If you don't know me by now - Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes

'If you don't know me by now' was written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and recorded by the Philadelphia soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. It became their first hit when it was released as a single in 1972. The single reached number 18 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 9 in the UK singles chart.

The song was later covered by Simply Red, giving them a hit in 1989. The song was also covered by British comedian Ricky Gervais as his character David Brent from the comedy series 'The office'. A music video was produced and released with BBC's The Office DVD set.

My collection: 7" single no. 804
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, April 21, 1989
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'If you don't know me by now' / 'Let me into your world'

Now you're in heaven - Julian Lennon

Julian Lennon released his third album 'Mr. Jordan' in 1989. The first single taken from that album was 'Now you're in heaven'. The single reached number 5 in Australia, but failed to chart in most other countries.

I didn't know the song when I bought this single, I simply assumed that it would be interesting to hear. I have to say the track sounds a bit David Bowie-esque.

My collection: 7" single no. 2292
Found: May 13, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Now you're in heaven' / 'Second time'

Purple rain - Prince

'Purple rain' was the title track from Prince's 1984 album. In order to be released as a single, the song was shortened from 8:45 to 4:05. It's quite a shame really, because the majestic guitar solo is totally deleted from the edited track, leaving just a quite boring ballad. The 12" single did feature the full length track - but I found that out after buying this single. Still, I don't regret buying the single, because it was pressed on purple vinyl.

'Purple rain' has become one of Prince's signature songs, reaching number 1 in the Dutch Top 40, number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 8 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 245
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Purple rain' / 'God'

Always the sun - The Stranglers

'Always the sun' was released as the second single from the Stranglers' 1986 album 'Dreamtime'. In his book 'The Stranglers song by song', Hugh Cornwell mentioned that he thought it could have been as big as the band's earlier hit 'Golden brown'. He blamed their record company for its disappointing performance, peaking at number 30 in the UK singles chart: 'We'd given CBS something great to work with and I could see in this guy's face that he knew he hadn't delivered'.

The single performed poorly in the Netherlands as well, stalling at number 35 in the Dutch Top 40, but it did reach number 15 in France.

My collection: 7" single no. 489
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Always the sun' / 'Norman normal'

Africa - Toto

Toto's Steve Lukather commented in 2003: 'I didn’t think it was very good. That tells you what can happen when we pick our own singles!' Indeed, for 'Africa' became Toto's biggest hit ever. Taken from their 1982 album 'Toto IV', the single scored number1 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 2 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 3 in the UK singles chart.

'Africa' was almost omitted from the album prior to its release. Having spent a great amount of time producing the tune, the band became so tired of the song that they didn’t want it on the album. The song itself was very different from anything the band had done before, and some members felt that it didn’t sound like Toto.

My collection: 7" single no. 165
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1982
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Africa' / 'We made it'

Prayer for the dying - Seal

'Prayer for the dying' was released as the first single from Seal's second self-titled album. Released in May 1994, the single peaked at number 14 in the UK singles chart. A year later, in November 1995, the single was re-released as a double A-side with the track 'Don't cry'. This released stalled at number 51.

The B-side is a beautiful piano version of the album track 'Dreaming in metaphors'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2123
Found: Virgin Megastore, London, July 16, 1994
Cost: pounds
Tracks: 'Prayer for the dying' / 'Dreaming in metaphors (piano version)'

Visions of China - Japan

'Visions of China' was a single released by Japan in 1981. I discovered the track a few years later, when the music video appeared on television quite regularly. It was a strange music video, which stuck in my head. Later on, the song became a happy obsession for a while.

I finally found the single in 1996, after I'd found the live version on single in 1989. This single peaked at number 32 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2685
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, July 3, 1996
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Visions of China' / 'Taking island in Africa'

De ambulance - Rubberen Robbie

Although I realise the joke is lost on foreign readers, I have committed myself to putting my record collection online and that includes a handful of Rubberen Robbie singles. 'De ambulance' is a parody of the song 'De diligence' and is all about boozing and fighting in a nearby pub.

