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'

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'

Ceol an ghrà - Sandie Jones

Sandie Jones was born in Dublin in 1951. She was one of 11 children. She began recording songs from 1969 onwards. Those singles were all in English. When she represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972, she performed 'Ceol an ghrà', a song in Gaelic. It was a first for her, although she was obviously a native speaker. 

'Ceol an ghrà' ('The music of love') remains the only time Ireland contributed a Eurovision song in Gaelic. The song ended up in 15th place in a field of 18 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 7041
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 October 2023
Tracks: 'Ceol an ghrà' / 'Cry cry again'

Theme from 'The Deer Hunter' - The Shadows

If for some reason (probably lack of space) I'll ever need to let go of this double groove 12" single of the Shadows' 'Theme from 'The Deer Hunter'', I can now fall back on the 7" version, which includes two of the three tracks.

The sleeve of this single, released in 1979, actually features a still from the movie on the cover. The other side of the sleeve is an advert for an album by Cliff and the Shadows, a recording of their reunion concerts at the London Palladium. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7017
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 26 August 2023
Tracks: 'Theme from 'The Deer Hunter'' /  'Bermuda triangle'

Part time love - Elton John

Some artists have become so legendary that you would almost forget that not all of their singles have been huge hits. At least, some singles are certainly not what they are remembered for.

Take 'Part time love' by Elton John for example. I never saw a copy of this single before - I think - and I was quite surprised to find out it actually reached number 15 in the UK singles chart in October 1978. By comparison, the single did not chart in the Netherlands at all. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7015
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 26 August 2023
Tracks: 'Part time love' / 'I cry at night'

Even it up - Heart

'Even it up' was the next single by Heart, after 'Dog & butterfly', but now released on the Epic label instead of Portrait. It was the first single of the band's fifth album 'Bebe le Strange'. Lyrically it is about a woman who is demanding that her lover "even it up" by reciprocating the effort that she has put forth in their relationship. 

According to Ann Wilson: "That song was written in about '79 or '80, and it was definitely a response to being obstructed as women in the rock field. There are so many systemic things that get thrown up in front of you, different glass walls and stuff. We were speaking out against it then." The single reached number 33  the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 56 in Canada.

My collection: 7" single no. 6999
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Even it up' / 'Pilot'

Dog & butterfly - Heart

It's quite unusual to find two perfect American 7" singles by the band Heart in between rows of German singles by German artists, but that's exactly what happened this month. Those singles by Heart were also quite unusual: both of them were never hits over here in Europe.

The first one is 'Dog & butterfly', the title track of the band's fourth studio album, released in 1978. Ann Wilson said she was inspired when she looked out a window and saw a dog relentlessly chasing a butterfly. She saw the song as an inspiration when things get tough to "keep going after it." Although it enjoyed only moderate chart success - it reached number 34 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 51 in Canada only - the song has remained a setlist staple for Heart consistently through the years. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6998
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Dog & butterfly' / 'Mistral wind'

Jive talkin' - Bee Gees

Back in 2011 I put a lot of effort into finding old Bee Gees singles. They all ended up on this blog, but one famous song still eluded me: 'Jive talkin'', a song younger viewers might know from Boogie Box High, who covered this song in the Nineties (it was rumoured that George Michael lent his voice to that version).

The original version was a hit for the Bee Gees. They reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 23 in the Dutch Top 40. 

The original studio version was included on the soundtrack of 'Saturday Night Fever', as it was used in a scene that was cut from the final film. Later pressings of the album used the live version of 'Jive Talkin''; from the Bee Gees 1977 album, 'Here at last... Bee Gees... Live', due to contractual distribution changes. The CD version restores the use of the studio version. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6996
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Jive talkin'' / 'Wind of change'

The free electric band - Albert Hammond

Sometimes I buy a single of a song that has already been called a classic numerous times. Often I never bought it before because it was played on the radio so often, back when I still owned a radio (during the Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties). 

Albert Hammond's 'The free electric band' is one of those songs. Heard this a lot back then, but not for over twentyfive years. It's a good song but I was getting a bit sick of it. The song reached number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 19 in the UK singles chart - his only hit in the UK!

My collection: 7" single no. 6994
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'The free electric band' / 'You taught me to sing the blues'

La canzone Italiana 41 - Claudio Villa

'La canzone Italiana' is, apparently, a series of 50 EP's presenting Italian songs, all released in 1970 - the year of my birth, incidentally. Some of them are interesting because they contain Italian Eurovision entries, although not all of them are included in the original versions.

This EP is a good example. All four songs are performed by Claudio Villa, who is an accomplished singer, but it was not him who performed 'Corde della mia chitarra' at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957; it was Nunzio Gallo. Still, I wanted this one because it's really hard to find Gallo's version on a 7" single. A cover version is better than nothing, I suppose!

My collection: 7" single no. 6991
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 May 2023
Tracks: 'Luna rossa', 'Addio, sogni di gloria!' / 'Serenata celeste', 'Corde della mia chitarra'

Old man fiddle - Pihasoittajat

Finland has regularly stunned Eurovision audiences with eccentric entries. This year's 'Cha cha cha' is reasonably modern, but I wonder if Pihasoittajat wasn't totally out of step when they performed this in 1975. 

'Od man fiddle' is the English version of 'Viulu-ukko', the song they won the Finnish national final with. Thanks to the relaxed language rules that year they could at least perform in English, and so they didn't totally bewilder the juries. 'Old man fiddle' reached seventh place in a field of 19 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 6982
Found: Discogs.com, received 2 May 2023
Tracks: 'Old man fiddle' / 'Summer call'

Viviremos todo de nuevo - Al Bano & Romina Power

Having bought a Spanish single of 'We'll live it all again' before, I was extra cautious before buying this one. Like the other one, it features the Spanish title 'Viviremos todo de nuevo' but this time it adds the notice 'cantan en español', which made me more certain that this is actually the Spanish version of the duo's Eurovision entry from 1976.

