You're the voice - Heart

Heart released a live album called 'Rock the house' in 1991. The album marked a sharp decline in sales after a period of success that began in 1985 with the release of the self-titled 'Heart'. The single 'You're the voice' was taken from this album, a cover of the song by John Farnham.

I bought the single not because I thought this was a particularly good version (live tracks are usually unlistenable) but because of the limited edition etched disc. This disc featured the lyric of the song on one side, and the A- and B-side track on the other side. These kind of special editions are always so nice to have.

My collection: 7" single no. 3080

Found: London, May 10, 1999

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'You're the voice', 'Call of the wild'

For the love of Conchita - Doce

The Portuguese girl group Doce was formed in 1980 by Laura Diogo, Lena Coelho, Fátima Padinha, and Teresa Miguel. They participated in the Portuguese national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980, but finished second. In 1981 they tried again, with the song 'Ali-Bábá, um homem das Arábias', which finished fourth. Their third try in 1982 was successful: the song 'Bem bom' brought them to Harrowgate to participate in that year's Contest.

After this song was released as a single, they followed it up with 'For the love of Conchita'. It didn't chart in most countries, except for Portugal. I bought the single while buying a stack of singles in my favourite shop round the corner, just out of curiosity.

My collection: 7" single no. 3294

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

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'For the love of Conchita' / 'Choose again'

Why - Annie Lennox

After having been one half of Eurythmics together with David A. Stewart, Annie Lennox started to work on a solo album together with former Trevor Horn protegé Stephen Lipson. The first result of their work was the single 'Why', released in early 1992. The single was an immediate commercial success, peaking at number 1 in Italy, number 5 in the UK and Ireland and number 6 in Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

I bought the single immediately after its release, convinced as I was that Annie Lennox's work was worth buying. And it was, at least for that first album 'Diva'. Later albums never quite reached that level of quality in my humble opinion...

My collection: 7" single no. 1594

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, March 21, 1992

Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Why' / 'Primitive'

Twist in my sobriety - Tanita Tikaram

Tanita Tikaram achieved an international breakthrough with the song 'Twist in My Sobriety' in 1988. Taken from her debut album 'Ancient heart', this self-penned song was immediately recognised as something special. The single peaked at number 22 in the UK, number 23 in the Netherlands, number 2 in Germany and Austria and number 6 in Switzerland, Norway and France.

The first line of the song, 'All God's children need travelling shoes' is the title of a book by writer/poet Maya Angelou. The song was covered by Liza Minelli in 1989. Other covers were made by Italian disco singer George Aaron, Chinese singer Chyi Yu and death metal band Cynicism.

My collection: 7" single no. 673

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, October 28, 1988

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Twist in my sobriety (edit)' / 'Friends'

La folie - Valerie Lagrange

Valerie Lagrange was born in Paris on February 25, 1942. During her teens she started auditioning for acting roles, which resulted in her appearing in various French films. In 1964 she released her first single, a double A-side featuring the songs 'Paris-Wellington' and 'La nuit de mon amour'.

Many singles and albums later, Valerie released 'La folie' in 1984. It was taken from her album 'Les trottoirs de l’éternité'. It was a big hit in French-speaking countries, and also nearly made the Dutch Top 40. This is how I caught on to this song: it was regularly played on the radio and on one occasion I recorded it. Seven years later, I got hold of the single. It's still an alltime favourite of mine.

My collection: 7" single no. 1457
Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, June 27, 1991
Cost: 3,9 guilders
Tracks: 'La folie' / 'Personne n'entend'

Felicidad - Boney M

Boney M released the single 'Felicidad' in 1980. The song was not included on any studio album. It was a cover of one hit wonder Massara's 'Margherita'. The single peaked at number 6 in Germany, but failed to chart in other countries.

Due to a frosty relationship to the group's members at the time, producer Frank Farian tried to record it with session singers Cathy Bartney, Patricia Shockley and Madeleine Davis plus himself only on vocals. He was then forced by record company Hansa to overdub Boney M. singers Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett's vocals.
My collection: 7" single no. 81
Found: Vienna, July 1980
Cost: nothing (present)
Tracks: 'Felicidad' / 'Strange'

The honeythief - Hipsway

Hipsway were formed in Glasgow in 1984 by ex-Altered Images guitarist Johnny McElhone on bass, and featuring Grahame Skinner (vocals), Pim Jones (guitar) and Harry Travers (drums). They were soon signed up by Mercury Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1985. Their debut single 'The honeythief' made number 17 in the UK singles chart, but stalled at number 33 in the Netherlands. The band split up in 1989, with McElhone leaving to found Texas.

