Rock the boat - The Hues Corporation

'Rock the boat' was released in 1974 by the Hues Corporation as the second single from their 1973 album 'Freedom for the stallion'. Initially, it appeared as though it would flop, as months went by without any radio airplay or sales activity. Not until the song became a disco/club favorite in New York did Top 40 radio finally pick up on the song, leading the record to finally enter the Hot 100 and zip up the chart to number 1 in July 1974. The single also reached number 6 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 6 in the UK singles chart.

The song features a lead vocal by Fleming Williams, who left the Hues Corporation shortly after the song was recorded. The song also features an important post-Motown performance of James Jamerson, the father of modern bass players.

My collection: 7" single no. 4621
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, March 5, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Rock the boat' / 'All goin' down together'

Nights on Broadway - Bee Gees

Robin Gibb commented about this song: 'This song holds a special place for a variety of factors. One, the start of a long, lasting relationship with producer Arif Mardin. The second, that it enabled the Bee Gees to get back to their R&B/Soul roots, which in the previous years we had neglected, and thirdly, I think it was just a well constructed song! And if I may say so... one to be proud (of)'.

'Nights on Broadway' was recorded in January 1975 and released as a single nine months later, as a single from the Bee Gees album 'Main course'. The single reached number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 4620
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, March 5, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Nights on Broadway' / 'Edge of universe'

Keep on loving you - REO Speedwagon

REO Speedwagon took its name from the REO Speed Wagon, a flatbed truck and fire engine, manufactured by the REO Motor Car Company. (R.E.O. are initials of the company's founder, Ransom Eli Olds, who also founded Oldsmobile, once a division of General Motors.)

The band released their most popular song, 'Keep on loving you' in 1981 as a single from their album 'Hi Infidelity'. It features the lead guitar work of band member Gary Richrath. The single reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 7 in the UK Singles chart and number 13 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 4619
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, March 5, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Keep on loving you' / 'Follow my heart'

Someone belonging to someone - Bee Gees

After 'The woman in you', the ballad 'Someone belonging to someone' was the second single release from the soundtrack of the movie 'Staying alive', a movie featuring John Travolta dancing his heart out to in the sequel to the movie 'Saturday night fever'.

Accoing to the brothers Gibb in the liner notes to their 1990 box set, the song was 'a fair ballad from a silly film'.

My collection: 7" single no. 4618
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, March 5, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Someone belonging to someone' (Bee Gees) / 'I love you too much' (David Sanborn)

Give me the night - George Benson

'Give me the night' was the title track of George Benson's 1980 album. The song was written by Rod Temperton, who would go on to work with people like Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer and Kim Wilde.

When it was released as a single, it was Benson's most successful single up to that point, peaking at number 7 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" sigle no. 4617
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, March 5, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Give me the night' / 'Dinorah, Dinorah'

Life is a minestrone - 10CC

In 1975, 10CC made an important step in their career. Eric Stewart comments: 'At that point in time we were still on Jonathan King's label, but struggling. We were absolutely skint, the lot of us, we were really struggling seriously, and Philips Phonogram wanted to do a deal with us. They wanted to buy Jonathan King's contract. I rang them. I said come and have a listen to what we've done, come and have a listen to this track. And they came up and they freaked, and they said 'This is a masterpiece. How much money, what do you want? What sort of a contract do you want? We'll do anything, we'll sign it'. On the strength of that one song, we did a five-year deal with them for five albums and they paid us a serious amount of money.'

The song was 'I'm not in love', one of the tracks on 10CC's 1975 album 'Original Soundtrack', their first to be released on the Mercury label. But the first single from that album was not 'I'm not in love', but 'Life is a minestrone', a track that was more similar to 10CC's earlier work. It reached number 17 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 7 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4616
Found: La La Land, Den Haag, March 5, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Life is a minestrone' / 'Channel swimmer'

Bad boy - Marty Wilde

Marty Wilde himself wrote 'Bad boy'. Until then, his hits had been covers of American rock 'n' roll songs. It proved to be his last top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at number 7 in early 1960. The song was also a top 50 hit in the USA. Shortly after its release, it was covered by Robin Luke, in 1964 by Françoise Hardy and later by Nirvana and Robert Gordon.

The B-side, 'It's been nice', was a Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman composition, and was later recorded by The Everly Brothers and Freddy Cannon.

