Message to my girl - Split Enz

The band Split Enz formed in 1971 at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in 1971. The original line-up consisted of Phil Judd, Tim Finn, Mike Chunn, Robert Gillies and Noel Crombie. Originally named 'Split Ends', they replaced the last three letters of their name with 'nz', which is the anagram for New Zealand. When Phil Judd left the band in 1977, he was replaced by Tim's brother Neil Finn, and they entered their more commercially successful new wave period.

Split Enz released 'Message to my girl' as a single in 1984. It was taken from their penultimate album 'Conflicting emotions'. It was a firm radio favourite in 1984, although it only reached number 13 in the charts in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 980

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, August 29, 1989

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Message to my girl' / 'Kia kaha'

Download: here

Coloured kisses - Martika

Martika was born as Marta Marrero on May 18, 1969 in Whittier, California. She entered showbusiness in 1982 in an uncredited role as one of the orphan girls in the 1982 motion picture 'Annie'. Her first self-titled album 'Martika' (1988) featured the successful debut single 'Toy soldiers'. In 1991 she released her second album 'Martika's kitchen', which included this single, 'Coloured kisses'.

I bought this single for one reason, and one reason only: it came in coloured vinyl. The red single was a cheap collector's item, which I bought on the basis of good experiences with some of Martika's other singles. This track is standard nineties fare: not bad, but not remarkable either.

My collection: 7" single no. 3407

Found: Record exchange, London, December 2004

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Coloured kisses' / 'Pride & prejudice'

Download: Album 'Martika's kitchen', including both tracks

Smalltown boy - Bronski Beat

'Smalltown boy' was the debut single of Bronski Beat. The song is about a gay boy who faces homophobia, loneliness and family misunderstanding. The video for the song was a powerful story of a boy - played by lead singer Jimmy Somerville - who makes friends - played by band members Larry Steinbachek and Steve Bronski - but is attacked by a gang of homophobes. A policeman brings him back to his home. He catches a train and reunites with his friends.

The song became a number one hit in the Netherlands. Some radio stations played the 12" version of the track at the time, which is how I got to know the extended version. It was such a good version that I had to have it. It was one of the first 12" singles I bought.

My collection: 12" single no. 4

Found: LP top 100, Den Haag, 1984

Cost: 14,95 guilders

Tracks: 'Smalltown boy [extended version]' / 'Infatuation', 'Memories'

Download: here

Wonderland - XTC

The single 'Wonderland' by XTC is one of those singles that went unnoticed by the general public. It didn't chart anywhere. It was a track lifted from the album 'Mummer', which featured a more pastoral sound than any of their previous work. The track was written by band member Colin Moulding and was later described by band leader Andy Partridge as one of his 'most beautiful melodies'.

I was listening to tapes recorded by my sister in the mid-eighties when I found out about this track. I didn't like it much at first listen, but repeated listening made me change my mind. More than a decade later, I ended up buying the single.

My collection: 7" single no. 2945

Found: Record fair, Leiden, January 31, 1998

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Wonderland' / 'Jump'

Download: here

Dance hall days - Wang Chung

In some circles, nothing spells 'dodgy eighties music' better than the British new wave band Wang Chung. Their biggest hit in the USA was 'Everybody have fun tonight', which contains the immortal line 'Everybody Wang Chung tonight', which earned them the accolade of the third worst song ever by Blender magazine.

'Dance hall days' was their only hit in the UK, and the video was shown endlessly on music television stations in Europe in 1984, despite its blandness.

My collection: 7" single no. 3494

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2004

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Dance hall days' / 'There is a nation'

Download: Album 'Points on the curve', including the track 'Dance hall days' / 12" single 'Dance hall days, including the track 'There is a nation'

Never gonna give you up - Rick Astley

'Never gonna give you up' was written and produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman for Rick Astley. The song was a worldwide number one hit in 1987 and 1988. The song has more recently become the center of an activity named 'Rickrolling', which involved placing misleading links redirecting to the song's video.

I didn't buy the single when it came out, because it was on the radio so often that I didn't need to hear it on record anymore. My recent acquisition of the single was just to complete a collection of Rick Astley singles: I do have them all, you know.

My collection: 7" single no. 3497

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2004

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Never gonna give you up' / 'Never gonna give you up (instrumental)'

Download: here

You can't change that - Raydio

Long before Ray Parker Jr. started irritating the world with the song 'Ghostbusters', he was a member of this funky band called Raydio. The band was formed by Parker Jr., Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight and Amell Carmichael in 1977. Their first big hit was 1978's 'Jack and Jill', which they followed up with 'You can't change that'. The funny thing is, in the Netherlands the latter was a top 10 hit, whereas it didn't even chart in the UK.

When I bought this single in 1994, I had vague memories of it playing on the radio when I was young. It's one of those tracks that you can't get tired of, no matter how often you hear it.

