Une chanson c'est une lettre - Sophie

Sophie was born on 9 October 1944 in Dax (France) as Sophie Hecquet. Early in her career, as Jenny Ann, she toured with French rock 'n roll legend Johnny Hallyday. In 1962 she appeared in a short film directed by Claude Lelouch. She started her recording career, as Sophie, in 1963, and appeared in Michel Boisrond's film Cherchez l'idole. She released a succession of singles and EPs for Decca Records in France, as an exponent of the yé-yé style, arranged by either Eddie Vartan or Jacques Loussier. She often recorded French language versions of American or British pop songs. After a break, she resumed a singing career in the early 1970s. In 1975, she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Une chanson c’est une lettre', co-written and arranged by André Popp, finishing in 13th place.

Her career continued after this, working in radio and television, presenting children's programmes, among other things. In the early 2000s she opened the restaurant 'La Maison de Sophie' in Uccle, Belgium. In 2012, she was moved to Paris for an operation on a ruptured aneurysm, but died in hospital there, aged 68, on 28 October 2012.

My collection: 7" single no. 6381
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 May 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Une chanson c'est une lettre' / 'Madame à la faux'

Die Zeiger der Uhr - Margot Eskens

This single has been on my wantlist for some time. It's one of the prettiest cover photos from the Sixties-era Eurovision singles, partly because it ties in so neatly with the title of the song. 'Die Zeiger der Uhr' ('The hands of time') was the German entry to the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest. The song is a ballad, with Eskens singing about the feelings brought on by reading old love letters and seeing photographs from an old relationship. As she explains, however, 'The hands of time only turn / forwards, forwards and never backwards'. The song ended up in tenth place in a field of 18 competitors. 

Eskens' career continued for decades, although her success was limited to German-speaking countries only. In 2005 she celebrated 50 years on stage. She has sold over 40 million records during her long and impressive career.

My collection: 7" single no. 6380
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 May 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Die Zeiger der Uhr' / 'Nur deine Bilder'

Moskow Diskow / Eurovision - Telex

Nothing is more appropriate this month than highlighting that classic Belgian song 'Euro-vision' by Telex. They performed it on the Eurovision stage in The Hague in 1980. I do have the original single, of course, but more recently the track was re-released on a special cover 7" single with the magazine Electronic Sound. That issue - number 74 - is actually a few months old but I only discovered this one recently, and ordered it straight away.

This single presents the English version of 'Euro-vision' together with the track 'Moskow Diskow' on yellow vinyl. The hallucinating sleeve image requires you to look away after a few seconds in order to avoid going crazy - or getting a headache. Other than that, this is a brilliant little collector's item. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6379
Found: Electronic Sound magazine website, received 8 May 2021
Cost: 8 pounds
Tracks: 'Moscow Diskow' / 'Eurovision'

Voor altijd - André van Duin

During an impressive career of six decades, André van Duin started out as a comedian and did theatre shows, TV programmes, even performed as a support act for the Rolling Stones in the Netherlands. In recent years, he has reinvented himself as a 'serious' entertainer, acting in a dramatic series and presenting the Dutch version of the Great British Bake-off. 

After losing his partner Martin last year and going through treatment against a medical condition, things became increasingly serious. He made an impressive speech on 4 May on Remembrance Day in Amsterdam and, also recently, recorded this single. 'Voor altijd' ('For always') was dedicated to his late partner and benefits the Dutch Cancer Society. Although the song was co-created with the massively overrated Dutch artist Danny Vera it is actually quite beautiful. For the first time in months I had the chance to buy a single in a regular shop, and so I did.

My collection: 7" single no. 6378
Found: Paagman, Leidschendam, 8 May 2021
Cost: 9 euro
Tracks: 'Voor altijd' / 'Voor altijd (instrumental)'

Soldi - Mahmood

Alessandro Mahmood represented Italy during the 2019 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Born in Milan to an Italian mother from Sardinia and an Egyptian father, he was raised around Gratosoglio, a district of Milan.When he was five years old, his parents divorced and he was subsequently raised by his mother.

Mahmood revealed he started writing the song while hanging out with some friends. Its lyrics explore Mahmood's relationship with his father. It depicts a lying, contradictory and unreliable father, whose main priority is money instead of his own family. Mahmood explained that the song's lyrics "evoke a memory" and that "there's a lot of anger" in it. This was reflected during his performance: he looked angry throughout his appearance on the Eurovision stage, which surprisingly didn't affect the score: he finished in second place during the Eurovision final. 

This 7" single was sold together with the album 'Gioventù Bruciata' in Italy. Both the CD and this single feature two versions of the song 'Soldi'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6374
Found: Amazon Germany, received 24 April 2021
Cost: 20 euro (CD + single)
Tracks: 'Soldi' / 'Soldi (feat. Gue Pequeno)'

The wrong place - Hooverphonic

This month, the Eurovision Song Contest will finally take place in Rotterdam. Last year the Contest did not take place because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant that the Netherlands held the title of Eurovision winner for another year. The 2021 edition will still be a sad affair: although an audience will be present, it will only be half the capacity of the Ahoy hall where the event is taking place and where other countries have benefited greatly from tourists flocking in from all over Europe, Rotterdam will only host Dutch people (and perhaps a few lost people from other countries - although that seems unlikely).

