Dutch singer Willy Alberti was born on October 14, 1926. He began recording professionally in the early Fourties. He became increasingly popular in the 1950s, when he had a string of hits beginning with a cover version of 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' in 1958. Alberti was successful as a singer of Dutch schlagers as well as Italian repertoire.
In 1959, he recorded a cover version of 'Piove (Ciao ciao bambina)', just like 'Nel blu...' originally performed by Domenico Modugno. The song was a big success in the pre-Top 40 year 1959: it peaked at the top of Dutch charts, printed in music magazines at the time.
My collection: 7" single no. 5743 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Piove (Ciao ciao bambina)', 'Li per li' / 'Una marcia in fa', 'Tuo'
Domenico Modugno represented Italy in the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest for the second time, a year after he made a world hit with Nel blu dipinto di blu. This time, he wrote 'Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)' ('It's raining (Bye, bye baby)') together with Eduardo Verde. The song is a dramatic ballad, with Modugno telling his lover that he
knows their relationship is about to come to a close. He asks her for
one more kiss and then tells her not to turn back as she walks away from
him, because he still has feelings for her.
At the Contest, the song was not too successful. At the close of voting, it had received 9 points, placing 6th in a field of 11 competitors. There are, however, several cover versions of this song, including one by the Yee Tin Tong Mandolin Band from Hong Kong which charted over there.
My collection: 7" single no. 5742 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)' / 'Ventu d'estati'
When Milan Popović, a.k.a. Daniel performed the song Julie for Yugoslavia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1983, it was an unlikely contender for a Europe-wide hit. But it became exactly that, hitting the charts in Norway and the Netherlands, among other countries.
In fact, the song inspired a cover version as well, as is proven by this single. A certain Martin, hailing from the Netherlands, recorded a Dutch language version of Julie, featuring a woman on the cover. Probably this Martin didn't have a pretty face. This version was not a hit, of course, even if the B-side is comical for its attempt at drama.
My collection: 7" single no. 5741 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Julie' / 'Nu heeft hij spijt'
Tony Renis was born in Milan, Italy on May 13, 1938. Paired with Adriano Celentano in the mid-Fifties, they performed covers of songs by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. In 1958, he signed to the label Combo Records as a singer and started releasing covers of Italian and American songs. In 1962, Renis gained international success with the song 'Quando, Quando, Quando', written with Alberto Testa and performed at the Sanremo Music Festival. One year later, he won the same Festival with the song 'Una per tutte'.
That song was performed by Emilio Pericoli on the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest. It finished in third place. This original version remains just as charming.
My collection: 7" single no. 5740 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Uno per tutte' / 'Le ciliege'
Domenico Modugno represented Italy in the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Dio come ti amo' ('God how I love you'). The song was not a success, as it was the first and only Italian entry in Eurovision history to receive the dreaded nul points.
When Gigliola Cinquetti, who had represented Italy in the Contest in 1964, recorded the song, she had considerably more success. Her version of 'Dio come ti amo' became a worldwide hit. At the San Remo festival in 1966, she performed the song together with Domenico, which is why this single mentions that festival on the sleeve.
My collection: 7" single no. 5739 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Dio come ti amo' / 'Vuoi'
When the Dutch band Earth and Fire first started out, there was a definite symphonic rock vibe to their work. It is perhaps most obvious on this early single, 'Storm and thunder', which sounds nothing like the pop hits they would have from 1976 onwards.
'Storm and thunder' was released in 1971 as the second single from their second album 'Song of the marching children'. It was a hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 6 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 5737 Found: Flea market, Rijswijk, April 6, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Storm and thunder' / 'Lost forever'
Like many singles on this blog lately, this single has a few connections to the Eurovision Song Contest, as Nucha performed in the 1990 edition with Ha sempre alguem, representing Portugal. This single was a follow-up to that one, and amazingly, the song was written and composed by Maarten Peters, with a lyric translation by the brothers Fransisco and Frederico Teotónio Pereira.
Maarten Peters wrote the song as 'Het zal nooit meer zo zijn' ('It will never be the same') for the national finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands in 1989. It was performed by Ingrid Souren and finished in third place. It was translated into Portuguese for this version by Nucha and ended up in the top 10 in Portugal. Afterwards, the original Dutch version was recorded by Willeke Alberti, who herself appeared on the Eurovison Song Contest with the embarrassing song 'Waar is de zon' in 1994.
My collection: 7" single no. 5736 Found: Kringloop Sassenheim Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Deixar de sonhar' / 'Se o dia nascesse'
This EP is a mixed bag, and gives a little impression of what people listened to back in the Sixties. It has to be said, of course, that this '4 Tophits' EP is part of a series of so-called Fonodiscs which included classical music and light entertainment, as well as marching band music and children's songs.
Of special interest is the first track on this EP: it's a cover version of 'Zwei kleine Italiener', the song that was performed by Conny Froboess as the German entry in the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest. This version is almost identical, which was the secret behind the cheap EP's of Fonodisc: cheap versions of hits could mean big profits. Although this EP never charted, of course.
