In 1977, Switzerland was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest by the Pepe Lienhard Band. It remains the only Swiss entry to have ever reached number 1 in the official Swiss singles chart. It has to be said, the song has aged well, and the B-side of this single isn't half bad either. Another remarkable fact: this single was actually made in Sweden.
The song is about a man from the mountains who plays the alphorn and considers this instrument his "Swiss Lady". The song was performed twelfth on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 71 points, placing 6th in a field of 18 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5662 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 23, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Swiss lady' / 'Shiny red balloon'
Long before Mia Martini participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with the beautifully depressing 'Rapsodia' (1992), she appeared in 1977 with 'Libera'. At the time, she was arguably Italy's most successful and celebrated female artist, having had a number of hits since 1971. At the close of voting, 'Libera' had received 33 points, placing it 13th in a field of 18 competitors.
Martini recorded five versions of the song; the original ballad version, the disco version, the Spanish 'Libre', the French 'Libre comme une femme' and the English 'Freedom is today', the latter three all with the up-tempo arrangement.
My collection: 7" single no. 5627 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Libera' / 'Sognare è vita'
The 'oldies single' was an attractive way to get old songs into your singles collection, back in the Seventies and Eighties. Warner Bros. had an attractive series of such singles, one of which you can see here. The sleeve was always the same: a small photo in the middle and a large logo above, inside a 'jukebox style' sleeve design.
This single presents the 1968 hit single 'Hello I love you' and the 1971 hit single 'Love her madly', both by The Doors. Of course, both these songs are picked rather randomly, although obviously both have been big hits for the band.
My collection: 7" single no. 5390 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Hello I love you' / 'Love her madly'
The singles Honey and Summer (The first time) were reason enough to become curious about Bobby Goldsboro's further output, but his singles are pretty hard to find. When I came across this one, I simply thought it was a good way to hear more from the man.
'Hello summertime' lacks the melancholy atmosphere of the two titles mentioned above, but does offer a rather upbeat melody and carefree lyrics instead. The B-side is even better, because on there, the melancholy feeling is back... just slightly.
My collection: 7" single no. 5398 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Hello summertime' / 'And then there was Gina'
Long before Enya died and her subsequent albums were created by producers in a studio, reusing her vocals time and again, she recorded a self-titled debut album. The album was used as the soundtrack to the BBC documentary series 'The Celts'. The album includes only a portion of the music Enya composed for the documentary series.
Hard to believe, but this single taken from the album sounds rather original. It actually sounds like Enya sang the words herself instead of being pieced together from previously sung vocals. However, the single did not chart. Her next single, 'Orinoco flow' would become a worldwide hit and would later turn out to be the first version of all her subsequent singles.
My collection: 7" single no. 5670
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 23, 2014
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'I want tomorrow' / 'The Celts'
What you find here is the original UK version, featuring 'Play to win' and the instrumental (dub) version 'Play' on the B-side. That B-side is a treat for those who like this quirky electronic track, because it gives you the opportunity to check out all the intricate instrumentation behind a rather flippant and funky track.
My collection: 7" single no. 5400 Found: Record Exchange, London Cost: 10p Tracks: 'Play to win' / 'Play'
Attentive readers of this blog will have seen many entries about Depeche Mode, but one thing was still missing: the band's debut single. I never got round to buying a copy, didn't even know it was missing from my collection in fact. However, I have finally rectified this shortcoming.
Released on February 20, 1981, 'Dreaming of me' only reached number 57 in the UK singles chart and was subsequently not included on the band's debut album 'Speak and spell'. Exactly 30 years after 'Dreaming of me' was first released in the UK, a fan action tried to push the track back into the charts by
way of (legal) online downloads. The action failed except in Germany, where the
track entered the singles charts for the very first time at number 45
giving the band its 47th chart entry.
My collection: 7" single no. 5667
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 23, 2014
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Dreaming of me' / 'Ice machine'
Kraftwerk are pioneers of techno pop, and have been responsible for some of the most astonishing records of the Seventies. It's remarkable that they were able to produce music that sounds timeless even now, mostly thanks to the technology that has become mainstream now, but was quite difficult and expensive back then.
The hyphenated title of the album 'Radio-activity' (1976) displays Kraftwerk's typical deadpan humour, being a pun on the twin themes of the songs, half being about radioactivity and the other half about activity on the radio.