My collection: 7" single no. 1763
Found: House of Rhythm, London, October 20, 1992
Cost: 60p
Tracks: 'Bad boy' / 'It's been nice'

Die Sommermelodie - Cindy und Bert

Cindy & Bert are a German schlager vocal duo from Völklingen, Saarland consisting of Jutta Gusenberger (born 26 January 1948) and Norbert Berger (born 12 September 1945). They were most successful in the Seventies, and are known for their participation in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.

'Die Sommermelodie' was chosen as the country's entry for the 19th Eurovision Song Contest through an internal selection. German observers considered it a particularly weak song choice. They finished last place together with three other songs that received only 3 points. Cindy & Bert divorced in 1988, with Cindy starting a solo career as Cindy Berger while Bert moved into production.

My collection: 7" single no. 4615
Found: Vinylroy.nl, received March 3, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Die Sommermelodie' / 'Musik für zwei Verliebte'

Flieger - Nino de Angelo

'Flieger' ('Flyers') was the German entry for the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest, performed in German by Italian singer Nino de Angelo. Five years before, De Angelo had his breakthrough with 'Jenseits von Eden', a number 1 hit in Germany and Switzerland, and a top 10 hit most of Europe.

This Eurovision song was composed by Dieter Bohlen, internationally best known as one half of the very successful German Europop duo Modern Talking. The song finished 14th in a field of 22 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 4614
Found: Vinylroy.nl, received March 3, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Flieger' / 'Laureen'

Soldiers of love (Version Française) - Liliane Saint-Pierre

Liliane Saint-Pierre performed the song 'Soldiers of love' almost entirely in Flemish during the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest. However, two versions of the single were released at the time: one single featured the Flemish version on the A-side, and this single featured a French version on the A-side.

In the bilingual country of Belgium, this may have been a wise decision, because the south of Belgium simply refuses to feign interest in any Flemish entry. Although I have to admit, I don't know if this helped matters much for Liliane over there.

My collection: 7" single no. 4613
Found: Vinylroy.nl, received March 3, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Soldiers of love (Version Française)' / 'Soldiers of love (instrumental)'

Soldiers of love - Liliane Saint-Pierre

Liliane Saint-Pierre was born as Liliane Keuninckx in Diest, Belgium on December 18, 1948. She started her career in music in the Sixties when she was just 13 years old. After this, she became acquainted with French singer and producer Claude François, who decided to promote her in France. He added the surname Saint Pierre because this sounded French.

In 1987, she represented Belgium with 'Soldiers of love', featuring a rather pacifist lyric. The song finished 11th in a field of 22 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 4612
Found: vinylroy.nl, received March 3, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Soldiers of love' / 'Soldiers of love (instrumental)'

De oude muzikant - Ben Cramer

This year's Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest was written and composed by Pierre Kartner, a.k.a. Father Abraham. The resulting 'Ik ben verliefd Sha-la-lie' ('I'm in love Sha-la-lee') has already been criticised for being out of time and 'not good enough' for the Contest. Some have also questioned whether Kartner was the right person to compose a Eurovision song for the Netherlands.

Still, it's not the first time he did this. Ben Cramer's 1973 entry for Eurovision was also written and composed by Kartner. 'De oude muzikant' ('The old musician') used some of the same cultural references. Back then, the song finished 14th in a field of 17 competitors. If this year's entry also reaches this position, the Netherlands will be happy: after all, the country hasn't competed in the finals since 2004.

My collection: 7" single no. 4611
Found: Vinylroy.nl, received March 3, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'De oude muzikant' / 'Kom Sylvia dans met mij'

Lovesong - The Cure

This is a song title for nitpickers. It varies between 'Lovesong' and 'Love song' on many official Cure releases. The artwork for the album Disintegration uses both: 'Love song' on the tracklisting and 'Lovesong' on the lyrics sheet. When released as a single in 1989, the cover artwork displayed the title as 'Lovesong', while the printing on the disc itself read 'Love song' all three times. Subsequent releases of the albums 'Paris' and 'Galore' both use 'Lovesong' exclusively, whilst 2001's 'Greatest hits' compilation uses 'Lovesong' on the tracklisting and 'Love song' within the liner notes. 2004's 'Join the dots' also uses 'Lovesong' within the booklet presentation.