Still, like the original version this song is only partly in Spanish: some parts are still in English. For a while during the 1970's it was allowed to sing in different languages than the country's own, just like in more recent times. Despite this, the Italian duo didn't manage to get higher than 7th place.

My collection: 7" single no. 6960
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Viviremos todo de nuevo' / 'Na, na, na'

Waterloo (German version) - Abba

It's always great to find an Abba single I don't have yet, and this is a special one: the German version of 'Waterloo'. Yes, the Swedes actually recorded their winning Eurovision song in German and released it in Germany. The single isn't especially rare, but it is still hard to find. I finally got myself a copy at the stand of a Eurovision singles seller, and it's a great find.

Obviously I've already got the English and Swedish versions, as well as a beautiful picture disc (and cover versions by Dr. and the Medics, the Gerd Michaelis Chor, Lecia & Lucienne and a certain Swedish Group!) but this single was one I'd been searching for some time already. Now I only want the French version, but I'd rather not pay 100 euros for it...

My collection: 7" single no. 6959
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Waterloo (Deutsche originalaufnahme)' / 'Watch out'

Hey nana - Charles Dumolin

In 1979, Belgium was represented by Micha Marah, who performed a handful of songs during a national final. Contrary to what she expected, the song she liked least, 'Hey nana', won the vote. She was in total shock. She hated the song with its naïve and childish lyrics in which the singer suggests marriage to her lover and paints a picture of domestic bliss. As it turned out, the song ended up in a shared last place at the Eurovision Song Contest, together with Austria's Christina Simon and her 'Heute in Jerusalem'. 

Micha never recorded the song. In the end, composer Charles Dumolin recorded the song himself and released it as a single. I wonder if it reached the charts... but probably not.

My collection: 7" single no. 6957
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Hey nana' / 'Queen Cherbourg'

 

I will survive / Never can say goodbye - Gloria Gaynor

Although Gloria Gaynor had her biggest successes in the Seventies, her two best known songs were released on this single in 1987.

'Never can say goodbye' was originally recorded by the Jackson 5 in 1971, but Gloria released her version in 1974 to similar success, reaching number 2 in the UK singles chart and number 6 in the Dutch Top 40.

'I will survive' is the song that Gloria is most remembered for. It topped the UK singles chart in 1978, and reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 6943
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'I will survive' / 'Never can say goodbye'

I'll be there - The Jackson 5

The first single from the Jackson 5's third album was 'I'll be there', a track that has since become part of that huge Motown legacy. In his autobiography 'Moon walk', Michael Jackson noted that this song solidified The Jackson 5's careers and showed audiences that the group had potential beyond bubblegum pop. 

Jackson turned 12 one day after the song was released.  The single sold 4.2 million copies in the USA, and 6.1 million copies worldwide. It was the group's final number 1 hit in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. For the rest of their career as a major-label act, Jackson 5 singles would climb no higher than number 2. The song was famously butchered by Mariah Carey during her MTV Unplugged session in 1992.

My collection: 7" single no. 6941
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'I'll be there' / 'One more chance'

Da' ya' think I'm sexy - Rod Stewart

These days Rod Stewart has become a bit more jaded, singing songs from the American Songbook and so on, but back in the Seventies, he became this racy, sex-obsessed maniac. Or so it seems. This single illustrates this best, with the big hit 'Da' ya' think I'm sexy' plus the B-side 'Dirty weekend', which delivers exactly what it promises: two songs about sex and being sexy.

The song was released as the first single from Stewart's 1978 album 'Blondes Have More Fun'. It reached number one in the UK and the USA, as well as Canada and Australia. Royalties from the song were donated to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Stewart performed the song at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in January 1979.

My collection: 7" single no. 6940
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'Da' ya' think I'm sexy' / 'Dirty weekend'

Ma Baker / Baby do you wanna bump - Boney M

This 'original double hit' single comes from 1982 and features two of the earliest hits of the group Boney M. What's interesting about this release is that the version of 'Baby do you wanna bump' brings together the two parts that appear on the original single as one track. 

The record label Hansa also continues their tradition of putting the wrong track times on the label. 'Ma Baker' is said to last 4 minutes and 10 seconds (and actually lasts for 4 minutes and 33 seconds) and 'Baby do you wanna bump' is listed as 6 minutes and 10 seconds, but in reality adds 43 more seconds. Basically you get more - which is always good, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 6931
Found: Easter market, Den Haag, 9 April 2023
Tracks: 'Ma Baker' / 'Baby do you wanna bump'

Hot blooded - Foreigner

I think it's hard to resist coloured vinyl singles if there's even a remote chance that I'll like the track. And this single by Foreigner is a good example of my policy. I didn't even know 'Hot blooded' very well but when I spotted this single in an almost-red colour, I decided I had to have it. (It does actually look red in this picture but if I hold up the disc against the light it turns pink-purpleish.) 

Lead singer Lou Gramm said: "We used to work at Mick's apartment and he would just keep playing one guitar riff after another. Just playing whatever came into his mind. When he started playing that riff, I remember saying, “Wait! Stop! What’s that?” Mick said it was just another riff. So, I started singing along to it. We eventually got the idea of what the chorus would be and then started working on the verse lyrics. Once they were put together it naturally led to the “Hot Blooded” verbal line. I remember we were jumping off the walls when we cracked the title of the song." 

My collection: 7" single no. 6934
Found: Easter market, Den Haag, 9 April 2023
Tracks: 'Hot blooded' / 'Tramontane'