To make things even worse, it seems that record companies have given up on physical products for their Eurovision acts. So far, only the Belgian band Hooverphonic have released their Eurovision song on 7" vinyl. And that, of course, is to be applauded. 'The wrong place' is an excellent song, although it doesn't seem likely that it will win this year's edition. We can only hope that the winning song will also be released on the 7" vinyl format. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6373
Found: Velvet Music, Leiden, received 24 April 2021
Cost: 8 euro
Tracks: 'The wrong place' / 'The wrong place (instrumental)'

Refrain, du goldner Traum aus meiner Jugendzeit - Lys Assia

Only two years ago I was able to buy Refrain, the 7" single of the first ever winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song made Lys Assia part of history. She would continue to be a special guest in the audience of the Contest even in recent years, until she passed away in March 2018. 

I was always aware that she recorded a German version of her winning song, but like the original single it wasn't easy to get hold of a copy. After all, this is a single that is hunted after by many Eurovision fans and it's 75 years old. But I was quite surprised two weeks ago when I saw one on Ebay for a few euros. I placed my bid and waited until last Saturday, when the auction would end. As usual, the bidding went crazy in the last few minutes, but I was successful in the end - even if I had to spend just a little more than I really wanted to. Never mind - now that record fairs are a thing of the past and the next one won't happen until 2025, probably, I have some budget to spare. I am grateful to the Austrian seller of this little piece of history.

My collection: 7" single no. 6372
Found: Ebay.co.uk, received 15 April 2021
Cost: 13,20 euro
Tracks: 'Refrain, Du Goldner Traum Aus Meiner Jugendzeit' / 'Addio, Bella Napoli'

Touch my life (with summer) - Ellen Nikolaysen

Ellen Helen Nikolaysen was born in Oslo (Norway) on 10 December 1951. She participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 as part of the Bendik Singers group with the song 'It's Just A Game' and as a solo artist in 1975 with 'Touch my life (with summer)'. The solo attempt wasn't very successful: she ended up in 18th place in a field of 19 competitors. The B-side song, 'You made me feel I could fly' was more successful: she won the Best Performance Award at the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo in 1974 with it.

As you can see, the sleeve of this single has a name written on it. I have consulted my friend and Eurovision expert Puck about this and he confirmed that this is actually Ellen's autograph. Not bad, for a relatively cheap single I bought online!

My collection: 7" single no. 6371
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Touch my life (with summer)' / 'You made me feel I could fly'

Ding-a-dong - Teach-In

My collection already contains Teach-In's 'Ding-a-dong' in English, Dutch and German, so you might say that this addition to my collection is a bit superfluous. I could pretend that I bought this particular single for the fact that the B-side is different - 'Let me in' does not appear on any of the other three singles - but who would I be kidding? The fact is, this sleeve is just too curious to pass up on.

Quite why the Italians felt they had to release this single in such a tittilating sleeve is unknown, but perhaps they thought it wouldn't sell otherwise. I am pretty sure that a sleeve like this would be censored these days - which makes it even more amusing to own this little piece of shameless history.

My collection: 7" single no. 6370
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Ding-a-dong' / 'Let me in'

Popcorn - La Strana Societa

'Popcorn' needs no introduction on this blog: I have featured many different versions of this Gershon Kingsley composition, and they just keep on coming whenever I come across a version that I didn't already have. 

La Strana Societa is not as anonymous as the sleeve of this single might have you think. The group was formed in Torino by some musicians from I Ragazzi Del Sole, a beat band also from Turin, including drummer Valerio Liboni. The band was discovered around 1971 by club-owner and record producer Ivo Lunardi.The single 'Popcorn' was actually their debut single and reached number 1 in the Italian charts. Their career spanned ten years, five albums and fourteen singles.

My collection: 7" single no. 6369
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Popcorn' / 'Nel giardino di Tamara'

Waterloo - Swedish Group

Swedish Group is the name of an anonymous band that recorded a cover version of 'Waterloo' right after Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest with that song. You would think that Swedish Group was founded especially for this purpose, but dig a little deeper and you'll find that they also recorded Abba's 'Ring Ring' the year before, just after they didn't win the national finals in Sweden and narrowly missed out on representing Sweden internationally.

The fact that both singles were released in Italy makes one wonder whether the Swedish Group was a Swedish group after all. Some riddles will never be solved, I guess.

My collection: 7" single no. 6368
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Waterloo' / 'Down down down'

Dio, come ti amo - Domenico Modugno

The name of Domenico Modugno is forever linked to the legendary Eurovision song Volare. That was his first Eurovision appearance. People tend to forget that he represented Italy three times in the contest, following up his appearance in 1958 with the song Piove in 1959 and returning in 1966 with 'Dio, come ti amo'. His last attempt was also his least successful one: he ended in last place with zero points.

So is this a bad song? Well, not really, although I tend to think that the version by Gigliola Cinquetti is a bit more charming. But you know how cruel competitions can be - especially music competitions. Modugno died on 6 August 1994, at the age of 66, from a heart attack, on the island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, while he was in his home by the sea.

