Built for the future - The Fixx

For many years, the Fixx was the band that gave me Stand or fall and Red skies, two singles that ended up in my collection very quickly. Other releases ended up in here years later, and didn't achieve quite that mythical status.

I did become familiar with their album 'Walkabout' when my sister bought it on CD near the end of the Eighties, and the single Secret separation already ended up in my collection nine years ago. This one, 'Built for the future', followed recently. Arguably, the B-side track, 'Camphor', also from the album, is even better.

My collection: 7" single no. 5924
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, August 31, 2018
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Built for the future' / 'Camphor'

The world keeps turning - Heddy Lester

Heddy Lester represented the Netherlands with the song 'De Mallemolen', with a fairly depressing lyric. I wrote about that nine years ago. I didn't know back then, that there was also an English version of the song. It seems to have a more positive stance: even the title is 'The world keeps turning', which seems to offer a glimmer of hope.

Heddy recorded her song in four different languages: in Dutch, English, German and France. The latter two are very hard to come by, but who knows... as long as the world keeps turning there might be a chance for those to turn up in my collection and on this blog.

My collection: 7" single no. 5923
Found: Discogs.com, received August 28, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'The world keeps turning' / 'Never saw him laughing'

A ave e a infancia - Marie Myriam

'A ave a infancia' is the Portuguese version of 'L'oiseau et l'enfant', the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977. I ordered a few singles from Portugal recently and this one came up as well, so I thought I might as well take it. I've always had a soft spot for Eurovision songs by the original artists in a different language.

French singer Marie Myriam is actually of Portuguese descent, so her pronunciation of this version is probably spot on. She also recorded the song in English, German and Spanish. I'm still looking for those singles...

My collection: 7" single no. 5922
Found: Discogs.com, received August 28, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'A ave e a infancia' / 'On garde toujours'

Little Julie - Peter Shelley

Taken from his album 'Girls and Places', 'Little Julie' may be a little sentimental, but this single was typical Seventies fare. Having launched Magnet Records in 1973 and Alvin Stardust's career (initially by performing as Stardust himself!), he started a career as a songwriter and performer in his own right.

His songwriting was often done in collaboration with Marty Wilde, who also penned the two songs on this disc: 'Little Julie' and 'Wisconsin'. Shelley was presented with the Ivor Novello Award in 1975 for his services to the UK music industry. However, due to differences between Magnet co-founder Michael Levy and himself, Shelley resigned from Magnet in late 1975 to pursue an independent career.

My collection: 7" single no. 5921
Found: Discogs.com, retrieved August 31, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Little Julie' / 'Wisconsin'

Du er fuld af løgn - Trax

Lise Haavik (born 23 February 1962) is a Danish/Norwegian singer, best known for representing Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest in Bergen, Norway in 1986. She is also well-known domestically for her partnership in the duo Trax with John Hatting, her ex-husband. While they were both on the Eurovision stage, only Lise Haavik was credited as she was the only one who sang. Still, this single release is credited to Trax.

The song was successful in the Contest, placing sixth out of 20 entries that evening. This would be the only time Haavik would appear at Eurovision, having tried and failed to represent Denmark in 1984 and 1985. She also made an attempt to represent Norway in 1988.

My collection: 7" single no. 5919
Found: Discogs.com, received August 16, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Du er fuld af løgn' / 'Du er fuld af løgn (instrumental)'

Once we might have known - Cock Robin

Not content with just the promo 7" single I bought two months ago, I was happy to find the commercially released single of Cock Robin's 'Once we might have known' recently. I didn't actually expect to find it this quickly, but with online ordering you have to be smart about orders: I got a few from these sellers and then one extra disc doesn't matter much for shipping.

This commercial 7" features a B-side, the album version of 'More than willing'. It might be a little underwhelming, but I still think it's a nice addition to my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 5920
Found: Discogs.com, received August 16, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Once we might have known' / 'More than willing'

More than words can say - Mel & Kim

Mel & Kim are best known for their four singles released in 1987 and 1988, from Showing out to That's the way it is. It may come as a surprise that another single saw the light of day in 1989. It was this one, 'More than words can say', a track taken from their debut (and only) album. It was released in Scandinavia to support the release of 'Something Special', an album that was also released in only a few countries. 'Something Special' brought together a selection of remixes, and this single was apparently released to promote that compilation album.