I don't think I remembered the song when I bought it, but I did know I liked the song. Many years later, the track has disappeared from my memory alltogether. It was nice to hear it again when I played it recently.

My collection: 7" single no. 833
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 20, 1989
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'The honeythief' / 'Wild sorrow'

Follow my rainbow - Sheena Easton

Sheena Easton made her acting debut in November 1987 in the television series 'Miami Vice', playing a singer named Caitlin Davies. She was to be protected by Sonny Crockett (played by Don Johnson) until her court appearance to render crucial testimony against certain corrupt music industry mavens. After five episodes, the character ended up being killed just moments after singing 'Follow my rainbow'.

The song was featured on the soundtrack album for 'Miami Vice', which was released in 1988, and subsequently also appeared on Easton's own album 'The lover in me', that same year. The single was released in late 1989, but did not chart. Personally I think the sleeve is better than the record, actually.

My collection: 7" single no. 2320

Found: Record fair, June 3, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Follow my rainbow' / 'Days like this'

Geluk - Verona

When I recently saw a report about Dutch presenter Harry Vermeegen on television, anouncing his comeback to television, I immediately thought of this single. Together with Henk Spaan he formed a satyrical duo making programmes in the Eighties. Initially their programme was called 'Pisa', but when they moved to a different broadcaster (Veronica) they changed the name of their programme to 'Verona'.

Under this name they released the 1986 single 'Geluk' ('Happiness'). The lyric of the song refers to a man who is searching for happiness. ('I've searched everywhere, it's making me unhappy'). The lyric cannot be translated without loss of a lot of Dutch wordplay, but the music, produced by Henk Temming from Het Goede Doel, is strong and transcends all language barriers.

My collection: 7" single no. 1407

Found: Concerto, Amsterdam, April 3, 1991

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Geluk' / 'Geluk (instr.)'

Zarah (Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehn) - Nina Hagen

'Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehn' was originally performed by Zarah Leander in the first half of the 20th century. Nina Hagen recorded this cover version in 1983 for her album 'Angstlos', produced by Giorgio Moroder.

Although not a hit in the Netherlands, I heard the song pretty soon after its release thanks to my sister. It was a remarkable cover, because for all its disco stomp in the second half, the first half of the song is a pretty faithful cover of the original version.

My collection: 7" single no. 1676

Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 28, 1992

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Zarah (Ich weiss, es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehn)' / 'Frühling in Paris'

This heart of mine - Anders Frandsen

Anders Frandsen was born ub Denmark on December 8, 1960. Although not a trained actor, he made his stage debut during the Eighties in theatre performances. In 1991 he represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Lige der hvor hjertet slår', a jazz-influenced lovesong composed by Michael Elo. The song didn't do well at the Contest, and placed 19th with only 8 points. That didn't hurt his popularity however, and the following year at the Danish national final, he was the host.

This single features the English-language version on the A-side. The song sounds rather more intruguing in Danish, though.

My collection: 7" single no. 1837

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, January 23, 1993

Cost: 10 guilders

Tracks: 'This heart of mine' / 'Lige der hvor hjertet slår'

Flash - Duke of Burlington

Nothing beats a good instrumental track from time to time. This 'golden oldie' appeared as background music in a commercial on a local radio station I listened to a lot during the Eighties. In time, I found out the name and artist behind the music, and then I found out that it was actually released when I was just born.

I have no idea who hides behind the stage name Duke of Burlington, but this track was a success in the Netherlands nonetheless: it peaked at number 11 in the autumn of 1970.

My collection: 7" single no. 382

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 3,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Flash' / 'Viva Tirado'

Say you'll be mine - Amy Grant

I'd just discovered Amy Grant's albums 'Lead me on' and 'Heart in motion' when she started to release singles from her new album 'House of love'. One of those singles was 'Say you'll be mine'. I bought it on the hunch that this material might be just as good. I was not too disappointed: the songs were a bit on the bubblegum pop side, but still nice and melodic.

Grant didn't score a big hit with this: it roamed the UK singles chart for only two weeks in the autumn of 1994, peaking at number 41.

