Tu eres mi mejor amante - Luv'

After Luv' acquired great success in the Netherlands and surrounding countries, they tried to capitalize on that success by recording an alternative version of their number one hit, 'You're the greatest lover' in Spanish. 'Tu eres mi mejor amante' was the result of this, but the single was packaged in this rather dull black and white sleeve. I am pretty sure that it would have made more impact if the sleeve had been as colourful as the original version.

I don't know, to be honest, whether this was a hit in Spanish-speaking countries, but I saw this single while buying some records from a Spanish dealer and I just couldn't resist.

My collection: 7" single no. 7727
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 July 2025
Tracks: 'Tu eres mi mejor amante' / 'Everybody's shakin' hands on Broadway'

Dan ljubavi - Nada, Bisera, Beti & Boba

Back in 1975, Yugoslavia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Dan Ljubezni', performed in Slovenian by Pepel in kri. Although this was a fine version, it wasn't exactly what those in the Serbian-speaking regions of the country wanted. And so they recorded their own version: 'Dan ljubavi'. 

The song was recorded by Nada, Bisera, Beti and Boba, although the sleeve of this single suggests that many more people were involved in the recording of this single. The sleeve proudly exclaims 'Pesma je kandidat za gran pri evrovizije '75' ('The song is a candidate for the Eurovision Song Contest '75'). It was, but not in this version.

My collection: 7" single no. 7725
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 July 2025
Tracks: 'Dan ljubavi' / 'Ostavi sve'

Fernando - Abba

Since I was ordering a few singles from Serbia, I thought it was nice to check out if the seller had any nice sleeve variations of Abba singles. And indeed, he did: this Yugoslavian pressing of Fernando comes with the same photograph that was used on most 'Fernando' singles, but with a different layout and a different 'Abba' logo!

The single was released on the Radio-Televizija Beograd' label, although the original Swedish Polar company gets a mention on the sleeve as well. Collecting Abba singles is best left to the most avid fans, but it is nice to catch a few in my collection as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 7724
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 July 2025
Tracks: 'Fernando' / 'Tropical loveland'

Poslije tebe - Zdenka Vučković

Zdenka Vučković was born in Zagreb on 20 June 1942. She was a Croatian popular music singer with a career spanning 60 years. Her popularity peaked during the Sixties, when she was a teen pop star. In 1972 she recorded a Croatian version of the song 'Après toi', which won the Eurovision Song Contest in the original version by Vicky Leandros.

She announced the end of her career with the song 'Odrasla je djevojčica mala' ['The Little Girl has Grown Up'], performed at the 1989 Zagreb Festival. However, in 1991, she performed the song 'To Love Somebody' (a cover version of the Bee Gees song in Croatian) as a duet with Severina. She passed away in Zagreb on 7 March 2020.

My collection: 7" single no. 7723
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 July 2025
Tracks: 'Poslije tebe' / 'Doći Će ljepši dan' 

Malo mira - Ana Štefok

Yugoslavia competed in the Eurovision Song Contest during the Seventies and Eighties, and like in other participating countries it was pretty popular. Although Yugoslavia didn't manage to win until 1989, the Contest inspired many local artists to record their own versions of winning songs - and in their own language too.

Ana Štefok recorded a version of 'Ein Bisschen Frieden', the winning song of 1982, in Croatian. She even recorded the Belgian entry 'Si tu aimes ma musique' for the B-side. It's interesting how exotic these songs sound just by changing the language.

My collection: 7" single no.  7722
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 July 2025
Tracks: 'Malo mira' / 'Ako voliš tu pjesmu'

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do - Abba

One of the earlier singles of Abba is 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do', released the year after they won the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Waterloo' and - perhaps unsurprisingly - not as successful. The song was recorded on 21 February 1975 at Glen Studio, and was inspired by the European schlager music of the 1950s, as well as the saxophone sound of the 1950s American orchestra leader Billy Vaughn.

The single did reach number 1 in Australia, Belgium, New Zealand,  South Africa and Switzerland, but in the UK it only got to number 38. The singles shown here are the French and German pressings, featuring different sleeves when compared to the Dutch version which I posted a long time ago.  

My collection: 7" single no. 6598
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 January 2022
Tracks: 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do' /  'Rock me'

So long - Abba

Although I have a beautiful version of Abba's 1975 single 'So long' with a picture sleeve, I came across the original Swedish release some time ago and decided I wanted to have this too. When I was a young boy this was my absolute favourite Abba track, I must have played it on some Greatest Hits album dozens of times. It was the 'heavier' sound of the track that spoke to me at the time, I guess.

