Spread a little happiness - Sting

When Police frontman Sting starred in the movie Brimstone and Treacle, an adaption of a play of the same name, he wrote and co-wrote the majority of the songs on the soundtrack. Most people tend to forget that 'Spread a little happiness', taken from this soundtrack, is actually Sting's debut solo single. It reached number 16 in the UK singles chart.

I did like the track but never got around to buying the single at the time because of budget constraints. Later on, the single would only turn up for ridiculous prices at record fairs and the like. So I was glad to get my hands on a copy for next to nothing this month.

My collection: 7" single no. 5333
Found: Kringloop, Den Haag, February 5, 2013
Cost: 0,25 euro
Tracks: 'Spread a little happiness' / 'Only you'

Reactive - Sixteen Deluxe

The American band Sixteen Deluxe are a "psychedelic noise-pop band", according to their own biography, from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1994, they played for seven years together before breaking up in July 2000 after Carrie Clark left the band. Apparently they reformed ten years later - the website sixteendeluxemusic.com has been abandoned almost as soon as it was started but still gives that information from 2010.

This 7" single became part of my collection after I found out a cover of Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America' was featured on the B-side. There are many cover versions of Kim's debut hit, but this is a pretty hard to find one. It isn't actually too bad, if you're expecting the dozenth punk-inspired cover version.

My collection: 7" single no. 5300
Found: Discogs.com, received February 2, 2013
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Reactive' / 'Kids in America'

Flower - Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue is in the music business for 25 years now. Hard to believe that the Neighbours actress who brought us 'The loco-motion' and 'I should be so lucky' finally became a serious pop artist, with some very beautiful ("Put yourself in my place", "Finer feelings") and well-produced ("Can't get you out of my head", "On a night like this") pop songs in her repertoire.

An artist like Kylie is assumed to only perform well under highly produced and perhaps autotuned circumstances, but her latest album 'The Abbey Road sessions' contains some great versions of those wellknown pop songs - and it certainly sounds like her voice is as authentic as the orchestra that backs her up. The song 'Flower' is a new one and this one was released as a single. This picture disc 7" single proves both that Kylie can perform well and that Photoshop is a popular tool to create immaculate photographs with.

My collection: 7" single no. 5299
Found: Recordstore.co.uk, received November 17, 2012
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Flower' / 'Flower (instrumental)'

Skyfall - Adele

Who can still hum the melody of 'Another way to die', the previous Bond theme? Thought not. The steady decline of James Bond movie theme songs that had started at the end of the last century seems to have been halted when the powers that be decided that this year's Bond song would be performed by a British artist again. And that's the first time since 1985 when Duran Duran recorded 'A view to a kill'. 'Skyfall' is "Bond by numbers", some people commented. With a large orchestra to back her up, it certainly feels like a retro track.

Obviously I was wondering if a 7" single would be released, but even before I started looking out for it, my friend Puck contacted me because he'd seen the single during a shopping trip. I was very happy to get this little present, which will probably prompt me to start buying more "Bond singles". I missed out on a few during the last 50 years...  

My collection: 7" single no. 5298
Found: Den Haag, November 8, 2012
Cost: Nothing (a present)
Tracks: 'Skyfall' / 'Skyfall (instrumental)'

Love me do - The Beatles

I'm not a Beatles fan and not an expert either, but when I found out that 'Love me do' was to be re-released this month because of the fact it was originally released 50 years ago, my interest in this 7" single was raised. I think everyone is familiar with this song, as it is always played on the radio and some people consider it as the start of pop music as we know it now. The Beatles were the defining group of the Sixties, like Abba was in the Seventies and, well, many British bands were in the Eighties.

The was a slight f***up with this single because EMI pressed it with a wrong version of 'Love me do' (featuring Andy White instead of Ringo Starr on drums), causing its release to be postponed. (One does wonder: how does this even happen?) But, lo and behold, it was ultimately released on October 22, 50 years and 17 days after its original release.

