Amiga Quartett - Udo Jurgens

One of the weirder purchases during last week's record fair was this Amiga Quartett EP with four tracks by Udo Jürgens. It features his Eurovision winning song 'Merci Chérie', but also three other tracks. Two of them veer dangerously towards schlager territory, but 'Ich schrieb nie ein Lied für Karin' ('I never wrote a song for Karin') is a touching little song about how you sometimes neglect those closest to you. Although that may be my interpretation of the song, I don't know.

These Quartett EP's are always fun, because it's obviously from a country that doesn't exist anymore (the German Democratic Republic existed until the early 1990's, when Germany became one country again after a few decades of total divorce) and it can be interesting to hear some more tracks from artists you don't know that well.

My collection: 7" single no. 7068
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Mit 66 Jahren', 'Ich schrieb nie ein Lied für Karin' / 'Aber bitte mit Sahne', 'Merci, Chérie'

Showroom dummies - Kraftwerk

This single has been on my wish list for a while, but it was hard to find a decent copy for not too much money. It felt good to finish my visit to the record fair with the acquisition of this single by Kraftwerk. 

'Showroom dummies' was taken from the band's album 'Trans-Europe Express'. The single was originally released on 14 September 1977, but this UK pressing comes from 1981. It comes with a remix of 'Numbers', taken from the album 'Computer World', on the B-side.

My collection: 7" single no. 7079
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Showroom dummies' / 'Numbers (re-mix)'

Zero gravity - Kate Miller-Heidke

'Zero gravity' could be described as a pop-opera song. Kate Miller-Heidke wrote the song following her experience with post-natal depression after the birth of her son, Ernie, and how she felt "weightless" as she recovered. In an interview with broadcaster SBS, Miller-Heidke said she has always known of Eurovision, but became more invested since Australia became involved. She said "I think what I love about Eurovision is the permission to go a bit bonkers and I love how it embraces all different genres and different levels of experimental music and performance. I love how theatrical it is."

Theatrical is a way to describe her performance: it was over the top, with the singer swaying about on high poles, before a background of stars. The Cirque du Soleil-inspired performance made the song very popular with viewers. Still, it finished in ninth place.

A blue vinyl single was released in 2020 in an edition of 284 copies. My copy is number 188.

My collection: 7" single no. 7078
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Zero gravity' / 'Zero gravity (acoustic)'

Let's get serious - Jermaine Jackson

It's an odd fact that Jermaine Jackson always remained somewhat in the shadows of his younger brother Michael, despite the fact that certainly in the late Seventies he released some very great material. This single is a good example: 'Let's get serious', produced by Stevie Wonder, is a song that is impossibly catchy. 

I actually only discovered this track recently, when I bought a CD of 12 inch singles from 1980. This is quite strange, since this single was released in 1978. But it's true: in the UK this single peaked at number 8 in the singles chart in 1980. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7077
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Let's get serious' / 'Je vous aime beaucoup (I love you)'

Eden is a magic world - Pop concerto orchestra

The Pop Concerto Orchestra is a French pop music group singing in English, whose compositions are signed by Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint. Their most famous song is 'Eden is a magic world', initially recorded in 1976 and which achieved success in the summer of 1982.

The single sold more than a million copies, after having been used at the time for an advertisement for the Telefunken brand. After the release of several 45s which did not meet with the same success, the group disbanded in 1985.

My collection: 7" single no. 7076
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks:  'Eden is a magic world' / 'She wears a rainbow'

Wann - Camillo

The funny thing about record fairs is that sometimes you can get yourself a good deal. Having bought a dozen singles at the stand of a Eurovision specialist, I spotted this single for a few euros but passed on it. When I saw the same single a few stands further down for just one euro, I became more interested in its contents. 

It turns out that this EP features a German version of 'Petit Bonhomme', the song with which Camillo represented Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962. 'Du kleiner Mann' appears as the third track on this EP, which might seem an odd choice.

