I've been losing you - A-ha

There's probably some truth to the story that the music you hear during adolescence makes the biggest impression on you. Many of the artists that were around during the Eighties are still here now, making music, and the records they made back then are forever etched in your memory. In some cases, these memories extend to knowing the exact circumstances when you bought certain records.

I can still picture myself in my room playing this 12" by A-ha over and over again. I even used the dub and extended mixes to create new extended remixes. And I know that, when 'This alone is love' appeared on A-ha's next album 'Stay on these roads', I was quite shocked, because the version on this 12" single is far superior. But perhaps that's because I'd heard this version about 200 times by then...

My collection: 12" single no. 52
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1987
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks: 'I've been losing you (extended mix)' / 'I've been losing you (dub)', 'This alone is love'

On the air tonight - Willy Finlayson

I bought the 7" single of 'On the air tonight' not long after its release, but I never even saw the 12" single before I bought this one. It was my first (and last) opportunity, and I took it. The extended version of 'On the air tonight' is not spectacular, but it does add something to the track that isn't there on the 7" version - mostly an extra instrumental part.

Willy Finlayson never had a hit, despite the fact that this particular track is actually quite beautiful.

My collection: 12" single no. 627
Found: unknown, 200X
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'On the air tonight (extended)' / 'After the fall'

What! - Soft Cell

The extended version of Soft Cell's 'What!' is far superior to the edit of the track on the 7" single. I found that out pretty early on in my life thanks to my sister, who bought this disc at a time when my budget didn't stretch far enough for 12" singles.

The shop Plato, which closed almost two years ago, opened in 1985 and this was my first purchase there. I was very surprised to find this disc there, which after all was three years old back then. Still, I was also happy as I didn't expect to find it at that point in time.

My collection: 12" single no. 18
Found: Plato, Den Haag, 1985
Cost: 15 guilders
Tracks: 'What!' / '...So'

Pale shelter - Tears for fears

You may have read the description of this 12" single of 'Pale shelter'. If you did, you already know part of the story. Here´s the second part of the story. This 12" single was released in 1983, an features a remix of 'Pale shelter'. This remix is actually the version that ended up on Tears for Fears' debut album 'The hurting'. The extended version is very beautiful, with an introverted piano intro.

'Pale shelter' has always been my favourite Tears for Fears song. I remember watching television (Music Box and Sky Channel) for hours just to see this music video. I always assumed the single was a flop because it didn't chart in the Netherlands, but later found out that upon this re-release, the single actually peaked at number 5 in the UK singles chart!

My collection: 12" single no. 290
Found: Record fair, 1996
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Pale shelter (extended version)' / 'Pale shelter', 'We are broken'

Every teardrop is a waterfall - Coldplay

When 'Every teardrop is a waterfall' was first released on YouTube, it sparked many negative comments, saying the song was plagiarised from 'Ritmo de la Noche' by The Sacados or from Peter Allen's 'I Go to Rio'. The band eventually credited Peter Allen and Adrienne Anderson's composition upon its official release.

It's not the first time that Coldplay have used samples to write a new song, having used a Kraftwerk motif for their X&Y single 'Talk'. When you play the B-side 'Major minus', you will notice the very U2 sound of that track. No surprise when you know that the band collaborated with producer Brian Eno.

This 7" single comes in a coloured inner sleeve with a white outer sleeve where the name of the band and the title of the song are cut out. The disc itself is pressed on blue vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 5294
Found: CDon.com, Sweden, received February 4, 2012
Cost: 7 euro
Tracks: 'Every teardrop is a waterfall' / 'Major minus'

Sunshine after the rain - Elkie Brooks

Elkie Brooks' breakthrough second album, released in 1977, propelled her into solo stardom in the UK and Europe. Featuring the top ten hits 'Pearl's a singer' and 'Sunshine after the rain', it had a distinct American sound largely due to the work of legendary writers and producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

'Sunshine after the rain' was released as the third single from the album and reached number 10 in the UK singles chart in August 1977.

My collection: 7" single no. 5293
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 2,7 euro
Tracks: 'Sunshine after the rain' / 'You did something for me'

Philadelphia freedom - Elton John

Elton John released 'Philadelphia freedom' as a single in 1975. Elton, looking to honour his friend, tennis professional Billie Jean King, asked Taupin to write a song called 'Philadelphia Freedom', an homage to her tennis team. Taupin said, 'I can't write a song about tennis', and did not. Taupin maintains that the lyrics bear no relation to tennis, Philly Soul or even flag-waving patriotism. In the U.S. it was a charttopper in April 1975.

The B-side features a live performance of 'I saw her standing there' by Elton John and John Lennon at Madison Square Gardens on November 26, 1974.

