Why does a man have to be strong - Paul Young

Because the shopping has to be done. Because the garbage has to be taken out. Because there's always a fight around the corner. Because life is so hurtful. Because they get kicked around so much on the football field. Because he can't kill a cow otherwise. Because women are so weak.

Paul Young asks, 'Why does a man have to be strong'. Well there you have the answers.

My collection: 7" single no. 5020
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Why does a man have to be strong' / 'Trying to guess the rest'

Crunchy Granola Suite - Percy Faith Orchestra

According to the blurb on the sleeve of this promotional single, Percy Faith's version of 'Crunchy Granola Suite' was a hit in the Netherlands. At the time of writing, the track was at number 9 and still climbing. The information was not entirely correct: the track was still in the Tipparade, the 'bubbling under' chart in the Netherlands - and never actually reached number Dutch Top 40.

The fact that this track was wellknown in the Netherlands was because it was regularly used by the Dutch radio station Veronica. As such, it was a daily background noise in their programmes.

My collection: 7" single no. 5019
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Crunchy Granola Suite' / 'Enter the dragon'

I'm a tiger - Olivia Pascal

You'd be forgiven for not knowing who Olivia Pascal is, but she was Germany's most popular singer in 1980, judging from the fact that she won Bravo's golden Otto that year. Olivia's singing style is quite reminiscent of Wendy James from Transvision Vamp or an even breathier version of Samantha Fox.

The two songs on this single are quite familiar: 'I'm a tiger' was originally a hit for Lulu and written by Marty Wilde (Kim's dad) in the Seventies. The other side is 'Glad all over', originally recorded by the Dave Clark Five. That song was recently covered by the Pet Shop Boys as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 5018
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'I'm a tiger' / 'Glad all over'

Solsbury hill - Peter Gabriel

'Solsbury Hill' was written by Peter Gabriel after he left the and Genesis. Released as his debut single, it allegedly explains the reasons behind his departure, while also talking about a spiritual experience atop Solsbury Hill in Somerset.

The song has been used in a number of movies like 'Vanilla sky' (2001) and 'In good company' (2004). The song has been covered by various artists, such as Dave Matthews, Erasure, Sarah McLachlan, Saga, and Justin Hines.

My collection: 7" single no. 5017
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Solsbury hill' / 'Moribund the burgermeister'

Prime time - Alan Parsons Project

Released as the second single from the Alan Parsons Project's 1984 album 'Ammonia avenue', 'Prime time' was the follow-up to 'Don't answer me'. The success of that single was so phenomenal, that this single could never compare, but still it reached number 34 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The title of the album was inspired by Eric Woolfson's visit to Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in Billingham, England, where the first thing he saw was a street with miles of pipes, no people, no trees and a sign that said 'Ammonia Avenue'. The album focused on the possible misunderstanding of industrial scientific developments from a public perspective and a lack of understanding of the public from a scientific perspective.

My collection: 7" single no. 5016
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Prime time' / 'The gold bug'

The eve of the war - Jeff Wayne

I have The eve of the war, The eve of the war and The eve of the war, but now I've also got 'The eve of the war', an original German pressing with a very different sleeve. This particular pressing contains the version sung by Chris Thompson, whereas later pressings would feature Justin Hayward on vocals.

The way I understand it, this single is the rarest one of all four, which made it all the more amazing I found it for such a low price. The world of record collecting is baffling sometimes.

My collection: 7" single no. 5015
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'The eve of the war' / 'The red weed'

Keeping the mystery alive - Climie Fisher

Climie Fisher released 'Keeping the mystery alive' in 1987 as their third single. Although a flop in most territories, it reached number 35 in the German singles chart. The track was produced by Steve Lillywhite and mixed by Bruce Forrest.

Their next single was to be 'Rise to the occasion', the biggest hit in the duo's career.

My collection: 7" single no. 5014
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Keeping the mystery alive' / 'Nothing but a feeling'

Mad about you - Belinda Carlisle

After the Go-Go's broke up in 1985, Belinda Carlisle (born August 17, 1958) embarked on a solo career. Her first solo album 'Belinda' was released in 1986. It was a successful album in the USA and Canada, although it didn't trouble the charts in Europe.

'Mad about you' was released as a single from the album, reaching number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and also reaching the top 10 in Australia. Duran Duran's Andy Taylor played guitar on some of the tracks on the album and appeared in the music video for 'Mad about you'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5013
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Mad about you' / 'I never wanted a rich man'

Vienna / The voice - Ultravox

Ultravox became famous in 1980 when their single 'Vienna' became a Europe-wide hit. The Conny Plank-produced album of the same name became a classic album as well, and the band continued to churn out wonderful hits all through the Eighties.

This 'Old gold' single brings together two of their biggest hits: 'Vienna' and 'The voice'. The band has reformed two years ago, did two very successful tours in 2009 and 2010 and this year they are planning to release a whole new album. There is a God.

My collection: 7" single no. 5012
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Vienna' / 'The voice'

More than a woman - Tavares

Quite possibly one of the best tracks from the soundtrack of 'Saturday night fever', the Tavares brothers recorded 'More than a woman', a track written by the Bee Gees and did some wonderful harmonies in it, especially near the end of the song. It was an era in which black artists were actually able to record something worth listening to.

'More than a woman' was actually recorded by the Bee Gees themselves too - and both versions appeared on the soundtrack of the movie.

