Beat it - Michael Jackson

'Beat it' is the first Michael Jackson single I ever bought. It was a stunning piece of work, combining dance rhythms with a decidedly hardrock guitar solo. The solo was performed by Eddie van Halen, who recorded his solo free of charge. 'I did it as a favor. I was a complete fool, according to the rest of the band, our manager and everyone else. I was not used. I knew what I was doing - I don't do something unless I want to do it.'

The lyrics of 'Beat it' are about defeat and courage. The line 'don't be a macho man' is said to express Jackson's dislike of violence, whilst also referencing the childhood abuse he faced at the hands of his father Joseph.

My collection: 7" single no. 192
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1983
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Beat it' / 'Get on the floor'

One day in your life - Michael Jackson

When Michael Jackson was enjoying enormous success with 'Off the wall' on the Epic label, his previous employer Motown decided to try and cash in on the success as well. They plundered the archives and released 'One day in your life' from his 1975 album 'Forever, Michael'.

While it became a modest hit in the USA, reaching number 55, it actually reached number 1 in the UK singles chart - his first single to do so. It went on to become the 6th best-selling single of 1981 in the UK. The single also reached number 1 in Ireland and the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 820
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 13, 1989
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'One day in your life' / 'Dear Michael'

She's out of my life - Michael Jackson

'She's out of my life' was written by Tom Bahler. He wrote the song about Karen Carpenter, who broke up with him after he'd had an affair with another woman - and father a child with her. The song became famous as the fourth single from Michael Jackson's album 'Off the wall'. Unlike the album's previous singles, which were all dance/funk tracks, this was an emotional ballad, showing another side of the American superstar.

Although he had attempted to record the song's last few moments with emotional restraint, Michael Jackson kept breaking down in tears at the end. Producer Quincy Jones subsequently decided to let Jackson's tearful recording stand: 'I said 'hey - that's supposed to be, leave it on there''.

I got the single from my brother who had more than one copy of this single after Michael Jackson's death. That in itself is a rather astounding thing, as my brother is not always this generous.

My collection: 7" single no. 3826
Found: present, July 3, 2009
Cost: nothing
Track: 'She's out of my life' (Michael Jackson) / 'Push me away' (The Jacksons)

Off the wall - Michael Jackson

The title track from Michael Jackson's by then bestselling 1979 album 'Off the wall' was released as its third single. The track was composed by Rod Temperton. The lyric of the song pertains to getting out of troubles: 'leave that nine-to-five upon the shelf / and just enjoy yourself'.

The song peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number 7 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1937
Found: Disco Market, August 11, 1993
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Off the wall' / 'Working day and night'

Don't stop 'til you get enough - Michael Jackson

'Don't stop 'til you get enough' was the first single taken from Michael Jackson's 1979 album 'Off the wall'. Jackson claimed that when the melody of the song came to him, he couldn't shake it off. He found himself humming and singing it while walking through the Jacksons' Encino home. As Michael could not play, he had his brother Randy play the melody on a piano in the family's recording studio.

When Jackson's mother, a devout Jehovah's Witness, heard the song, she was shocked by the lyrical content. She pointed out that the title could be referring to sexual activity. Jackson reassured her that the song was not a reference to sex, but could mean whatever people wanted it to. The single became a number one hit in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the USA. In the Netherlands and Sweden it peaked at number 2, while in the UK it reached number 3.

My collection: 7" single no. 2461
Found: September 9, 1995
Cost: 1 guilders
Tracks: 'Don't stop 'til you get enough' / 'I can't help it'

Put a little love in your heart - Annie Lennox and Al Green

Jackie DeShannon, Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday composed 'Put a little love in your heart' in 1968. DeShannon recorded the track, and had a number 4 hit with it in the USA.

Twenty years later, Annie Lennox and Al Green recorded a cover version of the track, which was used in the 1988 movie 'Scrooged', starring Bill Murray. The song reached number 9 in the USA, number 13 in the Netherlands and was a top 40 hit in several countries worldwide.

My collection: 7" single no. 1714
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 14, 1992
Cost: 4 guilders
Tracks: 'Put a little love in your heart' / 'A great big piece of love'

It's showtime - Katja Ebstein

Not content with just a German version ('Theater') and a French version ('Théàtre'), Katja Ebstein also recorded her 1980 entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in English as 'It's showtime'. Like the French version, this English version did not appeal much to the people speaking that language, as it did not chart in the UK.

