I just can't help it - The Korgis

Released in 1980, 'I just can't help it' was the Korgis' fourth single release. Their debut single 'Young 'n Russian' was released twice without chart success, whereas their second single 'If I had you' gave them their first chart success.

'I just can't help it' was remixed for the single release, but it didn't help matters much: the single didn't reach the UK singles chart. Their next single would be the biggest hit of their career: 'Everybody's gotta learn sometimes'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2899
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 30, 1997
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'I just can't help it' / 'O Maxine'

I want your (hands on me) - Sinéad O'Connor

'I want your (hands on me)' was already not the strongest track on Sinéad O'Connor's debut album 'The lion and the cobra', but the single version, released in the spring of 1988, had the added bonus of a rap by a certain MC Lyte. And as you well know, rapping is the worst kind of self-expression.

I wasn't going to buy this single at first, until I noticed the B-side contained a live version of 'Just call me Joe', recorded during a BBC Radio One session in 1987. Okay, so the B-side was better than the A-side this time around... The single reached number 77 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2546
Found: Record Exchange, London, November 1, 1995
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'I want your (hands on me) (feat. MC Lyte)' / 'Just call me Joe (live)'

Killer - Seal

Adamski and Seal recorded 'Killer' in 1990, providing Seal with a platform from which to launch his own solo career. On his debut album, he recorded a new version of the song - and this version was released as the fourth single from the album. This new version was produced by Trevor Horn and William Orbit.

Seal's version of 'Killer' reached number 8 in the UK singles chart. The B-side consisted of two tracks, both recorded live in an attempt to launch him as a 'serious' live artist too. Seal has since done several tours, proving that his great voice is not just a product of studio alterations.

My collection: 7" single no. 2165
Found: London, September 26, 1994
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Killer' / 'Hey Joe', 'Come see what love has done'

Drive - The Cars

'Drive' was the third single from the Cars' 1984 album 'Heartbeat City'. Written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and the Cars, the lead vocals were performed by the band's bassist Benjamin Orr.

The single reached number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 28 in the Dutch Top 40. In the summer of 1985, the song was used for a video showing footage of hungry Ethiopian children during the Live Aid concert. Despite the fact that 'Who's gonna drive you home tonight' is a bit of a stupid question in a country where cars are nowhere to be seen and the question 'Who's gonna give you food tonight' might be more appropriate, the single found itself in the public eye once more. When it was re-released, it reached number 4 in the UK and number 14 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 327
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 5,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Drive' / 'Stranger eyes'

Fame 90 - David Bowie

'Fame' was written by David Bowie, Carlos Alomar and John Lennon in 1975. The original version of the song was released as a single that same year and shot to number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In 1990, a remixed version of the song was released by EMI to coincide with the Sound + Vision tour and the release of the ChangesBowie compilation cd. The B-side of the single featured a very regrettable version with random mumblings by a female rapper. In the UK, 'Fame 90' was released in a special pack featuring three photograph prints. The single reached number 28 in the UK singles chart and did not chart in the USA.

My collection: 7" single no. 1229
Found: Free Record Shop, April 22, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Fame 90 (Gass mix)' / 'Fame 90 (Queen Latifah's rap version)'

I don't care anymore - Phil Collins

A track like 'I don't care anymore' is a far cry from the syrupy ballad material Phil Collins recorded later on in his solo career. Apparently, the lyric of this song is about the anger Collins felt after his first marriage dissolved.

Taken from his second solo album 'Hello, I must be going!', this single did not chart. The B-side was released as a single later on, and reached number 45 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2416
Found: July 22, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'I don't care anymore' / 'Don't let him steal your heart away'

Who will you run to - Heart

'Who will you run to' was the second single from Heart's 1987 album 'Bad animals'. The song was written by Diane Warren. The lyric contains a clear warning to a departing lover that there will be no one else who could care for and support him in the way that the singer of the song has.