I didn't know all this until a few years ago, but the single, rare as it is, is pretty hard to find. I was pleasantly surprised recently when a copy popped up in the collection of a Danish seller on Discogs.com, so I snapped it up immediately (along with a few other singles).

My collection: 7" single no. 5916
Found: Discogs.com, received August 16, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'More than words can say' / 'You changed my life'

N'oublie pas - Mylene Farmer & LP

For the first time in a long time, Mylene Farmer has released a single on the 7" vinyl format. I thought the last one was Que mon coeur lâche, but to my dismay I just found out that her 2013 single 'Je te dis tout' was also released on 7" vinyl - as a limited edition picture disc.

Anyway, the new single 'N'oublie pas' was released last Friday on CD-single and 7" vinyl. It is a decent song, and a duet with a certain LP. I'd never heard of her. Full name: Laura Pergolizzi, an American singer from Italian descent with a less than pleasant voice. The single was a no. 1 hit in France upon its release, of course, because Mylene Farmer hasn't stopped being a superstar over there.

My collection: 7" single no. 5915
Found: Fnac.com, received August 14, 2018
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'N'oublie pas' / 'N'oublie pas (instrumental)'

Sister paradise - Time Bandits

'Sister paradise' was the Time Bandits' second single, but it wasn't as successful as their debut single, 'Live it up'. The 12" single, shown here, featured the full length version of the track, which was also found on their debut album, released some time after this single. It does sound a lot like an extended remix, with the instrumental part in the second half of the track.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received August 11, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Sister paradise' / 'Cues part 2'

Burn it up (Mr. DJ) - Risqué

Valapucci (real name: Mike Wilkinson) was the head of programming and president of 'Disconet', which was a remix service for DJ's in America. He created the remix of 'Burn it up (Mr. DJ)' that was released on this 12" single. The remix was originally found on Disconet volume 6 program 2, but apparently Polydor (Risqué's record company) was so impressed with it, they released it as a 12" single in its own right.

Next to the original extended version of 7 minutes, this 12" single also features a vocal and dub version, also created by Valapucci. And it has to be said: this remix improves on the original track quite a bit.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received August 11, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Burn it up (Mr. DJ) (Club mix)' / 'Burn it up (Mr. DJ) (Vocal)', 'Burn it up (Mr. DJ) (dub)'

Wildfire - Time Bandits

Here's another American 12" single from the Time Bandits. You can't say that the record company didn't try: this release is from 1988, when the band was all but finished in the Netherlands. 'Wildfire' didn't make the Dutch Top 40 when it was released in 1987, and no further singles made it into the charts.

'Wildfire' was produced by Dan Hartman, and the remixes on this disc were made by John Potoker. Perhaps this is why Columbia felt that this single would be successful in the USA - but it wasn't. Still, I quite like these remixes.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received August 16, 2017
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'Wildfire (extended)' / 'Wildfire (dub)', 'Wildfire (instrumental)'

Dancing on a string - Time Bandits

Not one, but two different extended remixes exist of Time Bandits' 1986 single 'Dancing on a string'. The 12" single I featured last year had a remix by Ben Liebrand, a big name in the remix world, but this one, created for the American market and released by Columbia in the USA, features a slightly shorter extended remix by Michael Brauer.

One has to wonder whether it is the same Michael Brauer who got so much acclaim recently for his work with Coldplay - but this remix, being 30 years old, could be from a namesake. Fact is, I just don't know.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 August 2017
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'Dancing on a string (extended version)' / 'Dancing on a string (single version)', 'Dancing on a string (dub version)'

Crystal wave - Beloved

A 8'54 version of 'Crystal wave' appears on the Beloved's 1996 album 'X', but this 12" single, released that same year, features a longer version. Adding a further three minutes or so, it resembles the album version but adds more beats and sounds. It is a rather anonymous dance track with no vocals or lyrics. Despite this 'hard' sound, I do like the track but I could understand if anyone didn't. After all, this is the kind of stuff that is played (loudly) in clubs and usually combined with a heavy dose of pills or other weird drugs. Usually I'm not into this kind of stuff, but I just can't resist any Beloved track.

