Block Buster - The Sweet

'Block Buster' was released by the Sweet in 1973. It became the band's only number one hit in the UK, whereas it was their third (and last) in the Netherlands. Although the lyric seems to refer to a person ('Nobody knows where Buster goes / He'll steal your woman out from under your nose'), the song features the sound of air raid sirens, alluding to the blockbuster bombs dropped in World War II.

The Sweet was very popular with my brother and sister in the Seventies, and although I never really 'got' that, some of their tracks are pretty nice. I bought this one because of the nice sleeve and the great song.

My collection: 7" single no. 3566

Found: La La Land, Den Haag, January 31, 2009

Cost: 1,5 euro

Tracks: 'Block buster' / 'Need a lot of lovin''

Download: here

Warwick Avenue - Duffy

I'm not wild about the current stream of young women with old hag's voices, like Amy Winehouse, Adele and others. The Welsh singer Duffy could easily be one of them. Fortunately her song 'Warwick Avenue' doesn't get unpleasant like many of her colleagues' tracks.

In this age of digital downloads, 'Warwick Avenue' entered the UK singles chart even before it was released on any physical format. It was finally released two months later as the third single from her debut album 'Rockferry'. I heard the track almost weekly on Kim Wilde's current radio programme Secret Songs on Magic FM (UK), and finally decided to buy the 7" single.

My collection: 7" single no. 3571

Found: La La Land, Den Haag, January 31, 2009

Cost: 5,5 euro

Tracks: 'Warwick Avenue' / 'Loving you'

Download: here

Ai no corrida - Chas Jankel

Chas Jankel was born in Stanmore, North London on April 16, 1952. In the Seventies he became a member of the Blockheads, the band that played with Ian Dury during his commercial peak. In 1980, he pursued a solo career, kicking off with a self-titled album. 'Ai no corrida' reached the Dutch Tipparade in January 1981, but never made it past this tip chart. Quincy Jones recorded a cover version a year later and reached number 14 in the UK singles chart with it. The title of the song is in Japanese (taken from the Japanese title of the 1976 film 'In the realm of the senses') but it sounds like Spanish "Ay no corrida" (which can be translated as 'oh no bullfighting').

According to the label of this 12" single, the extended mix of 'Ai no corrida' lasts for 9 minutes and 10 seconds, but in fact it is almost 90 seconds shorter.

My collection: 12" single no. 485

Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 2000

Cost: 2,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Ai no corrida [extended version]' / 'Lenta Latina'

Download: here

Appetite - Prefab Sprout

After getting hooked on 'When love breaks down', Prefab Sprout had definitely caught my attention. When 'Appetite' was released as the next single, I was in the shop to get it as soon as possible. I wasn't surprised when the single didn't chart in the Netherlands - as Prefab Sprout was a typically English phenomenon - but I am still amazed that this single didn't chart in the UK as well.

'Appetite' was taken from Prefab Sprout's second album 'Steve McQueen', which reach number 21 in the UK album chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 337

Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Appetite' / 'Heaven can wait'

Som en vind - Edin-Ådahl

There was something completely naff about the Swedish entry for the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest. Well, maybe it's just me, but a quote like 'Like a wind / blowing within me' seems a bit vulgar. It wasn't Sweden's biggest success in the Contest, because it finished 16th.

Edin-Ådahl consisted of brothers Bertil and Lasse Edin and Simon and Frank Ådahl. Between 1980 and 1994 they recorded eight Swedish and five English albums, some of which were filled with Christian music. Their Swedish albums were pretty successful in Sweden, but the English albums suffered from poor distribution and, according to some, lousy lyrics. What a surprise...

My collection: 7" single no. 3451

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 2007

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'Som en vind' / 'Like a wind'

Download: here

Keep looking - Sade

Sade released the album 'Stronger than pride' in 1988. It was their third album, a hit in many countries around the world. I bought all the singles taken from that album, but I was very surprised when I found this one three years later. 'Keep looking' was never released as a single, and yet here it was...

When I took a closer look, it proved to be a Spanish promotional single. This single featured 'Keep looking' on the A-side, and nothing on the B-side. It was an interesting item, so I made the decision to buy it.

My collection: 7" single no. 1522

Found: Record fair, Den Haag, September 21, 1991

Cost: 6 guilders

Track: 'Keep looking'

Download: Album 'Stronger than pride', including this track

It must be love - Madness

When Madness released 'It must be love', I preferred the B-side, 'Mrs. Hutchinson' to the A-side. For some reason the radio stations played that track quite often, too, so the single was treated like a double A-side. 'It must be love' was a cover of the song by Labi Siffre. The tracks were taken from Madness's third album '7', which marked a departure from their original ska sound.

