Ah yes, the seven inch single. These small discs of joy were the cornerstone of the pop charts for years, weekly sales adding up to thousands and thousands in their heyday. Nowadays it’s streaming that appears to power music sales. But many of us still have mucho love for the 45rpm record.

Many such as myself – I’ve got a huge pile of them, and it’s only slowly going down. What I do, you see, is spend a night playing 7″ vinyl – A side and B side – and going on a musical journey that can take me all over the place.

Sometimes that journey is a bit weird, or even disappointing – but it’s never dull. Pour yourself a drink and let’s have a look at the latest Singles night playlist…

1. The D4 – “Come On!” / “Santa Claus”
2. The D4 – “Get Loose” / “John Rock”
3. Roberto Mann Orchestra & Chorus – “Love Theme From Witchfinder General” / “Both Sides Now”
4. Adam & The Ants – “Kings of the Wild Frontier” / “Press Darlings”
5. Jo Boxers – “Boxerbeat” / “Let’s Talk About Love”
6. Brian Spence – “Back Door” / Chris Sutton – “Know It All” / Velvet Underground “Stephanie Says” / Smiley Culture – “Here Comes the Style”
7. Bow Wow Wow – “Louis Quatorze” / “Blue Soldier”
8. Sam Brown – “Stop!” / “Blue Soldier”
9. Big Country – “King of Emotion” / “The Travellers”
10. The B-52s – “Good Stuff” / “Bad Influence”
11. The Beatles – “Long Tall Sally” / “I Call Your Name” / “Slow Down” / “Matchbox”
12. The Barron Knights – “Merry Gentle Pops Part 1” / “Merry Gentle Pops Part 2”
13. L7 – “Pretend We’re Dead” / “Shitlist”
14. Rainmakers – “Let My People Go-Go” / “Nobody Knows”
15. Wax – “Building a Bridge to Your Heart” / “Heaven in Her Bed”
16. AC/DC – “Highway to Hell” / “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”
17. AC/DC – “You Shook Me All Night Long” / “Have a Drink On Me”
18. The Stylistics – “Can’t Give You Anything (but My Love)” / “I’d Rather Be Hurt By You (Than Loved By Somebody Else)”
19. Kipp Lennon – “Song From ‘Buck Rogers’ (Suspension)” / “Something Kinda Funky”
20. Girlschool – “Hit & Run” / “Tonight”

See what I mean? That was a great night of music – well, for the most part! The only dud amongst the bunch was the horrendous Barron Knights single. I remember that group in the late 70s and early 80s, and thought they were funny. These two songs, both from earlier in the career, haven’t stood the test of time.

Other than that, an awesome mix of rock, punk, alternative, pop, disco and even a couple of wild soundtrack items. In contrast to the Barron Knights, I was pleasantly surprised by Rainmakers and I’d forgotten how great that Wax song is.

That’s all for this time, groove hunters – more soon.

Notes:

The D4 were a great rock band from New Zealand, fast and punky in a similar vein to The Hives. I saw them around 2001 supporting Fu Manchu, they were rad. Picked these singles up a while ago as I can’t find their excellent album anywhere.

There are two soundtrack songs in this latest playlist. I was very lucky to find the song from Witchfinder General for mere pence in a charity shop – as a big Horror and Vincent Price fan, it’s a cool curio to own. Also, yes – that is the classic theme tune from the Buck Rogers TV show of the early 80s. Even better, the B side is from when Buck is trying to teach the 25th century squares how to be groovy.

Always loved that Jo Boxers song since I heard it on Tiswas. Finally got the single.

Disc 6 is a Sounds magazine/Polydor sampler that I picked up super cheap, purely for the Velvet Underground song. The first two tracks ar eprety bland.

The L7 single is a numbered, limited edition single on red vinyl.

The two AC/DC songs need no introduction. My favourite Bon Scott song and my favourite Brian Johnson song on consecutive records in my list.