The soul cages - Sting

'The soul cages' was released in 1991 as Sting's third solo album. The album was written as a concept album, focused on the death of Sting's father. Most of the songs have motifs related to sailing or the seas (Sting's father, according to Sting's autobiography, 'Broken music', had always regretted not becoming a sailor). There are also references to Newcastle, the part of England where Sting grew up.

The title track was released as the fourth and last single from the album. It was only a minor hit, reaching number 57 in the UK singles chart during a one week chart run.

My collection: 7" single no. 4578
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'The soul cages' / 'Walking in your footsteps (live)'

Just another broken heart - Sheena Easton

'Just another broken heart' was released in 1981 as the first single from Sheena Easton's second album 'You could have been with me'. The album was produced by Christopher Neil.

Although the single did not chart in the Netherlands, where Easton had some success before, it still charted in the UK, peaking at number 33.

My collection: 7" single no. 4599
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Just another broken heart' / 'Savoir faire (he's got)'

Centipede - Rebbie Jackson

At the height of his fame, in 1984, Michael Jackson still had time to help his siblings with their career. Rebbie Jackson was his eldest sister, and also the eldest child of the Jackson family. At 34, she released her debut album 'Centipede'.

The title track was written and produced by Michael Jackson and featured backing vocals by Michael and LaToya Jackson. This 12" single features an extended mix of the track, which is not found on any other release. In 1997, it was included on the cd-single for a later Rebbie Jackson single, 'Yours faithfully'.

My collection: 12" single no. 534
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Centipede (extended)' / 'Centipede (instrumental)'

Het maakt me niks meer uit (Het grote lied van onverschilligheid) - Dingetje

Although Dingetje was always good in making parodies of wellknown pop songs in Dutch, this single is almost a direct translation of Bob Geldof's 'Great song of indifference', and that works less well. Entitled 'Het maakt me niks meer uit' ('It doesn't matter to me'), Dingetje released this single within weeks of the release of Bob Geldof's original.

The B-side is basically the sequel: the singer of the A-side tells the listener how he ended up doing this song in a rather longwinded way (similar to old age pensioners, who always end up repeating themselves) and demands to get the 500 guilders he earned from the job from the producer, named Joop van den Ende (the wellknown Dutch TV programme director).

My collection: 7" single no. 4586
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Het maakt me niks meer uit (Het grote lied van onverschilligheid)' / 'Ende'

Looking for Atlantis - Prefab Sprout

Although Prefab Sprout's fifth album 'Jordan: the comeback' had a running time of 63 minutes, it was released on a single vinyl disc, with each side running just over 30 minutes. With 19 tracks, it was a real treat for fans, but a broader audience was also attracted to it, making this the second album by Prefab Sprout to reach the UK albums top 10.

'Looking for Atlantis', the first track on the album, was released as the first single in August 1990. It reached number 51 in the UK singles chart, and although the single was released in Europe, it had no commercial success over there.

My collection: 7" single no. 4588
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Looking for Atlantis' / 'Michael'

Hypnotise - Scritti Politti

The single 'Hypnotise' by Scritti Politti was released in 1984, at a time when extended versions always used to be longer versions of existing tracks instead of totally overhauled tracks with only fractions of the original track in them.

I bought the 7" single of Hypnotise in 1989, but held off on buying the 12" single until now. Since I already have a few 12" singles by Scritti Politti, I had a hard time finding out whether I had it or not. As it turned out, I didn't - so now I have.

My collection: 12" single no. 531
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Hypnotise (long)', 'Hypnotise (short)' / 'Hypnotise (version)'

The only one - Transvision Vamp

'The only one' was the second single from Transvision Vamp's second album 'Velveteen'. The sleeve design was similar to that of the previous single 'Baby I don't care', this time featuring the band against a panelled backdrop printed with a large photo of Marilyn Monroe.

The single became a UK top 20 hit in 1989 and peaked at number 15, spending a total of six weeks on the chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4590
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'The only one' / 'The mystery song', 'Love me'

Goodnight Galileo - Fay Lovsky

Released as a single from Fay Lovsky's 1985 album 'Cinema', 'Goodnight Galileo' was another unsuccessful release for her. Throughout her career, only one single managed to reach (the lower regions of) the Dutch Top 40, and although many more singles were released, none of them met with commercial success.

Still, this single is worth a listen, even if you don't know Fay Lovsky. Most of her work can be characterized as artistically accomplished.

My collection: 7" single no. 4604
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Goodnight Galileo' / 'Islands'

Auberge - Chris Rea

The title track of Chris Rea's 1991 album 'Auberge' was released as a single in early 1991. The album as well as the title song was mostly notable for the association of the Caterham Super Seven that Chris Rea owned, in which he called it the 'Blue Seven'. That car appeared on the album cover, illustrated in oil by renowned motoring artist Alan Fearnley.

'Auberge' was a number 1 album in the UK in 1990. The single also gave Rea one of his biggest hits, reaching number 16 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4572
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Auberge' / 'Hudson's dream'

When love takes over you - Donna Summer

'When love takes over you' was the fourth single taken from Donna Summer's 1989 album 'Another place and time'. The album was produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman. The track was remixed before its single release, but the single was only released in Europe and the UK.

Released in November 1989, 'When love takes over you' managed to reach the UK singles chart for one week only, at number 72.

My collection: 7" single no. 4602
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'When love takes over you' / 'Bad reputation'

Shooting star - Dollar

David van Day and Thereza Bazar formed Dollar in 1977 after leaving the group they joined at 17. At first, only Van Day quit the band to embark on a solo career, while Bazar could continue with Guys n' Dolls to earn a living for them both. The group's management were unhappy with the situation and sacked Bazar with the reasoning that a six-piece group consisting of three couples would now look odd with five members.