The other side of this 12" is empty. So you only get one track, but at least it's a long one.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received August 2016
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Crystal wave'

Hand me down love - Mike Huff

It is safe to assume that Mike Huff is a South African singer, since nothing can be found online about this performer. All I could find out is that he released two singles on the South African Satbel label: 'I can't wait to dream' and this single, 'Hand me down love' - both in 1976.

The B-side of this single is what got my attention: it's a cover version of the song 'Come back and love me' - and that, of course, was released in 1975 by Shannon. And Shannon was the nickname of Marty Wilde, who hoped to have a chart success with that song. A very obscure cover version of that song, then, ordered directly from South Africa. It was send to me on July 2, and it arrived.... today. You'd think that even the mail could be faster in this day and age, but no.

My collection: 7" single no. 5913
Found: Discogs, received August 10, 2018
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'Hand me down love' / 'Come back and love me'

Any trick - Breathe

Breathe also released 'Any trick' from their debut album. It was remixed by Mike Ging and dubbed the 'Like a monkey radio mix'. The remix didn't help the fortunes of this single release: it did not trouble the UK charts.

If you dislike the sleek, polished sound of Breathe, you should check out the B-side of this single: it's a great dub mix that was not originally an album track. The 2013 re-release of Breathe's debut album 'All that jazz' does include the track - but then, that double CD edition collects virtually everything that was released by the band at that time.

My collection: 7" single no. 5912
Found: 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Any trick (Like a monkey radio mix)' / 'Make it funky'

Jonah - Breathe

Another release from Breathe's debut album was this single, 'Jonah'. Originally released as the band's third single, it didn't do much in the charts. After the impressive chart success of 'Hands to heaven', this single was re-released in a new poster sleeve. The record company probably hoped the song would do better the second time around.

Well, it did, sort of. This time the single reached number 60 in the UK singles chart. That was still not a great success, but history would prove that it was the fourth best chart placing in the UK for them. Later singles 'How can I fall' and 'Don't tell me lies' (another re-release) reached number 48 and 45 respectively.

My collection: 7" single no. 5911
Found: 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Jonah' / 'Liberties of love'

Hits EP - Clive Allen Orchestra & Singers

Another Hits EP by the Clive Allen Orchestra & Singers, and another Marty Wilde composition on this one: Lulu's 'I'm a tiger'. Perhaps the most extraordinary track on this EP is 'Lily the pink', a track originally performed by the UK comedy group The Scaffold. It is a modernisation of an older folk song titled 'The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham'. The lyrics celebrate the 'medicinal compound' invented by Lily the Pink, and chronicle the "efficacious" cures it has brought about, such as inducing morbid obesity to cure a weak appetite, or bringing about a sex change as a remedy for freckles.

Among the covers on this EP are also 'This old heart of mine', a hit for the Isley Brothers and 'Elenore', originally by the Turtles.

My collection: 7" single no. 5876
Found: Discogs.com, received November 8, 2017
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'This old heart of mine', 'Elenore', 'If I knew then what I know now' / 'Mexico', 'I'm a tiger', 'Lily the pink'

Hits EP - Clive Allan Orchestra & Singers

Back in the 1960s, it was a profitable business to release 'Hits EP's' performed by anonymous performers. Singles were selling fast but with six hits on them instead of just one, people tended to choose these EP's over normal singles. It was way before hits compilations like 'Now this is music' flooded the music shops.

The Clive Allan Orchestra & Singers were successful performers on such EP's. They released quite a few of them, and this is an example. Why I bought this EP? Obviously for the cover version of Status Quo's 'Ice in the sun', a song penned by Marty Wilde. But the cover versions of 'Light my fire' and 'With a little help from my friends' are nice bonuses.