My collection: 7" single no. 7075
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Wann', 'Das Gluck, von demich einst getraumt' / 'Du kleiner Mann', 'Wenn ein Stern vom Himmel fallt'

Do you believe in shame? - Duran Duran

Back in 1989, I already bought 'Do you believe in shame?', Duran Duran's third single from their album 'Big Thing'. My copy was an American one, bought from a record shop that supplied the occasional import. 

I didn't know back then that the UK edition came in three varieties, that together would make up a collectable set. When I did find out, about eight years ago, those singles were hard to get. Online no dealer would have all three and the combined shipping costs would make collecting these singles quite an expensive experience.

I was glad when I bumped into a UK dealer at last week's record fair, who happened to have all three of these singles. I had no doubt that I really wanted to have them, because as you know I am a sucker for limited editions and strange single sets.

Part one comes with a sleeve in which you can house all three singles, whereas the actual single features the band's frontman Simon Le Bon. Nick Rhodes and John Taylor appear on the cover of parts 2 and 3 respectively. 

A successful legal challenge over the close resemblance of the melody of 'Do you believe in shame?' to that of the Dale Hawkins classic 'Suzie Q' (more famously covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rolling Stones), means the three writers of 'Suzie Q' were added to the official ASCAP credits for royalties on 'Do you believe in shame?'. Duran Duran always denied intentionally copying any other works, and that the similarity of the two songs was based on a "basic blues progression". 

My collection: 7" single no. 7072, 7073 and 7074
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Do you believe in shame?' / 'The Krush Brothers LSD edit' // 'Do you believe in shame?' / 'God (London)', 'This is how a road gets made', 'Palomino' // 'Do you believe in shame?' / 'Drug (It's just a state of mind'

Det var en yndig tid - Katy Bødtger

At the beginning of this year I bought 'Mit potpourri', a 10" album by Katy Bødtger, which featured her 1960 Eurovision entry 'Det var en yndig tid'. One of the reasons (besides it being a very attractive item with a colour sleeve) was that the single would cost at least 45 euros. And certainly online you will need to pay something like that for a decent copy. 

Imagine my surprise when I saw this single for less than half of that amount at the record fair in Den Bosch last Saturday. And from a Danish dealer too! It was a lovely time.

My collection: 7" single no. 7070
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Det var en yndig tid' / 'Gør hvad du vil'

To the unknown man - Electric Playground Orchestra

It's hard to surpass the majestic beauty of Vangelis' 'To the unknown man', but still it has been tried. In 1978, the Electric Playground Orchestra released this single - a single I've never seen before. I bought it out of curiosity, because I wanted to know what this version would sound like. 

The identity of this 'orchestra' has not been revealed, but we do know that this single is produced by a certain Werner Schüler, which leads me to conclude that this is a German outfit. But if you know more, you are welcome to post in the comments!

My collection: 7" single no. 7069
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'To the unknown man' / 'Cascade'

Yesterday - Matt Monro

One of the Beatles' most famous songs might be 'Yesterday', with its simple and effective lyrics. During last Saturday's record fair I was rather surprised to find this single (for only one euro, I might add) featuring a cover version by that classic British singer Matt Monro.

Although 'Yesterday' was not released as a single in the UK, it did not prevent Matt Monro from recording the first of many cover versions of the song. His version made it into the top ten in the UK charts soon after its release in the autumn of 1965. In the end, 'Yesterday' was released in the UK as an EP in 1966.

My collection: 7" single no. 7066
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Yesterday' / 'Just yesterday (when your love was mine)'

Betcha by golly wow - The Stylistics

'Betcha by golly, wow' is a song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, originally titled 'Keep growing strong' and recorded by Connie Stevens under the Bell label in 1970. The composition later became a hit when it was released by the Philadelphia soul group the Stylistics in 1972 under its better known title. It was the third track from the Stylistics' 1971 debut self-titled album; released as a single in 1972, it reached number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.

