(No more) Fear of flying - Gary Brooker

'(No more) Fear of flying' is taken from the album of the same name, which was Gary Brooker's debut solo album. Unlike 'The Angler', this single was a hit in the Netherlands. Then again, it was Gary Brooker's only hit in this country. Despite releasing four albums and eight singles, Brooker never found commercial success again.

I heard this song on the radio lots of times during the eighties. For a long time I didn't know what it was called and who performed it. When I found out, I still needed a lot of time to find the single. Obviously, when I found it, I was very glad.

My collection: 7" single no. 2128

Found: Record Palace, Amsterdam, July 30, 1994

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: '(No more) Fear of flying' / 'S.S. Blues'

Download: here

I knew you were waiting (for me) - Aretha Franklin and George Michael

George Michael released his first solo single while he was still in Wham! The fact that 'Careless whisper' became number one hit, may have been one of the factors that caused him to quit the band. After 'A different corner' had also reached the top spot, all eyes were on him. For his third solo single, he enlisted Aretha Franklin for a duet. And that helped him score the hattrick. Remarkably, it was Franklin's first and only number one hit in the UK.

The song was written by Dennis Morgan and Simon Climie. The latter was unknown at that point, but he would be part of the duo Climie Fisher, together with Rob Fisher, who'd previously been part of Naked Eyes.

My collection: 12" single no. 359

Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1999

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'I knew you were waiting (for me) (extended remix)' / 'I knew you were waiting (for me) (percapella)', 'I knew you were waiting (for me) (edited remix)'

Download: here

Take on me - A-ha

The story of the song 'Uncertain smile' is similar to the one of this song. When the Norwegian group A-ha signed to WEA records in 1984, they released 'Take on me' as their debut single. When the sleeve pictured here doesn't look familiar to you, you've probably got another version of that same song. This original version was produced by Tony Mansfield, a man who had forged a pop career himself in the late seventies with New Musik.

Without the pop video that would stun the world, the original version 'Take on me' flopped mercilessly. The more successful version would be released a year later on the same label. I was lucky to find this original version within months of the release of the later successful one.

My collection: 7" single no. 377

Found: Nieuwstraat, Den Haag, 1985

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'Take on me [original version]' / 'And you tell me'

Download: here

Uncertain smile - The The

When The The signed to CBS Records in 1982, their first single on that label was a version of 'Uncertain smile'. This track would appear on their first album for CBS, 'Soul Mining', released a year later, but in a different version. The album version featured a lengthy piano solo, whereas the single version from 1982 featured saxophone and flute solos.

The album version of 'Uncertain smile' was released on single in 1984, and that version even made the Dutch Top 40, peaking at no. 31. At that time, the original version was often played on a local radio station, causing me to search for this single for years. Obviously it had become very rare. But finally, in 1991, I succeeded: I found it during a record fair in Amsterdam.

My collection: 7" single no. 1518

Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 21, 1991

Cost: 10 guilders

Tracks: 'Uncertain smile' / 'Three orange kisses from Kazan'

Download: here

Daddy Cool - Boney M

One of the greatest lines in pop music is 'She's crazy like a fool / What about it Daddy Cool?'. It was presented to the world by Boney M, the group brought together by Frank Farian, the fraudulent German producer who preferred to work with people who could perform songs rather than sing them.

'Daddy Cool' was one of many hits that were part of the European disco craze in the second half of the Seventies. The B-side was a disco cover of Bob Marley's classic 'No woman no cry'. It was a Europe-wide success, one that Boney M kept building on until the bubble burst in 1984.

My collection: 7" single no. 1633

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, April 18, 1992

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Daddy Cool' / 'No woman no cry'

Download: Album 'Take the heat off me', including both tracks

Dear Prudence - Siouxie and the Banshees

When I was in highschool, I had a classmate who was wild about Siouxie and the Banshees. I think he owned all of their records. I got to know them through this single, a cover of the song by the Beatles. I'd heard the original two or three times, but I preferred this to the original pretty quickly.

'Dear Prudence' wasn't a hit in the Netherlands, however it peaked at number 3 in the UK singles charts, making it their biggest hit in that country.

My collection: 7" single no. 221

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1983

Cost: 3,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Dear Prudence' / 'Tattoo'

Download: here

? (Fragezeichen) - Nena

After having had hits with '99 Luftballons', 'Nur geträumt' and 'Leuchtturm' in the Netherlands, '? (Fragezeichen)' was the first single taken from Nena's second album of the same name. It was a good success, peaking at number 12 in the beginning of 1984. The b-side 'Ich lieb' dich' was sung by band member Carlo Kages.

My collection: 7" single no. 3384

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2006

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: '? (Fragezeichen)' / 'Ich lieb' dich'

Download: here