'Love's been a little bit hard on me' was released in 1982. It reached number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of that year. I bought the single because I liked the song, while it met with disapproval of my sister, with whom I had an almost shared record collection at the time. Suffice to say that she was rather shocked that I came home with this one...
My collection: 7" single no. 135 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982 Cost: 3,5 guilders Tracks: 'Love's been a little bit hard on me' / 'Ever true'
'Elton John live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra' was released in 1987. This single, a live version of 'Candle in the wind', the famous song dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, was taken from that album. The single reached number 5 in the UK and Canada.
While touring in Australia, the year before, Elton lost his voice. Shortly thereafter he underwent throat surgery. Several non-cancerous polyps were removed from his vocal cords, and John lost his famous falsetto, and he sang with a new voice.
My collection: 7" single no. 627 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1987 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Candle in the wind (live)' / 'Sorry seems to be the hardest word (live)'
As written before on this blog, 'Feel so high' was released twice in the UK, with the second release being the most successful one. The original single had a different B-side than this reissue. The sleeve was also different.
Enough reasons for me to warrant the purchase of this single. It was the last 7" single by Des'ree I bought. Not long after this, the vinyl format was abandoned by the record company and the artist started recording dull songs.
My collection: 7" single no. 2361 Found: July 3, 1995 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: 'Feel so high' / 'Got to be strong'
'When will I see you again' was written and produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The Three Degrees recorded and released the track in 1974. Sheila Ferguson from the group recalled that 'the song was played to me by Kenny Gamble at the piano in 1973 and I threw a tantrum. I screamed and yelled and said I would never sing it. I thought it was ridiculously insulting to be given such a simple song and that it took no talent to sing it. We did do it and several million copies later, I realized that he knew more than me.'
The single became one of the most successful recordings using the 'Philly Soul' sound, selling over 25 million copies worldwide. In the UK the single topped the chart, whereas in the Netherlands it reached number 4.
My collection: 7" single no. 2958 Found: February 9, 1998 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'When will I see you again' / 'I didn't know'
Almost a decade before I bought the 12" single of 'Feel the raindrops', I bought the 7" single. It was one of the best tracks of 1985 in my opinion, and after the beautiful 'Send my heart', this was another track I instantly fell in love with.
The song still sounds as fresh as ever now in 2009. Music like this has become pretty rare in the mean time.
My collection: 7" single no. 440 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 26, 1986 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Feel the raindrops' / 'Nowhere near me'
I didn't know this song when I bought it. I bought this single for one reason only: it was a picture disc. And a beautiful one, at that. Fortunately I did know Judie Tzuke and the type of music she made.
In 1982 Tzuke joined a new label, Chrysalis Records after having served with Rocket Records for three years. Her first album for Chrysalis was 'Shoot the moon', from which this single was taken. The single did not chart, but the album reached number 19 in the UK albums chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2781 Found: London, November 1, 1996 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: 'I'm not a loser' / 'Run on luck'
'Lover of mine' was released in 1990 as the fourth and last single from Alannah Myles' self-titled debut album. While in Canada, the single equalled the number 2 position her biggest hit 'Black velvet' had reached a year earlier, elsewhere in the world, it did not impress the record-buying audiences.
The song is a power ballad, very different from the rock stylings of her earlier singles. Later on in her career, Myles would try her luck more often with this kind of power ballad.
My collection: 7" single no. 1829 Found: Record Palace, Amsterdam, January 13, 1993 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Lover of mine' / 'Just one kiss'
Tom Petty's 'A face in the crowd' was written and produced by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, like most of the material on his album 'Full moon fever'. The track has a beautiful warm, relaxed sound that seemed to please especially the Dutch audience.
The single peaked at nnumber 23 in the Netherlands, whereas it stalled at number 93 in the UK singles chart and number 46 in the US Billboard Hot 100.
My collection: 7" single no. 1249 Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, June 21, 1990 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'A face in the crowd' / 'A mind with a heart of its own'
After Red Box signed to Sire Records and released their single 'Saskatchewan', there must have been some doubt whether this band would actually make it. The single did not chart and some record company executives must have felt panic. These days, the band would probably have been dropped immediately.