The pub that was frequented by the members of Rubberen Robbie - and often mentioned in their songs - was 'De hut van Ome Henne' (Uncle Henne's cabin), a pub in Leiden that still exists. The B-side of this single was apparently recorded live there too.

My collection: 7" single no. 2567
Found: November 19, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'De ambulance' / 'Witte en rooie radijs (live)'

Better than this - Keane

'Better than this' was the last single release from Keane's 2008 album 'Perfect symmetry'. The single did not reach the UK singles top 100.

The 7" single came with a pair of 3d glasses, by way of promoting a concert that was shown in 3d on the internet a few months ago. That concert is still accessible via the band's official website, www.keanemusic.com.

My collection: 7" single no. 3615
Found: Keanemusic.com webshop
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'Better than this' / 'Better than this (Stuart Price demo mix)'

Romeos - Alphaville

In 1989, Alphaville released their third album 'The breathtaking blue'. The album was released as a CD+G, a shortlived format including graphic representations of songs on the cd, which people could view from a CD+G-enabled cd player.

'Romeos' was the second single from the album, which reached number 45 in the German singles chart. In other territories, this single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2732
Found: Record fair, September 7, 1996
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Romeos' / 'Headlines'

The reflex - Duran Duran

Duran Duran had the biggest hit of their career in 1984 with 'The reflex'. It was the third and last single from their album 'Seven and the ragged tiger'. Originally the band wanted it to be the lead single, but the record company was afraid that the warbling singing during the 'Why don't you use it' segments would hinder its success as a single. How wrong they were! The single hit number 1 in the UK, America and the Netherlands.

The video appeared on television almost every hour at the time, until I got quite sick of it. I never bought the single as a result. Just recently I found out it was released as a limited edition with a poster sleeve in the UK. It took some time to find it for a reasonable price, but I'm glad I waited: instead of the usual 4 to 6 pounds asked for it, I paid a measly 1 pound. Plus postage, but oh well.

My collection: 7" single no. 4099
Found: eBay.co.uk, received October 6, 2009
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'The reflex' / 'Make me smile (Come up and see me) (live)'

Shipbuilding - Tasmin Archer

'Shipbuilding' was written by singer/songwriter Elvis Costello and producer Clive Langer during the Falklands War of 1982. Costello's lyrics discuss the contradiction of the war bringing back prosperity to traditional shipbuilding areas of Merseyside (Cammell Laird), Tyneside (Swan Hunter) and Belfast (Harland and Wolff) to build new ships to replace those being sunk in the war, whilst also sending off the sons of these areas to fight and, potentially, lose their lives in those same ships.

Tasmin Archer recorded the song as part of her 'Shipbuilding EP', which contains covers of four Costello songs. The EP reached number 40 in the UK singles chart in 1994.

My collection: 7" single no. 2665
Found: Leeds, June 30, 1996
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Shipbuilding', 'Deep dark truthful mirror' / 'All grown up', 'New Amsterdam'

Cry for help - Rick Astley

Having left the Stock-Aitken-Waterman stable of stars, Rick Astley presented himself as a 'serious' artist in 1991 with his third album 'Free'. 'Cry for help', released as the first single from the album, was written by Astley himself with Rob Fisher, one half of the duo Naked Eyes in the Eighties.

The single reached number 7 in both the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. In the Netherlands, it reached number 11.

My collection: 7" single no. 1378
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, February 2, 1991
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Cry for help' / 'Behind the smile'

The unforgettable fire - U2

This month sees the release of the deluxe edition of U2's classic 1984 album 'The unforgettable fire'. It is a milestone in the history of music, and best of all: the deluxe edition will contain a bonus disc with two previously unreleased tracks from the album sessions, plus the B-sides and remixes that have been so hard to find until now.

This is the double single edition of the title track, released in 1985. I was truly in love with this track at the time, and would have killed to get the double single my sister came home with in May of that year. Fortunately, these double singles weren't so hard to find in the Netherlands (unlike many other double singles at the time). Five tracks of pure genius. U2 were never again as good as they were back then.