More word plays are evident in the track listing: "Radio Stars", which
as a title could refer to pop stars, but upon listening is revealed to
be about quasars and pulsars. The title track was issued as a single and reached number 7 in France and number 31 in Italy - but failed to chart everywhere else.
My collection: 7" single no. 5433 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Radio-activity' / 'Antenna'
Robert Cogoi was born as Mirko Kogoj on October 25, 1939 in Châtelet to Yugoslav parents. In 1961 he picked up a contract with Philips Records, and the following year, won first prize at the Grand Prix International des Variétés at the Casino in Ostend with the song 'Si un jour', which went on to sell 100,000 copies in France, earning Cogoi a gold disc.
In 1964, he represented belgium with 'Près de ma rivière' ('Near my river'). At the close of voting, it had received 2 points, placing 10th in a field of 16 competitors. Cogoi also recorded the song in English, German and Italian language versions, entitled, respectively, 'My River of Memories', 'Weit, da wo der Strom beginnt' and 'Sulla mia riviera'. The English version, however, was not released until nearly 30 years after the Contest.
Cogoi continued releasing albums and singles, with modest success, until the late 1960s. In 1976 he appeared in the Belgian movie 'Les arpents dorés'. After many years out of the public eye, Cogoi made a guest appearance, along with several other former Eurovision participants, at the Belgian Eurovision national final in 2005.
My collection: 7" single no. 5652 Found: Marktplaats.nl, November 5, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Pres de ma riviere' / 'Quand le jour se leve'
'Only the light', written and composed by Richard Peebles, was the United Kingdom's entry at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Peebles himself, who was credited as Rikki.
Rikki won the right to perform at Brussels by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe, where he was the first singer to perform.
At the end of judging that evening, 'Only the light' finished on 13th place. It was a huge disappointment to the United Kingdom as it was the lowest placement any of the country's entries had received up to that time.
Like the previous year, a rock song was in the offering, with an unclear theme (it is never explained what "the light" is, what kind of metaphor it is, why "the light" is after him or why he is avoiding it). In the UK singles chart, the single rose no further than to number 96.
My collection: 7" single no. 5632 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Only the light' / 'You came into my life'
Luca Barbarossa is an Italian singer/songwriter who was born on April 15, 1961. He has released 12 albums since 1981, appearing at the prestigious San Remo festival numerous times. In 1988, he was chosen by Italian broadcaster RAI as the representative for Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, performing the song 'Ti Scrivo'.
The song is a ballad, in which Barbarossa apologises to the recipient of a letter he is writing for using this method of communication. This recipient appears to be a former lover, as he sings that 'Without a good reason / I just scream out your name / It makes me feel alive' and makes mention of deep feelings which needed to be communicated.
At the close of voting, the song had received 52 points, placing 12th in a field of 21 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5631 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Ti scrivo' / 'Da grande'
The band Profil was put together especially for the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest to represent France with the song 'Hé Hé M'sieurs dames' ('Hey hey, Ladies and Gentlemen'). The band members were: Martine Havet, Martine Bauer, Francis Rignault, Jean-Claude Corbel and Jean-Pierre Izbinski. Their song was performed sixteenth on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 45 points, placing 11th in a field of 19 competitors.
This single is one of only three I still needed to complete my collection of singles from the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest. It will be a real feast when I find the last one, 'Huilumies', the song that represented Finland.
My collection: 7" single no. 5647 Found: Discogs.com, received September 11, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Hé hé m'sieurs dames' / 'Jour de chance'
In 1968, the Netherlands were represented in the Eurovision Song Contest by Ronnie Tober. He sang the song 'Morgen', a ballad in which the singer expresses his desire for "tomorrow" to arrive as soon as possible, enabling him and his wife, who is far away, to be reunited. This is slightly ironic, since Ronnie Tober later turned out to be gayer than Christmas.
The song was performed second on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 1 point, placing 16th (equal last) in a field of 17 competitors. Of course, the next year, the Netherlands would be one of four winners of the Contest, when it was organised in Spain.
My collection: 7" single no. 5594 Found: Marktplaats.nl, August 1, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Morgen' / 'Die ouwe pianola'
Dario Campeotto was born on February 1, 1939 in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen to Italian parents, Emma and Ernesto Campeotto.