But they followed through with 'Lean on me', which proved the be a more successful track. It would prove to be the biggest hit of their career, peaking at number 3 in the UK Singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 2140 Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, August 2, 1994 Cost: 2 guilders Tracks: 'Lean on me' / 'Stinging bee'
Contrary to what you might think, when I bought this single two decades after its release, I didn't have to pay a fortune for it. I was as surprised as anyone when I spotted this limited edition double single during a record fair for a rather low price. Considering the ever growing fanbase of this Irish band, I would have expected the dealer to make a nice profit. Fortunately he didn't, otherwise I would never have bought this of course.
I consider 'Pride' to be U2's breakthrough single. It was the first one to reach the top 3 of the UK singles chart, peaking at number 3, and it was the first top 10 hit in the Netherlands, reaching number 8. The accompanying album 'The unforgettable fire' is an unmistakable classic which demands a luxury extended collectable ultimate edition of some sort. Now that's something I would buy...
My collection: 7" single no. 3365 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 2002 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Pride (In the name of love)' / '4th of July' // 'Boomerang I (Instrumental)' / 'Boomerang II (Vocal)'
The third single from All about Eve's 1989 album 'Scarlet and other stories' was 'Scarlet'. It was released in early 1990 and backed with a live track recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, where the band celebrated the biggest commercial success of their career.
'Scarlet' equalled the chart placing of the previous single 'December' in the UK, reaching number 34 in the singles chart. As always, the single was released in several collectable formats: the 7" single, a 12" single with a gatefold sleeve and a live poster, a cd-single and a picture disc cd-single.
My collection: 7" single no. 1205 Found: Wreckastow, Rotterdam, April 13, 1990 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: 'Scarlet' / 'Our summer (live)'
'Love's great adventure' was recorded as a new track for Ultravox's 1984 compilation album 'The Collection' and released as a single to promote the album. Released in October 1984 it peaked at number 12 in the UK singles chart and number 30 in the Dutch Top 40.
The style of this single is different from any of their preceding singles from the album 'Lament', aiming for a more lightweight, pop-oriented approach. The music video features the band members in a humorous parody of Indiana Jones, with Midge Ure being chased across deserts and forests by a ruthless treasure hunter. Midge Ure stated in his autobiography 'If I was' that the aim of the single and its video was to promote Ultravox as having a sense of humour, away from the seriousness of their previous releases.
Once again, I bought this single in a clear vinyl edition. The gatefold sleeve also contained a booklet with a beautifully illustrated song lyric in the style of the front sleeve. Unfortunately, I found this edition some years after buying the original single and the booklet sleeved one with the disc pressed on black vinyl. So now I've got three copies of this single...
My collection: 7" single no. 247-1, 247-2, 3068 Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1984 / Disco Market, Den Haag, 1984 / House of Rhythm, London, 1999 Cost: 6 guilders / 3,5 guilders / 2 pounds Tracks: 'Dancing with tears in my eyes' / 'White China (live)'
'Original sin' was recorded as a theme song for the 1994 movie 'The shadow', based on the character of the same name created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931. At a budget of 40 million dollars, the movie barely made a profit with worldwide sales of 48 million.
Taylor Dayne performed 'Original sin', which was produced, written and arranged by Jim Steinman, the man responsible for many bombastic hits such as 'Total eclipse of the heart' by Bonnie Tyler and 'Paradise by the dashboard light' by Meatloaf. The single only made the UK singles chart, peaking at number 63.
My collection: 7" single no. 2359 Found: June 29, 1995 Cost: 2 pounds Tracks: 'Original sin (radio edit)' / 'Original sin (radio mix)'
'Open your eyes' was released as the fifth single from Snow Patrol's 2006 album 'Eyes open'. Released in February 2007, the single peaked at number 26 in the UK singles chart. It went number 1 in Slovakia and number 21 in Ireland.
The song has proved to be an effective track for campaigns. It was used in Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, the BBC HD service campaign, a promo for the second season of the TV series 'Gossip girl' and the season 12 finale and season 13 premiere of 'ER'. The B-side is a cover of Ricky Wilde's 'I am an astronaut', which was previously featured on the Save the Children charity compilation album 'Colours are brighter'.
My collection: 7" single no. 3499 Found: eBay.co.uk, received December 23, 2008 Cost: 3 pounds Tracks: 'Open your eyes' / 'I am an astronaut'
Before I bought the 12" single of 'Trick of the night', I found this ep featuring four tracks. Just like on the 12" single, 'Trick of the night' was featured in two different versions: one produced by Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, and one by Stock, Aitken & Waterman.