Whatever the title, this melancholy single reached number 18 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1003
Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1989
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Lovesong' / '2 late'

Fingertips '93 - Roxette

Roxette recorded the song 'Fingertips' on their 1992 album 'Tourism'. When the track was chosen to be the third single from the album, it was re-recorded with a new arrangement.

The single was not released in all territories, but it did reach the top 50 singles chart in Sweden and Germany.

My collection: 7" single no. 1868
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, February 13, 1993
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Fingertips '93' / 'Dressed for success (live)'

Be with you - The Bangles

After the huge success of the single 'Eternal flame', the Bangles had to come up with another single to reach the higher regions of the singles charts. The predictable choice would have been another ballad, but fortunately they chose to be original and release the uptempo 'Be with you'.

Released in the summer of 1989, the single couldn't match the success of its predecessor: it didn't chart in the Netherlands and got to number 23 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 970
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, August 29, 1989
Cost: 3,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Be with you' / 'Let it go'

Voyage voyage - Desireless

Whenever you feel depressed, leave it to the French to push you over the brink of suicide. Desireless' 'Voyage voyage' sounds like an uptempo pop song, but the underlying message is less upbeat. The fact that I can't understand a word of French also helps, of course.

This 12" single features two remixes of the track. The 'Britmix' was created by Pete Hammond and Peter Waterman, whereas the Euro remix was created by Steve Prestage. Both remixes are quite good, actually.

My collection: 12" single no. 427
Found: Record Exchange, London, 2000
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Voyage voyage (Britmix)' / 'Voyage voyage (Euro remix)', 'Destin fragile (instrumental)'

In too deep - Genesis

'In too deep' was recorded for Genesis' 1986 album 'Invisible touch'. It was released as the second single from the album in the UK and the fifth single in the USA. It was to be the band's final single in the USA until 'No son of mine' (1991).

The single peaked at number 19 in the UK singles chart and number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 3241
Found: London, October 19, 2000
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'In too deep' / 'I'd rather be you'

Ne t'enfuis pas - Kate Bush

The fact that collecting records is not always fun, is proved with this particular item. I ordered 'Ne t'enfuis pas' by Kate Bush from France, as it was possible to get a copy from there some 20 years ago. I sent my money, waited for a few weeks, and then received the package. The problem was: it was delivered by a particularly stupid and lazy postman, who decided to shove it through the letterbox. As a result, the single snapped and I found two halves in the sleeve.

I brought the single to the postoffice for a complaint, and had to leave the item with them, so they could decide what to do. One week later, I got my money back, and the record as well: they broke it up into twenty pieces, presumably to try out what it would take to break a record. Needless to say, I was fuming. And I never found another copy - at least, not for a reasonable price. Until today, that is... (to be continued!)

My collection: sleeve
Found: France, ca. 1990
Cost: 20 guilders
Tracks: 'Ne t'enfuis pas' / 'Un baiser d'enfant'

By my side - INXS

'By my side' was written by Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence as part of the 1990 sessions for the X album. Record Producer Chris Thomas, who produced the album is also awarded songwriting credits, specifically contributing to the chorus and arrangement. Along with 'Never tear us apart', it was one of two INXS songs played at the funeral of frontman Michael Hutchence following his suicide on the 22nd of November 1997.

The song was released as the third single from INXS's 1990 album 'X'. It reached number 42 in the UK singles chart and number 27 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1398
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, March 9, 1991
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'By my side' / 'The other side'

Another kind of loving - Lasse Holm and Monica Törnell

Lasse Holm was born as Lars-Eric Gustav Holm on December 9, 1943. After becoming interested in music at an early age, he was a member of several bands during the Sixties, such as Doug and the Millsmen, The Spacemen and The Moonlighters. He subsequently developed his craft as a songwriter, writing six Eurovision entries for Sweden: 'Dag efter dag' (1982), 'Främling' (1983), 'Bra vibrationer' (1985), 'E' de' det här du kallar kärlek' (1986) and 'Eloise' (1993).

From these songs, only 'E' de' det här du kallar kärlek' was performed by himself on the Eurovision stage, together with Monica Törnell (born June 3, 1954). The song finished fifth in a field of 20 competitors during the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest. The single includes the English and Swedish versions.

My collection: 7" single no. 4399
Found: Second Life Music, Amsterdam, December 30, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Another kind of loving' / 'E' de' det här du kallar kärlek'