My collection: 7" single no. 5875
Found: Discogs.com, received November 8, 2017
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'A day without love', 'Ice in the sun', 'Light my fire' / 'Wreck of the Antoinette', 'M'lady', 'With a little help from my friends'

Lisa Mona Lisa - Wilfried

I got to know Austrian singer Wilfried pretty early on, because of a holiday in Austria in 1980. The sleeve of his album hung prominently in a shop window in the centre of Vienna, and since my brother was also named Wilfried at the time, 9-year-old me suddenly had this vision of a pop star sibling. It wasn't to be.

In 1988 Wilfried appeared in my life once again, this time representing Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Lisa Mona Lisa'. He ended up in last place with zero points. None of the other countries wanted to award points to a country that had recently elected Kurt Waldheim - a man with a shady past during World War II - as its president. Although one could argue that Wilfried's voice problems could also have been cause of this bad result.

My collection: 7" single no. 5909
Found: Discogs.com, received July 18, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Lisa Mona Lisa' / 'Lisa Mona Lisa (French version)'

Like a wind - Edin-Ådahl

Edin-Ådahl's 'Like a wind' was released as a single all over Europe in a time when Eurovision entries would be released as a single even if they didn't win. (These days you can't even buy the winning song anymore on a vinyl- or cd-single).

I already owned 'Som en vind', the Swedish single of this 1990 Eurovision entry for Sweden, but this European counterpart ditches the Swedish version for an instrumental version that is unavailable anywhere else. According to some, this version is the best because it doesn't contain any lyrics.

My collection: 7" single no. 5910
Found: Discogs.com, received July 18, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Like a wind' / 'Like a wind (instrumental)'

Down down - Status Quo

There are a few songs that are obvious candidates for a funeral: 'Shake your body down to the ground' and Status Quo's 'Down down'. I didn't have the latter yet, so I was glad to finally find a copy recently.


Written by Francis Rossi and Bob Young and produced by Status Quo, it was Status Quo's only number 1 single in the UK singles chart. The single spent a week at the top of the chart in January 1975. The album version lasts 5 minutes and 24 seconds and the single version 3 minutes and 49 seconds.

My collection: 7" single no. 5905
Found: Voorburg, April 27, 2018
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Down down' / 'Nightride'

Ooh aah... Just a little bit - Gina G

Last year I bought a copy of Ooh aah... Just a little bit on vinyl. It was the jukebox copy presumably from the UK. When I found out about that version, I also found out about this American pressing. Normally I wouldn't collect just any old artist's different pressings of the same single, but this single actually contains a different track. The 'Eurovision Song Contest version' appears on the B-side instead of the 'Motiv8 extended vocal mix'.

Of course, this is also a Eurovision single and Eurovision singles have a special place in my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 5907
Found: Discogs.com, received July 4, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Ooh aah… Just a little bit (Motiv8 radio edit)' / 'Ooh aah… Just a little bit (Eurovision Song Contest version)'

Thunderchild - Jeff Wayne

Two weeks ago I went to a Dutch theatre production of Jeff Wayne's 'War of the Worlds', the legendary soundtrack-without-a-film, retelling the H.G. Wells story in music. It was a pretty good performance despite the lack of spectacular effects. It inspired me to re-inspect my collection of 'War of the worlds' singles. It turned out that one single was still missing.

Mind you, I do have the biggest hits, 'The eve of the war', 'Forever autumn' and even 'Brave new world' - you can find them all here - but 'Thunderchild' was also released as a single and I didn't have that one yet. I quickly ordered my copy and now I have it. It's an interesting single version too!

My collection: 7" single no. 5906
Found: Discogs.com, received June 27, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Thunderchild' / 'Dead London'

Once we might have known - Cock Robin

Cock Robin became very successful in Europe when they released 'The promise you made' - a number 1 hit in the Netherlands. Other singles didn't fare as well, but I still have a pretty complete collection of their singles and albums nonetheless.

This one, however, was missing. It was a single that only appeared in the USA. There are two versions: the commercial 7" single, and this promotional 7" single. This single features the single edit of 'Once we might have known' on both sides. It is a nice song, but not the best track from the band's debut album.