The single reached number 7 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 30 in the UK singles chart. The B-side is the most beautiful track from Heart's 1985 self-titled album.

My collection: 7" single no. 1751
Found: London, October 19, 1992
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Who will you run to' / 'Nobody home'

Follow me - Demis Roussos

I don't think many chart singles are based on classical music these days. But in the Seventies and early Eighties, it happened every once in a while. This track by Demis Roussos is a good example: 'Follow me' was based on Rodrigo's Concerto d'Aranjuez, and was an impressive piece clocking in at six minutes.

Demis reached number 25 in the Dutch Top 40 with this single, and had a Europe-wide hit with it as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 169
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Follow me' / 'Song without end'

April love - Ricky Wilde

After Ricky Wilde debuted in 1972 with 'I am an astronaut', his second single 'April love' was released in early 1973. The song was originally written by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster and recorded in 1957 by Pat Boone. Young Ricky didn't reach the UK singles chart with this effort, and I have no further chart statistics for this single. (He reportedly did well in Scandinavia with some singles, but it's never been described which singles exactly).

I found this copy of the single, with a picture sleeve and made in the UK, on eBay, sold by a Danish person. The disc is in pretty fine condition, considering its age of 36 years. And yes, all of Ricky's singles have become a bit of a collector's item: they are rarely offered for sale and especially copies with a picture sleeve are very hard to find.

My collection: 7" single no. 4098
Found: eBay.com, received September 29, 2009
Cost: 9 euro
Tracks: 'April love' / 'Round and round'

Left to my own devices - Pet Shop Boys

Produced by Trevor Horn, it's no surprise that 'Left to my devices', taken from the Pet Shop Boys' 1987 album 'Introspective', is quite a bombastic tune. As for the lyrics, Neil Tennant explains: 'I liked the idea of writing a really up pop song about being left alone. This song is a day in the life of someone, so it starts off with getting out of bed and being on the phone and drinking tea and all the rest of it, and it ends up with coming home. By this time I was making the words very exaggerated and camp, though writing a book and going on stage were both things I had wanted to do when I was young.'

The single peaked at number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 19 in the Dutch Top 40. It did much worse in America, where it stalled at number 84. The Pet Shop Boys failed to regain their popularity there ever since.

My collection: 7" single no. 707
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, December 17, 1988
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Left to my own devices' / 'The sound of the atom splitting'

In my arms - Erasure

While in the UK their record company had stopped releasing 7" singles by Erasure after 'Run to the sun', their American record company apparently continued for some time, judging from this copy of 'In my arms', released in 1997.

'In my arms', released as the first single from Erasure's 1997 album 'Cowboy', became their first Billboard Hot 100 entry since 1994's 'Always', peaking at number 55. In the UK, the single reached number 13. The B-side features a cover of Blondie's 'Heart of glass'.

My collection: 7" single no. 4059
Found: eBay.com, received September 23, 2009
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'In my arms' / 'Heart of glass'

My first night without you - Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper, Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg wrote 'My first night without you', a song about coming home for the first time without a partner being there after a break up. The single was considered a failure in most of the world because it failed to make a big impact on most charts. However, in South America it was a big success, reaching number 1 in Brazil and Colombia.

The track is also a personal favourite of mine. I remember playing it lots of times after I bought it out of curiosity.

My collection: 7" single no. 1269
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 14, 1990
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'My first night without you' / 'Unabbreviated love'

Bet that's what you say - Mai Tai

Released in April 1987, 'Bet that's what you say' was Mai Tai's penultimate hit single in the Netherlands. The song was produced by Eric van Tijn and Jochem Fluitsma, who also wrote the it. The single reached number 36 in the Dutch Top 40 during a three week chart run.

The sleeve photograph was taken by one of the Netherlands' most wellknown photographers, Govert de Roos.

My collection: 7" single no. 4090
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received September 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Bet that's what you say' / 'Bet that's what you say (dub mix)'

Don't forget to dance - The Kinks

'Don't forget to dance' is a beautiful ballad from the Kinks' 1983 album 'State of confusion'. The single followed 'Come dancing', which was one of the band's most successful singles in the United States. By comparison, this single did not do well.

