Cars - Gary Numan

As a little boy I was regularly playing with toy cars. That was in the days that I didn't realise they were stinking, noisy, environment-devastating machines. The appeal of Gary Numan's song 'Cars' back then was obvious. I didn't understand the lyrics yet, but the subject and the inventive use of crashing sounds (I was often playing car accidents with my toy cars) were a real turnon.

'Cars' was effectively Gary Numan's debut single, after he had abandoned the Tubeway Army moniker. His electronic music was preceding all the synthbands that would come to colour the eighties.

My collection: 7" single no. 50

Found: Rapsody, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Cars' / 'Asylum'

Download: Album 'The pleasure principle', including both tracks (password: +++Hellion88+++)

Shake your head - Was (not was)

Was (Not Was) biggest claim to fame is the hit single 'Walk the dinosaur', a hideous late-eighties top 10 hit which made me cringe everytime I heard it. 'Shake your head' was a more interesting, albeit less successful song. At least, in the Netherlands: in the UK it was their biggest hit. Was it the video starring Kim Basinger that did the trick? It certainly did for me: that's why it stuck in my head and that's why I wanted to buy it. It was the time in which 7" singles were getting increasingly difficult to find, and so buying this one was one of my minor triumphs during that time.

My collection: 7" single no. 1689

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, August 1, 1992

Cost: 6,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Shake your head' / 'I blew up the United States'

Download: cd-single 'Shake your head', including both tracks

When your heart runs out of time - Glenn Gregory & Claudia Brücken

Glenn Gregory is the lead singer of Heaven 17 and Claudia Brücken was one of the lead singers of the German group Propaganda. Together they recorded this song, 'When your heart runs out of time', in 1985. According to the sleeve of this record, the song is taken from the motion picture 'Insignificance'. The record was released on the ZTT label, which became famous for their Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Grace Jones releases.

And that's about it. No information to be found on this record on the internet, and I never heard from it myself. I bought it last month on the basis of the good work the performers did on their own. As it turns out, the song is very decent. A good find.

My collection: 12" single no. 456

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 22, 2008

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Out of time', 'The voices of Gary Busey, Michael Emil and Theresa Russell', 'When your heart runs out of time' / 'When your heart runs out of time (drumless)', 'The voices of Michael Emil and Theresa Russell', 'Forever (what the hell)', 'Out of time'

Download: here

Hypnotise - Scritti Politti

'Hypnotise' is the least successful of the four singles that were released from Scritti Politti's 1985 album 'Cupid & Psyche', despite (or maybe because of) the fact that it didn't sound radically different from other tracks on this album. With a great hook and the signature vocals of Green Gartside, the single only reached no. 68 in the UK singles chart.

When I was on holiday in London in 1989, I went around the town visiting every record shop I could find. It was my first encounter with the Record Exchange shops, that were offering hundreds of old vinyl singles for discount prices. I had a chance to buy many singles I wanted to have for years, and so I did...

My collection: 7" single no. 1026

Found: Record Exchange, Notting Hill, London, October 17, 1989

Cost: 50p

Tracks: 'Hypnotise' / 'Hypnotise (version)'

Download: here

Shandi - Kiss

Taken from their eighth album 'Unmasked', 'Shandi' was only a small hit compared to the three singles taken from the previous album, 'Dynasty'. Written by vocalist/guitarist Paul Stanley and producer Vini Poncia, the song title was inspired by the Bruce Springsteen song '4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)'.

Paul Stanley was the only member of the band to have actually played on the track. Session drummer Anton Fig plays drums, Kiss roadie Tom Harper plays bass and professional songwriter Holly Knight plays keyboards, while Stanley sings lead and plays all guitars. Vini Poncia provided backing vocals to the track.

My collection: 7" single no. 56
Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1980

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Shandi' / 'She's so European'

Download: Album 'Unmasked', including both tracks

You don't love me - Marilyn

Peter Robinson was born in Kingston, Jamaica on November 3, 1962. During his teenage years, growing up in Hertfordshire, England, he started experimenting with his sexuality and image. Adopting the blonde hair, make-up and movements of his idol Marilyn Monroe, he quickly invented his stage name Marilyn.

Boy George and Marilyn were both part of the New Romantic movement and regulars at the Blitz nightclub, a highly stylised nightclub in London run by Steve Strange from the musical group Visage. Following the success of Culture Club, record companies were looking for similar transvestite stars, and so Marilyn was offered a recording contract. 'You don't love me' was Marilyn's third single from his 1985 debut album 'Despite straight lines'.

My collection: 12" single no. 245

Found: Record Exchange, London, 1993

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'You don't love me [extended]' / 'Raining again'

Download: here

Fool - Radio Java

Radio Java formed in the first half of the eighties. Comprising Tony Moore, Steve Price and Johnny Sequins, they started gigging all over London until they signed to Carrere Records. They recorded their debut album 'Some of the parts' at Abbey Road Studios in London. A Dutch DJ bought a copy of their second single 'Fool', and started to play it on Dutch radio. The group flew over to promote the song on Dutch TV, but despite an appearance in the Dutch Tipparade (the 'bubbling under' singles chart), it didn't become a hit.

Injustice! 'Fool' is a beautiful orchestral ballad, and even though the B-side spells 'middle of the road rock fare', it deserved to get more recognition than it did.

My collection: 7" single no. 262

Found: LP Top 100, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Fool' / 'Lost in your love'

Download: here