My collection: 7" single no. 286
Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 12 guilders
Tracks: 'The unforgettable fire' / 'A sort of homecoming' // 'Love comes tumbling', 'Sixty seconds in kingdom come' / 'The three sunrises'

Escape (The Pina Colada song) - Rupert Holmes

Contrary to the belief of some, Rupert Holmes did not wrote 'Escape' after a similar event as told in the song happened to himself. Instead, the lyrics were inspired by a want-ad he read while idly perusing the personals. As Holmes commented, 'I thought, what would happen to me if I answered this ad? I'd go and see if it was my own wife who was bored with me.'

The chorus originally started with 'If you like Humphrey Bogart', which Holmes changed at the last minute, replacing the actor with the name of the first exotic cocktail he could think of. The song landed at number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1979 and number 23 in the UK singles chart in January 1980. In the Netherlands, the single reached number 13 in February 1980.

My collection: 7" single no. 299
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Escape (The Pina Colada song)' / 'Drop it'

Poing - Rotterdam Termination Source

Rotterdam Termination Source is a Dutch house act, formed by producers Maurice Steenbergen and Danny Scholte. The duo joined Paul Elstak's hardcore label Rotterdam Records in 1992 and released their debut single 'Poing'. It was nothing but a novelty record, combining the sound of a computerized bouncing ball to a hard beat, the kind of mindless noise that was becoming popular around that time with xtc-filled brainless mongrels.

The single became a number 2 hit in the Netherlands, shamelessly exposing the lack of taste at the time. Although it has to be assumed there were also people who were, like me, just buying this for the ridiculousness of it all. The track was voted 'worst song of all times' on a Dutch radio station in 2000.

My collection: 7" single no. 1691
Found: Melody Maker, August 1, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Poing' / 'Bonus poing'

Nineteen forever - Joe Jackson

In the Nineties, Joe Jackson moved away from pop music, but not before he released one of his best albums, 'Blaze of glory'. The first single from the album was 'Nineteen forever', a great energetic song. The single reached number 27 in the Dutch Top 40, but did not chart in the UK.

Jackson felt the album was one of his best efforts and toured to support it with an eleven piece band in the USA and Europe from June to November 1989. He was disappointed with both the commercial reaction and his record label's lack of support. He parted ways with A&M, who then released the 1990 compilation 'Steppin' out: the very best of Joe Jackson'.

My collection: 7" single no. 840
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, May 27, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Nineteen forever' / 'Acropolis now'

Let me live - Queen

Queen's record company had a taste for the bizarre when they released 'Let me live' as a single, given the fact that lead singer Freddie Mercury was already dead for almost five years. Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and Brian May shared lead vocal duties on this song. Rebecca Leigh-White, Gary Martin, Catherine Porter and Miriam Stockley provided the backing vocals on this track.

The fourth single from the album 'Made in heaven' reached number 9 in the UK singles chart, but only number 36 in the Netherlnads. But then, this limited edition 7" picture disc was only released in the UK of course. Cd-singles are just not that appealing, whatever anyone says.

My collection: 7" single no. 2650
Found: HMV, London, June 28, 1996
Cost: 2,3 pounds
Tracks: 'Let me live' / 'Fat bottomed girls (digital remaster)', 'Bicycle race (digital remaster)'

Halt mich - Herbert Grönemeyer

Back in 1988, it was a strange thing to get my head around: a German singing a lovesong. At the time, all the history lessons were telling us that Germans were cruel people who were responsible for atrocious crimes just short of a half century ago. And here came Herbert Grönemeyer with one of the most beautiful lovesongs ever written.

I was only 18 when this song was released, young enough to think in black and white, good and bad. These days we know that you can't hold everyone responsible for decades on end. Fortunately, the single was rewarded with a decent placing in the Dutch chart: it reached number 23.

My collection: 7" single no. 677
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, November 12, 1988
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Halt mich' / 'Lesmona'

Because of love - Janet Jackson

'Because of love' was released as the fourth single from Janet Jackson's 1993 album 'Janet' in January 1994. The track is a rather traditional love song and was produced, like the album, by Jackson, James Harris III and Terry lewis.

The single peaked at number 10 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 19 in the UK singles chart, but it didn't chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 2080
Found: March 8, 1994
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Because of love' / 'Because of love (Frankie & David 7")'