In 1996, Prince recorded another version of the song, which leaned a lot on the Stylistics' version. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7065
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Betcha by golly wow' / 'Ebony eyes'

Merci Cherie - Vince Hill

Vince Hill (16 April 1934 – 22 July 2023) was an English traditional pop music singer, best known for his cover version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein show tune 'Edelweiss' (1967), which reached No. 2 on the UK singles chart. He recorded 25 studio albums and several soundtracks, wrote songs and plays and hosted TV shows during the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1963, he participated in A Song for Europe, the UK heat of the Eurovision Song Contest, with 'A day at the seaside'. The next few years proved fallow, as a succession of single releases failed to chart. In 1966 his fortunes changed, as he had three hit singles. The third one was this cover version of Udo Jurgens' winning Eurovision song, 'Merci Cherie'.

My collection: 7" single no. 7064
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Merci Cherie' / 'Can't believe my eyes'

Freedom is today - Mia Martini

Mia Martini performed 'Libera' at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977, representing Italy. As nice as the song was, Italian is not my strong point, and so I was happy to know that there was also an English version of this song. But how to find it?

This single is rather rare, which is why it was also under the table at the record fair last Saturday. Fortunately the price wasn't very steep, and so I was able to pick up this UK promo, which features both the English and the original version. Oddly, both labels feature the prominent 'A' on them.

My collection: 7" single no. 7063
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Freedom is today' / 'Libera'

Ma petite chatte - Fud Leclerc

Having bought the previous 11 singles from one dealer, I asked whether he had some rare gems hidden under the table. He did, and some of them were already in my collection and featured on this blog. But one item was especially rare and I was rather stunned when I grabbed it: a real copy of 'Ma petite chatte' by Fud Leclerc.

You should know that Fud Leclerc represented Belgium four times at the Eurovision Song Contest, but only two of those songs were ever released on a 7" single: 'Mon amour pour toi' from 1960 and this song, 'Ma petite chatte' from 1958. The other two, 'Messieurs les noyés de la Seine' (1956) and 'Ton nom' (1962) remained unreleased.

This particular single seems to come from the archive of the INR - NIR, Belgium's national broadcasting institute, which existed until 1960. I just hope it wasn't stolen from their archives.

My collection: 7" single no. 7062
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Ma petite chatte' / 'Volare (Dans le bleu du ciel bleu)'

Romantica - Gunnar Wiklund

Renato Rascel represented Italy with 'Romantica' at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960. The song was covered by many artists across Europe; attentive readers will have seen my entries on versions by Willy Alberti, Achille Togliani and Robertino. 

Up north, you had Gunnar Wiklund, who would record more Eurovision covers during the 1960's. This EP featured his first flirt with Eurovision repertoire, after having released more than a dozen singles with original material in Swedish. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7061
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Romantica', 'Partners' / 'Han måste gå', 'Midnatt'

Die heerlijke wereld - Micha Marah

Micha Marah made headlines earlier this year when she decided to finally record her Eurovision entry from 1979, 'Hey nana'. Until now, only the version by composer Charles Dumolin has been available on record, and unfortunately it seems like it will remain like this, since there is no physical release of Micha's version yet. 

We'll have to made do with Micha's cover version of 'En un mundo nuevo', Spain's Eurovision entry from 1971. She recorded it as 'Die heerlijke wereld' ('That delicious world') in 1971, and it sounds as joyful as the original - even if the lyrics sound rather naff if you can understand Flemish/Dutch.

My collection: 7" single no. 7060
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Die heerlijke wereld' / 'Die ring'

La source - Guy Bonnet

Guy Bonnet wrote 'La source', the song that represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968. It was performed by Isabelle Aubret, who did this for her country for the second time. It was a successful attempt, since she landed in third place.

However, Guy decided to also record the song himself. This single contains his version along with a tribute to that famous film character, Scarlett O'Hara. Whether this version is better than Isabelle's... well, I think it isn't really. But it's a nice item to have nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 7059
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'La source' / 'Scarlett O'Hara'

Die Worte dieser Nacht - Nana Mouskouri

Nana Mouskouri represented Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963 with 'A force de prier'. I managed to buy the English version 'The one that got away' two years before the original French version, and now, two years after I found the original French version I found the German version, 'Die Worte dieser Nacht'. It would be quite something if I found the Italian version in 2025. 