The single peaked at number 32 in the UK singles chart, whereas it peaked at number 76 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. This ep was released in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, the inner side featuring an illustration of the trio plus the lyric of the song.
My collection: 7" single no. 2765 Found: House of Rhythm, October 29, 1996 Cost: 40p Tracks: 'Trick of the night #1', 'Cut above the rest' / 'Trick of the night #2', 'Set on you'
The 'Amiga Quartett' was a series of four track ep's released in the German Democratic Republic, the Eastern part of Germany that existed until the end of the Eighties, featuring tracks from a certain artist or band. In this installment, the ep is filled with four tracks by Mel & Kim. They were enjoying a lot of success in Europe with 'Showing out' and 'Respectable' at the time. The state-controlled record company picked four tracks from their debut album to release them on this ep.
What's remarkable about this ep is the rather butchered version of 'Showing out'. It is edited in a different way than usual, taking rather random passages from the album version of the track and glueing them together, sometimes audibly wrong.
My collection: 7" single no. 2926 Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, December 13, 1997 Cost: 5 guilders Tracks: 'Respectable', 'From a whisper to a scream' / 'Showing out', 'Who's gonna catch you'
Tori Amos explained that the idea for '1000 oceans' came to her in a dream. An old African woman was humming the melody to her, and she got up around 5:30 in the morning to record it. The inspiration for the lyrics came when her father-in-law died, and she claims the song helped her husband deal with the grieving process. The lyrics contain reference to Silbury Hill, an ancient mound in Wiltshire, England. This is a place often visited by Amos and her husband.
The single did not chart. This vinyl single is also the last Tori Amos vinyl single around; subsequent releases were no longer released on this format with the sole exception of 'A sorta fairytale'.
My collection: 7" single no. 3142 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, 1999 Cost: 10 guilders Tracks: '1000 oceans' / 'Baker baker (live)'
'Love is' was recorded in 1993 as a duet of Vanessa Williams and Brian McKnight. The track originally appeared on the soundtrack of the TV drama series 'Beverly Hills, 90210'. As a result of this exposure, the song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming McKnight's breakthrough hit and another hit for Williams. The single also charted in Australia, where it peaked at number 49. In other territories, the single flopped.
I bough this single a few years after its original release. I was quite happy to find this single because at that time, vinyl singles were becoming increasingly rare.
My collection: 7" single no. 2712 Found: House of Rhythm, London, July 3, 1996 Cost: 60p Tracks: 'Love is' (Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight) / 'After the love' (Brian McKnight)
Rick James scored his second and last top 10 hit in the Netherlands with the 1985 single 'Glow'. The single did not chart in the UK. It was an almost megalomaniac piece of work, with lots of solos and clocking in at 5 minutes and 40 seconds.
James' last hit was 'Loosey's Rap' in 1989. It all went downhill from there, as he descended into a drug- and crimefilled Nineties. On the morning of August 6, 2004, Rick James was found dead in his home by his caretaker. James had died as a result of his various health conditions of diabetes, stroke, a pacemaker, and a heart attack. Through his autopsy it was discovered he was under the influence of five different drugs, including marijuana and cocaine, at the time of his death.
My collection: 7" single no. 353 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1985 Cost: 3 guilders Tracks: 'Glow' / 'Glow (instrumental)'
'(Just like) Starting over' was released as the first single from John Lennon's 1980 album 'Double fantasy' and his first single in five years. It was chosen by Lennon, not because he felt it was the best track on the album, but because it was the most appropriate one, following his five year absence from the music business. The original title of the song was 'Starting over'. '(Just like)' was added at the last minute because a country song of the same title was released by Tammy Wynette just a few months before.
Released in October 1980, the single reached number one in the UK and the USA two weeks after Lennon was killed by a madman on December 8 of that year. The sound of Yoko Ono getting an orgasm on the B-side was an added bonus.
My collection: 7" single no. 2898 Found: Record Exchange, London, October 30, 1997 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: '(Just like) Starting over' (John Lennon) / 'Kiss kiss kiss' (Yoko Ono)
'Love's been a little bit hard on me' was released in 1982. It reached number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 during the summer of that year. I bought the single because I liked the song, while it met with disapproval of my sister, with whom I had an almost shared record collection at the time. Suffice to say that she was rather shocked that I came home with this one...