As Dollar, they released their debut single 'Shooting star' in late 1978. After a slow climb, it managed to reach number 14 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4606
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Shooting star' / 'Talking about love'

A bridge of love - Joy Fleming

Although this single was released in 1975, it still sounds rather modern. But that's only because Joy Fleming uses the same repulsive singing techniques people like Mariah Carey and Leona Lewis still employ these days: singing like there's a kidney stone in your gut.

'Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein' (this single contains both the English and German versions) was the German entry for the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest. The song finished 17th in a field of 19 competitors. Despite this disappointing result, Fleming returned to the German national final three times: in 1986, 2001 and 2002. None of these resulted in a comeback on the international Eurovision stage.

My collection: 7" single no. 4601
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'A bridge of love' / 'Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein'

Dream, dream - Luv'

The second single by the Dutch girl trio Luv' was not able to reach the Dutch Top 40. I was about nine years old when I heard the track (two years after its release) and even back then I concluded that the song was too 'sad' to be a hit. The fortunes of Luv' changed when they started recording consistently happy music.

That's not to say 'Dream, dream' is a bad pop song: it's got a great melody and the lyric, while still full of platitudes, is quite interesting. Finding a copy of this single is quite hard: I think there weren't that much to begin with and these days they don't pop up very often.

My collection: 7" single no. 4579
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Dream, dream' / 'Hang on'

Let's go crazy - Prince and the Revolution

A request by one of the readers of this blog: 'Let's go crazy' as released in 1985 as a single from Price's hugely successful album 'Purple rain'. I bought this single although I was never too wild about this track 25 years ago. Now I quite like it, I have to admit.

When 'Let's go crazy' was released as a single, it was edited from the album version. It was a number 1 hit in the USA, peaking at number 18 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 7 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4603
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Let's go crazy' / 'Take me with u'

Englishman in New York (Ben Liebrand mix) - Sting

'Englishman in New York' was originally a track on Sting's second album 'Nothing like the sun'. When it was released as a single from that album in 1988, it was moderately successful.

In 1990, just prior to the release of his third studio album The Soul Cages, Sting's record label licensed Dutch DJ and producer Ben Liebrand to remix the track and subsequently release it as a single. The remix played around with the introduction and some of the instrumentation, but the essence of the song remained the same. The new version was more successful, reaching number 15 in the UK singles chart in mid-1990.

My collection: 7" single no. 4600
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Englishman in New York (Ben Liebrand mix)' / 'If you love somebody set them free'

There's a brand new world - Five Star

It's interesting how Five Star went from supergroup to virtually unknown during the first five years of their career. While their first few albums were immensely popular, the album 'Rock the world', released in 1988, was ignored by the record-buying audience.

Still, the first two singles from the album, 'Another weekend' and 'Rock my world' reached the top 40 in the UK. It was this third single, 'There's a brand new world', that stalled at number 61, making this the first single since 1985's 'R.S.V.P.' not to reach the UK top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 4592
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'There's a brand new world' / 'U'

Dust in the wind - Kansas

The American progressive rock band Kansas was formed in 1970 by Dave Hope, Phil Ehart, Kerry Livgren, Lynn Meredith, Don Montre, Dan Wright and Larry Baker. They released their self-titled debut album in 1974, From then on, they released an album every year, until 1978's 'Point of know return' came out. This album featured the track 'Dust in the wind'.

'Dust in the wind' was released as a single. Written by Kerry Livgren, it was one of the band's first acoustic tracks with a slow melody and melancholy lyrics. It was their only single to reach the top 10 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 6. It was also their only hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 19.

My collection: 7" single no. 4593
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Dust in the wind' / 'Paradox'

Runaway boys - The Stray Cats

The Stray Cats formed in 1980 in New York. Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom based their style upon the sounds of Sun Records artists and other artists from the Fifties. When they heard rumor that there was a revival of the Fifties Teddy Boy youth subculture in England, the band moved to the UK.

In the summer of 1980 the cats found themselves being courted by the elite of the music world including Virgin Records, Stiff Records and Arista records. Word quickly spread and soon members of the Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin were at their shows. Dave Edmunds offered to work with the group, and they recorded their debut album, which was released in early 1981. Ahead of the album, their first hit single 'Runaway boys' was released. It reached number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 9 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 4594
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Runaway boys' / 'My one desire'

La Luna - Belinda Carlisle

Released in 1989, 'La luna' ('The moon') was the second single from Belinda Carlisle's album 'Runaway horses'. The track was written by Rick Nowels and Ellen Shipley and produced by Nowels - as most of her output up until then.

The single reached number 10 in Switzerland, but ended up outside the top 10 in other territories. In the UK singles chart, 'La luna' stalled at number 38.

My collection: 7" single no. 4584
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'La luna' / 'Whatever it takes'

Never wanna dance (when I'm blue) - Audrey Landers

Although most people remember Audrey Landers as the pouting blonde that played Afton Cooper in the American series 'Dallas', she also has a lengthy musical career under her belt. Starting out as early as 1978, she had her biggest hit in Europe with 1983's 'Manuel goodbye'. After this, she released ten albums and a few dozen singles.

One of those singles is this one, from 1988. 'Never wanna dance (when I'm blue)' was co-written by herself, but failed to make an impression in the charts.

My collection: 7" single no. 4577
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, February 26, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Never wanna dance (when I'm blue)' / 'It takes 2 to fly'