My collection: 7" single no. 5905
Found: Discogs.com, received June 22, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Once we might have known' / 'Once we might have known'

Golden boy - Kylie

A surprise find during the record fair last Saturday. A dealer specialized in hardrock had a box of Record Store Day releases, and among a lot of very loud stuff, there was this single called 'Golden boy' by a certain Kylie. The dealer had little faith that he could sell this one, as the price had gone down from ten euros to a mere six.

The single confused me, because I'd never heard of a track called 'Golden boy' before. I looked it up online and it turns out this single represents the only physical release of that track. I was pretty chuffed to find this single, even if I didn't know about its existence. It was released in 2014, just after the album 'Kiss me once', in a limiited run of a 1000 copies. The B-side contains an etching, but no music.

My collection: 7" single no. 5904
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 6 euro
Track: 'Golden boy'

Tear up this town - Keane

Keane's most recent single release was 'Tear up this town', a track for the feature film 'A monster calls'. This picture disc single was released on Record Store Day in 2017, a few months after its digital release in September 2016. The picture disc only has one track; the B-side is blank.

It looks like this single is the last one Keane has released, as they went their separate ways. Singer Tom Chaplin went solo, while Tim Rice-Oxley started the project Mt. Desolation together with fellow Keane band member Jesse Quin.

My collection: 7" single no. 5903
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 8 euro
Track: 'Tear up this town'

Boom bang-a-bang (spanish version) - Lulu

In 1969, four artists won the Eurovision Song Contest. This was due to there being not enough rules in case of a draw. Since then, the rules - and the voting system! - have changed so this is not likely to ever happen again.

One of the winners that year was Lulu with her song 'Boom bang-a-bang'. Such was the success, that she recorded the song in German, Italian, French and Spanish. Wikipedia casts some doubts about the existance of a Spanish version sung by Lulu, but I think the listener has to decide whether this is Lulu or not. She certainly pronounces her Spanish very bueno!

My collection: 7" single no. 5901
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Boom bang-a-bang (cantado en espanol)' / 'Morning dew'

Jesus he knows me - Genesis

Genesis had a good run of hit singles after the release of 'We can't dance', their last album with Phil Collins. The album was a far cry from their experimental-folkrock-psych beginnings, sounding more poppier than they ever had.

'Jesus he knows me' was the fourth single from the album, a satire of televangelism as performed by people like Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton and Jim Bakker. It was a hit in most countries where it was released, peaking at number 20 in the UK, number 23 in the USA and number 11 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 5900
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Jesus he knows me' / 'Hearts on fire'

C30 C60 C90 go - Bow wow wow

This is the debut single of Bow wow wow, released in July 1980. Initially it was only released as a cassette single (the world's first ever cassette single, in fact), but a few weeks later this single appeared. With a black label and the lyrics of the song on the sleeve it was an attractive design but pretty anonymous.Who were these people?

The band was put together by Malcolm McLaren, after persuading Matthew Ashman, David Barbarossa and Leigh Gorman to leave Adam & the Ants. 13-year-old Annabella Lwin was recruited as the band's singer. The band's debut single reached number 34 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5899
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'C30 C60 C90 go' / 'Sun sea and piracy'

Fall at your feet - Crowded House

Crowded House have consistently released great singles throughout their career. I never became interested in their albums, but those singles stand the test of time. A recent discovery was 'Fall at your feet', a song which I ignored when it was released, but when I heard it on Kim Wilde's radio show recently it struck me as a beautiful song with a beautiful melody.

The song was taken from the band's 1991 album 'Woodface'. It peaked at number 17 in the UK. The B-side of this single is the earlier hit 'Don't dream it's over'. 'Fall at your feet' has been covered by James Blunt, English pop punk band Busted, and flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook with singer Danny Wilde.

My collection: 7" single no. 5898
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, June 14, 2018
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Fall at your feet' / 'Don't dream it's over'

Portugal no coração - Os Amigos

Now that I own pretty much all of the 'obvious' Eurovision 7" singles, I am heading towards the more obscure - and usually more expensive - releases. It is an art to spend as little as possible while also getting more and more Eurovision entries on 7" vinyl.

