Shine for tomorrow - Gili & Galit

The 1989 Eurovision Song Contest became immortal for me because I managed to find a CD featuring almost all of the songs from that year, and I played it almost constantly during that year. Those songs have become a firm part of my memory and I would be very happy to find all the singles that were released.

To prove that it's not the easiest task, I have seen some of them online for ridiculous prices. This Israeli entry commands prices of at least 14 euros these days, so I was very lucky to find a copy for less recently. 'Shine for tomorrow' is a reasonably good song, marred only by the young boy who probably only competed for his 'cute factor', not for his ability to sing well.

My collection: 7" single no. 5968
Found: Discogs.com, received December 7, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Shine for tomorrow' / 'Derech ha'melech'

Chance in time - Severine

When Severine won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 with 'Un banc, un arbre, une rue', she also recorded the song in other languages. I already found the German version ('Mach die Augen zu (und wünsch dir einen Traum)') in 2010, and yesterday I suddenly found the English version. 'Chance in time' was released in several countries, and this is the Dutch pressing.

Now all that's left for me to find is the Italian version, 'Il Posto'. I am sure it will come to me some day.

My collection: 7" single no. 5977
Found: Top 2000 café, Circus, Den Haag
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Chance in time' / 'Nothing bad can be this good'

Toi - Geraldine

After Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, some countries were quick to adapt to the new times... and others were not. The Netherlands almost copied the style of that song, 'Waterloo', and won the contest.

Other countries weren't so smart and went ahead the way they always had, with boring ballads and incomprehensible lyrics. One of them was Luxembourg's Geraldine Brannigan with the song 'Toi'. She still managed to reach fifth place in a field of 19 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5967
Found: Discogs.com, received December 7, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Toi' / 'C'est mon secret'

You're hurting me - Dora

In 1986, Portugal was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest by Dora Maria Reis Dias de Jesus (born 1966), simply called Dora for the occasion. She sang the song 'Não sejas mau para mim', written by Guilherme Inês, Zé Da Ponte and Luís Manuel de Oliveira Fernandes. The song finished in 14th place in a field of 20 competitors.

For this single release, the song was translated by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey and called 'You're hurting me'. It was released in several European countries but without any chart success.

My collection: 7" single no. 5962
Found: Discogs.com, received December 7, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'You're hurting me' / 'This will be the last time'

That's what friends are for - Swarbrigg

When you listen to 'That's what friends are for', you hear it's a rather quaint, slightly boring song. You certainly wouldn't expect a band to win a song contest with it.

Thomas and John James Swarbrigg, two Irish music promoters, still got on with it and took it to the Eurovision Song Contest stage in 1975. Their performance was notable for the fact that the singers wore identical electric blue suits, taking full advantage of the increasing trend towards bright and eye-catching costumes. At the close of voting, they ended up in ninth place in a field of 19 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5960
Found: Discogs.com, received November 30, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'That's what friends are for' / 'Love is'

Ne vois-tu pas? - Madeleine Pascal

Born in Paris in 1946, Madeleine Pascal started to sing when she was just 13 years old. Her professional singing career was short-lived: she released five EP's in 1965 and 1966, and then disappeared from the scene.

In the middle of all that was her appearance at the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, representing Switzerland with 'Ne vois-tu pas?', a song written by Pierre Brenner and Roland Schweizer. The song ended up in sixth place.

My collection: 7" single no. 5906
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Ne vois-tu pas?', 'François' / 'Aux amoureux du monde', 'Le jour ou il va m'embrasser'

Ce soir je t'attendrais - Michèle Torr

The 1977 entry Une petite Française by Michèle Torr was not her first appearance on the Eurovision Song Contest stage. She first appeared in the 1966 edition, and while she represented Monaco in 1977, she appeared in the 1966 edition for Luxembourg.

The song was 'Ce soir je t'attendrais', composed by Bernard Kesslair and Jacques Chaumelle. At the close of voting, it had received 7 points, placing 10th in a field of 18. Torr recorded the song in French, German, English, Spanish and Italian. On this EP, the original French version appears. I actually bought this single in April, but it disappeared. I found it last week under my desk, where it has laid for six months. Which only goes to show that I sometimes make a mess in my room...

My collection: 7" single no. 5905
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Ce soir je t'attendrais', 'Notre amour n'est pas mort' / 'J'ai brule ta lettre', 'Je t'aime tant'

Amanece - Jaime Morey

In 1972, Spain was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest by Jaime Morey, a singer from Alicante. Born on June 16, 1942, his first experience as a professional singer was at the discotheque Pasapoga, singing songs by Charles Aznavour. He tried his luck at various festivals, among others in Benidorm, which was the main location for pop concerts in Spain at the time.