There's a rumour that a Japanese version of the song also exists, somewhere on a 'various artists' compilation, but who knows? I certainly don't. Suggestions welcome in the comments, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 7057
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Die Worte dieser Nacht' / 'Wir geh'n im Regen'

Primaballerina - Siw Malmkvist

Germany was represented by Siw Malmkvist at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969. She sang 'Primaballerina', a title that accurately descibes the subject of the song. Besides the original German version she also recorded the song in Swedish and Spanish. 

This single contains the Spanish version, and fortunately the sleeve states 'en español', because there is also a version from the Spanish record company Belter that contains the original German version. Make no mistake: despite the title 'Me falta el botón', the B-side is in German.

My collection: 7" single no. 7056
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Primaballerina (en español)' / 'Mir fehlt der Knopf'

Solitude - Karel Gott

The cover of this single says 'Soledad', but the single contains the French version of Karel Gott's 1968 Eurovision entry for Austria, 'Tausend Fenster'. This is because the Spanish had the slightly irritating habit of translating song titles despite the fact that the actual song is not in Spanish. 

This sleeve is in a bad state, which caused the seller to drop the price significantly, despite the fact that a good copy easily fetches an amount well into the double digits. Fortunately the disc itself plays very well!

My collection: 7" single no. 7055
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Solitude' / 'Raina'

Through the eyes of a child - Frida Boccara

One of the most beautiful songs ever performed on the Eurovision stage is Frida Boccara's 'Un jour, un enfant'. No wonder, then, that I am after every version of that song. I found 'Un dia, un niño' four years ago at a record fair, and now the English version also turned up duing a record fair. 

The single comes in a standard Philips sleeve, as picture sleeves weren't that common in the UK back in the Sixties. 

What's next? The German and Italian versions. That's not going to be easy.

My collection: 7" single no. 7054
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Through the eyes of a child' / 'So fair'

Peccato che sia finita cosi - Udo Jurgens

When Udo Jürgens represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 1964, he did so with the song 'Warum nur, warum'. The song was a big success for him despite not winning the Contest: fellow contestant Matt Monro recorded the song in English as 'Walk away' and the song became an international hit. 

Udo recorded 'Walk away' himself too, as well as a version in Spanish and in Italian. It is the Italian version that is listed here, with the impressive longer title 'Peccato che sia finita così'. It means 'Too bad it ended like this', in case you're wondering. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7053
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Peccato che sia finita così' / 'Finito l'amore'

Ora che io ti amo - Udo Jurgens

Udo Jürgens represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965 with 'Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüssen'. I bought the French EP back in 2019 when the twice annual record fair was still held in Utrecht. The fair moved to Den Bosch after a little incident when the venue in Utrecht closed the fair a day before it was supposed to open, due to a Covid lockdown which the government was planning a few days after that. A lot of dealers lost a lot of money that weekend.

Anyway, Udo recorded his Eurovision song in Spanish and Italian as well, and it is the Italian version that I managed to pick up this weekend. It comes in a very different sleeve and it is a charming version.

My collection: 7" single no. 7052
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Ora che io ti amo' / 'Se non ti capira'

Die Liebe geht - Françoise Hardy

Françoise Hardy represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963 with 'L'amour s'en va', and I was already aware that she recorded that song in Italian and German eight years ago when I bought that single. However, getting them was quite difficult.

I was happy to come across a copy during the record fair last Saturday. This was no coincidence: the dealer had a big Eurovision collection and that's why I checked out his stand first. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7051
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Die Liebe geht' / 'Ich sag' ja'

Ey sham - Ilanit

Back in 1973 a country called Israel made its debut at the Eurovision Song Contest. The song 'Ey sham' was performed by Ilanit, a singer who was originally contacted to perform for Germany. Then the opportunity arose to represent her own country. This single is particularly special since it features the original Hebrew version and only contains Hebrew writing. Hence, I relied on a transliteration to name these tracks.