What's nice about the three different singles is that the sleeves are almost identical, except for the colouring of Katja's name. While the German version has a red logo and the French version has a blue logo, the English version came with an orange logo. It's easy to distinguish the sleeves that way. Ideal for record hunters...

My collection: 7" single no. 2975
Found: Bea Records, March 1, 1998
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'It's showtime' / 'What's her bag'

If you could read my mind - Viola Wills

Viola Wills was born as Viola Mae Wilkerson in Los Angeles on December 30, 1939. Wills was already married from her teens and was the mother of six children before the age of 21 when, in 1965, she was discovered by Barry White who signed her to Bronco Records and rechristened her with the shorter stage surname of Wills.

Her 1981 single 'If you could read my mind' was remixed by the DJ remix service Disconet. In that version, she had a hit in the Netherlands, reaching number 3. Wills died of cancer on May 6, 2009 in Arizona.

My collection: 7" single no. 2058
Found: November 27, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'If you could read my mind (Special short US Disconet version)' / 'If you could read my mind'

December - All about Eve

Sad to say, but the track 'December' was butchered for the single release. The track was probably deemed too long for a single release, so someone decided to cut out guitar solos, long intros and just about everything else. I still believe it hurt the sales of the single, which only managed to reach number 34 in the UK singles chart. As usual, the single did not chart in other territories.

All this despite the release of a regular 7" single (pictured above), a picture disc 7" (pictured below), a 10" single, a 12" single, a cd-single and a limited edition picture cd-single. With so many formats, it's no wonder the chart rules were changed some years later, limiting the amount of formats eligible to count towards sales to three.

My collection: 7" single no. 1132 (regular single) / no. 1226 (picture disc)
Found: Tower Records mailorder, received December 23, 1989 / Record fair, Den Haag, April 22, 1990
Cost: 2 pounds / 17 guilders
Tracks (regular single): 'December' / 'Drowning'
Tracks (picture disc): 'December' / 'Drowning', 'Paradise '89'

The girl is mine - Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney

Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney collaborated on 'Say say say' in 1981, a track that appeared in 1983 on McCartney's fifth solo album 'Pipes of peace'. The favour was returned with this song, 'The girl is mine'. The song has been the subject of two plagiarism lawsuits. Both instances required Jackson to testify in court, and each lawsuit found in the favour of the singer and his record label.

Producer Quincy Jones had initially told Jackson to write a song about two men fighting over a girl. Inspired, Jackson awoke during the night and sang the song into a tape recorder. The song was then recorded by Jackson and McCartney at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, from April 14 to 16, 1982. Released as the first single from Jackson's bestselling album 'Thriller', it reached number 8 in the UK and number 12 in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 842
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, May 27, 1989
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'The girl is mine' / 'Can't get outta the rain'

Young guns (Go for it) - Wham!

'Death by matrimony' is a phrase in the lyric of this song, which is a good summary of what the song is about. George Michael wrote 'Young guns (Go for it)' about a teenage lad's worry that his best friend was getting too committed to a girl when he should be enjoying his youth and the single life. One of the most talked about lines in the song is the spoken line 'Caution pays'. Since the line is played at a lower speed than originally recorded, people mistakenly thought that the line is 'Abortion pays', which, ironically, would have fit in with the overall theme of the song.

'Young guns' became Wham!'s first hit, reaching number 3 in the UK and number 4 in the Netherlands. Due to this success, the previous single 'Wham Rap' was re-released, becoming a top 10 hit for the band in both countries as a result.

My collection: 7" single no. 3847
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Young guns (Go for it)' / 'Going for it'

Love in the shadows - E.G. Daily

After E.G. Daily reached the chart in several countries with 'Say it say it', a second single was taken from her 1985 album 'Wild child': 'Love in the shadows'. The single proved less successful, as it did not chart in any territory.

However, the song was used in the movie 'Thief of hearts', released roughly around the same time.

My collection: 7" single no. 3844
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Love in the shadows' / 'Little toy'

Neon City - Mistral

Another single, another singer. The studio band Mistral had a different singer for every single - although they were all released in 1978. 'Neon city' was the least futuristic-sounding of the three, while the vocals on this one were performed by Mariska Veres, who was like band member Robbie van Leeuwen formerly in Shocking Blue.