My collection: 7" single no. 5011
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'More than a woman' / 'Keep in touch'

Right on - Veronica Unlimited

The Dutch producer and composer Hans van Hemert wanted to record a medley of wellknown hits. He needed a group, found three models, Iris Wolkenstein, Gaby and Angie Kreutz with their friend Manfred Köhler and called them Veronica Unlimited, after the popular Dutch broadcasting organisation. Their first single 'What kind of dance is this' was a big hit in several countries.

This single, 'Right on', was its follow-up. Although less successful, it still managed to reach number 30 in the Dutch Top 40 in January 1978. The B-side is particularly amusing if you want to hear four Germans sing a medley of Dutch children's songs. The pronunciation of 'papier' ('paper'), which is a word both in German and Dutch is unmistakably German.

My collection: 7" single no. 5010
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Right on' / 'Childrens opera'

Back and forth - Cameo

Although the sleeve says that this single contains a remix of 'Back and forth', it is actually no different from the one I already had on this single. You could say that therefore this is not a good buy, but oh well, at least the sleeve is beautifully designed.

Back and forth' was released in April 1987 as the last single from the album 'Word up' and reached number 11 in the UK singles chart. In the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, the single peaked at number 50.

My collection: 7" single no. 5005
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Back and forth (remix)' / 'You can have the world'

Video killed the radio star - Didi Zill

Whenever you see 'Deutsche Originalaufnahme' on a sleeve, you should be forewarned that there is some dodgyness afoot. In this case, it's German photographer and singer Didi Zill (born 1938), who takes on 'Video killed the radio star' - in German.

Although the title of the song stays intact, the rest of the track is sung in German and although I don't understand everything, it's not a literal translation of the original Buggles track. It's a collector's item of sorts. I guess....

My collection: 7" single no. 5009
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Video killed the radio star' / 'Ich bin nicht der Stoff... (aus dem deinr Träume sind)'

The highest high - China Crisis

Here's another one of those singles I thought I already had, and so I left it in the racks for many years. Finally I had some presence of mind, and bought this disc, one of the many lovely songs by the UK band China Crisis.

'The highest high' was released in 1985 as a single from their third album 'Flaunt the imperfection'. It reached number 82 in the UK singles chart. Please listen to the B-side of this single, it's the nicest bouncy instrumental track you will hear for some time.

My collection: 7" single no. 5004
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'The highest high' / '96.8'

Thorn in my side - Eurythmics

'Thorn in my side' was released as a single from the Eurythmics' album 'Revenge' in the summer of 1986. Written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, the song is a cast-off to an unfaithful lover.

The single became Eurythmics' ninth Top 10 single, reaching number five in the UK singles chart. In the United States, the track stalled at number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100.

My collection: 7" single no. 5003
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Thorn in my side' / 'In this town'

Te amo - Umberto Tozzi

The Italian singer Umberto Tozzi had a European hit with 'Ti amo' in 1977, a track that is still played on radio stations that specialize in mushy, romantic classics. However, there was also a Spanish version of the track, released on this Spanish 7" single.

I've got a feeling that this track is sung with an unmistakable Italian accent, but my Spanish is not good enough to judge this. Still, it is quite a rare track, and that's what always interests me: rare stuff.

My collection: 7" single no. 5002
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Te amo' / 'Olvidate, olvidame'

Baby don't cry - INXS

The Australian band INXS released many albums, but 'Welcome to wherever you are' is their best, in my opinion. I bought all of the single releases at the time - although in the age of cd-singles the 7" single sometimes slipped through. I was very surprised to find that I didn't have 'Baby don't cry' on 7" vinyl, an omission I finally managed to rectify today.

Besides the storming A-side track, there's also an instrumental version of the album track 'Questions' on the B-side. Instrumental versions usually aren't much cop, but with the varied instrumentation on this one, it's worth a spin or two.

My collection: 7" single no. 5001
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 29, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Baby don't cry' / 'Questions (instrumental)'

Gloria - Laura Branigan

'Gloria' was originally a hit for Italian singer Umberto Tozzi, but Laura Branigan was quick to cash in on the song's success. She released an English-language version two years after the original version had taken Europe by storm in 1979.

Her version was released in the summer of 1982 and eventually reached number 6 in the UK singles chart. It was shortly before she would have an even bigger hit with 'Self control', which would become her signature song.

My collection: 7" single no. 4990
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, January 15, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Gloria' / 'Living a lie'

My 16th apology - Shakespears sister

Shakespears Sister, the duo consisting of Marcella Detroit and Siobhan Fahey, had a few hits in the UK and Europe, but this was not one of them. 'My 16th apology' entered the UK singles chart at February 27, 1993 at number 61, then disappeared the next week.

Still, it was an attractive proposition: a single containing the title track plus no less than three live tracks as a bonus. The cover version of 'Hot love', originally performed by T-Rex and Marc Bolan, is quite a good one.

My collection: 7" single no. 4991
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, January 15, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'My 16th apology', 'Catwoman (live)' / 'Hot love (live)', 'Dirty mind (live)'

Dirty looks - Diana Ross

While it is certainly true that Diana Ross has had an impressive career with many classic songs, some people tend to forget she's released some drivel from time to time too. When I bought this single, I didn't actually know that 'Dirty looks' was quite substandard. The lyrics are vacuous and the tracks as a whole is very repetitive.

The album whence this single came from, 'Red hot rhythm & blues', was released in May 1987 and featured a cover photo by Herb Ritts. It may have been the saving grace of the album, as the tracks on the album consisted of cover versions of old R&B hits plus some random new tracks. One has to wonder if the fact that this album fulfilled Ross's contract with RCA records was the main reason for this hastily cobbled together batch of songs.

My collection: 7" single no. 4994
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, January 15, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Dirty looks' / 'So close'