Hop on the bus - Nick Hall

The Dutch singer and bass guitarist Nick Hall released his album 'A very special case', produced by Pim Koopman, in 1980. The single 'Hop on the bus' was taken from that album. The single did not chart.

Later on in the Eighties, Hall joined the band La Blusa, specialising in swamprock and playing Louisiana-inspired compositions, fusing them with funk and rock. The American influence is already obvious on this single.

My collection: 7" single no. 2555

Found: November 19, 1995

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Hop on the bus' / 'Love couldn't carry us through'

Secret - Heart

'Secret' was released as the fourth and final single from Heart's tenth studio album 'Brigade'. The single at number 64 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 79 on the UK singles chart.

When I found this single, I did not know it had been released. I did know the track, because my sister owns the album 'Brigade'. I always thought it was one of the best tracks on the album so I was very happy to get this single.

My collection: 7" single no. 2343

Found: Record Exchange, London, June 26, 1995

Cost: 60p

Tracks: 'Secret' / 'I love you'

Hazard - Richard Marx

'Hazard' tells the story of a relationship between Marx's character (usually considered the protagonist) and a woman named Mary. Mary is presumably murdered and Marx, shunned by many in the small town Hazard in Nebraska since his childhood, is immediately considered the main suspect. Marx, however, maintains his innocence throughout the song, and the question of such is left open to the listener's interpretation.

I got to know the song because of the music video being aired on television regularly in early 1992. The single peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart, although it did not chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 1593
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, March 21, 1992
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Hazard' / 'Big boy now'

We just - Moses

Although I'm not exactly a fan of Italo disco music, the single 'We just' by Moses was an interesting one. Full of samples and beautiful synth solos, it was a memorable track, even if it seemed to be devilishly simple.

It was a hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 3. The song was apparently the theme to the Italian music programme Discoring. At the time, synthesizer themes were all the rage, because the BBC's 'Top of the pops' used Paul Hardcastle's 'The wizard' at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 394

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'We just' / 'Our revolution'

A woman needs love (Just like you do) - Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio

The band Raydio started in the second half of the Seventies and had a few hits with songs like 'You can't change that'. From 1980 onwards, they became known as 'Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio', giving more prominence to their lead singer.

'A woman needs love' was taken from their fourth album from 1981. It reached number 7 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2584

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 23, 1995

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'A woman needs love (just like you do)' / 'So into you'

Talk - Coldplay

'Talk' was released as the third single from Coldplay's 2005 album 'X&Y'. A number one hit in the Netherlands, it also reached number 10 in the UK and number 4 in Canada.

The band received permission from the German band Kraftwerk to use the main riff from their song 'Computer love' from their 1981 studio LP 'Computer world' for 'Talk', replacing Kraftwerk's synthesizers with guitars. According to reports, Chris Martin from Coldplay sent a letter to Kraftwerk in basic German, which he'd learnt at school.

My collection: 7" single no. 3421

Found: London, December 2005

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Talk' / 'Gravity'

I believe in you - Talk Talk

I wrote about 'I believe in you' before, but that was because of the promotional 7" single that I own. A few years after getting that one, I found a version of the commercially available single, featuring the B-side 'John Cope'. Since this single was made in Spain, it is a bit of a rarity as well.

The single failed to breach the charts in any country as far as I know. Tim Pope directed a music video for this track, featuring Mark Hollis sitting with his guitar, singing the lyrics. 'That was a massive mistake,' said Hollis afterwards. 'I thought just by sitting there and listening and really thinking about what it was about, I could get that in my eyes. But you cannot do it. It just feels stupid.'

My collection: 7" single no. 2613
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, February 10, 1996
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'I believe in you (edit)' / 'John Cope'

Storm chaser - Erasure

Erasure released the 'Storm chaser' EP in September 2007. While the cd-single contained eight remixes of five different tracks plus a duet with Cyndi Lauper, the 7" single only had two tracks, making it a single, not an EP.