My collection: 7" single no. 2227

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 17, 1994

Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Say you'll be mine (radio mix)' / 'Life's gonna change'

Rock me - Riva

I wouldn't be surprised if this song was responsible for the war in Yugoslavia that would break out a couple of years later. It must rank as one of the worst winners in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Riva, a group of five fronted by singer Emilija Kokić debuted on Zagrebfest in 1988. They performed their song 'Rock me' in Serbo-Croatian as the last act on the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest. When they unexpectedly won the Contest, BBC TV commentator Terry Wogan described it as 'the death knell' for the Contest. The group parted ways in 1991 after being unable to build on their sudden success with this unlistenable song.

My collection: 7" single no. 3599

Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, March 14, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Rock me baby (Original version)' / 'Rock me baby (English version)'

Slow emotion replay - The The

In 1993, it became increasingly difficult to find 7" vinyl singles of songs that were released as a single. More often than not, I could only find a cd-single version. It became quite a challenge to still find vinyl singles and I always had a sense of victory when I succeeded. This was one of those proud achievements.

Taken from the album 'Dusk', The The released 'Slow emotion replay' as the second single from that album. While 'Dogs of lust', single number one, was released as a limited edition 7" single in the UK, this one was only released on two different cd-singles. I found this Spanish promotional 7" with just one track on one side: the other side was not even playable. Which made this item all the more desirable, because a one-sided 7" single is a rarity in itself.

My collection: 7" single no. 2654

Found: London, June 29, 1996

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Slow emotion replay'

There's more to love - The Communards

This was the last single released by the Communards before Richard Coles and Jimmy Somerville split up. The upbeat song comes with a serious message: 'There's more to love than boy meets girl / For love is strange and uncontrolled and it can happen to anyone'. Not surprisingly for this band the subject of the song was gay rights.

The B-side of this single is also interesting: it's a cover of the 1934 song written and composed by James F. Hanley. It was performed in the Broadway revue 'Thumbs up!'. The most famous version was performed by Judy Garland.

My collection: 7" single no. 2382

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

Cost: 60p

Tracks: 'There's more to love' / 'Zing went the strings of my heart'

If you want my love - Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick made a name for themselves with the big hit 'I want you to want me'. I thought it was a very irritating song, and it had its effect: I hated the band for a long time. It took some getting used to that 'If you want my love' was actually a rather accomplished pop/rock ballad.

When I bought the single, it was in the middle of the period I've described on this blog a couple of times before: when my sister and I decided to buy different singles. She hated this song, I liked it. So I bought it - and she wasn't impressed with my choice.

My collection: 7" single no. 145

Found: Studio Echo, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'If you want my love' / 'Four letter word'

Can't set rules about love - Adam Ant

Adam Ant was one of the big names of the Eighties. That statement alone says a lot about how he was perceived by the general public circa 1990: almost forgotten. After having been out of the charts since 1985, he had a brief comeback with 'Room at the top', which reached number 13 in the UK singles chart in 1990. The next single was 'Can't set rules about love', which peaked at number 47.

I didn't hear this song until three years later, when I got my hands on a promotional instore video of various artists. I wasn't impressed by the video, but the song was nice enough. I spent several years trying to find the single.

My collection: 7" single no. 2868

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 1997

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Can't set rules about love' / 'How to steal the world'

In too deep - Belinda Carlisle

I'm not the world's biggest Belinda Carlisle fan, but I do have a few singles by her. And this is one of them: a rather attractive limited edition picture disc 7", bought during a holiday in England.

The interesting thing is, I've forgotten all about the A-side track 'In too deep' but I still remember the B-side track '(We want) The same thing'. I know why, too: I once saw her perform that song live in Bournemouth, in the middle of the summer, with Ricky Wilde backing her on guitar. It was an extremely happy sunny day.

My collection: 7" single no. 2714

Found: HMV, London, July 4, 1996

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'In too deep' / '(We want) The same thing'

Want you to be mine - Kayak

The Dutch band Kayak formed in 1972. Their early single 'Mammoth' featured on this blog a couple of months ago. 'Want you to be mine' was released five years later, in 1978. It's a more straightforward rock song, sounding rather a lot like much of their work around that time.

I don't remember how I got to hear this song, but I know I was very impressed when I did. I went searching for the single and found it within a few months.

My collection: 7" single no. 850

Found: All that music, Leiden, May 27, 1989

Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Want you to be mine' / 'Golddust'