That certain smile - Midge Ure

'That certain smile' was the second single to be taken from Midge Ure's debut solo album 'The gift'. It was preceded by the number one hit 'If I was'. By comparison, the second single did worse, only peaking at number 28 in November of 1985.

I didn't know this song when I bought the single. Of course I was familiar with Midge Ure, so I had some confidence when I saw this release. Housed in a gatefold sleeve and pressed on clear vinyl, it was also a very attractive package. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to have this single. And I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the track: it's an uplifting, uptempo track.

My collection: 7" single no. 1762

Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 20, 1992

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'That certain smile' / 'The gift (instrumental)'

Download: Album 'The gift', including both tracks

Don't push it don't force it - Leon Haywood

Leon Haywood was born on February 11, 1942 in Houston, Texas (USA). He launched his career in America as a conventional entertainer, scoring over 20 hit singles on the US R&B chart since 1965.

In the UK and the Netherlands, he is considered to be a one hit wonder, however, with only his 1980 single 'Don't push it don't force it' making the chart. In both countries, the single peaked at number 12.

My collection: 7" single no. 1821

Found: Record Palace, January 13, 1993

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Don't push it don't force it' / 'Who you been giving it up to'

Download: here

Sanctuary - New Musik

'Sanctuary' is, in my opinion, one of the best synthpop songs ever. Created by New Musik, it fitted perfectly in the sound they had created for themselves. It was the second single to be taken from their album 'From A to B', and the last single to reach the UK singles chart. Just like 'This world of water' a few months earlier, it reached number 31.

Notable also is the B-side of this single: it features a new track 'She's a magazine', as well as two short instrumentals. 'Chik Musik' is a wonderful pastiche of the signature sound of that famous disco/soul group Chic.

My collection: 7" single no. 1535

Found: Brussels, October 11, 1991

Cost: 30 Belgian Francs

Tracks: 'Sanctuary' / 'She's a magazine', 'Chik Musik', 'Magazine Musik'

Download: here

Immaculate fools - Immaculate fools

The Immaculate fools formed in 1984 in Kent, England by two sets of brothers: Kevin and Paul Weatherill and Andy and Peter Ross. Their self-titled debut single was released in January 1985 and reached number 51 in the UK singles chart. It would end up being their only chart success, as further singles failed to make any commercial impact in the UK.

I got to know this single while briefly working for a radio station in 1985. I only got to buy the single many years later, in the same gatefold sleeve that I saw the first time around.

My collection: 7" single no. 2144

Found: Da Capo, Utrecht, August 21, 1994

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Immaculate fools' / 'As the crow flies'

Download: here

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

Gina G was born as Gina Mary Gardiner on August 3, 1970 in Brisbane, Australia. In 1996 she was chosen by producer Jonathan King to represent the UK in the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest. It was the UK's most successful Eurovision entry - at least in the UK singles chart: it went to number one in the week of the Contest. Unfortunately, the song only came eighth in the Contest itself, which was mainly down to her singing off-key during her performance.

A handful of remixes were released on two commercially available cd-singles. Four remixes by Soul Solution, however, were only available on this promotional 12" single. A rarity!

My collection: 12" single no. 346

Found: Esprit Mailorder, UK, 2000

Cost: 10 pounds

Tracks: 'Ooh aah... Just a little bit (Soul Solution Main Vocal)', 'Ooh aah... Just a little bit (Soul Solution Radio Version)' / 'Ooh aah... Just a little bit (Soul Solution Dub)', 'Ooh aah... Just a little bit (Instrumental)'

Download: here

Roof garden - Al Jarreau

Al Jarreau was born on March 12, 1940 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA). In the late Sixties he made a name for himself in the jazz circuit. In 1975, Jarreau was working with pianist Tom Canning when he was spotted by a representative of Warner Bros. Records. His debut album was soon released. 'We got by' gave him international fame.

His commercially most successful album was 'Breakin' away' (1981), featuring this single, 'Roof garden'. It was released in the Netherlands i nFebruary 1982 and reached number 2 in the Dutch Top 40. I bought this single while it was in the chart. The poster sleeve of this record is actually a promotional tool, with small adverts in Dutch and French about Christopher Cross, George Harrison, Randy Crawford and seven other artists, who at the time of the release recently had new albums out.

My collection: 7" single no. 112

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Roof garden' / 'Alonzo'

Download: here

Magnetic Fields part 2 - Jean Michel Jarre

I think everyone who grew up in or around the Seventies remembers their first cassettes. I got a tape recorder in 1980 and spent hours on end filling tapes with the music I heard on the radio. So in 1981 I recorded an instrumental track from a Belgian radio station, without actually hearing a title or artist. Instrumental tracks can be very hard to identify. And so it took me years to find out that this particular track was Jean Michel Jarre's 'Magnetic Fields part 2'. It was a minor hit in the Netherlands for Jarre, reaching number 34 in the Dutch Top 40.