Released as a picture disc, the single still did not chart in the UK - or any other country for that matter.

My collection: 7" single no. 3577
Found: eBay, received February 2, 2009

Cost: 3 pounds

Tracks: 'Storm in a teacup (single version)' / 'Sucker for love (edit)'

Dream police - Cheap Trick

'Dream Police' was the 1979 studio album by the band Cheap Trick. After their worldwide success with 'I want you to want me' the pressure was on to come up with good new material, and the band rose to the challenge. The album shows the band expanding into longer, more complex songs and incorporating orchestration on several tracks. It was Cheap Trick's most successful studio effort, being certified platinum within a few months of its release.

The title track was released as a single in October 1979, and reached number 37 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2938

Found: January 31, 1998

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Dream police' / 'Heaven tonight'

Breakout - Swing out sister

Swing Out Sister was formed by Andy Connell and Martin Jackson with Corinne Drewery. They took their name from a 1945 movie starring Arthur Treacher, called 'Swing Out, Sister', and they claim they chose the name because it was the only thing the band could agree on, in that they all hated it.

Prior to their debut album, they released the single 'Blue mood' in the UK in November 1985. This single did not chart. The first single from their debut lbum 'It's better to travel' was a big hit, however. It reached the number four position on the UK singles chart in November 1986 and number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 in November 1987. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands it peaked at number 30 in January 1987.

My collection: 7" single no. 2511

Found: Record Exchange, London, October 30, 1995

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Breakout' / 'Dirty money'

One better world - ABC

After ABC's success with their fourth album 'Alphabet city', Martin Fry and Mark White started experimenting with the hype of the year, house music. Released in 1989, their album 'Up' was their lowest charting album to that point, reaching number 57 during a one week chart run. The first single from the album, 'One better world', didn't do much better, peaking at number 32 in the UK singles chart.

After I bought the single on the strength of the band's name, I got one of the biggest musical disappointments of my life. The superficial music with equally superficial lyrics was a total breach of everything the band had done before. As an ABC fan I expected beauty and intelligence, but unfortunately I got something that merely flirted with the flavour of the week. House music is a thing of the past now, fortunately, but this painful single remains in my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 874

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, June 3, 1989

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'One better world' / 'One better world (Percapella mix)'

Infatuation - Rod Stewart

Back in 1984, the music video of 'Infatuation' was a regular guest on television programmes. Rod Stewart posing as a voyeur had something, er, believable. After a very successful career in the Seventies, Stewart was struggling to have hit singles. In the UK, he only had four top 10 singles during the Eighties, one of which was this single, peaking at number 6.

These days Stewart is concentrating on singing American standards from the Thirties and Fourties. Hard to imagine now that the man was once a pop star...

My collection: 7" single no. 1030

Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'Infatuation' / 'Three time loser'

Broken heart - The Babys

The Babys second album, 'Broken heart' was released in September of 1977. The album spent two weeks at number one in Australia. The title track was released as a single, but it didn't chart in any country. Later single 'Isn't it time' was much more successful.

I'd never heard this track when I tried it out in 1988 when I got the opportunity to go through my brother's record collection. Apparently it made some impression because seven years later, I bought the single.

My collection: 7" single no. 2244

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, February 23, 1995

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Broken heart' / 'Wild man'

In het donker - Kadanz

The group Kadanz was a continuation of the gay cabaret group Spitsroeden, from which band members Frans Bakker, Herman Schulte and Kees van den Berg came. Their debut single 'In het donker' ('In the darkness'; 1982) was an immediate hit: it reached number 23 in the Dutch Top 40.

Since then, the track has been re-recorded several times by the band, during their different incarnations between 1982 and 1998. This original version was also released as an edited and a full length track. The main difference between the two was a synthesizer solo in the middle of the song, which was cut from the edited version on the A-side of this single.

