Love games - Belle and the Devotions

'Love Games' represented the UK at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Luxembourg. The song was criticized by some for its blatant resemblance to certain Motown classics. It was a relative success, because it ended up seventh place in the Song Contest and number 11 in the UK charts.

I didn't know there was a 12" single of this track until I spotted it during a record fair. It is one of the few 12" extended versions of a Eurovision song. Even 1987's winner Johnny Logan managed to release a 12" single with just the three minute version of his winning song on it...

My collection: 12" single no. 470

Found: Record fair, Netherlands, 2003

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'Love games [extended]' / 'Rock me'

Download: here

(Feels like) Heaven - Fiction Factory

Fiction Factory were a British band, formed in the mid-1980's. Kevin Patterson, Eddie Jordan and Chic Medley were playing in a band called The Rude Boys, a skinhead ska band based in Perth, Scotland. After they left that band, they wanted to keep writing songs but were fed-up with live performances. With no name for this project, the first song Kevin and Eddie wrote for it was '(Feels Like) Heaven' in the space of roughly half a day. From a list of names that Chic had drawn up, Fiction Factory was chosen: firstly, because of the perceived falseness of the music scene and its reliance on pretty faces, the project was originally going to be fronted by nice-looking people who had nothing to do with the songwriting or performance of the music; secondly, the hope was that they would write music for themselves, other artists and maybe even films.

'(Feels like) Heaven' is one of the big pop standards of the eighties. It got to number 6 in the UK singles chart, and number 12 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 12" single no. 467

Found: ?

Cost: ?

Tracks: '(Feels like) Heaven [extended]' / 'Everyone but you', 'This is'

Download: here

Popcorn - Luminatus

'Popcorn' was always a popular track to cover. Many artists and groups have tried their hand at this instrumental track through the years, with varying success. One of my personal favourites is the 1993 cover version by Luminatus.

I found this single during a holiday in London in 1995. By then, I'd already made the resolution to buy every 'Popcorn' cover I would come across. This was one of the first I found (and bought). It was going downhill from then on, because my oh my, there have been lots of worse covers around. More about that later...

My collection: 7" single no. 2515

Found: London, October 31, 1995

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Popcorn' / 'Cryptoid'

Download: here

Sometimes you cry - Renée

René and his Alligators were founded by René Nodelijk in the sixties. Playing mainly covers of popular rock and roll tracks, they were a hit on Dutch stages. When René met Anja Exterkate in 1976, the idea of changing the band name to Renée and his Alligators was made in due time. When the band signed to CNR Records, they shortened the band name to Renée.

They released several albums and singles between 1978 and 1983, and 'Sometimes you cry' was the last one to reach the Tipparade, the 'bubbling under' chart for the Dutch Top 40. It's an energetic, poppy track with a catchy chorus.

My collection: 7" single no. 1834

Found: Record Palace, Amsterdam, January 13, 1993

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Sometimes you cry' / 'Running out of time'

Download: here

Do you wanna hold me? - Bow wow wow

Bow wow wow's biggest hit in the Netherlands, 'Do you wanna hold me?', reached number two in the charts in the summer of 1983. It was a very positive song, the rhythm and melody in this song gave it a very upbeat sound.

Even though it fared less well in the UK (only reaching number 47 there), it was the end of the band. Having become mainstream, the only option for a punk band was to break up. Tensions in the group were rising. Suffering from illness and exhaustion after touring the USA intensively, they went their separate ways.

My collection: 7" single no. 1578
Found: All that music, Leiden, January 25, 1993
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Do you wanna hold me?' / 'What's the time (Hey Buddy)'
Download: Album 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going', including both tracks

Breakfast - The Associates

Before releasing 'Breakfast', the Associates had made their name on satellite music TV with songs like 'Waiting for the loveboat' and 'Those first impressions'. I wasn't aware of their debut hit 'Party fears two', and didn't like the two mentioned songs at all. 'Breakfast', by comparison, was a masterpiece. I loved the music of this track, strings and all.

The B-side of the single featured an extended instrumental version, and I was expecting a vocal version of that on the 12" single. What a pleasant surprise that it was actually a different extended remix! I only bought this 12" 15 years after its original release, but it was still worth it...

My collection: 12" single no. 395

Found: Record fair, Netherlands, 1999

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Breakfast [extended]' / 'Breakfast alone', 'Kites'

Download: here

Guilty - Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield will be remembered forever as the man who created 'Tubular bells', the epic instrumental piece that was bought by millions. But since that debut album, he's released dozens of albums and a large quantity of singles. Most of his tracks are instrumental, although sometimes vocalists are hired in to sing along. On 'Guilty' the lyric is limited to the words: 'I'm guilty'.

I found this 12" single in a shop in Kensington, London, and was pleasantly surprised when I saw it was pressed on lightblue vinyl. It made the record extra attractive. Come to think of it, I might never have bought it if it were a regular black record... Mind you, the long version of 'Guilty' was worth it though.