My collection: 7" isngle no. 2118

Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, June 11, 1994

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'You can't change that' / 'Rock on'

Download: Album 'Rock on', including both tracks

Photography - Fiat Lux

Fiat Lux had released one single on an independent label before they signed to Polydor. And 'Photography' was their first single on the Polydor label. It wasn't until the next single was released, 'Secrets', that the group reached the lower regions of the UK charts.

Contrary to what I wrote previously, Fiat Lux did release an album: the mini-lp 'Hired History'. Both tracks of this single appear on that mini-lp, as well as two other single a- and b-sides. I found 'Photography' together with a later single 'House of thorns' in 1999.

My collection: 7" single no. 3160

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 27, 1999

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Photography' / 'Aquae vitae'

Download: here

Rascal - Silver Wings

The Yugoslavian band Srebrna Krila (Silver Wings) competed in the 1988 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Mangup' ('Rascal' in English). They did rather well, ending up on sixth place, and receiving votes from 14 of the 21 competing countries.

I didn't really notice their song until years later, when a friend pointed it out to me as an interesting track. After listening to it a couple of times, I had to agree. I never expected to find a single of it, though: Yugoslavia is not known for its thriving record industry, and the war that took place not long after 1988 didn't help. But lo and behold: two years ago a single turned up. A great opportunity to own two versions of this interesting Eurovision track.

My collection: 7" single no. 3449

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 2006

Cost: 5 euro

Tracks: 'Rascal' / 'Mangup'

Download: here

If I was - Midge Ure

Midge Ure had a very successful career as lead singer with Ultravox, when he started his solo career. He'd already released 'No regrets', a cover of the Walker Brothers song, but his career really took off with this, 'If I was', the first single from his debut solo album 'The gift'. It reached number one on the UK singles chart for one week in September 1985.

The 12" extended mix of 'If I was' features an amazing instrumental break, which - as I found out later - also appears on the album version of the track, but is edited from the single version. As an extended mix, it's faithful to the tension and build of the original track.

My collection: 12" single no. 74

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1989

Cost: 4,95 guilders

Tracks: 'If I was (extended mix)' / 'Piano', 'The man who sold the world'

Download: here

Let me go - Heaven 17

Heaven 17 formed when Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware split from their earlier group Human League and formed production company British Electric Foundation (BEF). After releasing one LP they recruited their friend Glenn Gregory on vocals to form Heaven 17. 'Let me go' was their last unsuccessful single before they released 'Temptation', a song that would storm the international charts.

I boycotted Heaven 17 as part of a bitter row with my sister, spanning many years. She was putting some of my favourite artists down, and so I felt it was my duty to do the same with her favourites. When I saw Heaven 17 live as part of the Here and Now tour in 2001, I had to change my mind. 'Let me go' is my most recent Heaven 17 purchase; maybe there's more to follow.

My collection: 7" single no. 3472

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, December 11, 2008

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Let me go' / 'Let me go (instrumental)'

Download: here

Disco Duck - Rick Dees

Born Rigdon Osmond Dees III in Jacksonville, Florida on March 14, 1950, Rick Dees recorded the novelty song 'Disco Duck' in 1976, during the disco craze of the late seventies. The story within Disco Duck centers around a man at a dance party who is overcome by the urge to get up and "get down" in a duck-like manner. When the music stops he sits down, but when he decides to get up and dance again, he finds that everyone in the room is now doing his dance.

The song sold millions of copies worldwide, reaching number 4 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 6 in the UK singles chart. As a child who loved "duckies", this single was one of my favourites at a very young age. I bought it two years ago for nostalgic reasons. It's still a great disco track.

My collection: 7" single no. 3423

Found: Esbjerg (Denmark), June 17, 2006

Cost: 10 Danish crowns

Tracks: 'Disco Duck (part 1)', 'Disco Duck (part 2)'

Download: here

Strung out - Wendy and Lisa

Best known for their collaborations with Prince as members of his backing band The Revolution in the eighties, Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman began their career as a duo in 1986. After releasing 'Wendy and Lisa' (1987) and 'Fruit at the bottom' (1989) for Columbia Records, they signed to Virgin records and released their third album 'Eroica'. 'Strung out' was the first single drawn from that album. It was a minor hit.

I bought this single for the reason I bought loads of my singles: because I liked the track when I heard it. What's special about this single, however, is that it contains a non-album track that is very great indeed. Sometimes bands make great B-sides.

My collection: 7" single no. 1278

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, August 18, 1990

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Strung out' / 'Stones and birth'

Download: here

Lost again - Yello

The Swiss group Yello consisted of Dieter Meier, Boris Blank and Carlos Perón when they released their first few singles. 'Bostich', released in 1980 was their debut. In 1983 they received lots of media attention on the back of their hit singles 'I love you' and 'Lost again'.