My collection: 7" single no. 5292
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 2,8 euro
Tracks: 'Philadelphia freedom' / 'I saw her standing there (live)'

Ace of hearts - Chris Rea

'Ace of hearts' was the fourth single taken from Chris Rea's 1984 album 'Wired to the moon'. In the UK, it was the title track of a mini album featuring five tracks. This German single features just two of them: 'Ace of hearts' and 'True love'.

The single did not become a hit in Germany. In the UK, it reached number 79 in 1984, and a reissue reached number 78 a year later.

My collection: 7" single no. 5291
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 1,5 euro
Tracks: 'Ace of hearts (special remix)' / 'True love'

Boogie Wonderland - Earth Wind & Fire

I posted my 12" single of Earth Wind & Fire's 'Boogie Wonderland' just two weeks ago, a few days before I ordered this 7" single. I didn't know I didn't have the 7" single, but as I was writing that piece, I found out. It was a pleasure to correct this small omission.

The 7" single is, obviously, shorter than the 12" single. The full length version is 8'30 minutes, whereas the single edit is just 5 minutes. The instrumental version on the B-side is just 50 seconds shorter than its 12" counterpart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5290
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Boogie wonderland' / 'Boogie wonderland (instrumental)'

Beach baby - First class

Record producer John Carter was the veteran of the early Sixties beat music, most notably Carter-Lewis and the Southerners, a band Carter formed with fellow producer Ken Lewis. Lewis and Carter formed a vocal harmony band, The Ivy League, that enjoyed three top twenty hits in Britain in 1965. Carter and Gill Shakespeare wrote the song 'Beach Baby' in the summer of 1974 in their home in East Sheen, South West London, far from any beach. Carter immediately enlisted the help of lead singer Tony Burrows and another session singer, Chas Mills, to record the song for Jonathan King's UK Records record label under the name The First Class.

The dense, complex production, layered vocals evoked the Sixties west-coast production style of lead Beach Boy Brian Wilson. At one point the arrangement utilises the horn theme from the last movement of Sibelius' Fifth Symphony. In 1974, at a moment when nostalgia for the Sixties was fashionable (and The Beach Boys sat atop the Billboard Hot 200 album chart with Endless Summer on 5 October 1974), the song became a hit in the UK (where it peaked at number 13), and in the USA, where it peaked at number 4.

My collection: 7" single no. 5289
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 1,6 euro
Tracks: 'Beach baby' / 'Surfer queen'

Free spirit - Kim Appleby

The 12" single I bought back in 1994 features four remixes of Kim Appleby's 'Free spirit', but this promotional double 12" set, which I found last month on a website, features five. Indeed, that's one extra and so I guess you could say I bought this set for one track only.

Now if 'Free spirit' was recorded by Madonna or Britney Spears these days it would probably be a hit, because it's a piece of inspired high energy pop, but Kim Appleby's star had faded in 1994, when this disc came out, and so it disappeared quietly. What a shame.

My collection: 12" single no. 624
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Free spirit (Mixed by Mobius Loop)' / 'Free spirit (Club mix - remix by Tony King' // 'Free spirit (Sound of Stockwell dub)' / 'Free spirit (Spiritual mix)', 'Free spirit (Diesel & Ether Defacto mix)'

Don't you love me anymore - Joe Cocker

I don't have any Joe Cocker tracks, except this one. I already had the 12" single, which I bought two decades ago, but I decided I had to have the 7" single as well. So when the opportunity presented itself last month, I ordered it.

Much to my surprise, this German pressing comes in a rather boring sleeve, whereas the UK version (at least, the 12" single I have was made in the UK) is much prettier with an actual photograph on the front cover. The song remains a true classic with Joe's devastated voice used to full effect.

My collection: 7" single no. 5288
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 1,5 euro
Tracks: 'Don't you love me anymore' / 'Tell me there is a way'

Send me a lover - Taylor Dayne

'Send me a lover' was written by Rick Hahn and George Thatcher, and released on September 6, 1993 as the second single from Taylor Dayne's album 'Soul dancing'. It peaked at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. In Europe, the single didn't become a hit. Perhaps that's why it didn't appear on 7" vinyl in Europe. This single was made in the USA and didn't come in a picture sleeve.

Unfortunately, the song was later covered by Celine Dion, who butchered the song beyond recognition with her grating voice. This version by Taylor Dayne remains the only one you can hear without bleeding ears.

My collection: 7" single no. 5287
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 2, 2012
Cost: 1,2 euro
Tracks: 'Send me a lover' / 'Someone like you'

Hiroshima - Wishful thinking

David Morgan wrote 'Hiroshima' and recorded it with the band Wishful Thinking in 1969. The single wasn't a hit, but when it was re-released in Germany in 1978, it reached number 8 there. The single stayed in the charts for months.