'Magnetic fields' was Jarre's first album recorded with digital synthesizers, having used analogue ones on his previous work.

My collection: 7" single no. 2455

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 2, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Magnetic Fields part 2' / 'Magnetic Fields part 1'

Download: here

Old friend - Mo

The first single by Mo I ever bought was this one, the ballad 'Old friend' taken from their second album 'Ha Ha! The sound of laughing'. Contrary to most of their singles, this one was a ballad. The single version lasted three minutes and was one minute shorter than the album version, in an attempt to make it radiofriendly. Despite this, 'Old friend' didn't make the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 711

Found: All that music, Leiden, December 30, 1988

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Old friend' / 'Madman'

Download: here

Nothing to lose - UK

UK released two singles from their 1979 album 'Danger Money': 'Rendezvous 6:02' and 'Nothing to lose'. Funnily enough, 'Rendezvous' was a only a hit in the Netherlands, whereas 'Nothing to lose' could only reach the UK singles chart. It peaked at number 67 in the Summer of 1979. A live album, 'Night after night', was recorded in Japan in 1979 and released in September. Following a final European tour in December 1979, and in spite of plans to record a new studio album in America in March 1980, UK disbanded.

I bought my copy of 'Nothing to lose' without actually knowing the song. I always liked 'Rendezvous 602' a lot, and so I presumed this single would be similar. It is a very different song, though, but in its own way it is a nice track.

My collection: 7" single no. 2133

Found: Record Palace, July 30, 1994

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Nothing to lose' / 'In the dead of night'

Download: here

Into the fire - Sarah McLachlan

I remember seeing the video for 'Into the fire' on MTV in 1992 and thinking that it was a rather boring video. It spoiled any chance of me buying the single. Then a couple of years later I got into the album 'Fumbling towards ecstacy' by Sarah McLachlan, and discovered that she was actually a really great singer/songwriter. I bought the vinyl single as soon as I got a chance after that. It completed my Sarah McLachlan-collection, because as far as I know there are no further 7" singles by her besides this one and 'Vox'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2378

Found: House of Rhythm, London, July 1, 1995

Cost: 60p

Tracks: 'Into the fire (Album version)' / 'Into the fire (John Fryer mix)'

Download: here

Absolute - Scritti Politti

Scritti Politti's main member Green Gartside moved to New York in 1983 to begin working on what was to become his band's signature sound.

Collaborating with producer Arif Mardin, David Gamson and Fred Maher, the first recording to emerge from these sessions was the single 'Wood Beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin)'. A series of hits in the style of this track followed, including 'Hypnotize', 'The word girl' and this single, 'Absolute'.

My collection: 7" single no. 1630

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, April 18, 1992

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Absolute' / 'Absolute (version)'

Download: here

Love blonde - Kim Wilde

In 1983, Kim Wilde reinvented herself as a 'Love blonde'. It was the title of her new single, the first to be taken from her third album 'Catch as catch can'. For the first time, I bought a Kim Wilde single while it was still in the charts. I was actually starting to collect her singles, although at that point I don't think I actually realised it.

Kim commented about the song: 'When my dad told me that he wanted to write a song called 'Love Blonde', I just looked at him and said, you know, give me a break, I don't think I could handle the sort of flack I'd get, making a record with a title like that. He just said, 'look, either you do it, or you don't', and that was it. I could see what he was getting at.'

My collection: 7" single no. 206

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1983

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Love blonde' / 'Can you hear it'

Download: here

I could be happy - Altered Images

Altered Images released their second album 'Pinky blue' after a successful headlining tour, in 1982. The album provided them with two top 20 hits in the UK: 'See those eyes' and 'I could be happy'. Since the band were going down a pop path, many critics who supported them before started to turn sour.

'I could be happy' is an infectious song, and for me it's one of Altered Images's standout tracks.

My collection: 7" single no. 3368

Found: Record Exchange, London, December 2002

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'I could be happy' / 'Insects'

Download: Album 'Pinky Blue... Plus', including both tracks

Ace of spades - Motörhead

'Ace of spades' is a loud, proud and obnoxious song by the metal band Motörhead. It is universally regarded as their main anthem. For the lyrics, lead singer Lemmy said he 'used gambling metaphors, mostly cards and dice - when it comes to that sort of thing, I'm more into the one-arm bandits actually, but you can't really sing about spinning fruit, and the wheels coming down'. In March 2005, Q Magazine placed it at number 27 in its list of the 100 greatest guitar tracks, stating 'This song has an intro which wouldn't be out of place ushering in the end of the world'.