My collection: 12" single no. 432

Found: Big Company Records, London, 2004

Cost: 2,5 pounds

Tracks: 'Guilty' / 'Guilty (long version)'

Download: here

Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday - Boney M

There's nothing more appropriate than buying a single about holidays during your summer holiday. I guess that was the reasoning behind buying this single. Or it might have been that I was actually a big fan of Boney M when I was eight. Or the fact that this was the only single in the bargain bin with a picture sleeve. Or it might have been a combination of the three.

Whatever it was, it's one of Boney M's big hits. It was number one in the Netherlands and number three in the UK. Frank Farian was still the king of pop music and Bobby Farrell and his three girls were stupidly popular. Life was sunny.

My collection: 7" single no. 17

Found: London, 1979

Cost: 10p

Tracks: 'Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday' / 'Ribbons of blue'

Download: Album 'Best in Spain', including both tracks

Feel the raindrops - The Adventures

The Adventures released their debut album 'Theodore and Friends' in 1985. It featured the track 'Send my heart', as well as the earlier single 'Another silent day' and this one, 'Feel the raindrops'. All three singles were minor hits in the UK, but despite a world tour supporting Tears for fears, they didn't manage more success than that.

This 12" single is a relatively new find. I didn't pay much attention to 12" singles in 1985, apart from those released by my very favourite artists. Fortunately, a decade on, these vinyl discs kept popping up from time to time. Up for grabs!

My collection: 12" single no. 275

Found: Record fair, Netherlands, 1995

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Feel the raindrops (extended version)' / 'Nowhere near me', 'Tristesse en vitesse'

Download: here

Clouds - David Gates

David Gates is best known as the lead singer of the group Bread, which released 11 hit singles between 1970 and 1973. When Bread disbanded in 1973, fans and the music industry were very surprised. It enabled David Gates to record his debut solo album, entitled 'First'. This solo album contained a lengthy track called 'Suite: Clouds, Rain', consisting of two songs coupled together by piano instrumentals. For this single, the song 'Clouds' was edited from that suite and released on its own. In the USA, the single peaked at no. 47 in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

I got to know the album by David Gates in the early nineties, and found this single in 1995. Having never known it was released, that was quite an interesting find.

My collection: 7" single no. 2236

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, January 21, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Clouds' / 'I use the soap'

Download: here

Magic touch - Kiss

The album 'Dynasty' was a great success for Kiss, even though fans criticised them for having gone commercial. The blend of hardrock with a more 'disco' style made a big impact on a broad audience. Until then, Kiss had focused exclusively on their hardcore black leather wearing Kiss Army. I was only nine years old when 'Dynasty' was released. I had no desire to get involved in hardrock. But I did get into these scary looking individuals because of their glammed up music and their strange looks.

My collection of Kiss singles from the album 'Dynasty' was completed when I bought 'Magic touch'. The third single to be lifted from that album, it didn't do as well as its predecessors. The masked men desperately needed to come up with something new, and fortunately they did, a bit later that year.

My collection: 7" single no. 39

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Magic touch' / 'Save your love'

Download: Album 'Dynasty', including both tracks

Love letters - Alison Moyet

'Love letters' was written by Victor Young and Edward Heyman in 1945. The song was performed by various artists. The best known versions were performed by Dick Haymes (1945), Ketty Lester (1962) and Elvis Presley (1966). In 1987, Alison Moyet recorded her version. It ended up as no. 4 in the UK top 40.

The B-side of 'Love letters' was the track 'This house'. Moyet would re-record this track in 1991, and it would become a hit on its own. The original version, however, is a bit more tense and contains a great guitar solo.

My collection: 7" single no. 1103

Found: All that music, Leiden, November 11, 1989

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Love letters' / 'This house'

Download: here

Somewhere in my heart - Aztec Camera

I first discovered the track 'Somewhere in my heart' because of the cd-single that featured Aztec Camera's old hit 'Walk out to winter'. I bought the cd-single and discovered that the lead track was very good as well. Then when I spotted the 12" single a few years later, I discovered that it contained a remix version. Clocking in at 7 minutes, this truly is an extended version, and a pretty good one too.

Aztec Camera is one of those great undiscovered British bands that deserved more recognition in the charts. The cover of Van Halen's 'Jump' in a true singer/songwriter style on this 12" single is further proof of their talent.

My collection: 12" single no. 466

Found: Record exchange, London, 2004

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Somewhere in my heart (remix)' / 'Everybody is a number one (Boston '86 version)', 'Down the dip (live)', 'Jump (live)

Download: here

When the Gap Band hit the charts in 1980 with 'Oops upside your head' I found it at least an irritating song. My sister liked it, and to my disgust she actually bought the single too. To me, it was a bunch of people talking and laughing over what should be a good tune. Later in life I would learn this is the nature of hiphop - a music style I would never get into.

The next year things went just the other way around: 'Burn rubber' was a tune I really liked, while my sister couldn't understand what attracted me to this. I felt the guys had learnt to sing somewhat, and on the whole it had more of a song structure. I bought a copy of the song - obviously to my sisters disgust. My brother managed to talk me out of the custom Mercury sleeve - so now I'm stuck with a standard 'Vroom & Dreesman' sleeve for this single, manufactured at that time by the Dutch warehouse of the same name.