My collection: 7" single no. 6367
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Dio come ti amo' / 'Io di piu'

The spirit of Joe Hill - Laurie Dryden

Laurie Dryden only ever released one single, this 'The Spirit of Joe Hill', a song written by Mike Hawker and Marty Wilde. Hawker also produced the two tracks on this single. It was released on 10 March 1972, after which many cover versions followed, particularly in Scandinavia, where the song 'Legenden om Joe Hill' was recorded by a.o. Stein Ingebrigtsen, Göran Hagwall, Bruno Skogmann and Inge Birgersson & Lasse Kenth's.

The song is all about Joe Hill, a Swedish-American labor activist and songwriter, who lived between 1879 and 1915. Hill, an immigrant worker frequently facing unemployment and underemployment, became a popular songwriter and cartoonist for the union. His most famous songs include "The Preacher and the Slave" (in which he coined the phrase "pie in the sky"), "The Tramp", "There Is Power in a Union", "The Rebel Girl", and "Casey Jones—the Union Scab", which express the harsh and combative life of itinerant workers, and call for workers to organize their efforts to improve working conditions.

My collection: 7" single no. 6365
Found: Ebay.co.uk, received 3 April 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'The spirit of Joe Hill' / 'Half of me'

At Veani - Schlomo Artzi

Schlomo Artzi was born on November 26, 1949, in Moshav. When Artzi was eight years old, his family moved to northern Tel Aviv. Artzi's schoolmates thought he would become an actor, not a musician, as he was known for his acting skills at elementary school. However, at the age of twelve he started playing the guitar and singing in a boy scouts group and at friends' parties. At age 16, he began writing and composing songs. 

In 1970, Artzi had the opportunity to take part in the Israel Song Festival, a prestigious song contest held every year. Still in military service and wearing a military uniform, he sang Pitom Achshav, Pitom Hayom (Suddenly Now, Suddenly Today), also known as Ahavtiha (I loved her). The song, written by Tirza Atar and composed by Ya'akov Hollander, won first prize. It was included in his first album, Shlomo Artzi, which came out in 1970. Artzi was voted Singer of the Year. 

In 1975 he was selected to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest. The selected song was 'At Veani', written by the legendary Israeli songwriter Ehud Manor, and composed by Artzi himself. To seize the moment, Artzi's record label pressured him to record a completely new record in less than 2 weeks. However, when At Veani ended up in 11th place in a field of 20 competitors, the album became a big disappointment and started a less successful period in Artzi's career. However, his career recovered and he is still active in music to this day.

My collection: 7" single no. 6360
Found: Discogs.com, received 30 March 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'At Veani' / 'Hey Liza'

Petit Bonhomme - Camillo

This cheerful young man is called Camillo Felgen, born in Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg on 17 November 1920. He started his career as a teacher. During the Second World War, Felgen was a translator for the German occupiers, and then a reporter with a French-language newspaper. He studied theater and opera in Brussels and Liège; in 1946, he joined Radio Luxembourg as a chorus singer and a French-language reporter. In 1949, the mastering of his baritone completed his theatre and opera studies. 

In 1951, he had his first international hit record, 'Bonjour les amies' ('Hello Friends'). The song went on to become the theme song for his national broadcaster. He represented his home country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 with 'So laang we's du do bast', becoming the first Luxembourger and the first male contestant to represent Luxembourg and the first participant to sing in Luxembourgish. He finished last with only one point. Two years later he entered the contest again, this time doing much better by finishing in third place with the song 'Petit bonhomme'. 

From 1965 until 1973, Felgen was the host and commentator for the German broadcasts of Jeux Sans Frontières (Spiel Ohne Grenzen). He died in his birthplace on 16 July 2005. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6355
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 March 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Petit bonhomme', 'Ballade pour une trompette' / 'Le tango de minuit', 'Demain'

I got stung / One night - Elvis Presley

Another icon from the past that hasn't featured much on this blog is Elvis Presley. Important though he was, his music never touched me quite the same way as pop music from the late Seventies and first half of the Eighties did. But as I am reaching a certain age, my interest in his work has increased slightly, and there was another good reason for buying this single: 'One Night' was covered by none other than Kim Wilde back in 1987. 

This single is, apparently, quite sought after, because to my surprise it was listed for a mere 30 euros on Discogs. I got my copy for considerably less, so who knows, I might sell it one day. But for now, I am quite pleased to own this - even if it is a reissue of these two songs from 1969. They were originally released in 1958!

My collection: 7" single no. 6359
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, 20 March 2021
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'I Got Stung' / 'One Night'

Lay lady lay - Bob Dylan

Those of you who are into Bob Dylan will probably wonder why he has never appeared on this blog before. To some, he is truly the best ever and they worship him like he's some kind of godlike entity. To me, it has always been a mediocre singer at best, and his music never managed to touch me in any way. His lyrics, amazingly awarded the Nobel Prize for literature a few years ago, seemed a bit inane to me as well. 'The answer is blowing in the wind' has become some sort of catchphrase but I never really understood why.