Obviously Abba singles without a picture sleeve aren't as beautiful as the ones with, but an original release like this has its own appeal and worth. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7104
Found: Discogs, 2023
Tracks: 'So long' / 'I've been waiting for you'

Adolescent sex - Japan

The stuff David Sylvian releases these days is world away from this Japan single from 1978. 'Adolescent sex' was the title track of Japan's debut album and released as a single after the band re-recorded the track to make it sound punchier. It became the band's only single to chart outside of the UK, reaching number 27 in the Dutch Top 40.

David Sylvian has since spoken out against the debut album, saying: 'I regret the first album, Adolescent Sex, in the sense that we were too young, too naive to make it. The people around us should have realised that and not had it released. The second album is okay as a first album.'

My collection: 7" single no. 7708
Found: Kay's Experience, Wagenberg (Netherlands), 12 July 2025
Tracks: 'Adolescent sex' / 'Sometimes I feel so low' 

Knowing me, knowing you - Abba

The sleeve of this single may announce 'Conociendome, conociendote', but the single still features the 'ordinary' English language version: 'Knowing me, knowing you'. The Spanish record companies had a rather annoying habit of translating song titles, while most artists never recorded their songs in Spanish. 
Abba did, of course: there are a few singles performed in Spanish, but not this one.

When I bought this single some time ago I was aware of this, but the sleeve still seduced me. It's one of the more beautiful photographs of the Swedish quartet, and the song is one of the best in their repertoire. I just never featured it on this blog. I discovered quite a few singles that were never on here, so expect some more Abba in the weeks to come.

My collection: 7" single no. 5985
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 January 2019
Tracks: 'Knowing me, knowing you' / 'Money, money, money'

Touch the wind - Mocedades

Mocedades recorded their Eurovision entry 'Eres tu' in many other languages besides Spanish. One of the other versions was recorded in English. 'Touch the wind' was released on many different labels internationally, but never with a picture sleeve. And so I didn't feel too bad when I ordered this copy. 

This copy was made in the USA, but pressings from Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa also exist. The English version was also recorded by many other artists; I own a version by Eydie Gorme.

My collection: 7" single no. 7707
Found: Discogs.com, received 11 July 2025
Tracks: 'Touch the wind (Eres tu)' / 'Eres tu (Touch the wind)' 

Knowing me, knowing you - Abba

One of Abba's most touching songs (in my opinion) is 'Knowing me, knowing you', with its feeling of impending heartbreak and loss. I bought the single 41 year ago, on the original Dutch pressing. With a renewed interest in Abba in recent years I have started collecting sleeve variants like this one here: the French record company used the same photograph but did a different layout.

So where does this end? There are obviously many sleeve variants around the world, but for me the investment needs to be limited. However even with that, it looks like I will be posting my 100th Abba single on this blog pretty soon.

My collection: 7" single no. 7686
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'Knowing me, knowing you' / 'Happy Hawaii' 

Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday - Boney M

When I bought a bunch of Amiga Quartett EP's online recently, I also spotted this single by Boney M and because of its low price I decided to buy this one from that seller as well. It's, after all, another GDR release of the band, with a different sleeve. No photograph, unfortunately, just some titles. Which makes it unique, I guess.

'Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday' was your typical summery anthem for the year 1978, created by Frank Farian and Fred Jay. It was an adaptation of the song 'Polly Wolly Doodle', an American minstrel song that became a popular children's song. The single was a top 5 hit all over Europe and topped the chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 7702
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 July 2025
Tracks:  'Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday' / 'Ribbons of blue'

People need love - Björn & Benny with Frieda & Anna

Although I bought the recent picture disc edition of 'People need love', I didn't own an original pressing of that single yet, and that, of course, needed some correction. I was lucky to find this French pressing with an original sleeve for a reasonable price, because lest we forget, this single is already 53 years old! 

Björn & Benny with Frieda & Anna, as they were called then, were at the start of their career which would turn out to be stellar, but at this point they were still recording slightly folky tunes. At the time of the single's release, the Ring Ring album had not been planned, since there was no intention to form a permanent group. However, the song was included on the album the following year. The single became a hit in Sweden (although there wasn't yet any official national chart to prove this) and even made an appearance in the American Cashbox chart (peaking at number 114) and the American Record World chart (peaking at number 117). According to ABBA's manager Stig Anderson, could have been a much bigger American hit, if not for the limited distribution resources of the label that was unable to meet the demand from retailers and radio programmers.