'Ace of spades reached number 15 after its original release in November 1980. In 1993, the single was re-released, coupled with a rather ill-advised but comical remix version. Although the band were not too pleased with the remix version, the single peaked at number 23 in the UK charts.

My collection: 7" single no. 2884

Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 28, 1997

Cost: 1,5 pounds

Tracks: 'Ace of spades' / 'Dirty love'

Download: Album 'Ace of spades', including both tracks

Rendezvous 6:02 - UK

In September 1976, John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Eddie Jobson and Allan Holdsworth formed the band UK. They released a self-titled debut album in 1978 and went on a lengthy tour of America. Holdsworth and Bruford left the band, claiming musical differences as the reason. Terry Bozzio joined the band, and as a result the band became a trio, playing keyboards, bass and drums, supplemented by the violin played by Jobson. They recorded the album 'Danger Money', which was released in March 1979.

'Rendezvous 6:02' was the first single to be take nfrom that album. It peaked at number 24 in the Dutch Top 40 in the Summer of 1979.

My collection: 7" single no. 1108

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

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Rendezvous 6:02' / 'In the dead of night'

Download: here

Red guitar - David Sylvian

After spending a decade in the band Japan, David Sylvian released his debut solo album 'Brilliant trees' in 1984. The album was split in two parts: the more accessible tracks were on side A of the album, whereas the more experimental work was grouped together on side B. The biggest hit from this album was 'Red guitar', which reached number 17 in the UK singles chart in the Summer of 1984.

Originally I dismissed this single as 'boring', but after a while I still became interesed and bought the 7" single. Years after that, I bought the 12" single because I had become curious what the 'full length version' would be like. As it turns out, it is actually the album version. But since I don't have the album, this will do nicely.

My collection: 12" single no. 321

Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Red guitar (full length version)' / 'Forbidden colours'

Download: here

The whole of the moon - The Waterboys

The Waterboys released 'The whole of the moon' in November 1985. It reached number 28 on the UK singles chart. It only reached number three in the chart after it was re-released in 1990.

The song began as a 'scribble on the back of an envelope on a wintry New York street', after Mike Scott's girlfriend asked him if it was difficult to write a song, and was unfinished at the beginning of the recording sessions of the 1985 album 'This is the sea'. It was eventually completed in May 1985. In 1991, the song was awarded the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting and composing.

My copy of the single is housed in a black sleeve with a large hole in the middle, representing space, whereas the label of the A-side of the single itself contains a picture of the moon.

My collection: 7" single no. 1046

Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'The whole of the moon' / 'Medicine Jack'

Download: here

Arms of Mary - Sutherland Brothers and Quiver

Gavin and Iain Sutherland formed originally in London in 1970, but they only found success when they fused together with another band, Quiver, that they started to enjoy chart success. Quiver consisted of Tim Renwick, Bruce Thomas and Willie Wilson. When they released 'Arms of Mary' in the Summer of 1976, they enjoyed a number 5 hit in the UK and a number 1 hit in the Netherlands. They were just enjoying this success when the punk music explosion happened. They ended up being ousted from their residency at London's Marquee Club to make way for bands like the Damned and X-Ray Spex. By the end of the Seventies, the band split up.

My collection: 7" single no. 3372
Found: Disco Market, January 11, 2003
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Arms of Mary' / 'We get along'
Download: here

Give - Missing Persons

Missing Persons was founded by Warren Cuccurullo, Dale Bozzio and Terry Bozzio. They recruited Patrick O'Hearn and Chuck Wild. After releasing an EP and a debut album, the album 'Rhyme & Reason' came out in 1984. After the success of their debut album, this album sold less well.

'Give' was the second single drawn from the album, and the striking video for it helped it make number 67 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It didn't chart in Europe, although the video was shown there on a regular basis as well. That's how I noticed this song - and eventually got to buy it.

My collection: 7" single no. 1493

Found: Van der Horst, Den Haag, July 18, 1991

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Give' / 'Clandestine people'

Download: Album 'Rhyme & Reason', including both tracks

Sol - Nova

'Sol' was the second single released by the instrumental synthpop band Nova. Expectations were high, since 'Aurora' made number one in the Dutch Top 40. By comparison, 'Sol' did less well, but it still made a very respectable number 20 in the summer of 1982.

It was the only Nova single I bought that year, since 'Aurora' had been played to death on the radio and I really didn't need to hear it anymore. That said, I don't think I played 'Sol' very often...

My collection: 7" single no. 125

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Sol' / 'Ariane (The traveler)'

Download: Album 'Terranova', including both tracks