Which makes the purchase of this single, perhaps, a mystery. I only heard 'Lay Lady Lay' some years ago and I didn't really recognize Bob Dylan as the singer. I mean, the man isn't exactly renowned for holding a melody is he? But this is a nice tune, even if it is hardly Nobel Prize material.

My collection: 7" single no. 6358
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, 20 March 2021
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Lay lady lay' / 'I threw it all away'

Rock this town - Stray Cats

These days you don't hear any rock 'n' roll or rockabilly music in the charts anymore, but 40 years ago, while pop music was being taken over by synthpop artists, the Stray Cats still managed to score with this great music style. 'Rock this town' entered the UK singles chart on 2 July 1981 and peaked at number 9 during a chart run of 8 weeks. They also scored in Europe: the single peaked at number 3 in the Netherlands and also made top 10 in several other European countries.

In fact, the Stray Cats kept making music all through the Eighties, despite breaking up a few times in between. After 1992's Dave Edmunds-produced 'Choo Choo Hot Fish', and the cover album 'Original Cool', the group called it quits again. Further reunions happened in 2008 and 2018. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6357
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, 20 March 2021
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Rock this town' / 'Can't hurry love'

Lapponia (English version) - Monica Aspelund

My collection of Monica Aspelund singles seems to revolve around one song: Lapponia, the song she represented Finland with at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest. I have the original Finnish version and a Dutch version, and now I can add the English version of the song. 

Circa 1980 Aspelund, who had just been divorced, relocated with her two-year-old son to Lake Worth, Florida. She performed locally and on Caribbean cruise ships making periodic visits to Finland and Sweden, notably in 1986 when she headlined in the stage musical Cats in Helsinki. It was reported in 2010 that Aspelund had returned to Finland on a permanent basis. No doubt she's visited Lapponia a few times since then.

My collection: 7" single no. 6353
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 March 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Lapponia (English version)' / 'La la sing a song'

A day of love - Ashes and blood

The Yugoslavian band Pepel In Kri - credited in the Eurovision Song Contest as Ashes and Blood - represented their country with the song 'Dan ljubezni' in 1975. It marked the fourth and final time the Socialist Republic of Slovenia represented the whole of Yugoslavia at Eurovision. The music composition was written by Tadej Hrušovar, lyrics were written by Dušan Velkaverh and arranged by Dečo Žgur. At the close of voting, it had received 22 points, placing 13th in a field of 19 competitors.

The song is a ballad, with the band calling for a day of love in the whole world that never ends. The song was released as 'A day of love', the version that is presented on this single. This version failed to chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 6352
Found: Discogs.com, received March 19, 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'A day of love' / 'Naj bo baby'

Mikado - Simone Drexel

Simone Drexel was born on 13 May 1957 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 1973 she took first place in the talent competition of the youth magazine Bravo. Drexel's entry into the music business was when she represented her country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975. With the song 'Mikado' she ended up in sixth place in a field of 19 competitors. After a few more singles she decided against a long-term career as a pop singer. 

After training to be a medical practice assistant, Drexel married a musician, changed her last name to Johnson and became a mother in 1984. A year later she began her work in a transfusion medicine laboratory. In recent years Drexel has returned to the music industry as a music teacher, she is also the lead singer of the group Bluesonix. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6351
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 March 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Mikado' / 'Die Marionetten'

Eons roll by - Gentlemen without weapons

I didn't really know that the Gentlemen without weapons album 'Transmission' came with two single releases. I bought Unconditional Love (Planet Earth) back in 1989 around the time of its release, but this single, 'Eons Roll By' passed me by. I wasn't the only one: the single didn't chart in any territory. 

The album 'Transmissions', from which both singles were taken, was equally unsuccessful in reaching the charts, but the trio remained undeterred and started the project Spirit Of The Forest, enlisting the help of many famous stars to create a song that would perhaps persuade more people to think about the environment. Thirty years later, my cynical conlusion is that people didn't care then, and they still don't care now. At least we got some remarkable songs out of it. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6350
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 February 2021
Cost: 1,66 euro
Tracks: 'Eons roll by' / 'Uchu o mamoro'

Green mellow hill - The Sparklings

The Sparklings are best known for their work with Dutch singer Ben Cramer. They were previously known as the Rhythm Boys. In 1965 they started performing with Ben Cramer, making their TV debut the next year. Besides working with Ben Cramer they release their own album '...And The Sparklings' in 1966. The album contains a cover version of the Spanish Eurovision entry 'Hablemos Del Amor' and various original 'beat' tracks. 

'Green Mellow Hill' is the last release by the Sparklings, a single that features a cover version of the Marty Wilde composition 'Running Forwards' on the B-side. It was released in 1970. Obviously I was after this B-side track, but it was a search of many years, since this single has become a bit of a rarity. With an average asking price of 40 euros on Discogs, I was lucky to find a copy on the Dutch Ebay recently for just one tenth of that price. The only downside being that the single came without the picture sleeve. I still think it's a good deal.