After two failed attempts to represent Spain at Eurovision, he achieved his goal and went to Edinburgh with his song 'Amanece', composed by Augusto Alguero. Despite the fact that the song only reached tenth place, it was Spain's best effort at the Contest until then. After a relatively successful career in music, he decided to abandon music in 1987. He passed away on July 7, 2015.

My collection: 7" single no. 5949
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 17, 2018
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Amanece' / 'Volvera'

I loved you (Dansevise) - Grethe og Jørgen Ingmann

The classic song Dansevise won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963. I was always fond of the song, and very glad to find a good copy almost ten years ago. What I didn't know was that there is also an English version of the song. I discovered this just a week ago, when I was ordering singles from Germany. I always search for Eurovision when I do some online ordering and suddenly this one popped up.

'I loved you' is the English version of 'Dansevise' and it is every bit as beautiful as the original - the only difference being that the lyrics of this version are more accessible to those who don't speak Danish.

My collection: 7" single no. 5944
Found: Recordsale, Germany, received November 3, 2018
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'I loved you (Dansevise)' / 'My little boy'

Gori Vatra - Zdravko Čolić

I don't have a lot of Yugoslavian Eurovision singles, but I do love them, because I quite like the fact that I actually own singles from a country that does not exist anymore. These days you won't find a record with the words 'Made in Yugoslavia' anymore.

Zdravko Čolić represented Yugoslavia in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with the song 'Gori Vatra' ('The fire is burning'). The love song describes the love between him and his lover as a fire, burning inside them.The song did not impress the juries: with 65 points the song ended up in 15th place out of 17 contestants. Čolić has been described as Serbia's Tom Jones, and when you listen to this song, you can understand why. What a voice.

My collection: 7" single no. 5942
Found: Discogs.com, received October 25, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Gori Vatra' / 'Isti put'

If faut chanter la vie - Severine

In 1973, the Eurovision Song Contest took place in Luxembourg. The previous year the contest was won by Vicky Leandros with 'Apres toi', and in 1973, Luxembourg snatched pole position once again with Anne-Marie David's 'Tu te reconnaitras'. It was proof of the dominance of French as the 'lingua franca' at the time.

1973 was an interesting year, because Israel debuted with Ilanit's 'Ey Sham' and the United Kingdom sent Cliff Richard over to sing 'Power to all our friends' - five years after he appeared at Eurovision with 'Congratulations'. Severine, the French singer who had won Eurovision in 1971 with 'Un banc, un arbre, une rue', decided to profit from the popularity of the Contest by covering the two songs on this single. 'Il faut chanter la vie' was a French version of Cliff Richard's song, and 'Autour de nous' was the French version of 'Ey Sham'. My finding this French single in a German second hand store only emphasises the international appeal of the Eurovision Song Contest.

My collection: 7" single no. 5938
Found: Come Back, Mannheim, September 13, 2018
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Il faut chanter la vie' / 'Autour de nous'

The world keeps turning - Heddy Lester

Heddy Lester represented the Netherlands with the song 'De Mallemolen', with a fairly depressing lyric. I wrote about that nine years ago. I didn't know back then, that there was also an English version of the song. It seems to have a more positive stance: even the title is 'The world keeps turning', which seems to offer a glimmer of hope.

Heddy recorded her song in four different languages: in Dutch, English, German and France. The latter two are very hard to come by, but who knows... as long as the world keeps turning there might be a chance for those to turn up in my collection and on this blog.

My collection: 7" single no. 5923
Found: Discogs.com, received August 28, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'The world keeps turning' / 'Never saw him laughing'

A ave e a infancia - Marie Myriam

'A ave a infancia' is the Portuguese version of 'L'oiseau et l'enfant', the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977. I ordered a few singles from Portugal recently and this one came up as well, so I thought I might as well take it. I've always had a soft spot for Eurovision songs by the original artists in a different language.

French singer Marie Myriam is actually of Portuguese descent, so her pronunciation of this version is probably spot on. She also recorded the song in English, German and Spanish. I'm still looking for those singles...

My collection: 7" single no. 5922
Found: Discogs.com, received August 28, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'A ave e a infancia' / 'On garde toujours'

Du er fuld af løgn - Trax

Lise Haavik (born 23 February 1962) is a Danish/Norwegian singer, best known for representing Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest in Bergen, Norway in 1986. She is also well-known domestically for her partnership in the duo Trax with John Hatting, her ex-husband. While they were both on the Eurovision stage, only Lise Haavik was credited as she was the only one who sang. Still, this single release is credited to Trax.

The song was successful in the Contest, placing sixth out of 20 entries that evening. This would be the only time Haavik would appear at Eurovision, having tried and failed to represent Denmark in 1984 and 1985. She also made an attempt to represent Norway in 1988.