Who remembers the Portuguese entry from the 1977 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest? I would guess not many people do, but the sleeve of this single is a joy to watch - especially when it is in such good shape. I bought it from a Portuguese dealer at the record fair in Utrecht last Saturday, who promised more when he comes to the next edition in November. Here's hoping he'll help me find more great rarities.

'Portugal no coração' reached 14th place in the contest. The song is a ballad in praise of Portugal itself. The song is about freedom, brotherhood and hope. Many of the verses of the lyrics are acclamations of the end of the dictatorship that lasted for 48 years, and the end of the wars that the Portuguese people had been forced to fight on the African colonies by that dictatorship. It's also a love hymn from Portuguese people to their ex-colonies people, whom they had fought.

My collection: 7" single no. 5896
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Portugal no coração' / 'Cantiga de Namorar'

Falling - One-eyed Jacks

I am currently re-watching Twin Peaks, after having been consumed by the third season of this epic series last year. The story is bewildering, the music is enchanting. With Julee Cruise on vocals, 'Falling' became the soundtracks of the time, but several other acts had a go at this song and being the collector that I am, I wanted to get them as well.

So far, this single eluded me. I did find a cd-single some time ago, but to have it on vinyl is of course best. This version of 'Falling' includes a George Michael-style loop, and substandard vocals. But anyway, this is a 'nice to have'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5895
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Falling (Log Lady mix - short version)' / 'Falling (The Ronette Pulaski mix)'

Please please please let me get what I want - Dream Academy

I am pretty pleased and surprised when I find a single I never saw before of a band I know and love - and with this one it was a case of 'well, it's cheap, I may as well check it out'. Most people know the Dream Academy for their mid-Eighties hit Life in a Northern town only, but I checked out a few other singles by them and I was never disappointed.

This particular single was released in 1985, pretty soon after The Smiths released the song as a B-side to their 1984 single 'William, it was really nothing'. The single reached number 83 in the UK singles chart. A later cover version by Slow Moving Millie in 2011 was more successful: it peaked at number 31.

My collection: 7" single no. 5894
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Please please please let me get what I want' / 'In places on the run'

The right side won - What Fun!

When I hear 'The right side won' I can't help but think back to the year 1983 when my life revolved around pirate radio stations and watching music videos on television. My school results suffered, of course, but that was no big problem - or so I thought.

What Fun! was a pop/reggae group based in Haarlem, Netherlands. Within two years, the group grew rapidly in size to a total of ten members. Their single 'The right side won' was the band's biggest hit, reaching number 3 in the Dutch Top 40. The song was inspired by the Falklands war. By 1989, after a few singles and albums, What Fun! had run out of steam and the members went their separate ways, only to reform again in 2005 with five of the original members and three new ones.

My collection: 7" single no. 5786
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, January 6, 2017
Tracks: 'The right side won' / 'The right side won (instrumental)'

Strange phenomena - Kate Bush

I guess I didn't really need this 7" single by Kate Bush, but the fact that 'Strange phenomena' was never released as a single in other territories and the fact that this single came all the way from Argentina made it a bit of an irresistable purchase at last year's record fair in Utrecht. The fact that the EMI record company sleeve is in pretty good shape was another good argument to lose money for.

This single plays at 33rpm, which I guess is normal in South America - because I also have a few Brazilian singles (from other artists, mind you) that are 33rpm too. The B-side of this single is 'Wow', which of course was a single for Kate in other parts of the world.

My collection: 7" single no. 5882
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Strange phenomena' / 'Wow'

V Patek Nevolej - M. Javurek

This is an interesting one. If you were to listen to 'V Patek Nevolej', the A-side of this single, you would think I have truly lost my mind. It is a sort of country-inspired song from Czechoslovakia, released in 1984. Not too good, is it?

But, of course, I bought this single for the B-side. 'At zivot ma svuj dej' is still sung in the Czech language, by Jirina Urbanova this time, but it is actually a cover version of Kim Wilde's 'Cambodia'. How did I find this rare track? Thanks to Discogs.com of course - my main source of rare records these days.

