O Superman - Laurie Anderson

'O Superman' by Laurie Anderson was an unlikely chart hit. Anderson had never reached the charts before, and she never would again. Anderson constructed the song as a cover of the aria 'O Souverain, o juge, o père' from Jules Massenet's 1885 opera Le Cid. The first line of the song is a part-translation of that title: 'O Superman / O judge / O mom and dad'. The lines 'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice / And when justice is gone, there's always force / And when force is gone, there's always Mom' were derived from the fourth sentence of Chapter 38 of the Tao Te Ching: 'When Tao is lost, there is goodness. When goodness is lost, there is kindness. When kindness is lost, there is justice. When justice is lost, there ritual. Now ritual is the husk of faith and loyalty, the beginning of confusion.'

My copy of the single was housed in a custom WEA Records single sleeve. The label features some specially designed artwork. Although picture sleeves do exist, I still feel this is a great alternative.

My collection: 7" single no. 232
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1984
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'O Superman' / 'Walk the dog'
Download: Album 'Big Science', including both tracks

Noi - Matia Bazar

The Italian group Matia Bazar had phenomenal success with their 1986 hit 'Ti sento'. It went top three in several European countries and it even raised their album to gold and platinum status. How to follow up a hit like that? Simply by continuing whatever you were doing: making great pop songs. 'Noi' lives up to a high standard, even if it didn't get the amount of acclaim 'Ti sento' did.

I was happy to buy the 12" single of 'Noi', because it contained both the single and album versions of the track - and it was also a coloured vinyl edition. The marbled vinyl is a beautiful item to give a spin on your record player.

My collection: 12" single no. 121

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1991

Cost: 7,95 guilders

Tracks: 'Noi' / 'Noi (7" version)' / 'Ai confini della realta'

Download: here

Silver shorts / Falling - The Wedding Present

Like many others, I loved the series 'Twin Peaks' when it was broadcast. Part of its appeal was the soundtrack by Angelo Badalamenti and the songs performed by Julee Cruise. 'Falling' was the best known track from that soundtrack: Julee Cruise had a hit with it in several territories.

I found out about the cover version by The Wedding Present a couple of years later. As soon as I knew, I started looking for the single that would contain this cover. I finally found it in 1995, but I wasn't too impressed. Let's just say that there are good cover versions and mediocre ones...

My collection: 7" single no. 2352

Found: Wreckastow, Rotterdam, June 26, 1995

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Silver shorts' / 'Falling'

They're coming to take me away ha-haaa! - Napoleon XIV

Napoleon XIV was the pseudonym of American singer/songwriter and record producer Jerry Samuels. In 1966, he recorded 'They're coming to take me away ha-haaa!'. The single reached no. 1 status in America one week after its release. In the UK, it reached number 4 and in the Netherlands it went to no. 13. Some groups protested the apparent mockery of mental illness. Officially a one hit wonder, Napoleon XIV did record a whole album of songs referring to mental illness, including the reply from his wife: 'I'm happy they took you away, ha-haaa!' and, later, the sequel: 'They're coming to get me again, ha-haaa!' (which sees the singer slipping back into madness after being released from the insane asylum).

I bought my copy of the single during a record fair. To my surprise, this copy was made in Lebanon. A very unusual country for a vinyl single, but the quality is impressive: it's very thick, hard vinyl.

My collection: 7" single no. 2923

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 30, 1997

Cost: 10 guilders

Tracks: 'They're coming to take me away, ha-haaa!' / '!aaah-ah ,yawa em ekat ot gnimoc er'yehT'

Download: here

Thinking of you - Maureen Walsh

For a while, I was totally infatuated by this girl called Maureen. I couldn't stop thinking about her, I was watching her every move and that parallysed me so much, that I never got round to actually talking to her. It didn't matter, she probably wasn't my type anyway.

During this time, I came across this test pressing. The white label only stated 'Maureen' and 'Thinking of'. It seemed almost too appropriate - I couldn't resist buying it. Upon playing the single, I found out that it contained bogstandard nineties dance fare. The two tracks were nothing special, so I basically forgot all about it. For this blog I decided to pull it out again, and, while I was at it, to find out the identity of all this. It's Maureen Walsh! According to discogs.com, she released several 7" and 12" singles, but no albums. Not a big star then.

My collection: 7" single no. 1660

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, June 6, 1992

Cost: 3,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Thinking of you' / 'One chance'

Download: here

Lydia - Dean Friedman

Dean Friedman is an American singer/songwriter who was born in New Jersey on May 23, 1955. His beautiful ballad 'Lydia' by Dean Friedman was a small hit in the UK and the Netherlands.

This is one of those singles I bought two times. The first purchase took place in London during a holiday there. I found a tattered copy of it in a plain white sleeve and bought it immediately. This version was pressed in England, and carries the song 'S&M' on the B-side. The copy turned out to be virtually unplayable. Six years later, I bought another single to replace the original one in my collection, a Dutch pressing with the song 'Well well said the rocking chair (it's gonna be alright)' on the B-side. This time, it had a picture sleeve!

My collection: 7" single no. 1063

Found: London, October 18, 1989 / Leiden, November 19, 1995

Cost: 50p / 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Lydia' / 'S&M' or 'Well well said the rocking chair (it's gonna be alright)'

Download: Album 'Well well said the rocking chair', including all three tracks

Whistle down the wind - Nick Heyward

Nick Heyward was born in Beckenham, Kent (UK) on May 20, 1961. In 1980 he formed Haircut 100, a band that became very popular in the UK in the early eighties. They released just one album in 1982, 'Pelican West', but it contained no less than four UK top 10 hits. Heyward quit the band in 1983 to pursue a solo career.

This solo career started with 'Whistle down the wind', a song that would reach no. 13 in March 1983. Thanks to radio I heard this song and I grew to like it. Two years later, I bought this single.

My collection: 7" single no. 391

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Whistle down the wind' / 'Atlantic Monday'

Download: here