Misplaced love - Rupert Hine

In 1981, Rupert Hine released the album 'Immunity'. This single, 'Misplaced love' was taken from that album. It featured guest vocals by Marianne Faithfull and became Rupert's best known single, mainly because of the fact that it peaked at number 22 in Australia. In Europe, the single started a tradition, because it was the first of many singles that would not chart in any country.

Today his work as a solo artist is mainly recognized by music enthusiasts, fellow artists and electronic music insiders, with many fans considering his tryptichon 'Immunity', 'Waving not drowning' and 'Wildest wish to fly' to be his masterwork.

My collection: 7" single no. 2721

Found: Record fair, 1996

Cost: 1 guilder

Tracks: 'Misplaced love' / 'Psycho-surrender'

Let love rule - Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz debuted in 1989 with 'Let love rule', a retro track with lots of Sixties influences, evoking images of hippies dancing on the grass. It was the title track of his debut album, which appeared shortly after the release of the single.

Interestingly, Kravitz was married with The Cosby Show's Lisa Bonet at the time. She appeared in the video for the song and also co-wrote two tracks on the album. This would be the only 7" vinyl single I bought from Kravitz: his subsequent singles didn't interest me much until the release of 'If you can't say no', which was released a decade later (and not on vinyl).

My collection: 7" single no. 1113
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, November 17, 1989
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Let love rule' / 'Empty hands'
Download: Album 'Let love rule', including both tracks

Cloud eight - Frazier Chorus

Frazier Chorus followed up their single 'Nothing' with 'Cloud eight'. You could say it was equally successful, as it peaked at number 52 in the UK singles chart. But things were looking a bit grim for the band: with no chart success to speak of, the inspiration to go on began to wane too. Two more singles would follow before the band broke up.

Still, 'Cloud eight' is an inspired piece of breezy pop. I bought a quartet of Frazier Chorus singles on the day I bought this one, and I like every one of them a lot.

My collection: 7"single no. 2522
Found: Beanos, East Croydon, London, November 1, 1995
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Cloud eight' / 'Le change est magnifique'

We belong - Pat Benatar

Pat Benatar released 'We belong' as a follow-up to her highly successful single 'Love is a battlefield'. The track was taken from her sixth studio album 'Tropico'.

While it matched the success of 'Battlefield' in the US (peaking at number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart), the song was less successful elsewhere, peaking at number 10 in the Netherlands and number 22 in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 2125
Found: Record Palace, July 30, 1994
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'We belong' / 'Suburban king'
Download: Album 'Tropico', including both tracks

Bad ambassador - The Divine Comedy

As far as I know, 'Bad ambassador' was the only single from The Divine Comedy's 2001 album 'Regeneration' that was released on 7" vinyl. Of course I bought it right away, even if I had to order it from the UK.

The reason for my greed was the fact that the 7" vinyl featured a live track not found on the two cd-single releases. 'Life on earth' is not, as it may seem, a cover of the David Bowie track, but a composition that appeared on The Divine Comedy's 1998 album 'Fin de siècle'.

My collection: 7" single no. 3339

Found: HMV mail order, London, 2001

Cost: 3 pounds

Tracks: 'Bad ambassador' / 'Life on earth (live)'

The comfort of strangers - Julia Fordham

When I bought 'The comfort of strangers', it was mainly because it was so very cheap and because I knew the name Julia Fordham because of her single 'Happy ever after'.

This single actually predates that hit, it was released as Julia's debut single in 1988. It peaked at number 89 in the UK singles chart, and no-one could foresee that the second single from Julia's debut album would become such a big hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 2508
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 30, 1995
Cost: 10p
Tracks: 'The comfort of strangers' / 'I wish'

Why should I love you? - Des'ree

The third single drawn from Des'ree's debut album 'Mind adventures' was the sublime soul ballad 'Why should I love you?'. It wasn't as successful as the previous single, peaking at number 44 in the UK singles chart. Personally I thought it was the strongest track on the album.

The cd-single was released as a double package in the UK, with the second disc featuring covers of 'Imagine', 'Calling you' and 'Killing me softly with his song'. On the vinyl single, though, only the self-penned track 'Competitive world' appeared.

My collection: 7" single no. 1659

Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, May 30, 1992

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Why should I love you?' / 'Competitive world'