Now that's what I call a 12-inch!

Following on from yesterday's post, today I received another trio of tunes. When I started this blog, I knew that I'd unearth other gems besides the number ones. So hands up, who remembers The Lotus Eaters? They were a Liverpool-based band whose star shone brightly in the summer of 1983 (when I was still at primary school). They had one solitary hit, 'The First Picture Of You' – that reached number 15 on the chart. it reputedly received the most radio airplay in the UK that year and every time I hear it, it takes me back to seven weeks of summer holidays.

Frontman Peter Coyle has his own website, though parts of it don't appear to have been updated for some time. I believe the band reconvened for some live performances in 2010, though. Perhaps some musicians I know who were gigging around locally in the 1980s might know him or the band and can feed my nostalgia. Though the song itself is, for me, as seminal as the one hit achieved by another Liverpool band at the end of the decade – 'There She Goes' by The La's. Sometimes it's the songs on the fringes of prevailing fads and trends which ultimately linger longest in people's memories.

The other 12-inch singles in today's batch were 'Where Are You Baby?' by Betty Boo (above) and 'Don't You Want Me' by The Human League. The first of those can also be seen as ground-breaking in its own way. I remember being impressed that Betty Boo (aka Alison Clarkson) had skills in sound technology, DJ mixing, sampling and the like. Betty Boo rose to prominence when dance music was very male-dominated. It probably still is.

Regarding the Human League, as with several other singles, I had to buy three copies before I finally got hold of a copy that played without a hitch. My playable copy was a factory-sealed 2012 reissue. I need to remember that the record may be a classic, but it's a 33-year-old classic! Second-hand copies of big hits – like the Christmas number one from 1981 – won't always be in pristine condition. But in any case, I'm now slowly reaching the point where my obsession will gradually diminish. Once I've tracked down a few more synth pop classics to join The Human League and others in my vinyl vaults, I'll simply carry on collecting number ones from other decades as and when I see them.