Right night for loving - Kikki

Kikki was born as Ann-Kristin Danielsson on May 10, 1952 in Osby, Sweden. She was adopted and lived on a farm in Älmhult, Småland from the age of five. There, she became the only child in the family while her younger sister was adopted to another place. At 5 years old, Kikki made her first singing performance, singing the Christmas song 'När Jesusbarnet låg en gång' in church. As a child, she sang in the local church choir.

In the Seventies, her career in music started seriously, as part of the bands Nickies and Wizex. In 1982, she joined the band Chips, which represented Sweden duing the Eurovision Song Contest that year. She returned on the Eurovision stage in 1985, with the song 'Bra vibrationer'. This single contains the English version of that song.

My collection: 7" single no. 4831
Found: eBay.be, received April 14, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Right night for loving' / 'Love can hurt'

Donne un peu de toi - Mike Brant

Mike Brant was born as Moshe Brand on February 1, 1947 on Cyprus as the son of a Polish mother who survived Auschwitz and married a Polish resistance fighter. Mike didn't start speaking until 6 years of age, and very soon told his family and friends that when he grew up he'd be "a star... or a tramp!" At the age of 11 he joined his school choir.

His career in music started in the early Sixties. He soon became very popular in France. By 1973, he was giving 250 concerts a year, some attended by 6,000 to 10,000 people. This went on for two years. He suffered from depression and loneliness. On November 22, 1974, he attempted suicide, jumping out the window of his manager's hotel room in Geneva. He received fractures but survived. He cut the number of performances and concentrated on another album, 'Dis-lui'. On April 25, 1975, the day this new album was released, Brant leapt to his death from an apartment in Paris.

My collection: 7" single no. 4830
Found: eBay.be, received April 14, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Donne un peu de toi' / 'Essayer de lui mentir' // 'Summertime (Tchop, Tchop)' / 'Malaguena'

Toi, la musique et moi - Mary Cristy

Mary Cristy was born as Marie Ruggieri. In 1976, she represented Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest with the disco-inspired 'Toi, la musique et moi'. The song finished third in a field of 18 contestants.

Cristy subsequently also recorded her song in Italian (as 'La musica e noi due'), Spanish ('La música, tú y yo'), German ('Die Musik und ich') and English ('Thank you for rushing into my life').

My collection: 7"single no. 4829
Found: eBay.be, received April 14, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Toi, la musique et moi' / 'Juste un peu de chagrin'

Per Lucia - Riccardo Fogli

Riccardo Fogli was born on October 21, 1947 in Pontedera, Italy. During the Sixties, he became a fan of The Beatles, which also influenced his decision to start his career as a singer. After some time in bands like Slenders and Pooh, he started a solo career in 1973. His main success, however, came in the Eighties.

In 1983, he represented Italy during the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Per Lucia' ('For Lucia'). He finished in eleventh place in a field of 20 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 4828
Found: eBay.be, received April 14, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Per Lucia' / 'Altri tempi'

Über die Brücke geh'n - Ingrid Peters

Ingrid Peters was born in Dudweiler, Germany on April 19, 1954. During her career, she made several attempts to represent Germany during the Eurovision Song Contest. Her song 'Du bist nicht frei' didn't win the national final in 1979 and in 1983 she finished second during the national final with 'Viva la mamma'.

In 1986, she was finally selected to do the job with the optimistic song 'Über die Brücke geh'n'. She finished eighth in a field of 20 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 4827
Found: eBay.be, received April 14, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Über die Brücke geh'n' / 'Mitten ins Herz'

En un mundo nuevo - Karina

Karina was born as María Isabel Bárbara Llaudés Santiago in Jaén, Andalusia on December 4, 1943. She recorded her first album in 1964 and had her biggest success in the late Sixties and early Seventies, after her breakthrough with a Spanish version of France Gall's 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son'.

In 1971, she represented Spain during the Eurovision Song Contest with 'En un mundo nuevo' ('In a new world'). The song finished second, behind Severine's 'Un banc, un arbre, une rue' for Monaco.