My collection: 7" single no. 5890
Found: Discogs.com, January 31, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'V Patek Nevolej' (M. Javurek) / 'At zivot ma svuj dej' (J. Urbanova)

Little girl - Marty Wilde

More Marty Wilde fun with these two singles of 'Little girl'. If I am to believe the labels of these singles, they are both promotional discs. However, it probably is only the white label one that is the true promotional 7" single; the yellow label one only has a 'for demonstration use only' sticker glued onto it - a simple way to change a commercial record into a 'rare' promotional one.

Anyway, these two singles were the other two of the four American 7" singles I bought in one go a few months ago, along with the two 'Bad boy' singles. Here's hoping tomorrow's record fair in Utrecht will give me a few more of these beauties.

My collection: 7" single no. 5885 & no. 5886
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 3 euro each
Tracks: 'Little girl' / 'Your seventeenth spring'

Bad boy - Marty Wilde

It doesn't happen very often that you find rare American singles you've been searching for as a bargain. But that's exactly what happened in November, when I was at the Record Fair in Utrecht. One dealer had four American singles of Marty Wilde, at just 3 euros each. What's more, they were in great condition as you can hear on this first disc. I actually found two versions of this one, with slight label variations as you can see.

'Bad boy' appeared on the US Epic label with a different B-side when compared to the UK version, featuring 'Teenage tears' instead of 'It's been nice'. In the UK, 'Teenage tears' was the B-side of Sea of love.

My collection: 7" single no. 5883 & 5884
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 3 euros each
Tracks: 'Bad boy' / 'Teenage tears'

Wildfire - Time Bandits

As mentioned before, Wildfire was the original Time Bandits' last single, released in 1987. This 12" single represents the original European 12" release - a very different 12" single was released in the United States (more about that later on this blog...). The remix on this 12" single was created by Rutger Kroese.

I bought this record as part of a bigger collection of Time Bandits 12" singles. There's a couple more to follow, so if you're a fan, stay tuned...

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Wildfire (Special Meltdown remix)' / 'Wildfire (instrumental dance mix)', 'Wildfire'

Ease the pressure - Beloved

The double 12" package of 'Ease the pressure' should have contained all the remixes of that track, you would think, but no... there were even more remixes than that. It is evidenced by this 12" single, which I bought some time ago.

This promotional only 12" single was worthwhile because it contains two remixes exceeding the 10 minute mark. But are they any good? Well, there is a hint of repetitiveness in both of them, but as with most Beloved tracks, these mixes are quite uplifting. Enjoyable club fodder, I'd say.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, August 2016
Cost: 2,5 pounds
Tracks: 'Ease the pressure (Red Nail Enhanced Club mix)' / 'Ease the pressure (Guitarapella Bonus Freaks Bass Dub)'

Wonderful life - Black

I have several singles of Black's 'Wonderful life', but when I found this one online I was a bit puzzled. The sleeve looked a bit generic and it was a Czechian pressing. Chechoslovakia - as it was known back then - wasn't known for its expansive record industry, and I wondered how this single ended up being released over there.

The mystery became even bigger after I received the single, as the B-side, 'Everything's coming up roses', sounds a bit different from the 'regular' single version. Listen to the intro and you'll know what I mean.

My collection: 7" single no. 5891
Found: Discogs.com, received January 31, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Wonderful life' / 'Everything's coming up roses'

Conquistador - Da Vinci

Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest last year with a beautiful ballad. Perhaps they should have tried this earlier, because the country rarely even got into the top 10 with their efforts. This 1989 effort by Da Vinci is an example: although it is typical Eighties fare, the song only reached number 16 during the night.The song reminisces about the former Portuguese colonial possessions worldwide, and how the singer has been to Brazil, Praia, Bissau, Angola, Mozambique, Goa, Macau and Timor.

Personally, I know the English version (featured on the B-side here) best, because it appeared on a Eurovision 1989 compilation CD. I am still trying to get all the entries on single, but some of them are selling online for upwards of 50 euro - which is a bit too rich for my blood.