In 1990 the German singer Sandra recorded a cover version of this song for her fourth solo album 'Paintings in yellow'. That version was eventually released as a single as well, becoming one of her biggest hits in Central Europe.

My collection: 7" single no. 5286
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Hiroshima' / 'She belongs to the night'

We're all alone - Rita Coolidge

The first time I heard this song was a few months ago in a radio show presented by Kim Wilde called 'Secret Songs' on Magic 105.4 FM. Some singles can go by unnoticed for decades, but in the end I still catch them.

The song was written by Boz Scaggs, who recorded it on his 1976 album 'Silk degrees'. The Rita Coolidge version appeared on her album 'Anytime...Anywhere' released the next year. Coolidge recalled: 'When I was with A&M Records, it was like a family. I would visit Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, and it was a very open, communicative group of people. One day I was in Jerry Moss' office and he said that the Boz Scaggs album 'Silk Degrees' was in a million homes and there was a song on it that was perfect for a woman to sing. He said, 'It's called "We're All Alone" and as he's not doing it as a single, I think you ought to record it.'" Quite right too, as it reached number 6 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5285
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received February 1, 2012
Cost: 1,5 euro
Tracks: 'We're all alone' / '(Your love has lifted me) Higher and higher'

I.O.I.O. - Bee Gees

'I.O.I.O.' is the second single (third in the U.S.) from the Bee Gees album, Cucumber Castle. Maurice Gibb described this as "Barry's African jaunt" as the opening has African-type percussion that leads into Barry Gibb singing the verse, joined by Maurice in the chorus. The single was a relative success mainly on European charts.

The title 'I.O.I.O.' Maurice calls on the chorus and made as a title of the song, accompanied by Colin's drumming. Vince Melouney was present on playing the guitar on the song's first session in 12 June 1968 while they are recording the songs for their fifth album and their third international album, 'Idea'.

My collection: 7" single no. 5284
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 27, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I.O.I.O.' / 'Sweetheart'

I can't help it - Bananarama

This American pressing of Bananarama's single 'I can't help it' features the sleeve artwork that was used for 'Love in the first degree' in the UK. The B-side, 'Mr. Sleaze', was also the B-side of 'Love in the first degree' in the UK. And so here's a release that I felt would be an interesting addition to my collection.

'I can't help it' was written Bananarama with Stock, Aitken and Waterman, who also produced the track. It reached number 47 in the US Billboard Hot 100. The single peaked at number 20 in the UK singles chart. So perhaps the Herb Ritts photography on the sleeve of the UK version would have been a better choice?

My collection: 7" single no. 5283
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 27, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I can't help it' / 'Mr. Sleaze'

Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder

'Sir Duke' was written and recorded by Stevie Wonder in tribute to Duke Ellington, the influential jazz legend who had died in 1974. The lyrics also refer to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Wonder had already experienced the passing of two of his idols (Dinah Washington and Wes Montgomery) after attempting to collaborate with them. After Ellington died in 1974, Wonder wanted to write a song acknowledging musicians he felt were important. He later said, 'I knew the title from the beginning but wanted it to be about the musicians who did something for us. So soon they are forgotten. I wanted to show my appreciation.'

Released as a single from Stevie Wonder's 1976 album 'Songs in the key of life' in 1977, it reached number 1 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 2 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5281
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 27, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Sir Duke' / 'He's misstra know it all'

Don't forget to remember - Bee Gees

When you take a look at the sleeve of this single, you might think that the Bee Gees went all religious in 1969. However, the title 'Don't forget to remember the Lord' is just a case of bad sleeve design. In fact it's a combination of the two song titles included in this package.

'Don't forget to remember' is a country ballad from the Bee Gees, taken from the album 'Cucumber Castle'. The single was a number 1 hit in the Dutch Top 40 in September 1969. In the UK singles chart, the song peaked at number 2.

My collection: 7" single no. 5282
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 29, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Don't forget to remember' / 'The Lord'

An Englishman in New York - Sting

'Englishman in New York' was taken from Sting's 1987 album 'Nothing like the sun'. The 'Englishman' in question is the famous eccentric Quentin Crisp. Sting wrote the song not long after Crisp moved from London to an apartment in New York's Bowery. Crisp had remarked jokingly to the musician 'that he looked forward to receiving his naturalization papers so that he could commit a crime and not be deported.'

The song was released as a single in 1988, but only reached number 51 on the UK singles chart. In the Dutch Top 40 it was considerably more successful, peaking at number 9.

My collection: 7" single no. 5280
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 27, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'An Englishman in New York' / 'Ghost in the strand'