Hopelessly devoted to you - Olivia Newton-John

Unlike almost everyone in my class, I was not a fan of the movie 'Grease' when it was released back in 1978. I hated John Travolta and the rather overly dramatic number 1 hits 'Greased lightning', 'You're the one that I want' and 'Summer nights'. However, when Olivia Newton-John's single 'Hopelessly devoted to you' was released, I had to relent a little. I liked the melody a lot, and even if I couldn't understand the lyric (I was eight years old, mind you) I knew this was a pretty powerful lovesong.

The single reached number 1 in the Dutch Top 40, number 2 in the UK singles chart and number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

My collection: 7" single no. 710
Found: All that music, Leiden, December 30, 1988
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Hopelessly devoted to you' / 'Love is a many splendored thing (instrumental)'

Once in your life - Sam Brown

'Once in your life' was the fourth single taken from Sam Brown's 1990 album 'April moon'. It was released in Europe only, as far as I know. Despite a colourful music video and an equally colourful sleeve, the single was not successful in the charts.

The B-side, 'So far so good' was a mainly instrumental track, and one of many bonus tracks included on Sam Brown's cd-singles circa 1990.

My collection: 7" single no. 1256
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, July 5, 1990
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Once in your life' / 'So far so good'

Clocks - Coldplay

I found this white label 12" single during a holiday in London. With no description of the tracks, I decided to give it a spin on the record players that were available in the shop, and decided within a minute that I wanted to have this. Three remixes of the Coldplay track 'Clocks'... it was simply too interesting.

Of course, these tracks were also available online as MP3's, but nothing beats the original - especially when it's on vinyl. The downside of these white labels is that there is no track listing. So I still have no clue what track 1 is.

My collection: 12" single no. 519
Found: HMV, London, 2003
Cost: 8 pounds
Tracks: 'Clocks (remix)', 'Clocks (Royksopp remix)' / 'Clocks (Cosmos remix)'

Ride like the wind / Sailing - Christopher Cross

'Ride like the wind' was Christopher Cross's debut single in 1980. It was a track on his self-titled debut album and featured backing vocals by Michael McDonald. Christopher Cross dedicated this song to Lowell George, formerly of the band Little Feat, who died in 1979. The single reached number 69 in the UK singles chart.

On this German 'oldies' single, it is coupled with 'Sailing', a later single by Christopher Cross which is described here.

My collection: 7" single no. 2568
Found: November 26, 1995
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Ride like the wind' / 'Sailing'

Stop that train - Clint Eastwood and General Saint

Clint Eastwood and General Saint hail from Jamaica and recorded reggae music during the early Eighties. 'Stop that train' was their only significant international success, peaking at number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 in early 1984.

The single was taken from their 1983 album of the same name.

My collection: 7" single no. 1839
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, January 23, 1993
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Stop that train' / 'Monkey man'

Sans logique - Mylene Farmer

The lyric of Mylene Farmer's 1989 single 'Sans logique' deals with a kind of schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder, which lives in the protagonist and makes her a killer. Very literary, the song uses obsolete words from the language of the 18th century. The calculating Marquise de Mertreuil (a character in the French epistolary novel 'Les liaisons dangereuses'), as angelic as diabolical according to her own interests, seems to be evoked in the lyrics.

The song actually had to be recorded twice, because the first time, there was a technical problem. The sentence 'this is a blank formatted diskette' which is heard in the introduction of the song refers to this problem and has been maintained to keep the memory of this technical malfunction.
The B-side, 'Dernier sourire' is a previously unreleased song about the death of a relative. 'Sans logique' reached number 10 in the French chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2219
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, October 17, 1994
Cost: 10 guilders
Tracks: 'Sans logique' / 'Dernier sourire'

Thieves in the temple - Prince

'Thieves in the temple' was the last song to be recorded from Prince's 1990 soundtrack album 'Graffiti bridge'. The song sounds rather different than other Prince tracks, including Middle Eastern melodies, a synth bass and syncopated drum machines. Prince also sampled a harmonica solo from a recording by the Chambers Brothers.