My collection: 7" single no. 83

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1981

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Burn rubber on me' / 'Nothin' comes to sleepers'

Download: Album 'Gap Band III', including both tracks

Danny - Kit Hain

Kit Hain made her name as one half of the duo Marshall Hain. After one album, the duo broke up and Kit Hain tried to launch a career on her own. It started well enough, with her first single 'Danny' reaching no. 27 in the Dutch Top 40 in June 1981. But after that, the hits dried up. Hain did release two albums, 'Spirits walking out' and 'School for spies', before giving up as a performing artist. However, she continued to write songs and successfully so. Her songs have been performed by Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Chaka Khan and many others.

I found this single for 1 guilder and bought it on a whim. It's a charming song, nothing spectacular but nice enough to listen to on cold evenings like today.

My collection: 7" single no. 1267

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 14, 1990

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Danny' / 'Inner ring'

Download: here

Danceable - Spectral Display

The undeniable innovative sound that was introduced by Spectral Display on their debut single 'It takes a muscle to fall in love' had disappeared when they recorded their second album 'Too much like me'. The band released two singles from this album, of which 'Danceable' was the first. As far as I know, it was the only single by Spectral Display that also appeared on 12" single. And that 12" single contained an extended version of the song.

When I bought the single, I didn't really know about this second album. It was advertised in 1983, but since none of the singles reached the charts, I didn't pay attention to them. And so I bought my copy in 2001, not really expecting much. When I bought the 12" single recently, I still didn't expect much. Such is the nature of collectors: sometimes they just buy something because it completes a part of their collection. I can now say that I own all of Spectral Display's tracks.

My collection: 7" single no. 3306 / 12" single no. 462

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001 / Record fair, Utrecht, November 22, 2008

Cost: 1 guilder / 2 euro

Tracks: 7": 'Danceable' / 'Big 5'. 12": 'Danceable (extended mix) / 'Danceable', 'Big 5'

Download: 'Danceable (extended mix)' ; Album 'Too much like me', including the two other tracks.

Magic - Olivia Newton-John

Taken from the original motion picture soundtrack of 'Xanadu' featuring Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton-John, 'Magic' is Olivia's second single from that soundtrack. The title track was a number one hit in the UK, and the third single 'Suddenly' made number 15. By comparison, 'Magic' did less well by only reaching no. 32.

It wasn't a bad track, though. Olivia's vocals are shimmering and the music is varied and melodic. I couldn't explain why it didn't do better. Personally I always liked the song and it was a nice surprise when I found the single in 1993.

My collection: 7" single no. 2053

Found: Record fair, Netherlands, November 20, 1993

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Magic' / 'Whenever you're away from me'

Download: Album 'Xanadu', including both tracks

The Angler - Gary Brooker

Gary Brooker was born on May 29, 1945 in Hackney, East London. He founded Procol Harum in 1966 with his friend Keith Reid. They are best known for their worldwide hit 'A whiter shade of pale'. The band broke up in 1977. In 1979, Brooker joined Eric Clapton's band. When Clapton fired his entire band two years later, Gary Brooker decided to record a solo album. 'Lead me to the water' was released in 1982 and contained this single, 'The angler'. Amazingly, it didn't become a hit.

I have no idea where I heard 'The angler' for the first time, all I know is that I was very impressed when I did hear it. And I was really glad to find this single cheaply shortly afterwards.

My collection: 7" single no. 933

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1989

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'The angler' / 'Badlands'

Download: here

Left in the dark - Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand can be cheesy, too mellow and even kitschy, but sometimes she manages to create something magical. With the aid of producer Jim Steinman, who made his name with Meatloaf's 'Bat out of hell' epic, she recorded 'Left in the dark' in 1984. The lyrics are still melodramatic and a bit embarrassing ('You swore you'd be with me at seven o'clock / now it's a quarter to three') but the music can't be beat. And then of course there's those trademark backing choirs...

I bought this promo 7" single from my favourite second hand record shop. It was an unusual find, since it was a promo from the UK. This promo features a version of 'Left in the dark' "without spoken intro". It still clocks in at 5'47.

My collection: 7" single no. 362

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Left in the dark (without spoken intro)' / 'Here we are at last'

Download: here

A ride in the night - Teach-In

The Dutch pop group Teach-In was formed in 1967. In the Netherlands they had their first hit 1974 with the song 'Fly away'. International fame followed one year later when they won the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm with 'Ding a dong'. Lead singer Getty Kaspers left the group one year after that, and was replaced by Betty Vermeulen and Marianne Wolsink. With these two singers the group recorded 'A ride in the night', a single that was to become the second one in my current collection.

'A ride in the night' reached number 31 in the Dutch Top 40, the lowest placing of the twelve singles by Teach-In that made it into the chart. I won't revise my record collection anymore, but if I did, this one would definitely be out...

My collection: 7" single no. 2

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1978

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'A ride in the night' / 'Wonderful feeling'

Download: here