My collection: 7" single no. 5989
Found: Discogs.com, received March 5, 2018
Cost: 7,5 euro
Tracks: 'Conquistador' / 'Love conquistador'

Fake - Alexander O'Neal

Here's another single I already owned - and I bought it just last year. However, I decided to get this one not only for its poster sleeve (I love poster sleeves) but also for the B-side which contains an instrumental version of the track. As luck would have it, the instrumental version is also longer than the A-side.

'Fake' reached number 33 in the UK singles chart and number 25 in the US Billboard Hot 100. In the Netherlands, the single reached number 15 during a six week chart run.

My collection: 7" single no. 5977
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Fake' / 'Fake (instrumental)'

Do it again, a little bit slower - Ricky Wilde

I already owned the Swedish single of 'Do it again, a little bit slower' since 2011, but recently I got my hands on the Portuguese version, and as you can see here, that sleeve is very different from the Swedish one. And also, not unimportant, the pressing turns out to be better too.

When you listen to the song it turns out that 'it' is simply kissing and holding, which is already a bit startling for a 12 year old, but when you listen to the flipside, Ricky promises to never get married, because he wants to 'Love around'. Whatever were dad Marty and producer Jonathan King thinking? Well, perhaps things were very different in the Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 5990
Found: Discogs.com, received March 5, 2018
Cost: 7,50 euro
Tracks: 'Do it again, a little bit slower' / 'Love around'

I'm only foolin' myself - Paul Young

According to the German press blurb included in my copy of this single, 'I'm only foolin' myself' was released on January 13, 1992. It was written by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight. The song was remixed by Michael Brauer, who previously worked with the Rolling Stones.

The single was taken from Paul's 'greatest hits' album 'From Time To Time' (1991), which was a triple platinum album in the UK. Released as that album's fourth single, it didn't get into the charts.

My collection: 7" single no. 5978
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'I'm only foolin' myself'' / 'Thinking about'

Fifth of May - Ph.D.

Although 'I won't let you down' remains their only big hit, Ph.D. did release some more singles. That much is evident from this blog already, but I found another single which I didn't know about. 'Fifth of May' was taken from the band's second album 'Is it safe?' and was apparently released in Italy only (although a promotional 7" single from the USA also exists).

The band reformed in 2009 and released a third album, appropriately titled 'Three', but that one wasn't a commercial success either.

My collection: 7" single no. 5979
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 11, 2017
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Fifth of May' / 'Johnny'

Light my fire - The Doors

It's hard to believe that the debut single of the Doors was released 50 years ago. The band has been around for such a short time - not counting their post-Jim Morrison output - but have impressed every generation since.

This single was made this year to celebrate the band's 50th anniversary, using the Japanese single's original artwork. It is a curious release because Japanese singles didn't come in cardboard sleeves, but this remade single does. Nevertheless, this is a nice little item and I'm pretty satisfied to have picked this up during a visit to London, saving a little on the online price and a lot on postage (although obviously you could argue that a return flight to London is much more expensive. But anyway.)

My collection: 7" single no. 5874
Found: Fopp, London, October 27, 2017
Cost: 8 pounds
Tracks: 'Light my fire' / 'The crystal ship'

Silly love songs - Wings

Recorded on January 16, 1976, 'Silly love songs' was a song written as a rebuttal to music critics who criticized Paul McCartney for writing lightweight love songs. According to McCartney, "The song was, in a way, to answer people who just accuse me of being soppy. The nice payoff now is that a lot of the people I meet who are at the age where they've just got a couple of kids and have grown up a bit, settling down, they'll say to me, "I thought you were really soppy for years, but I get it now! I see what you were doing!""

The single was released in April and reached number 2 in the UK and number 1 in the USA. The label of this single mentions 'Wings at the speed of sound', which is of course the album from which it was taken.

My collection: 7" single no. 5872
Found: Record exchange, Greenwich, London, October 27, 2017
Cost: 25p
Tracks: 'Silly love songs' / 'Cook of the house'