When released as a single, the track reached number 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 7 in the UK singles chart and number 5 in the Dutch Top 40. Still, it's not one of Prince's most memorable track. Even Puck, who is a huge Prince fan, didn't remember the melody of this track recently.

My collection: 7" single no. 2514
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 30, 1995
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Thieves in the temple' / 'Thieves in the temple (part 2)'

Layla (acoustic) - Eric Clapton

It was a good concept for a TV programme: take an artist, preferably an accomplished one, and have him (or her, or them) play a selection of his tracks without the aid of electronic equipment. This was the basic idea for 'MTV Unplugged', a series that turned out well in the early Nineties. It was interesting to see that bands like the Cure were exceptionally inventive, and singers like George Michael, Seal and even Eric Clapton were actually very good. (And what a shame that Tori Amos had already become too contrived by the time she appeared in the programme).

Sometimes artists would release their performances on 'Unplugged' as an album. Eric Clapton's performance was released in 1992, with the performance of 'Layla' released as a single. It reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 45 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1774
Found: Virgin Megastore, London, October 21, 1992
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Layla (acoustic)' / 'Tears in heaven (acoustic)'

Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll - Garland Jeffreys

'Hail hail rock 'n' roll' is a tribute to Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent and many other stars of the early rock & roll days. Garland Jeffreys recorded the track, which is named after the Chuck Berry album from 1987.

The single reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 72 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1640
Found: May 3, 1992
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Hail hail rock 'n' roll' / 'Bottle of love'

Sticky George - James Warren and the Korgis

'Sticky George' was the title track from the Korgis' third studio album. It was released as a single in 1981. Like with the single 'Dumb waiters', the artwork department had an easy week, as again the album sleeve was used for this single.

The single did not reach the chart in any territory. I do remember hearing it for the first time back in 1981 and being very impressed.

My collection: 7" single no. 1534
Found: Brussels, October 11, 1991
Cost: 80 Belgian Francs
Tracks: 'Sticky George' / 'Nowhere to run'

Will you be there (in the morning) - Heart

'Will you be there (in the morning)' was written by songwriter and producer Robert John 'Mutt' Lange, who also wrote Heart's 1990 chart hit 'All I wanna do is make love to you'. Personally, I much prefer this song.

The track was released as the first single from the band's 11th studio album 'Desire walks on'. It was the only single from the album to reach the chart, peaking at number 39 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the UK, it reached number 19. The 7" single was released only as a picture disc in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 2077
Found: February 19, 1994
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks: 'Will you be there (in the morning)' / 'These dreams (live)'

So lonely - The Police

'So lonely' was originally released as a single from the album 'Outlandos d'Amour' in November 1978. The single did not chart at first, but when it was re-released in February 1980 it reached number 6 in the UK and number 31 in the Dutch Top 40.

According to Sting, 'Let's be honest here, 'So lonely' was unabashedly culled from 'No woman no cry' by Bob Marley. Same chorus. What we invented was this thing of going back and forth between thrash punk and reggae. That was the little niche we created for ourselves.'

My collection: 7" single no. 1014
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'So lonely' / 'No time this time'

Forever dancing - Beloved

Janet Jackson fans may want to have this 12" single, as it samples her track 'Nasty'. Besides, the lyric of 'When I think of you' is quoted by singer Jon Marsh. 'Forever dancing' was released in 1987 during a stage in the Beloved's career when all their records failed to reach the charts in the UK.

The band originally had a guitar-oriented sounds (as is evident from the two other tracks on this 12" single) but soon began using drum machines and dance elements. Real success would come when Guy Gausden and Tim Havard left the group and Jon Marsh and Steve Waddington recorded the album 'Happiness'.

My collection: 12" single no. 158
Found: Den Haag, 1992
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'Forever dancing (remix)' / 'If only '87', 'Surprise me'

Almost seems (too late to turn) - Clannad

'Almost seems (too late to turn)' is a track on Clannad's 1985 album 'Macalla' and, to me, a standout track on their compilation album 'Pastpresent' released a few years later. The song was used as the official Children in Need charity single for 1985 in the UK.