In the UK, this single reached number 58, while in the Netherlands it did not chart. It was the first Kinks single I ever bought. The band has of course been active since the early Sixties, but most of their material just doesn't interest me much.

My collection: 7" single no. 497
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Don't forget to dance' / 'Young conservatives'

Maid of Orleans - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

The intro of 'Maid of Orleans' is one of the strangest sounds I'd ever heard in 1982. It piqued my interest, and with the aid of the intriguing music video, this became one of my favourite tracks of the year. About the intro, Andy McCluskey explained: 'The idea came about because we actually had the song recorded but thought the track started oddly and needed something else to announce its arrival. It's not meant to "mean" anything specific, just set up a feeling to let the track grow out of the strange noises. I think that it worked well! Most of the noises are mellotron vocal sounds slowed down/sped up and greatly distorted simply by completely overdriving the old Helios desk in The Manor Studio. Pink noise and snare drum in lots of reverb.'

The song was a big success, peaking at number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 1 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 308
Found: Parkpop, Den Haag, June 1985
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Maid of Orleans' / 'Navigation'

Love is stronger than pride - Sade

The first single from Sade's third album 'Stronger than pride' was the track 'Love is stronger than pride'. On the sleeve and in the accompanying music video, frontwoman Sade Adu was pictured on the beach in an attempt to 'sex up' the band. It didn't entirely work, as there was a certain distance exuding from her.

The single performed best, chart-wise, in the Netherlands, where it reached number 18. In the UK, where this limited edition single with a free colour poster was released, the single stalled at number 44.

My collection: 7" single no. 2631
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, March 16, 1996
Cost: 7 guilders
Tracks: 'Love is stronger than pride' / 'Super bien total'

The lifeboat party - Kid Creole and the Coconuts

Kid Creole and the Coconuts released their fourth album 'Doppelganger' in 1983. The opening track of the album was 'The lifeboat party', which was subsequently released as the album's second single.

The single reached number 49 in the UK singles chart, but did not chart in other territories. Still, it's a fine party song.

My collection: 7" single no. 4084
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received September 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'The lifeboat party' / 'Gina Gina'

State of love - Imagination

Taken from their fourth album 'Scandalous', 'State of love' was another single by Imagination produced by Steve Jolley and Tony Swain. The single only charted in the UK, where it reached number 67 in the singles chart.

With 9 out of the 10 singles released before this one having reached the UK singles chart, it's interesting to note that from the 13 singles that followed, only 2 charted in the UK - and none of them anywhere else.

My collection: 7" single no. 4079
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received September 25, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'State of love' / 'Wrong in love'

Oh Carolina - Shaggy

'Oh Carolina' was originally written by John Folkes and performed by the Folkes Brothers in 1960. The original track incorporated African-influenced Niyabinghi-style drumming and chanting.

In 1993, Shaggy revived the song. His cover version spent two weeks at number 1 in the UK singles chart and reached number 6 in the Dutch Top 40. I finally bought the single six months after its release to irk a friend of mine who hated the song with a passion. He's since moved to China, although I'm not sure it's because I own this single now.

My collection: 7" single no. 2034
Found: HMV, London, October 22, 1993
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Oh Carolina' / 'Oh Carolina (Raas Bumba Claat version)'

Goodnight girl - Wet Wet Wet

Graeme Clark was inspired to write 'Goodnight girl' for his then girlfriend but has never publicly named her. It became the third single taken from Wet Wet Wet's fourth studio album 'High on the happy side'. It was released in December 1991 and became the second number 1 hit single for the band in the UK .

In he Netherlands, the single reached number 2 in March 1992. A 1994 version reached number 11 in the Netherlands, but did not chart in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 1583
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, February 15, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Goodnight girl' / 'Ambrose Wykes'