My collection: 7" single no. 6349
Found: Ebay.nl, received 12 February 2021
Cost: 3,5 euro
Tracks: 'Green Mellow Hill' / 'Running Forwards'

Je leven lang verliefd - Bandjo with Anne Cathrine Herdorf

It's Valentine's Day and it gives me great pleasure to post an appropriate song on this special day. 

Bandjo and Anne Cathrine Herdorf represented Denmark during the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest with 'En Lille Melodi'. I also have the English version of that song, 'A simple little song', which I bought in 2009. What I didn't know, was that there is also a Dutch version of the song. At least, Anne Cathrine tries to sing the song in Dutch but clearly it is not her mother tongue. It makes this song sound a lot like those Eastern European acts that try to sing in English. So if you're from abroad and you're worried that you can't understand the lyrics of 'Je Leven Lang Verliefd' ('Your Entire Life In Love') : don't worry, even Dutch people can't understand them.

My collection: 7" single no. 6348
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 February 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Je leven lang verliefd' / 'En lille melodi (instrumental)'

Jungle Jim - Pete Pantechnicon

There is something mysterious about this single, as it was only released as a promotional 7" single, if I am to believe the Discogs listing. As as for Pete Pantechnicon, his identity remains a mystery as well. 

So what do we know about 'Jungle Jim'? Only that it was written by Ronnie Scott and Marty Wilde, and that Marty Wilde recorded a demo of the song which was included in last year's box set 'Marty: A Lifetime In Music 1957-2019'. The track was arranged by Barry Guard, who also wrote the B-side, 'Point Of No Return'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6347
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 January 2021
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Jungle Jim' / 'Point Of No Return'

Little Ray Of Sunshine - Joe Brown

Released in 1966, Joe Brown's 'Little Ray Of Sunshine' failed to reach the charts in the UK. It was one of an impressive nine singles to fail, in between 'Sally Ann', which reached number 28 in 1963 and 'With A Little Help From My Friends', which reached number 32 in 1967. By today's standards, an artist would already have been dropped by their record label a few times over, but back in the 1960's Pye obviously had faith in mister Brown.

My interest in this single is explained once again by the B-side: 'Your Loving Touch' was written - and previously recorded - by Marty Wilde. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6346
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 January 2021
Cost: 7 euro
Tracks: 'Little Ray Of Sunshine' / 'Your Loving Touch'

Not So Manic Now (acoustic) - Dubstar

One of the nicest singles from the Nineties was Dubstar's 'Not So Manic Now'. For me, the song was overshadowed by 'No More Talk', another fantastic release by the same band. Their album 'Make It Better', released in 2000 was a relative disappointment, and they disappeared for almost two decades.

Back in 2018, without me knowing it, they released a new album called 'One'. That album was recently re-released and was quickly followed by this single, an acoustic rendition of 'Not So Manic Now' with a cover of the Beatles song 'Free As A Bird' on the B-side. Pressed on orange vinyl, it truly is a thing of beauty - and the first 7" single of Dubstar in my collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 6345
Found: Townsend Music, received 27 January 2021
Cost: 9 euro
Tracks: 'Not So Manic Now (acoustic)' / 'Free As A Bird'

Meillä Potkii Hyvin - Danny

My collection of Wilde-related singles is growing lately and it's thanks to the internet. I have found some pretty obscure singles these last few years, and here is another example of that. Finnish singer Danny released 'Meillä Potkii Hyvin' ('We Kick Well') in 1970, with a song originally written by Ronnie Scott and Marty Wilde on the B-side. 

'Yhä Virta Venhettä Kantaa' was translated into Finnish by Pertti Reponen and Esko Linnavalli and is a cover version of 'I Still Believe In Tomorrow'. I received this single from Finland in the original Scandia record label sleeve. Danny's real name is Ilkka Johannes Lipsanen and he was born in Pori, Finland on 24 September 1942. When he started his career in music in the 1960's as part of the band The Islanders he sang songs in English but as he moved on to a successful solo career, he switched to Finnish.Although he'd already released three solo albums by 1970, 'Meillä potkii hyvin' was a non-album single and both sides never appeared on any album.

My collection: 7" single no. 6344
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 January 2021
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Meillä potkii hyvin' / 'Yhä virta venhettä kantaa'

The Shang-a-lang song - Ruby Pearl and the Dreamboats

Some time ago I bought the Shang-a-lang-song single on a German pressing. I recently found out that there was a UK version with a different B-side. 'Will you stop that!' is, like the A-side, entirely produced and recorded by Marty Wilde and Peter Shelley, and is an interesting piece of music because it takes glam rock to its most annoying extremes. Hence the title, probably.

I never realised this when I wrote the previous entry about this song, but Ruby Pearl does not actually exist: in reality it was one of the many guises Marty Wilde used during the 1970's to release various singles on the Magnet label.

My collection: 7" single no. 6343
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 January 2021
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'The Shang-a-lang song' / 'Will you stop that!'

Happy Birthday Captain Columbus - The Philistines Jr.