This single only made it to number 37 in the Dutch Top 40. Although Mistral released three further singles in 1980, this one was the last to reach the chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3842
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Neon city' / 'Asphalt'

Tunnel of love - Fun Boy Three

Fun Boy Three released 'The tunnel of love' in 1983. It was a rather cynical song, bemoaning life and the twists and turns it takes. Despite this rather dark subject, the single made number 10 in the UK and peaked a number 25 in the Netherlands.

The single would be the trio's penultimate success in the UK, the rather more poppy 'Our lips are sealed' being the last.

My collection: 7" single no. 3834
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'The tunnel of love' / 'The lunacy legacy'

If I had words - Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley

Before Scott Fitzgerald represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988 with 'Go', he'd had one previous success, a decade earlier. Together with Yvonne Keeley and the St. Thomas Moore School Choir he performed 'If I had words', a song that topped the chart in the Netherlands and peaked at number 3 in the UK.

The music was taken from the main theme of the Maestoso from Saint-Saens Symphony No.3 in C minor (Organ Symphony) with an added reggae beat. The lyrics and arrangement were by Jonathan Hodge, a prolific writer of TV jingles and movie themes, who also produced the single.

My collection: 7" single no. 3838
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'If I had words' / 'This time of year'

Heaven on earth - Nathalie

Beautiful Belgian girl Nathalie had only one international hit - 'My love won't let you down' - but released a few more singles during the Eighties. The 1984 single 'Heaven on earth' was, like the hit single that preceded it, produced by Peter Godwin, a minor god of Eighties pop music.

Things become more interesting when you listen to the B-side, which is produced by 'Twilight'. It becomes rather obvious on that track that the girl can't really sing that well... But her looks are still, er, heaven on earth - as is obvious from the cover.

My collection: 7" single no. 3835
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Heaven on earth' / 'Cyclops dancer'

Lovers of a kind - Pussycat

After their success in the Seventies, the Dutch band Pussycat never really recovered during the Eighties. They only managed a few minor hits in the Netherlands. What's more, the band slimmed down to only four members, having originally started with eight.

'Lovers of a kind', a modern sounding song was their last hit in the Netherlands, reaching number 15 in February 1983.

My collection: 7" single no. 3840
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Lovers of a kind' / 'Closer to you'

Barracuda - Heart

'Barracuda' was released in 1977 as the first single from Heart's third album 'Little queen'. The song is an aggressive hard rock number notable for its galloping guitar riff. In interviews, Ann Wilson commented that the song was about the band's anger towards Mushroom Records, after they attempted a publicity stunt involving sisters Ann and Nancy and a made-up lesbian affair. The song particularly focuses on Ann's rage towards a man who came up to her after a concert asking how her 'lover' was. She initially thought he was talking about her then-boyfriend, band manager Michael Fisher. After he revealed he was talking about her sister Nancy Wilson, Ann became angry and went back to her hotel room to write the original lyrics of the song.

The single reached number 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, but wasn't such a success in Europe.

My collection: 7" single no. 3839
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Barracuda' / 'Cry to me'

Nobody does it better - Carly Simon

'Nobody does it better' was written by Carole Bayer Sager and composed by Marvin Hamlisch. Carly Simon recorded it as the theme song for the 1977 James Bond film 'The spy who loved me'. For the first time, the Bond theme song did not have the same title as the movie itself, although the phrase 'The spy who loved me' does appear in the lyric.

The single reached number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, number 7 in the UK and a rather disappointing number 31 in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 3845
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Nobody does it better' / 'After the storm'

In and out of love - Imagination

Leee John (yes, with three 'e's!) and Ashley Ingram met in the late Seventies and formed a songwriting partnership, trying to start their own 'slinky, sexy and erotic' group, initially working in a short-lived band called Fizzz. Whilst auditioning for another short-lived band, Midnight Express, they met drummer Errol Kennedy.

Together they made a demo of the song 'Body talk' using the band name Imagination, which they took to producers Steve Jolley and Tony Swain. They agreed to produce their debut album, which was also named 'Body talk', and a story of success followed. The debut single 'Body talk' was a top 10 hit in the UK during the summer of 1981. Released in September 1981, their second single 'In and out of love' reached number 16 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3833
Found: Zeeheldenfestival, Den Haag, July 4, 2009
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'In and out of love' / 'In and out of love (instrumental)'