My collection: 7" single no. 5297
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received October 30, 2012
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Love me do' / 'P.S. I love you'

Leaving - Pet Shop Boys

Released last month, the Pet Shop Boys’ latest album Elysium is a very consistent set of songs. The duo tried to maintain a mood for a whole album and they were pretty successful, even if one or two songs are very different from the others. The second single from the album was released last week and is entitled 'Leaving'. Even in this era where single releases are becoming quite scarce, the Pet Shop Boys have chosen to release two cd-singles, a 12" single and even a 7" single. Much to my delight, of course, because 7" singles are still the best format. It comes with an inner and outer sleeve, with Chris Lowe on the outer sleeve and Neil Tennant on the label of the A-side. The inner sleeve features a beautiful laminated photograph of clouds in a dark sky, befitting the mood of the song. The demo version, featured on the B-side, is slightly different from the finished recording and can be considered quite a treat for fans and casual listeners alike. One of the best tracks on the album as far as I'm concerned.

My collection: 7" single no. 5296
Found: Rough Trade website, received October 18, 2012
Cost: 6 pounds
Tracks: 'Leaving' / 'Leaving (demo version)'

Swingtime - Black

After two years of absence from the music scene, Black returned in 1993, free from his contract with A&M records and owner of a new self-owned company called Nero Schwarz ltd. His comeback album was called 'Are we having fun yet?', taking a stab at his moody, melancholy image. The album was full of quirky sounds and well written pop songs, but unfortunately this music was not picked up by the general public. A concert in Rotterdam at the time was visited by only 60 people. I was one of them, and I also bought all of the cd-singles released from that album.

Little did I know that in Spain a 7" single was released as well. I found out about this some eight years after the fact, when I started corresponding with other Black fans. And I tried for the last decade to find this single. Especially since it contains an otherwise unreleased B-side track. It was on my 'want list' on Discogs.com for two years. And then, suddenly, last Monday morning I found an e-mail from Discogs saying that an item was for sale on my wantlist. I ordered it within minutes. Only five days later, I held a copy of that great sought after item in my hands. Bliss.

My collection: 7" single no. 5295
Found: Discogs.com, received August 10, 2012
Cost: 8 euro
Tracks: 'Swingtime' / 'Quiet side of the road'

For a friend - Communards

In the late Eighties, record companies released as much formats of a single as they could, to sell more copies which meant higher chart placings. In the case of the Communards' impressive 1988 single 'For a friend', the record company opted for a luxurious three disc 12" single set, featuring live tracks from a concert in Paris.

Entitled 'The Communards storm Paris', the set featured twelve tracks, but weirdly enough the single's original B-side, a live version of 'Victims', featured on all three discs. Still, it's a nice item to have and I have searched for it for a couple of years.

My collection: 12" single no. 637 to 639
Found: Discogs.com, received May 10, 2012
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks disc 1: 'For a friend', 'Victims (live)' / 'Don't leave me this way (live)', 'Heavens above (live)'
Tracks disc 2: 'For a friend (remix)', 'You are my world (live)' / 'So cold the night (live)', 'Victims (live)'
Tracks disc 3: 'For a friend (live)', 'Never can say goodbye (live)' / 'Victims (live)', 'Hold on tight (live)'

Lake Tahoe / Among angels - Kate Bush

After a very productive 2011, during which Kate Bush released both the album 'Director's cut' and '50 words for snow', Record Store Day 2012 featured an exclusive 10" vinyl release by Kate. (Incidentally, it was her first vinyl single of recent work since 1993's 'Moments of pleasure'.) Featuring two tracks from the latter album, the 10" picture disc was released in a limited edition of just 2000 copies worldwide.

This spells hell for Kate Bush fans, since record shops participating in Record Store Day in the Netherlands are even more rare than trustworthy right-wing politicians. The official Kate Bush website stepped in and offered copies of the 10" a few weeks after Record Store Day. Again: hell, because the website was stormed by fans and I was clicking my fingers numb, frustrated at the slowness of the site. But after 72 minutes, I finally succeeded to buy my copy. Two weeks later, I hold it in my hands. And indeed, it is a beautiful disc. The tracks may be a bit slow for some, but 'Among angels' is among Kate's most moving songs ever.