He started performing at the age of ten, but his breakthrough was a victory in the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in 1961 with the song 'Angelique', which went on to finish fifth in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song is a love ballad directed towards one Angelique, with Campeotto singing about the various things he would do for her if he had the skill - such as writing poetry if he were William Shakespeare or playing the violin if he were Yehudi Menuhin.
Following Angelique, Dario Campeotto released a number of records,
starred in theatrical play, operettes, revues, and movies. He has been married twice and once lived in Italy with his
former wife, actress Ghita Nørby, but returned to Denmark where he is
currently continuing his career.
My collection: 7" single no. 5660 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 23, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Angelique' / 'Du er min kaerlighed'
Bryan Johnson was born on July 18, 1926. He became a regular appearance on 'A Song For Europe', the UK national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest. He competed in 1957, 1960 and 1961, but only qualified for the 1960 edition with 'Looking high, high, high', a song written by John Watson. He ended up in second place on the Contest, behind 'Tom Pillibi' by Jacqueline Boyer. The single reached number 20 in the UK singles chart.
Johnson was also an actor who, in Donald Wolfit's company, played such roles as Feste in Twelfth Night and the Fool in King Lear. In Ronald Harwood's biography of Wolfit, the actor is quoted as saying that he was "the best Fool I ever had". Later he played roles in musicals such as 'Lock Up Your Daughters' and enjoyed a late success as Scrooge in a touring production of 'A Christmas Carol'. He died on October 18, 1995.
My collection: 7" single no. 5602 Found: Marktplaats.nl, received August 6, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Looking high, high, high' / 'Each tomorrow'
'The Right Thing' was released by Simply Red in 1987. It was taken from their second album 'Men and Women'.
It displays more of a funk influence than the group's previous hits, but also retains the soul sound that became their trademark during the '80s. According to some sources, the racy sexually implicit nature of the song caused the album to be banned in Singapore.
The single reached number 11 in the UK singles chart in early 1987, but did not find significant success in the United States, only reaching number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 at a time where the group were at their peak amount of success in the States.
My collection: 7" single no. 5446 Found: unknown Tracks: 'The right thing' / 'There's a light'
Exile had a big hit in 1978 with Kiss you all over, and for most people, that's where their story ended. That single came from the album 'Mixed emotions'. A year later, they released 'All there is', the album featuring How could this go wrong and this single, 'Too proud to cry'.
Listening to these two singles, it would seem that the band tried a rougher and tougher approach. The album did well in Europe but also signalled less popularity in the USA. Oddly, in 1983, the band re-established themselves as a country music group.
My collection: 7" single no. 5672 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 23, 2014 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Too proud to cry' / 'Destiny'
In 1965, French singer France Gall represented Luxembourg with the song 'Poupée de cire poupée de son'. It was composed by Serge Gainsbourg, also from France, and inspired by the Piano Sonata No. 1 by Beethoven. As is common with Gainsbourg's lyrics, the words are filled with double
meanings, wordplay, and puns. The title can be translated as "wax doll,
rag doll" (a floppy doll stuffed with bran or chaff) or as "wax doll,
sound doll" (with implications that Gall is a "singing doll" controlled
by Gainsbourg).
At the time of her performance, France Gall was too young to understand all these double meanings. In later years, she disassociated herself with the Eurovision Song
Contest, and refuses to discuss it in public or perform her winning
song.
Finding this single was a feat in itself. This original French pressing has become very rare and it's hard to track down such a good copy. I'm happy that I finally managed to get this one, in what I would call mint condition.
My collection: 7" single no. 5614 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014 Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', 'Un prince charmant' / 'Dis a ton capitaine', 'Le coeur qui jazze'
Five years ago, School already appeared on this blog, but this single predates that one, and it's now part of my collection as well. The song was never officially released as a single when it was released on the album 'Crime of the century' in 1974.
It turns out that it was released as a single almost a decade later: this single was made in 1983, after the success of their album 'Famous last words' and the single 'It's raining again'. This was while the band was - probably - still under contract with A&M Records, and as such, this was released on the A&M label.
My collection: 7" single no. 5411 Found: unknown Tracks: 'School' / 'Oh darling'