The single didn't chart in the Netherlands, but it was one of their biggest hits in the UK, reaching number 4 in the singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 868

Found: All that music, Leiden, June 2, 1989

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'It must be love' / 'Mrs. Hutchinson'

Download: here

Stand above me - OMD

When Paul Humphreys left Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) in 1989, Andy McCluskey retained the name of the band and continued to record and tour as OMD. The first album he recorded was 'Sugar Tax' (1991), and then he followed this up with 'Liberator' (1993). The first single taken from 'Liberator' was 'Stand above me', an upbeat song with a strong hookline.

This promotional 12" single features two ten minute remixes of 'Stand above me'. I didn't play this 12" single a lot, and the reason is those remixes: they are a bit boring, really. The 12 inch mix contains a sample from the next single 'Dream of me', strangely enough, and both remixes are just a random selection of beats and bleeps. Buying tracks you don't know: sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

My collection: 12" single no. 216

Found: Record Exchange, London, 1992

Cost: 3 pounds

Tracks: 'Stand above me (A 10 minute therapy session into hyperlife mix)' / 'Stand above me (7" mix)', 'Stand above me (12" mix)'

Download: here

Suedehead - Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey, known as Morrissey, was born on May 22, 1959. After playing with the punk rock band the Nosebleeds in the late Seventies, he became singer and songwriter in the alternative rock band the Smiths. After that band broke up in 1987, Morrissey embarked on a solo career.

Only six months after the Smiths broke up, Morrissey released his debut solo album 'Viva hate'. 'Suedehead' was the first single drawn from this album, an uptempo, very Smiths-sounding single. It was played endlessly on some radio stations, which is how I eventually got into this song. And when I found it at discount price, of course I bought it.

My collection: 7" single no. 606

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 7, 1988

Cost: 3,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Suedehead' / 'I know very well how I got my name'

Download: cd-single 'Suedehead', including both tracks

Nur geträumt - Nena

I already wrote about 'Just a dream', but this is the original single. 'Nur geträumt' was taken from Nena's self-titled debut album, and it was originally released as their debut single in Germany. It became an instant hit there after the band appeared on the German television show 'Musikladen'. The single reportedly sold 40,000 copies the day after the song appeared on the show and reached number two in the German charts.

In the Netherlands, it was released after '99 Luftballons' had become a number one hit for them. 'Nur geträumt' did almost as well, peaking at number 9 in the Dutch Top 40.

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My collection: 7" single no. 3383

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2003

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Nur getraümt' / 'Ganz oben'

Download: here

Xanadu - Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra

'Xanadu' was the theme song from the movie of the same name. The movie starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly and was an unofficial remake of the 1947 film 'Down to earth' with Rita Hayworth.

A rare collaboration for Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra, the single was the band's only UK number 1 single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. The song peaked at number 1 in the Netherlands as well, and at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

I recently bought a UK copy of this single with a limited edition gatefold sleeve at the record fair in Utrecht (on November 22, 2008), but the original single came into my collection soon after it was released.

My collection: 7" single no. 59

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Xanadu' / 'Fool country'

Download: Album 'Xanadu', including both tracks

Legendary - Spectral Display

'Legendary' was another single from Spectral Display's second album 'Too much like me'. This single came in a special single mix. The single mix is slightly different from the album version: the beat is stronger and the track sounds a bit brighter. It didn't help the sales, because the single didn't chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3307

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, February 24, 2001

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Legendary (Special single mix)' / 'Here with me'

Download: here

We came to dance - Ultravox

'We came to dance' was the last single taken from Ultravox's sixth album Quartet. It was produced by George Martin and released on April 18, 1983. The song reached number 18 in the UK singles chart, while it didn't chart in the Netherlands.

With its demented synthesizer melody and its emotionally charged vocals, it's a bit weird that the lyrics are slightly naff. Still, I loved the track as a child and seized the opportunity a decade later to buy this single, pressed, like many more Ultravox singles, on clear vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 2187

Found: London, September 28, 1994

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'We came to dance' / 'Overlook'
Download: Album 'Quartet', including both tracks

The Piano - Michael Nyman

The movie 'The piano' was released in 1994. I saw it in the cinema a year after it was released. One of the attractions in the movie was the beautiful soundtrack. One of my main sayings is: 'it's still a soundtrack', meaning that it doesn't really connect with me when the visual images are missing. But Michael Nyman's main theme for 'The piano' is a pleasant exception.