Adam Pierce, Leon Dewan, Peter Katis and Tarquin Katis formed the Philistines Jr. and released this short history lesson on music in 1992. The 7" single was pressed on red vinyl, but also contained a novely: the B-side contains two tracks. To hear them, you need to use the Balance knob on your amplifier. You guessed it: I had to do a little cutting and pasting in order to provide neat-ish sound files. Neat-ish, because the channels are actually leaking. I bought this single, obviously, for yet another cover version of 'Kids in America', but you can hear the other track, 'I'll Stop The World And Melt With You' in the background - and vice versa. It's a shame because the guitar solo at the end of 'Kids In America' is actually quite nice, and creative too. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6342
Found: Discogs.com, recevied 13 January 2021
Cost: 1,5 pound
Tracks: 'Happy Birthday Captain Columbus' / 'Kids in America' & 'I'll Stop The World And Melt With You'

Tubular Bells - Champs Boys

Buying cover versions is always a gamble, but an amusing one. You never know what you might end up with. In this particular case, it's a Seventies disco version of 'Tubular Bells', performed by an orchestra conducted by Hervé Roy. He was a French singer, arranger, songwriter and orchestra leader who was born in 1943 and died in 2009. 

Attentive listeners will recognize Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' as well as Mike Oldfield's instrumental masterpiece. And the string arrangement is borrowed from any contemporary disco track. An amusing piece of music.

My collection: 7" single no. 6341
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 January 2021
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Tubular Bells' / 'Fleur'

When the lights go out - Naked Eyes

The single 'When the lights go out' was only released in Canada and the USA, and this copy is the promotional 7" single, made in the USA. Instead of the album track 'Low life' on the B-side, this single plays the same song on both sides, which is not unusual for promotional 7" singles. 

Naked Eyes had a very distinctive sound, made possible by the extraordinary producer Tony Mansfield, who had previously created those great New Musik singles and albums. I've been playing those albums a lot lately, and so it was no wonder that I went to search for related singles recently. Here I was thinking that I had all the Naked Eyes singles - but I didn't. 

It's an appropriate title to end this year with. Let's put out the lights on 2020, it's time to enter 2021. Hopefully it will be a better year for all of us.

My collection: 7" single no. 6340
Found: Discogs.com, received 30 December 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'When the lights go out' / 'When the lights go out'

Someone's in love - Leapy Lee

Leapy Lee was born on 2 July 1939 as Graham Pulleyblank, but later changed his name to Lee Graham. He's best known for his 1968 single 'Little Arrows', which reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.He only had one other hit in the UK, 1970's 'Good Morning'. 

This single, 1969's 'Someone's In Love', was written by Ronnie Scott and Marty Wilde, which would explain my interest in this track. But to be honest, the B-side 'Best to Forget' is an equally charming track.

My collection: 7" single no. 6336
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 December 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Someone's in love' / 'Best to forget'

Scarlet - All about Eve

The British band All about Eve has few equals. Born from the goth scene they managed to cross over to the mainstream with their first and second albums, only to triumph artistically if not commercially with their third and fourth album. 

'Scarlet' was the third single from their second album 'Scarlet and Other Stories', released near the end of the Eighties. The B-side features a live version of one of their earliest tracks, 'Our Summer'. This promotional 7" single features a slightly edited version of 'Scarlet', chopping off 20 seconds without doing the kind of damage some other single edits can do. Still, this edit does not appear anywhere else, which makes this single a bit of a rarity.

My collection: 7" single no. 6335
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 December 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Scarlet [edit]' / 'Our Summer (live)'

All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey's high-pitched warble may be appealing to some, but personally I've given up on her decades ago when her vocal excesses became increasingly annoying. One song escaped this madness over time, the Christmas classic 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'. I didn't really like this song at first but it gradually grew on me, much like Wham's 'Last Christmas' which I felt was a bit too fluffy for my taste when it came out. 

This is the fate of Christmas songs: they are re-released annually and played on the radio incessantly. Some will annoy you ('Merry Xmas Everybody' by Slade comes to my mind) and others will never go out of style. When 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' was re-released last year, there was also a 7" single in a pop-up gatefold sleeve. I received it in January this year, too late to post it on this blog. But I'm glad this single now fits the annual tradition of a Christmas song on this blog at Christmas - because this is actually the one and only Christmas single that I can post on here; I didn't buy any others. 

 

My collection: 7" single no. 6228
Found: Mariah Carey European webstore, 2 January 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' / 'Sugar Plum Fairy Introlude', 'Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Anniversary Mix)'

Paperlate - Genesis

Part of a larger mail order - and I'm glad it escaped the UK before the borders were closed! - this single of Genesis was a steal at just a few pence. I vaguely recalled 'Paperlate' from back when it was in the charts in 1982, and I was quite surprised that it wasn't already in my collection. But these strange omissions turn up from time to time.

'Paperlate' was actually part of an EP that clocks in at over 15 minutes of music. They were part of a session for the album 'Abacab' but according to the blurb on the back of the sleeve they didn't fit on the album - remember when LP's forced artists to stick to a maximum of 45 minutes? 