My collection: 7" single no. 7687
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'People need love' / 'Merry-go-round' 

Arrival - Solar Explosion

It's quite amazing that even an instrumental track by Abba inspired other acts to record their own versions of it. Before Mike Oldfield had a go at it, the German outfit Solar Explosion recorded a version. The track was arranged by Peter Wagner and produced by Kurt Vethake and Rainer Etzrodt. Wagner and Vethake were also responsible for composing the B-side, 'Silver clouds'. 

It's a cute little single and I would never have known about it if I didn't routinely go through my Discogs purchases searching for 'Ulvaeus' every once in a while. It's great that Discogs makes composers and producers searchable throughout their marketplace.

My collection: 7" single no. 7698
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 July 2025
Tracks: 'Arrival' / 'Silver clouds' 

Mamma Mia - Abba

The fourth and final picture disc to be released recently off the album Abba from 1975 is 'Mamma Mia'. Coincidence: my mum was also called Mia, and so this song became a bit of an injoke when I was young. ('Here she goed again'). 

This is actually my fourth copy of the song, having bought the Dutch single, the German single (not on this blog!) and the GDR single over the past few decades. I doubt this will end here, because I'm still after a few variants!

My collection: 7" single no. 7683
Found: Platenzaak.nl, received 14 June 2025
Tracks: 'Mamma Mia' / 'Intermezzo no. 1'

S.O.S. - Abba

Of the four picture discs that were released recently to celebrate the 50th birthday of Abba's self-titled album from 1975, only 'S.O.S.' features a photograph in black and white. It's a shame really because picture discs should really be in colour, always. On top of that, 'S.O.S.' is actually the best song of the four, so it's a bit weird to make it seem like it wasn't important. Because it was. 

The song started a run of 18 consecutive top 10 hits for Abba in the UK, peaking at number 6. It was also a number 2 hit in the Netherlands. Both John Lennon and Pete Townshend stated that it was one of their favourite pop records. In my opinion, 'S.O.S.' is the absolute highlight of Abba's current 'Voyage' shows in London. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7682
Found: Platenzaak.nl, received 14 June 2025
Tracks: 'S.O.S.' / 'Man in the middle' 

Hooked on you - Bread

I bought a few Bread singles recently, and that's because for some reason I keep bumping into them. The soft rock stylings of this band never disappoint, even with songs I'm not that familiar with. And they had some classy sleeves too!

'Hooked on you' was written and composed by David Gates. It was the second single released from Bread's 1977 album Lost Without Your Love, and became their final charting hit, reaching number 60 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 48 in Canada.

My collection: 7" single no. 7697
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'Hooked on you' / 'Fly away' 

I do, I do, I do, I do, I do - Abba

After So long, this is the second picture disc released this year to be taken from the album Abba, originally released 50 years ago. It's another colourful photograph from that era, released to coincide with the re-release of the album on a 'half speed master 2LP' edition.

'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do' was recorded on 21 February 1975 at Glen Studio, and was inspired by the European schlager music of the Fifties, as well as the saxophone sound of the 1950s American orchestra leader Billy Vaughn. The single reached number 38 in the UK singles chart, number 15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 3 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 7681
Found: Platenzaak.nl, received 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'I do, I do, I do, I do, I do' / 'Rock me'

Autobahn - Kraftwerk

The Kraftwerk album Autobahn celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and so it is very cool that I managed to buy the single of the same name exactly this year. I already own a UK copy, of course, but this German edition with a picture sleeve is the real deal!

Curiously this single advertises with the banner 'From the U.S. Top LP', but it is rather wellknown that Kraftwerk was always more successful outside of Germany than it was within the country. Hence the decision to record their albums both in German and English after this one. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7685
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'Autobahn' / 'Morgenspaziergang' 

So long - Abba

Abba released four new picture disc 7" singles of the songs associated with their self-titled album from 1975. Abba was their third album, and the first single to be taken from that album was 'So Long', a rockier track than usual from the quartet. The single was released in most of Europe and in Australia and New Zealand in November 1974. Spain and Japan followed suit in early 1975. 

The B-side of this picture disc, 'I've been waiting for you' was actually also released as a single back in 1975, but only in Australia and New Zealand. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7680
Found: Platenzaak.nl, received 15 June 2025
Tracks: 'So long', 'I've been waiting for you'