'The heart aske pleasure first' is a beautiful theme, even without the movie to accompany the music. It sounds like classical music, and in a way, of course, it is. Even if it was composed in the Nineties.

My collection: 7" single no. 2329

Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, June 3, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'The heart asks pleasure first / The promise (edit)' / 'Big my secret', 'All imperfect things'

Download: Album 'The Piano: Original Soundtrack', including these tracks

Hard to say I'm sorry - Chicago

'Hard to Say I'm Sorry', a hit for Chicago in 1982, was written by band member Peter Cetera and producer David Foster. The song hit Number 1 for two weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry' segued into a second song titled 'Get Away', which was closer to the older horn-driven Chicago sound of the Seventies.

Deviating from Chicago's practice of having mostly band members playing on their albums, 'Hard to say I'm sorry' featured several session musicians. The song featured three members of the American rock band Toto: Steve Lukather on guitar, David Paich and Steve Porcaro on synthesizers. The song's vocals were performed by Cetera and new member Bill Champlin.

My collection: 7" single no. 156

Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Hard to say I'm sorry/Get away' / 'Sonny

Download: Album 'Chicago 16', including both tracks

Intimate strangers - T'pau

T'pau debuted in 1987 with their single 'Heart and soul'. Originally, it didn't sell much in the UK, so the second single was soon released: 'Intimate strangers'. This second single also failed to reach the UK singles chart. 'Intimate strangers' is the same track that would appear on T'pau's debut album 'Bridge of spies' (1987) as 'Sex talk'.

Meanwhile, 'Heart and soul' became a number 4 hit in the USA, so it was re-released in the UK and T'pau finally made the singles chart then. 'Intimate strangers' sunk without a trace, it's one of the rarest singles in T'pau's catalogue.

My collection: 7" single no. 3155

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 27, 1999

Cost: 10 guilders

Tracks: 'Intimate strangers' / 'No sense of pride'

Download: here

Jolene - Strawberry Switchblade

'Jolene' tells the tale of a housewife confronting a beautiful seductress who she believes is trying to steal away her husband. Originally performed by Dolly Parton, the song became her second solo number one single on the country charts after being released as a single in late 1973. It was released as a single in the UK the following year, where it reached number seven in the UK singles chart.

Strawberry Switchblade covered this song and released it as their fourth single. It reached number 53 in the UK singles chart in the autumn of 1985.

My collection: 7" single no. 2773

Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, October 31, 1996

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Jolene' / 'Being cold'
Download: here

Living next door to Alice - Smokie

'Living next door to Alice' was released as a single by Smokie in 1976. It gave them a number one hit in the Netherlands in early 1977, and it reached number 5 in the UK singles chart. The song is about a young man's long-standing crush on Alice, the girl next door and neighbour of 24 years, which is left unrequited after she moves away. The protagonist had seen a limousine parked at Alice's home and begins to reflect on childhood memories and his friendship with Alice, and becomes heartbroken as he sees Alice get inside the limousine. As he watches the car drive out of sight, the protagonist is sad about Alice leaving without explanation and that he did not use any opportunity to express his feelings for her.

In 1995, the song famously spawned a parody version by the Dutch band Gompie, in which some bystanders scream 'Alice, who the fuck is Alice' during the chorus. Thereby crushing any depth of feeling in the original song.

My collection: 7" single no. 15

Found: London, 1979

Cost: 10p

Tracks: 'Living next door to Alice' / 'Run to you'

Download: Album 'The best of Smokie', including both tracks (part 1 / part 2)

Hounds of love - Futureheads

'Hounds of love' was originally released by Kate Bush in 1985. The song is about being afraid to fall in love (in the song this feeling is compared to being chased by a pack of hounds).

The Futureheads made a cover version of this song and released it in February 2005. It became their biggest hit to date, reaching number 8 in the UK singles chart. Besides two different cd-singles, the track was also released on 7" vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 3409
Found: HMV, London, 2005
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Hounds of love' / 'Man made (A mistake)'
Download: here

Don't look back - Fine Young Cannibals

'Don't look back' was the third single taken from Fine Young Cannibals' second album 'The raw & the cooked'. It sold less well than 'Good thing', peaking at number 34 in the UK singles chart. It fared even worse in the Netherlands, because it didn't chart at all.

Like 'Good thing' and 'She drives me crazy', a limited edition of the single was released housed in a tin can. This time, the single was pressed on yellow vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 985

Found: Ter Meulen, Rotterdam, 1987

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Don't look back' / 'You never know'

Download: cd-single ''Don't look back', including both tracks