My collection: 7" single no. 6333
Found: Discogs.com, received 23 December 2020
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Paperlate', 'You might recall' / 'Me and Virgil'

Amsterdam rock - Little Rockin' Rudo

I didn't really know that Ricky Wilde's debut single 'I Am An Astronaut' was ever covered in the Netherlands, even if Swedish, Norwegian covers and even a Czech cover exist. But as it turns out, there are actually two covers: one from the Alkmaar-based children's choir De Waagzangertjes, released in 1974, and one by Little Rockin' Rudo, released in 1973.

Little Rockin' Rudo was a child star that didn't achieve any sort of fame in the Netherlands. His single 'Amsterdam Rock' would turn out to be his only release, but it is made more interesting by the B-side: 'Ik Ben Een Astronaut'. You guessed it, it's the Dutch version of 'I Am An Astronaut', translated by Jacques Zwart.

My collection: 7" single no. 6331
Found: Discogs.com, received December 3, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Amsterdam Rock' / 'Ik ben een astronaut'

60's World - Marty Wilde featuring Kim Wilde

2020 was a historic year for Marty Wilde. Not only did he release a new studio album, it also reached the UK albums chart. This made him the first British singer to have a hit in every decade since the 1950's. Earlier this month he was also the first British artist to receive a vaccination against the Covid-19 virus. 

All these feats aside, one would almost forget the most amazing feat of all: releasing a 7" single together with his daughter Kim Wilde for the first time! '60's World' was released at the beginning of December - available only in combination with the vinyl double LP for 'Running Together'. The single features two tracks from the album: '60's World' (the duet with Kim) and 'Rockabilly Dreams', one of the most engaging tracks on the album. The fact that the sleeve was signed by Marty and Kim makes this a true collector's item for anyone who ordered this beauty.

My collection: 7" single no. 6332 
Found: MartyWilde.com website (UK), received December 20, 2020
Tracks: '60's World' / 'Rockabilly Dreams'

Magic - Kylie Minogue

...and so the next entry in this blog is another Kylie single. 'Magic' was released as the second single from her 'Disco' album and it is pressed on orange vinyl. The single version of the track is half a minute shorter than the album version. 

While the album 'Disco' has reached number 1 in the UK albums chart, this single has only reached number 53 in the UK singles chart. In fact, Kylie hasn't had a top 10 hit in the UK since her collaboration with a certain Taio Cruz in 2011. This is odd, because I think she is still one of the most successful female singers in pop history. I guess the singles chart is full of weird stuff these days. But hey, I'm too old to listen to any top 40 anyway. I'd rather listen to this.

My collection: 7" single no. 6330
Found: Townsend Music, received November 14, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Magic' / 'Till you love somebody'

Say something - Kylie Minogue

I haven't bought a lot of singles recently, and that's mostly down to the amount of new albums and box sets that I have added to my collection. I can only spend my budget once - which is also why I had some doubts about buying this single. It was offered online via the official website of Kylie, and while the promise of a red vinyl single was very tempting, the price was just a bit too steep, especially with added postage. But fortunately the next single was waiting in the wings, so buying both of them for the same amount of postage didn't make it as expensive a purchase.

Kylie's new album is called 'Disco' and that is probably the best description of her new tracks. As far as pop tracks go, this is a very decent effort, and if you ask me, certainly more alluring than her previous album which I personally felt to be a little disappointing. Extra points for including an inner sleeve that lists all the credits for each track; a stunning design for a beautiful see-through red vinyl single.

My collection: 7" single no. 6329
Found: Townsend Music, received November 14, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Say something' / 'Say something (acoustic)'

No time to die - Billie Eilish

James Bond fans have not had a good year. Originally planned for April, the 25th Bond movie 'No time to die' was rescheduled to October because of the covid pandemic. And when this pandemic did not seem to come to an end, the movie was rescheduled again, until April next year. My guess is that in March we will hear that 'No time to die' will again be rescheduled. But we'll see.

But there was more to be depressed about. The theme song for the movie was recorded by Billie Eilish. For some, usually younger, people this was something to get excited about, but personally I had hoped for someone better. This song was my first encounter with miss Eilish but my conclusion is that she has definite problems articulating her words. Who remembers the excitement of 'Goldfinger', 'Live and let die', 'A view to a kill' and even 'Skyfall'? Well, listen to this and you will probably feel like locking yourself up in a dark room. Even Hans Zimmer's orchestral arrangement can't save this track. It is an addition to my collection of James Bond theme song singles, but not one I am particularly impressed by. Well, at least the vinyl is a curios shade of marbled grey.

My collection: 7" single no. 6328
Found: HHV, Germany, received October 8, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'No time to die' / 'No time to die (instrumental)'

Radar love - Golden Earring

I haven't got many singles by the Golden Earring because basically I find their music a bit boring. Much like the Rolling Stones, they have been making the same kind of music since they started, and it doesn't really appeal to me. 