My collection: 7" single no. 4826
Found: eBay.be, received April 14, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'En un mundo nuevo' / 'Quisiera tener'

Love don't live here - Bananarama

Obviously, when I ordered the 12" single of Bananarama's most recent single 'Love don't live here', I bought the 7" single as well. This 7" single comes with an exclusive new track on the B-side, 'Here comes the rain'.

Producer Ian Masterson was once part of the remix outfit the Trouser Enthusiasts, and it shows on these excellent tracks. Now let's hope that the single turns up in tomorrow's UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4825
Found: What records, received April 14, 2010
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Love don't live here' / 'Here comes the rain'

Hounds of love - Kate Bush

'Hounds of love' is the title track of Kate Bush's 1985 album. The track starts with a sample from the British 1957 horror film 'Night of the demon'. The words 'It's in the trees! It's coming!' are spoken by an actor from the film, Maurice Denham. The song is about being afraid to fall in love; in the song this feeling is compared to being chased by a pack of hounds.

Released as the third single from the album in February 1986, 'Hounds of love' reached number 18 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 392
Found: Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Hounds of love' / 'The handsome cabin boy'

Anne - Kayak

'Anne' was the only single from Kayak's album 'Periscope life' to become a hit in the Netherlands. And rightfully so, I should add: it's a beautiful track with a great melody, performed in style by the Dutch symphonic rockers.

Released in March 1980, 'Anne' reached number 26. The artwork on the sleeve was identical to the album sleeve, which makes it look a bit odd.

My collection: 7" single no. 4817
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Anne' / 'The sight'

Going through the motions - Hot Chocolate

'Going through the motions' was the title track of Hot Chocolate's 1979 album, released as a single in July 1979.

Despite its haunting atmosphere and lyrics, the song did not catch on: it only managed to reach number 53 in the UK singles chart and failed to chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 4793
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Going through the motions' / 'Stay with me'

N'avoue jamais - Guy Mardel

Guy Mardel was born as Mardochée Elkoubi in Oran, Algeria on June 30, 1944. He moved to France at the age of 15. During his studies in law school, he occasionally sang in a jazz band. In 1963 he signed a recording contract with AZ Records and released two singles, until he was chosen to represent France during the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest.

He performed the song 'N'avoue jamais' ('Never admit'), written by himself and composed by Françoise Dorin. The song finished third in a field of 18 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 4770
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'N'avoue jamais', 'Sans rien me dire' / 'S'il pleut ajourd'hui', 'Songe songe'

The way life's meant to be - Electric Light Orchestra

'The way life's meant to be' was the last single to be released from Electric Light Orchestra's 1981 album 'Time'. The song starts with gentle violins, and continues with flamenco-like guitar playing, and castanets. The south Mediterranean sound continues throughout the vocal and choiring on the refrain.

According to Jeff Lynne, 'It seemed to be [a pessimistic view] on that song. Yeah, well, and absolute that song... He's walking down the same street that it was before, like say a hundred years before. But uh, even though he's on the same bit of ground, everything that he knew is, like, buried under this new shit, y'know, that's growing up... on top of it, all these plastic towers and stuff. Ah, the castanets. It was a bit Russian but we put castanets on it and it became Spanish.'

My collection: 7" single no. 4796
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'The way life's meant to be' / 'Wishing'

Long Hot Rock Summer - Various artists

This four track EP was included for free with a copy of Popfoto, the music magazine I read every month back in 1989. The label Mercury promoted four of their rock bands with this single. I couldn't decide whether to keep or throw away this disc, and in the end I decided to include it in my collection.

Basically, the tracks on the A-side I find boring, whereas the B-side tracks are marginally better. Kingdom Come's track is probably the best of the four, as it contains less rock cliches than the other three. Why, Dare's song even sounds like a Europe castoff!