My collection: 7" single no. 5919
Found: Discogs.com, received August 16, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Du er fuld af løgn' / 'Du er fuld af løgn (instrumental)'

Lisa Mona Lisa - Wilfried

I got to know Austrian singer Wilfried pretty early on, because of a holiday in Austria in 1980. The sleeve of his album hung prominently in a shop window in the centre of Vienna, and since my brother was also named Wilfried at the time, 9-year-old me suddenly had this vision of a pop star sibling. It wasn't to be.

In 1988 Wilfried appeared in my life once again, this time representing Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Lisa Mona Lisa'. He ended up in last place with zero points. None of the other countries wanted to award points to a country that had recently elected Kurt Waldheim - a man with a shady past during World War II - as its president. Although one could argue that Wilfried's voice problems could also have been cause of this bad result.

My collection: 7" single no. 5909
Found: Discogs.com, received July 18, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Lisa Mona Lisa' / 'Lisa Mona Lisa (French version)'

Like a wind - Edin-Ådahl

Edin-Ådahl's 'Like a wind' was released as a single all over Europe in a time when Eurovision entries would be released as a single even if they didn't win. (These days you can't even buy the winning song anymore on a vinyl- or cd-single).

I already owned 'Som en vind', the Swedish single of this 1990 Eurovision entry for Sweden, but this European counterpart ditches the Swedish version for an instrumental version that is unavailable anywhere else. According to some, this version is the best because it doesn't contain any lyrics.

My collection: 7" single no. 5910
Found: Discogs.com, received July 18, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Like a wind' / 'Like a wind (instrumental)'

Ooh aah... Just a little bit - Gina G

Last year I bought a copy of Ooh aah... Just a little bit on vinyl. It was the jukebox copy presumably from the UK. When I found out about that version, I also found out about this American pressing. Normally I wouldn't collect just any old artist's different pressings of the same single, but this single actually contains a different track. The 'Eurovision Song Contest version' appears on the B-side instead of the 'Motiv8 extended vocal mix'.

Of course, this is also a Eurovision single and Eurovision singles have a special place in my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 5907
Found: Discogs.com, received July 4, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Ooh aah… Just a little bit (Motiv8 radio edit)' / 'Ooh aah… Just a little bit (Eurovision Song Contest version)'

Boom bang-a-bang (spanish version) - Lulu

In 1969, four artists won the Eurovision Song Contest. This was due to there being not enough rules in case of a draw. Since then, the rules - and the voting system! - have changed so this is not likely to ever happen again.

One of the winners that year was Lulu with her song 'Boom bang-a-bang'. Such was the success, that she recorded the song in German, Italian, French and Spanish. Wikipedia casts some doubts about the existance of a Spanish version sung by Lulu, but I think the listener has to decide whether this is Lulu or not. She certainly pronounces her Spanish very bueno!

My collection: 7" single no. 5901
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Boom bang-a-bang (cantado en espanol)' / 'Morning dew'

Portugal no coração - Os Amigos

Now that I own pretty much all of the 'obvious' Eurovision 7" singles, I am heading towards the more obscure - and usually more expensive - releases. It is an art to spend as little as possible while also getting more and more Eurovision entries on 7" vinyl.

Who remembers the Portuguese entry from the 1977 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest? I would guess not many people do, but the sleeve of this single is a joy to watch - especially when it is in such good shape. I bought it from a Portuguese dealer at the record fair in Utrecht last Saturday, who promised more when he comes to the next edition in November. Here's hoping he'll help me find more great rarities.

'Portugal no coração' reached 14th place in the contest. The song is a ballad in praise of Portugal itself. The song is about freedom, brotherhood and hope. Many of the verses of the lyrics are acclamations of the end of the dictatorship that lasted for 48 years, and the end of the wars that the Portuguese people had been forced to fight on the African colonies by that dictatorship. It's also a love hymn from Portuguese people to their ex-colonies people, whom they had fought.

My collection: 7" single no. 5896
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Portugal no coração' / 'Cantiga de Namorar'

Conquistador - Da Vinci

Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest last year with a beautiful ballad. Perhaps they should have tried this earlier, because the country rarely even got into the top 10 with their efforts. This 1989 effort by Da Vinci is an example: although it is typical Eighties fare, the song only reached number 16 during the night.The song reminisces about the former Portuguese colonial possessions worldwide, and how the singer has been to Brazil, Praia, Bissau, Angola, Mozambique, Goa, Macau and Timor.

Personally, I know the English version (featured on the B-side here) best, because it appeared on a Eurovision 1989 compilation CD. I am still trying to get all the entries on single, but some of them are selling online for upwards of 50 euro - which is a bit too rich for my blood.

My collection: 7" single no. 5989
Found: Discogs.com, received March 5, 2018
Cost: 7,5 euro
Tracks: 'Conquistador' / 'Love conquistador'