Dirty looks - Diana Ross

While it is certainly true that Diana Ross has had an impressive career with many classic songs, some people tend to forget she's released some drivel from time to time too. When I bought this single, I didn't actually know that 'Dirty looks' was quite substandard. The lyrics are vacuous and the tracks as a whole is very repetitive.

The album whence this single came from, 'Red hot rhythm & blues', was released in May 1987 and featured a cover photo by Herb Ritts. It may have been the saving grace of the album, as the tracks on the album consisted of cover versions of old R&B hits plus some random new tracks. One has to wonder if the fact that this album fulfilled Ross's contract with RCA records was the main reason for this hastily cobbled together batch of songs.

My collection: 7" single no. 4994
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, January 15, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Dirty looks' / 'So close'

Oh how the years go by - Simon Climie

'Oh how the years go by' is a track on Amy Grant's 1994 album 'House of love'. That's how I heard it first, at least. The writer credit was given to Simon Climie, which isn't that surprising since he wrote lots of songs for other artists in the Eighties and Nineties.

What is surprising, is that I found this single by Simon Climie himself. It was released in 1992, and his version is at least as good as Amy's. It wasn't a hit, like most of his solo output.

My collection: 7" single no. 4989
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, January 15, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Oh how the years go by' / 'Believe in me'

Forget me nots - Patrice Rushen

Patrice Rushen was born on September 30, 1954 in Los Angeles, California (USA). A classically trained pianist, she won a competition at the 1972 Monterey Jazz festival and gained national attention. She signed with Elektra Records in 1978 and recorded several albums on this label. Her biggest success was 'Forget me nots', released in 1982. Record label executives deemed it "a flop", but she reached the charts worldwide and almost was awarded a Grammy for her vocal performance.

In 1996, the song was used by George Michael on his hit single 'Fastlove', a track from his third solo album 'Older'. It is also one of the theme tunes for Kim Wilde's current radio programme on Magic 105.4 FM in London, 'Secret Songs'.

My collection: 7" single no. 4993
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, January 15, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Forget me nots' / '(She will) Take you down to love'

A town called malice - The Jam

Paul Weller was always at his best when he was angry, and he was the most angry while he was part of his band The Jam. Furious drums and wild guitars always made for interesting hit singles.

'A town called malice' is a great example of their sound. It was released in January 1982 as the first single from their album 'The gift'. It ended up a number one hit single in the UK, while also peaking at number 7 in the Dutch Top 40 (their first and last top 10 hit in the Netherlands). Weller commented that the song was about his teenage experiences in the English city of Woking.

My collection: 7" single no. 4988
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, January 15, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'A town called malice' / 'Precious'

Some people / Imagination - Belouis Some

I remember it well: the extended version of Belouis Some's 'Imagination' was used for a version of the music video of that song, which was played quite regularly on Music Box, the previous incarnation of MTV in Europe. I searched for the 12" single for some time, but after a while I realised there was so much more to buy and I gave up.

Fast forward more than a decade, and I see myself in London, going through rows and rows of bargain 12" singles.... including this one: a double 12" single of 'Some people' and 'Imagination' by Belouis Some. An amazing deal at an amazing price. Somehow I'm glad I never found the 12" when it was just out...

My collection: 12" single no. 414
Found: Record Exchange, London, 1998
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Some people (extended remix)' / 'Some people (dub version)', 'Walk away' // 'Imagination (extended remix)' / 'Imagination (dub mix), 'Imagination (7" version)', 'Have you ever been in love'

The dreamer - All about Eve

Although by 1991 the chart rules in the UK had restricted the number of different formats any single could be released on in order to count for sales, All about Eve still used the maximum amount of different formats to sell their singles. 'The dreamer', the last single to be taken from the album 'Touched by Jesus', was released on 7" single, cd-single, 12" single and this picture disc 12".

And this picture disc 12" came with one exclusive track, too: the demo version of the previous single 'Strange way'. It's an interesting version as the lyric of the song wasn't complete yet. The two instrumental B-sides, which were included on other formats too, have become classics in their own right.

My collection: 12" single no. 137
Found: Rhythm Records, London, October 1992
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'The dreamer (remix)', 'Frida of blood and gold' / 'Road to Damascus', 'Strange way (demo)'

Manchild - Neneh Cherry

This 12" single was a bit of a gamble: a rap artist who by chance had made a reasonable track, remixed by a triphop band that had made a reasonable track as well. Unfortunately, all this didn't add up: the remixes on this disc are not very interesting at all.

Also, while I thought this 12" was quite rare, it turns out it is offered on discogs.com for less than 5 euros. Sometimes you're less lucky with a gamble than you think.

My collection: 12" single no. 291
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 1993
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Manchild (Massive attack remix)', 'Manchild (Massive Attack bonus beats)' / 'Manchild (Smith n Mighty remix)', 'Manchild (More bass less vocal style)'