However, 'Radar Love' is one of those tracks that has become a classic and when I used to listen to the Top 100 of all times this one was always played somewhere in the last hour of the show. The song was a hit in the USA, which I guess is a feat for a Dutch band. I never bought the single, though, probably because I never came across a good copy. That changed recently, as the single was released for this year's Record Store Day, and so I bumped into this one in a real shop. Yellow vinyl, a limited edition of 2500 copies....? I couldn't resist. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6327
Found: Paagman, Den Haag, October 3, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Radar love (UK single version)' / 'Radar love (Moontan LP version)'

The bell - Mike Oldfield

Although I have followed Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' outings quite closely, this is one 7" single I never knew existed. I did buy all the CD-singles that were released at the time of his 'Tubular Bells II' album, but I only found the Sentinel 7" single in London when it was released. The 7" single for Tattoo was a recent catch, and it was back in May that I also spotted that 'The Bell' was released in this format. But I had to wait for one to become available.

This finally happened last month, and of course I snapped it up. In the absence of record fairs, online sales are all there is, but I am quite happy to pay for postage when an item is on my wish list. I think I have all the 'Tubular Bells II' 7" singles now... which makes me happy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6326
Found: Discogs.com, received September 26, 2018
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'The bell (MC Viv Stanshall)' / 'Sentinel Restructure (Trance mix)'

Call my name - OMD

I was quite surprised to find that I never actually bought this OMD single. I was under the impression that I had them all - but 'Call my name' was hardly one of their most successful releases. It was released as the fourth and last single from the album 'Sugar tax', the first album that was released in OMD's "wilderness years", when co-founder Paul Humphreys left the band, unhappy with the band's commercial orientation. 

Andy McCluskey went on alone but the three albums he released couldn't really compare with the artistic highlights that OMD released before. 'Call my name' only made it to number 50 in the UK singles chart and number 28 in Germany, but failed to reach the charts everywhere else.

My collection: 7" single no. 6325
Found: Discogs.com, received September 24, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Call my name' / 'Walk tall'

We can't stop what's coming - The The

After the successful albums from the 1980's and 1990's, The The suddenly disappeared from the radar... or so it seemed. Matt Johnson, who basically is The The, continued recording music, but his soundtracks released on the Cinéola label were for a much more limited audience.

For 2017's Record Store Day, after premiering the song on a Radio Cineola broadcast, the The released a new 7" record called "We Can't Stop What's Coming", collaborating once again with Johnny Marr. The single was originally released with an etched side. This single is the white vinyl single that appeared shortly thereafter - also with just one track on it. I had to wait until the price came down a bit... and fortunately it did.

My collection: 7" single no. 6324
Found: Discogs.com, received September 24, 2020
Cost: 6 pounds
Tracks: 'We can't stop what's coming'

Dancing in the city - Marshall Hain

Although the duo Julian Marshall and Kit Hain only released one album and two singles, I managed to collect quite a few discs by them - even if the titles are always similar. This is, I think, the last time I can feature them on this blog, for this version of 'Dancing in the city' is the last one that actually contains different content.

This single was produced for promotional purposes. The first thing that strikes you is the very different cover, and then on the disc there are not two, but three tracks: 'Dancing in the city', 'Real satisfaction' and 'Coming home'. The commercial single of 'Dancing in the city', released around the same time, has a different album track on the B-side. 'Coming home' was, of course, the second single from the duo, but the album version is found on this disc, not the slightly different single version.

My collection: 7" single no. 6323
Found: Discogs.com, received September 4, 2020
Cost: 1,77 euro
Tracks: 'Dancing in the city' / 'Real satisfaction', 'Coming home'

Jennifer she said - Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions had an interesting but short career during the 1980's. Starting out with the album 'Rattlesnakes' (1984) and three successful singles, their second album 'Easy Pieces' (1985) did even better - at least, in the UK. When their third album 'Mainstream' did slightly worse, the album called it a day and Lloyd Cole went solo.

'Jennifer she said' was the band's penultimate single, and it was released in a rather impressive four panel fold out sleeve. As it turns out, it's also the penultimate single by the band that I shall buy - I only need 'Lost weekend' to complete the set. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6322
Found: Discogs.com, received August 22, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Jennifer she said' / 'Perfect blue'

There are more snakes than ladders - Captain Sensible

One of the problems of shopping online is that it's hard to find something new. You'll always use familiar keywords, and there isn't any way to browse through a certain stock without scrolling until you get a headache. 

The only way to inject a bit of originality is searching for producers - which is exactly what I did recently. As a fan of New Musik and Tony Mansfield I thought he would be the man to produce some interesting Eighties singles. And indeed I found this 'forgotten' (at least by me) single by Captain Sensible. The single managed to reach number 57 in the UK singles chart, but went by unnoticed over here in the Netherlands. What a shame, because it's a great song. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6321
Found: Discogs.com, received August 14, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'There are more snakes than ladders' / 'The 4 Marys Go Go Dance All Night At The Groovy Cellar'

Abergavenny - Nancy Marano

These days, Nancy Marano is best known as a jazz singer, but back in the late 1960's, she recorded a few singles on the Columbia label, of which this 'Abergavenny' is one. This is, of course, a cover version of the Marty Wilde hit - or at least, Marty Wilde had a hit with this song in Europe, if not in the UK.

The B-side of this single is a version of 'Love song', taken from the Broadway production 'Celebration', or so the label says. But of course, my main interest is the cover version on the A-side, which is distinctly American in flavour. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6319
Found: Discogs.com, received August 13, 2020
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Abergavenny' / 'Love song'