My collection: 7" single no. 942
Found: Den Haag, July 8, 1989
Cost: -
Tracks: 'Born to be my baby' (Bon Jovi), 'Gypsy road' (Cinderella) / 'Gotta go (Can't wage a war)' (Kingdom come), 'Into the fire' (Dare)

Undercover of the night - Rolling Stones

'Undercover of the night' was largely composed by Mick Jagger. Keith Richards even commented: 'Mick had this one all mapped out, I just played on it'. The lyric sees Jagger explore the then-ongoing political corruption in Central and South America. According to him, the song was 'heavily influenced by William Burroughs' 'Cities of the red night'.'

The single was promoted with a music video which included some violent scenes, causing it to be censored or even banned in several territories. It didn't hinder its commercial success: 'Undercover of the night' reached number 11 in the UK singles chart, number 9 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 5 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 4801
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Undercover of the night' / 'All the way down'

Riders in the night - Freur

'Riders in the night' is a track on Freur's debut album 'Doot doot' (1983). It was released as the fourth single from the album. The track was shortened by two minutes, as the album version clocked in at five and a half minutes. The record company probably hoped that a shorter version would be picked up by radio more easily.

Still, this single went the same way all its predecessors went: straight to the bargain bin. Freur has never been commercially successful - it's probably their eclectic mix of pop and rock that caused them so much lack of success.

My collection: 7" single no. 4791
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Riders in the night' / 'You're a hoover'

Oh Diane - Fleetwood Mac

'Oh Diane' was written by Lindsey Buckingham for Fleetwood Mac's 1982 album 'Mirage'. The song, like the album, was produced by him as well.

Despite the previous two singles from the album ('Hold me' and 'Gypsy') being unsuccessful, the song became a surprise big hit for the band in the United Kingdom when released there in December 1982. It peaked at number 9 in February 1983, helping to push its parent album into the Albums chart Top 10.

My collection: 7" single no. 4803
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Oh Diane' / 'Love in store'

Vivre - Guy Bonnet

Guy Bonnet was born in Avignon, in the Vaucluse department in southeastern France in 1945. During his career, he has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest a couple of times. He started in 1968, writing and composing 'La source' for Isabelle Aubret. In 1970 he participated himself with 'Marie-Blanche', which finished fourth out of 12 contestants.

In 1983, he attempted to better that score with the song 'Vivre', which he wrote and performed himself. The song deals with the parting of two lovers, with one apparently slated to be executed by firing squad while the other continues to live. The song was historically the first ever French Eurovision entry to also be recorded in the minority Provençal language, then under the title 'Vièure'. The song finished eighth out of 20 contestants.

My collection: 7" single no. 4823
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Vivre' / 'Un signe d'amour'

Who wants to live forever / Friends will be friends - Queen

After the death of Freddie Mercury, 'Who wants to live forever' was re-released by EMI in March 1992. Originally, the track was released as a single from Queen's 1986 album 'A kind of magic'. The song was written by Brian May for the soundtrack of the movie 'Highlander'. The double A-side 'Friends will be friends' was from the same album, and originally released as the single that preceded 'Who wants to live forever' in 1986.

As far as I know, this double A-side single was only released in the Netherlands. It reached number 7 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1617
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, April 4, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Who wants to live forever' / 'Friends will be friends'

Altijd heb ik je lief - Clouseau

After their performance at the Eurovision Song Contest was a relative disappointment, Clouseau still released an album of English language songs in 1991. When this release plus related singles didn't give them the international success they wanted, they decided to record a new album with Dutch songs.

'Altijd heb ik je lief' ('I love you always') was the first single from the new album, released in January 1992. The single reached number 6 in the Belgian singles chart and number 18 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 1580
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, January 25, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Altijd heb ik je lief' / 'Lied voor jou'

When you walk in the room - Paul Carrack

'When you walk in the room' was written and recorded by Jackie DeShannon in 1963. The lyrics of the song attempt to detail the singer's emotions when in the presence of the person he or she loves. There is also an expression of frustration by the singer that he or she cannot manage to tell that person of his or her love.

The song has since been covered by many artists including the Searchers and Agnetha Fältskog. In 1987, Paul Carrack released his version as the first single from his album 'Carrackature'. It reached number 48 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4811
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 10, 2010
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'When you walk in the room' / 'Collrane'