However, the single only reached the number 80 position in the UK singles chart. My copy of the single was used for promotion and still has a sticker 'Not for resale' on the label.

My collection: 7" single no. 2705
Found: July 3, 1996
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Almost seems (too late to turn)' / 'Journey's end'

Can't stop running - Space Monkey

Not only do I have the 7" single of 'Can't stop running', I've also got the 12" single. This contains an extended remix of the song, entitled the 'Powerblast mix'. It's not the most stunning remix ever, but it's a longer version of this very energetic Eighties track, and that's good enough for me.

I have no further records of Space Monkey, but the career of this one man band (Paul Goodchild being the only member) was rather short anyway.

My collection: 12" single no. 326
Found: London, 2000
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Can't stop running (Powerblast mix)' / 'Problem world (instrumental)'

Kiss and say goodbye - The Manhattans

This six track EP of the Manhattans was released in 1983 by Pickwick International, a UK label specialising in re-releasing old material. 'Kiss and say goodbye', track one on this EP, is their best known hit, reaching number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 1 in the Dutch Top 40 in the summer of 1976.

According to the blurb on the back sleeve of this EP, The Manhattans hail from the state of New Jersey and consist of Gerald Aiston, Ed Sonny, Bivins Jr., Kenny Kelly and Winfred Blue Lovett.

My collection: 7" single no. 646
Found: Free Record Shop, Leiden, August 12, 1988
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Kiss and say goodbye', 'La la la wish upon a star', 'Wonderful world of love' / 'There's no me without you', 'Don't take your love', 'We never danced to a love song'

I feel for you - Chaka Khan

'I feel for you' was originally written and recorded by Prince in 1979 on his self-titled album. In 1984, Chaka Khan recorded a cover of this song for her album which was also called 'I feel for you'. The repetition of Khan's name by rapper Melle Mel at the beginning of the song was originally a mistake made by producer Arif Mardin, who then decided to keep it. Khan's version featured an all-star supporting cast, with rapping from Melle Mel, keyboard and guitar by The System, and harmonica playing and sampled vocals by Stevie Wonder.

The single peaked at number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the UK singles chart, it reached number 1 and in the Dutch Top 40 the single peaked at number 7.

My collection: 7" single no. 1047
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'I feel for you' / 'Chinatown'

Red guitar - David Sylvian

'Red guitar' was David Sylvian's biggest solo hit, peaking at number 17 in the UK singles chart. It was a track on Sylvian's debut solo album 'Brilliant trees', which featured guest musicians Danny Thompson, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Holger Czukay.

The B-side is a new recording of the Sylvian & Sakamoto track 'Forbidden colours', which was originally featured on the soundtrack of the movie 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence'.

My collection: 7" single no. 278
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Red guitar' / 'Forbidden colours'

Rooms on fire - Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks had a brief relationship with Rupert Hine, who produced her fourth solo album 'The other side of the mirror', released in 1989. According to Nicks, ''Rooms on fire' is about a girl who goes through a life like I have gone through, where she finally accepts the idea that there never will be those other things in her life. She will never be married, she will never have children, she will never do that part of life'.

The single reached number 15 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 16 in both the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.

My collection: 7" single no. 929
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, July 6, 1989
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Rooms on fire' / 'Alice'

Rage hard - Frankie goes to Hollywood

Frankie goes to Hollywood were confronted with the 'difficult second album syndrome' after the phenomenal success of their debut album 'Welcome to the pleasuredome' and its accompanying singles. They recorded their second album 'Liverpool' in Amsterdam, and released 'Rage hard' as the first single from the album.

The single was released as a limited edition with a popup sleeve. It reached number 4 in the UK singles chart, number 1 in Germany and number 7 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 2282
Found: London, 1996
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Rage hard' / '(Don't lose what's left) Of your little mind'