My collection: 7" single no. 181

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1983

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'In het donker' / 'In het donker'

Never knew love like this before - Stephanie Mills

Stephanie Mills was born on March 22, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York. Her single 'Never knew love like this before', taken from the album 'Sweet sensation', shot her to international fame, whereas she had been in the music business for seven years.

In the UK, this single reached number 4, but in the Netherlands it did even better, peaking at the top of the chart in November 1980.

My collection: 7" single no. 2730
Found: September 7, 1996
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Never knew love like this before' / 'Still mine'

Head over heels - Tears for fears

'Head over heels' was the fourth single taken from Tears for fears' second album 'Songs from the big chair'. The track was remixed for the single, because on the album the track segued from a studio recording of the track 'Broken' and into a live recording of that same track. Roland Orzabal commented about the song: 'It is basically a love song and one of the most simple tracks that Tears for Fears have ever recorded. It is a love song that goes a bit perverse at the end.'

The single performed well in the UK singles chart, peaking at number 12, but in the US Billboard Hot 100 it fared even better: it reached number 3. The music video is centered around Roland Orzabal's attempts to get the attention of a librarian (played by a Canadian model), while a variety of characters (many played by the rest of the band) take part in shenanigans in the library. The final scene shows Orzabal and the librarian as an older married couple. The video was filmed at the Emmanuel College Library in Toronto, Canada.

My collection: 7" single no. 302

Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Head over heels' / 'When in love with a blind man'

In between days - The Cure

'In between days' (sometimes listed as 'Inbetween days' or 'In-between days') was released as the first single from the Cure's 1985 album 'The head on the door'. In the UK, it was the band's ninth chart single and their fourth consecutive Top 20 hit, peaking at number 15. In the US it was their first single to reach the Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at number 99.

The music video that accompanied the single, directed by Tim Pope, was an interesting one: it featured a camera on a string, which was pushed forward and back by members of the band.

My collection: 7" single no. 1643

Found: May 3, 1992

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'In between days' / 'The exploding boy'

Healing waters - Mr. Mister

Mr. Mister was formed in 1982 by Richard Page, Steve George, Pat Mastelotto and Steve Farris. Their debut album 'I wear the face' was released in 1984. A year later, their second album 'Welcome to the real world' yielded the hits 'Broken wings' and 'Kyrie'. They were under pressure to come up with an equally successful third album.

The band's third album was 'Go On...' (1987), which the band said was "some of the best stuff we ever did," showing a much more mature band and a sound that hinted at progressive rock. The track 'Healing waters' was released as the second single from that album, but despite its catchy refrain and compelling lyric, it did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 767

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, March 16, 1989

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Healing waters (remix)' / 'Control'

Cathy's clown - Tarney Spencer Band

The Tarney-Spencer Band was an Australian rock band composed of Trevor Spencer and Alan Tarney in the late Seventies. The band recorded three albums: 'Tarney and Spencer' (1976), 'Three's a crowd' (1978) and 'Run for your life' (1979). In 1979, the band was released from their contract with A&M Records after the release of the non-album single 'Cathy's clown' . It peaked at number 31 in the Netherlands in early 1980.

Trevor Spencer left the UK and returned to Perth to help start Sh-Boom studios with Gary Taylor. Alan Tarney began working as a producer in 1979 and was largely responsible for masterminding Cliff Richard's resurgent chart career in the late 1970s and mid-1980s with world-wide-hit 'We don't talk anymore'. He also produced A-ha's first three albums.

My collection: 7" single no. 65

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Cathy's clown' / 'Anything I can do'

Loreen - Sandra

'Loreen' was the third single release from Sandra's second album 'Mirrors'. It was the first time that she released a ballad as a single, marking a slight change from the upbeat pop songs that had started to sound so alike.

The change was not especially rewarded: it was the lowest charting single by Sandra in Germany, peaking at number 23. Still, in Sweden the single peaked at number 4.

My collection: 7" single no. 2085

Found: Record fair, February 26, 1994

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Loreen' / 'Don't cry'