My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Katebush.com website, received May 31, 2012
Cost: 15 pounds
Tracks: 'Lake Tahoe' / 'Among angels'

One step ahead - Nik Kershaw

The end of the Eighties was a strange time. Many idols who were very successful in the mid-Eighties were declared 'yesterday's news' and suddenly didn't the charts anymore. One of them was Nik Kershaw, who had been very successful with his first two albums, but the third and fourth one were not so popular.

'One step ahead' was taken from his fourth album 'The works', which left the album charts even before it entered it. Not that the music was bad: personally I think this single is one of his finest tracks. And the remix included on this 12" single is very impressive indeed.

My collection: 12" single no. 356
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, circa 2000
Cost: 5 guilders
Tracks: 'One step ahead (Industrial mix)' / 'One step ahead', 'When I grow up'

Julia - Eurythmics

Taken from the soundtrack of the movie '1984', for which Eurythmics provided the soundtrack, 'Julia' was the second single from that album. It couldn't be as successful as the catchy 'Sexcrime (1984)' but personally I find this track much more beautiful.

This 12" single features extended versions of both the A- and B-side of the single. Although 'Julia' is labelled as 'extended', it is actually the album version of the track, and not, like the B-side, a 'real' extended version.

My collection: 12" single no. 153
Found: Plaatboef, Rotterdam, 1992
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Julia (extended)' / 'Ministry of love (extended)'

Moments of pleasure - Kate Bush

With a still from the movie 'The line, the cross & the curve', EMI Records could have chosen a better picture for the sleeve of this fantastic 12" single. The one they picked was a bit tasteless, especially since 'Moments of pleasure' is such a beautiful, emotional song. The movie retold the fairy tale of the red shoes, featuring a lot of dance scenes because Kate is forced to dance by the shoes she put on.

Anyway, the 12" single - which was the last 12" single by Kate Bush ever released - features a poster sleeve and one exclusive track which was never officially released on CD: the instrumental version of 'Moments of pleasure'. You can hear the orchestra in its full glory, showing how beautifully crafted these melody lines really are.

Truth be told, I have been feeling a bit sad and this song is the perfect soundtrack for such feelings. It's also one of the most beautiful tracks Kate Bush has ever committed to tape.

My collection: 12" single no. 187
Found: HMV, 1993
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Moments of pleasure' / 'Moments of pleasure (instrumental)', 'Home for Christmas'

Everybody's laughing - Phil Fearon and Galaxy

Some 12" singles only appear in my collection because they're cheap. I don't think I would have ever had this one if I'd had to pay more for it than I did back then. 'Everybody's laughing' is a nice pop song, but nothing spectacular.

Still, this 12" single is quite interesting, because it features an extended mix and two instrumental versions. One features Randy Muller (who?) and the other Tom Browne, who had a hit in the early Eighties with 'Funkin' for Jamaica'.

My collection: 12" single no. 273
Found: Spui Records, Den Haag, 1996
Cost: 2,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Everybody's laughnig (Sangria mix)' / 'Everybody's laughing (Instrumental featuring Tom Browne)', 'Everybody's laughing (Instrumental featuring Randy Muller)'

Master and servant - Depeche Mode

'Master and servant' was Depeche Mode's 11th UK single and the second single from their album 'Some great reward'. The production and mixing process of "Master and Servant" are remembered by Alan Wilder, Daniel Miller, and Gareth Jones, as among the longest that Depeche Mode ever endured. One famous story about the song includes a mixing duration of seven days, and after all the reworking and final mastering of the mix, they realized they left the channel with the snare drum muted during the last chorus.

Despite controversy surrounding the song, it still managed to reach number 9 in the UK singles chart. The "Slavery Whip Mix" was the longest 12" Depeche Mode song at the time, with the outro being turned into a swing version of the refrain. This 12" disc, released in Germany, features a so-called 'marbled' vinyl in grey, white and brown. 

