Three babies - Sinéad O'Connor

'Three babies' was the third single taken from Sinéad O'Connor's second album 'I do not want what I haven't got'. In the UK, this single was released in a limited edition poster sleeve, which fortunately I got to buy while I was in London.

The beautiful ballad did not make much of a chart impression: it only charted in the UK and Ireland, peaking at number 42 and 19 respectively.

My collection: 7" single no. 1325
Found: HMV, London, October 16, 1990
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Three babies' / 'Damn your eyes'

Live-in world - The Anti-Heroin Project

Fish, Nik Kershaw, Cliff Richard, Dave Stewart, Holly Johnson, Robin Gibb, Kim Wilde and many others contributed their voices and music to the Anti-Heroin Project in 1986. It was one of many charity projects in music that took place in the mid-Eighties, following the lead of Band Aid and Live Aid.

The single 'Live-in world' was lifted from a double album that contained tracks from various artists. This was the track that contained vocals from over fifty artists on a new song written by Charley Foskett. The Anti-Heroin Project was not very successful: neither the single nor the album charted.

My collection: 7" single no. 501
Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Live-in world' / 'Something better'

Be my downfall - Del Amitri

Dutch readers of this blog are not likely to miss the fact that the photo on this sleeve was made in Amsterdam, at the Kadijksplein to be exact. This was not the reason for me buying this single, but I think I saw the song once on television not long before I bought it. (By that time, I'd already given up on radio.)

'Be my downfall' was the second single taken from Del Amitri's second album 'Change everything', and reached number 30 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 2660
Found: June 30, 1996
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Be my downfall' / 'Whiskey remorse'

Don't mess with doctor dream - Thompson Twins

While working on the follow up to 'Into the gap', Thompson Twins band member Tom Bailey suffered a nervous breakdown. Nile Rodgers was subsequently called in to help finish the album 'Here's to future days', which was released in September 1985.

The first single from the album was 'Don't mess with doctor dream', a track with a strong anti-drug message. The single reached number 15 in the UK singles chart and number 27 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 569
Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Don't mess with doctor dream' / 'Big business'

Iron lion zion - Bob Marley

Bob Marley wrote and recorded 'Iron lion zion' in April 1973 or 1974. It was released posthumously in May 1992 on the box set 'Songs of freedom'. It reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 4 in the Dutch Top 40 when the track was released as a single.

The song's lyrics are directly related to Rastafarian beliefs. Zion is 'the promised land', in the song referring to Ethiopia. The lion refers to the Lion of Judah, which appeared on the old royal Ethiopian flag, and represents Haile Selassie I, the former Ethiopian emperor whom Rastafarians regard as their Messiah.

My collection: 7" single no. 1799
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, December 11, 1992
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Iron lion zion' / 'Smile Jamaica'

Love will save the day - Whitney Houston

I recently saw a video of Whitney Houston on the UK television programme 'X Factor'. Her new song was quite horrible, she almost lost the top of her dress and she looked quite lost on stage, like she hasn't quite kicked her drug habit yet.

It's easy to discard her entire body of work as sentimental crap and uninspired dance tracks. Even this one single I have from her now sounds very dated. But 'Love will save the day' has a nice hook, even if the vocals are not the best and the music sounds very Eighties. the single was not Whitney's biggest hit, but still reached number 6 in the Dutch Top 40, number 9 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1298
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 15, 1990
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'Love will save the day' / 'Hold me' (duet with Teddy Pendergrass)

More than I can bear - Matt Bianco

Released in February 1985 as their fourth single, Matt Bianco's 'More than I can bear' was not their biggest hit but perhaps their artistically most accomplished song. The song appeared on their debut album 'Whose side are you on' (1984) and was remixed for the single.

It reached number 50 in the UK singles chart and number 22 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 643
Found: August 2, 1988
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'More than I can bear (remix)' / 'Matts mood (remix)'