Their electronica-influenced music didn't appeal to me at all, but the strange atmosphere in 'Lost again' caught my attention nonetheless. I grew to like this track, and sure enough, I ended up buying the 12" single years after it was released. The B-side, which includes the two earlier singles was less appealing, but the extended version of 'Lost again' is certainly worth a spin.

My collection: 12" single no. 472

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 2005

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'Lost again [extended]' / 'I love you [extended]', 'Bostich'

En smule fred - Nicole

German singer Nicole won the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest with her song 'Ein Bisschen Frieden'. After winning the contest, she recorded her song in several different languages: French, Dutch, English, Spanish and... Danish.

When I was in Esbjerg, Denmark in 2006 and visiting a local record shop, I just couldn't resist buying this single when I saw it. This is the weird thing about a Eurovision collection: even if you decide to only buy the songs you really like, there are always items that you know are rare and collectable. It's just too good to leave such an item standing there when the price is low and the opportunity knocks. And so now I own a Danish Nicole single...

My collection: 7" single no. 3427

Found: Esbjerg (Denmark), June 17, 2006

Cost: 10 Danish crowns

Tracks: 'En smule fred' / 'Thank you, merci, danke'

Download: here

Stay - The Blue Nile

Two years after their debut single 'I love this life', The Blue Nile had found a new record company and were ready to release their debut album. Linn Records released 'Stay' shortly before the album 'A walk across the rooftops'. The album reached the UK album charts, even though it was only for two weeks, but 'Stay' sunk without a trace.

Still, it is a very bouncy pop song. It is backed with 'Saddle the horses' (an instrumental version of the album track 'Automobile noise'). I bought the single, as always, after years of searching.

My collection: 7" single no. 2865

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, September 20, 1997

Cost: 4 guilders

Tracks: 'Stay' / 'Saddle the horses'

Download: here

Candy love - Lili and Sussie

Lili and Susie Päivärinta started recording music together in the early eighties. They scored numerous hits in their homeland Sweden. Their biggest hit in Sweden was the track 'Oh Mama'. 'Candy love' was the only single that achieved some success abroad. It reached the Dutch Top 40 on January 31, 1987 and reached no. 28.

They stopped their career in the early nineties. According to various sources, Lili & Sussie will reunite for the 2009 Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, the Melodifestivalen.

My collection: 12" single no. 232

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1994

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Candy love (extended version)' / 'Candy love (instrumental)', 'Candy love (bonus beats)'

Download: here

Hand held in black and white - Dollar

The phenomenon Dollar had completely passed me by. It was only when I saw the 2002 Here & Now Tour that I found out what the duo David van Day and Thereza Bazar had done in the eighties. By 2002, it all looked very dodgy, but there were some great pop tunes hidden in there.

Take for instance 'Hand held in black and white'. It was produced by Trevor Horn, of Buggles fame. Although the vocal qualities of Thereza and David left a bit to be desired, the music on this track is very good and that helps lift the track up to above average. Still, if it hadn't been so cheap I wouldn't have bought this single.

My collection: 7" single no. 3428

Found: Esbjerg (Denmark), June 17, 2006

Cost: 10 Danish crowns

Tracks: 'Hand held in black and white' / 'Heartbeat (Love me slowly)'

Download: here

I'll fly for you - Spandau Ballet

One of the hottest bands around in the eighties, along with Duran Duran, was Spandau Ballet. Their album 'Gold' was a huge success and the follow-up 'Parade' did just as well. 'I'll fly for you' was the second single from that album and it reached no. 9 in the UK singles chart. The 12" single featured not one, but two remixes of the track: a 'long version' and a 'glide mix'. Creative listeners could even cut and paste the two after another, and listen to a 12 minute version of the song.

I didn't like the song at first, especially considering the boring video for it, but in the end I still appreciated its worth. When I bought the 12" I played it endlessly.

My collection: 12" single no. 29

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986

Cost: 6,95 guilders

Tracks: 'I'll fly for you (long version)', 'To cut a long story short (live)' / 'I'll fly for you (glide mix)'

Download: here

This is the day - The The

Matt Johnson are an English band that have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer/songwriter Matt Johnson as the only constant band member. In 1982, The The recorded their debut album 'The Pornography of Despair', which was not released. A year later, the album 'Soul mining' did see the light of day, to much critical acclaim'. This single, 'This is the day' was taken from 'Soul mining' and released in a limited edition double single format. The second single featured two tracks from the unreleased debut album.

I found out about this double single in the eighties, but had to wait until 1997 when I finally found my own copy. As a fan of The The and a sucker for limited edition releases, I didn't even mind the inflated price for this one.

My collection: 7" single no. 2839

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 5, 1997

Cost: 20 guilders

Tracks: 'This is the day' / 'Mental healing process' // 'Leap into the wind' / 'Absolute liberation'

Download: here