My collection: 12" single no. 34
Found: Free record shop, Den Haag, 1986
Cost: 8 guilders
Tracks:  'Master and servant (Slavery whip mix)' / '(Set me free) Remotivate me (Release mix)', 'Master and servant (voxless)'

Touch dance - Eurythmics

'Touch Dance' is a remix album by the Eurythmics. This mini-album was released by RCA Records in May 1984, six months after the release of the album 'Touch'. It contains dance remixes of four tracks from Eurythmics' Touch album, by John 'Jellybean' Benitez and François Kevorkian, who were noted producers in the New York club scene. Amazingly, it omits all the hits from that album: 'Here comes the rain again', 'Right by your side' and 'Who's that girl'.

Annie Lennox has said in interviews that she disliked the record, as it was too much of a commercial product and was put together by RCA with little involvement from herself and Dave Stewart.

My collection: LP (unnumbered)
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'The first cut (François Kevorkian mix)', 'Cool blue (Jellybean remix)', 'Paint a rumour (Jellybean remix)', 'Regrets (François Kevorkian mix)' / 'The first cut (instrumental)', 'Cool blue (instrumental)', 'Paint a
rumour (instrumental)'

Change of heart - Altered Images

The last single to be released by Altered Images was 'Change of heart', taken from their third album 'Bite'. Although that album reached the UK album top 20, it sold less than the two previous albums. Following a concert tour, the band decided to break up.

Clare Grogan and Steve Lironi formed Universal Love School, performing live together but never releasing any recordings. Eventually they got married and lived happily ever after!

My collection: 7" single no. 5306
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Change of heart' / 'Another lost look'

Johnny Rocco - Marty Wilde

Released in March 1960, 'Johnny Rocco' was the first single by Marty Wilde in a long time to peak outside the UK top 10. He'd just married Joyce Baker (in December 1959) and record company executives must have thought they were right when they said that Marty would lose his appeal to teenagers by his new status as a married man. Marty couldn't care less: love was more important to him than fame and he probably already knew that a child was underway: his daughter Kim was born in November 1960.

'Johnny Rocco' was written by Les Vandyke, who would go on to write many hit singles during the Sixties and early Seventies for Adam Faith, Eden Kane, John Leyton and Clodagh Rodgers.

My collection: 7" single no. 5317
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Johnny Rocco' / 'My heart and I'

Uninvited guests - Kit Hain

Decca Records supplied a press information sheet within the sleeve of this single, and so we can read the following: 'Kit is honest enough to admit that 'Dancing in the city' kept her going financially, along with a lot of encouragement and moral support from friends in the business. At times she didn't know what to do. She even thought about going back to teaching in an infants school and playing in pubs at night if it came to it. But, what Kit did learn was to be patient and to recognise the right situation when it happened. It did happen last year when she signed to Decca and teamed up with Mike Thorne, who has also produced Wire, The Shirts, Soft Machine and John Cale. The result is Kit's first single "Uninvited guests" on Decca with her first album in the pipe-line for future release.'

The single was released on January 23, 1981 and didn't chart. The album 'Spirits walking out' was released later that year to similar lack of success...

My collection: 7" single no. 5308
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Uninvited guests' / 'Talk to me'

Everything must change - Paul Young

Paul Young was very successful with his first two albums, 'No parlez' and 'The secret of association'. Sell-out tours and many hit singles followed between 1983 and 1986. This version of 'Everything must change' was a limited edition featuring a free second single. It was a marketing ploy that was very popular at the time.

Released near the end of 1984, it was quite fitting that Paul recorded a Christmas message for his fans to be included on this single. One can wonder whether it was a good idea to put it right in the middle of the instrumental version of 'Everything must change' though.

My collection: 7" single no. 5324
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Everything must change' / 'Give me my freedom' // 'Everything must change', 'Paul's Christmas message' / 'I close my eyes and count to ten (live)'

Scarlet inside - Clannad

Clannad wrote the music for the soundtrack of the television series 'Robin Hood', broadcast by the BBC in the mid-Eighties and released on the album 'Legend' by the band. This single was the second one to be taken from that album, featuring the previous single 'Robin (The hooded man)' on the B-side, as well as the very successful theme from another television series, 'Harry's game' from 1982.

Those two songs reached number 42 and number 5 respectively in the UK singles chart, but this single sank without a trace.

My collection: 7" single no. 5303
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2012
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Scarlet inside' / 'Robin (the hooded man)', 'Theme from Harry's game'