collection: 7" single no. 5232
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 19, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Luka' / 'Straight lines (live)'

Luka - Suzanne Vega

'Luka' was a track on Suzanne Vega's second album 'Solitude standing'. It was released as a single in May 1987. The song was one of the earliest about the subject of child abuse and domestic violence.

The single reached number 23 in the UK singles chart, number 26 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it her biggest hit in the USA. This 10" single features two live track on the B-side, recorded at Piccadilly Theatre in London.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 1993
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Luka' / 'Straight lines (live)', 'Neighborhood girls (live)'

99.9 F - Suzanne Vega

'99.9F°' was the title track of Suzanne Vega's 1992 album, which was subsequently released as a single as the album's second single. My copy of the single comes from the music library of Capital radio, as the large sticker on the front clearly indicates.

It's interesting to note that the highest chart position is also noted on this sticker: number 57. However, this is incorrect: the single made it to number 46 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2206
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, October 8, 1994
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: '99.9F°' / 'Tom's diner (live)'

Tired of sleeping - Suzanne Vega

Although I was not impressed with Suzanne Vega's initial material ('Marlene on the wall' bored me to tears) her later work was quite great. Her third album 'Days of open hand' (1990) contained the first single by her I ever bought: 'Tired of sleeping'. With slow, slightly seductive vocals and a beautiful melody, this song landed right in my list of favourites of the year.

My opinion went in against the general opinion at the time: the single did not chart in most territories.

My collection: 7" single no. 1351
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, October 28, 1990
Cost: 7 guilders
Tracks: 'Tired of sleeping' / 'These whole girls (Run in grace)'

Tom's diner - DNA featuring Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega originally wrote 'Tom's diner' as an acapella song in 1981. It was released on her album 'Solitude standing' in 1987. The acapalla track was then used by two British record producers in 1990 to create the DNA remix of 'Tom's diner' without Vega's permission. Rather than sue them, record company A&M decided to buy the track and release it as a single. It was a wise move: this version reached number 1 in Austria and Germany, and went top 10 almost everywhere else. A year later, Vega released 'Tom's album', a compilation of different versions of the song, in various different versions.

The original version of 'Tom's diner' (on the B-side of this single) was used by Karlheinz Brandenburg to develop the audio compression scheme known as MP3. He recalled: 'I was ready to fine-tune my compression algorithm...somewhere down the corridor, a radio was playing 'Tom's diner'. I was electrified. I knew it would be nearly impossible to compress this warm a cappella voice.'

My collection: 7" single no. 2287
Found: May 6, 1995
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Tom's diner' (DNA featuring Suzanne Vega) / 'Tom's diner' (Suzanne Vega)

In Liverpool - Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega had a few hits under her belt when she released '99.9F°' in 1992. Personally, I think it's her best work, because it mixes the sometimes rather dull folk influences she was working with up to that point with industrial music and dance beats.

'In Liverpool', the first single taken from the album, was a beautiful ballad with a strong melody. The single only charted in the UK, but stalled at number 52.

My collection: 7" single no. 2693
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, July 3, 1996
Cost: 1,5 pounds
Tracks: 'In Liverpool' / 'Some journey (live)'