Some people wonder why Israel even takes part in Eurovision. I think the world would be a better place if Arabic countries would also participate. Morocco tried it once, other countries never dared to. I guess there's a lot of unresolved hate in the world, and some people (both in Israel and elsewhere) are just not interested in peace and unity.

My collection: 7" single no. 7048
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 October 2023
Tracks: 'Ey sham' / 'Bifrot nevel ve'ugav'

Anna rakkaudelle tilaisuus - Seija Simola

Four years ago I bought the single 'Give love a chance' by Seija Simola, the English version of Finland's Eurovision entry from 1978. The original Finnish version was still missing from my collection, but I am glad to say that I finally managed to buy a copy. 

It comes from a slightly expensive seller in France, who happened to have more than a few collector's items on sale. I decided to buy this one because it isn't offered for any low price online - and don't think you'll ever find it during record fairs or anything. Collecting Eurovision singles can be frustrating, but it's always an exciting feeling when a particularly rare item ends up in your collection!

My collection: 7" single no. 7049
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 October 2023
Tracks: 'Anna rakkaudelle tilaisuus' / 'Pieni hymy'

Poupée de cire, poupée de son - Dominique

Eurovision songs were popular in the Sixties, so much so that many artists tried to have success with cover versions of songs - even artists that were virtually unknown. 

Dominique was married to French trumpet player George Jouvin (19 June 1923 - 24 October 2016), who released 70 albums, recorded 3.000 tracks and sold 25 million records. Dominique appears on plenty of sleeves of Jouvin's records, but she also recorded no less than 33 singles together with her husband. On a few of these, she is credited along in a series of EP's called 'Dominique chante...'. 

This EP features two Eurovision songs: the winning song of 1965, France Gall's 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son' and the French entry of that year, Guy Mardel's 'N'avoue jamais'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7047
Found: Discogs.com, received 23 October 2023
Tracks: 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', 'Viens danser le Letkiss' / 'Comme on change', 'N'avoue jamais'

Pop corn - Antoine

Born as Pierre Antoine Muraccioli on 23 January 1945 in Toamasina, Madagascar, Antoine is a French singer, and also a sailor and adventurer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker. He was very popular in the Sixties and Seventies. In 1972 he released this single, a vocal version of Gershon Kingsley's fabulous composition 'Popcorn', with lyrics he wrote himself.  

He stopped his musical career to travel around the world. Antoine published the first book of his adventures, Globedrifter (French: Globe Flotteur) in 1977; several more have followed, including his book on distance navigation Setting Sail (French: Mettre les Voiles).

My collection: 7" single no. 7045
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 October 2023
Tracks: 'Pop corn'  / 'Feuilles d'automne'

The A project - Def Syndicate

It's easy to dismiss music from the Nineties because it was so bad. At least, a lot of bad music was produced during that decade. This single was called 'The A project' because Def Syndicate weren't allowed to use the name Abba. And with good reason: the guys from Abba were all about quality control, and the lack of quality is quite apparent when you listen to this medley of Abba tracks. 

When I say 'medley', I am using the term very lightly, because this single contains virtually all the hallmarks of a cheap early Nineties production: run-of-the-mill beats, sound effects and, frankly, not a lot of listenable vocals. A strange curiosity.

My collection: 7" single no. 7044
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 October 2023
Tracks: 'The A Project (radio version)' / 'The A Project (bonus beats)'

Aan het Wolga-strand / Straatdeuntje - Jean Walter

In 1957, Bobbejaan Schoepen represented Belgium at the second edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Straatdeuntje', composed by Harry Frekin and written by Eric Franssen.The strange thing is that his version was never released on a 7" single, whereas this single by Jean Walter does contain the song - albeit on the B-side. 

Jean Walter was born in Sint-Niklaas on 11 February 1922 and died on 5 June 2014. During his lifetime he only released one album, but between 1950 and 1960 he released more than a dozen singles. He never achieved the legendary status that Bobbejaan got in Belgium, but this particular single remains a highlight for Eurovision collectors.

My collection: 7" single no. 7043
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 October 2023
Tracks: 'Aan het Wolga-strand' / 'Straatdeuntje'