My collection: 7" single no. 5735 Found: Kringloop Voorhout Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Zwei kleine Italiener' (Charlotte Marian), 'Auf wiederseh'n, Marlene' (The Music-Makers) / 'Tanze mit mir in den morgen' (Udo Spitz), 'Hawaii Tattoo' (Ernst Zeiner)
This single is an interesting one, as it was never a hit but it is still a bit of a collector's item. It's very hard to get this for any price below 15 euros, although I am proud to say that I did manage that. I was almost ready to have this flown in from Scandinavia or America, when suddenly a Dutch seller had this one. And I had to have it, although I can't exactly say why. But at least one of my Twitter followers knows....
Johnny Curious formed in Welwyn Garden City in 1976. As far as I know, the band only released two singles: 'In tune' (1978) and this one, 'Someone else's home' (1979). Band members Alan Cowley and Ian Cowley are credited on the sleeve of this single. Original band members John Philips and Bob Green had already left.
My collection: 7" single no. 5734 Found: Discogs.com, received March 12, 2015 Cost: a little too much Tracks: 'Someone else's home' / 'Backwards in the night'
Rose Rengel, Paul Braukmann and Gerry Braukmann formed Rainy Day, the band that represented Switzerland at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Welche Farbe hat der Sonnenschein'. The song asks the question: "What colour is the sunshine?". The group ask us 'how to paint
it?' They say that there are many colours, the way we see the world
depends on our feelings.
The song was not very successful at the Contest: at the close of voting, it had received 30 points, placing 16th in a field of 19 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5733 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Welche Farbe hat der Sonnenschein' / 'Die Stadt'
Keywords on blogs can be misleading. Nova, for instance, exists as a Dutch duo of synthesizer wizards, but also as a Swedish duo consisting of Claes af Geijerstam and Göran Fristorp, who made a name for themselves representing their country at the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. They were originally called Malta, but were forced to change their band name because of the possible confusion with one of the participating countries in that year's contest.
Their song was called 'You're summer', which contains the rather intriguing line 'Your breasts are like swallows in nesting', written by the well-known poet Lars Forssell. At the close of voting, it had received 94 points, placing 5th in a field of 17 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5732 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'You're summer' / 'You never tell me no'
I have bought a lot of Eurovision singles over the past year (as you can see on this blog), but so far it has been difficult to buy all the singles of one particular year. But I finally did it recently, as this single completes the year 1980 for me. Well... almost, because this copy unfortunately came without the picture sleeve. But for now, this will certainly do, because the track 'Huilumies' is one of my favourites of the year.
'Huilumies' (Finnish for 'A flute man') is sung from the perspective of the tititular 'flute man', who
sings that while he may not be able to express his feelings in words, he
is able to do so with his flute. At the close of voting, it had received 6 points, placing last in a field of 19 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5730 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Huilumies' / 'Vie minut valoon'
Martine Clemenceau was born in 1949. In 1973 she represented France with the song 'Sans toi'. The song is a dramatic ballad, with Clémenceau expressing her feelings
about a lover who has left her. Clémenceau also recorded the song in
German, under the title 'Immer'. At the close of voting, it had received 65 points, placing 15th in a field of 17 competitors.
Her song Solitaire, written in 1981 is her most important hit in France. Laura Branigan 1983 recorded a cover of that song in 1983, which peaked at number 7 in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 5729 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Sans toi' / 'L'arlequin'
Ambasadori formed in 1968 when guitarist Slobodan Vujović recruited other band members. They came and went throughout the 1970s and include various musicians active
on the Sarajevo music scene at the time and after, such as trumpet
player Krešimir "Keco" Vlašić, singer Ismeta Dervoz, drummer Perica Stojanović, organist Vlado Pravdić bassist Ivica Vinković and saxophonist Andrej "Lale" Stefanović.
In 1976 Ambasadori represented Yugoslavia at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Ne mogu skriti svoju bol', which appears on this single as the B-side, remarkably. The song is about a woman who is suffering because her lover had gone and she wants him to remember her. At the close of voting, it had received 10 points, placing 17th in a field of 18 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5728 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Nocas mi se pjesma pise' / 'Ne mogu skriti svoj bol'
Dominique Walter was born as Dominique Gruère on May 22, 1942. In 1966, he represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Chez nous'. At the close of voting, it had received just 1 point, placing 16th in a field of 18 competitors.
The song deals with the traditions of France (and, by extension, Europe) as they are seen by the rest of the world, with Walter remarking that they appear to be overly romantic. Walter also recorded the song in German under the same title.
My collection: 7" single no. 5727 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Chez nous', 'Chaque fois que je te revois' / 'E pericoloso l'amour', 'Si tu peux rire'
The Austrian band Mess consisted of Michael Scheikl and Elisabeth 'Lizzy' Engstler. They represented their country on the Eurovision Song Contest in 1982. Their song 'Sonntag' was composed by Michael Mell and written by Rudolf Leve. The song is in praise of lying around on a Sunday, which is described as being one of the best things to do.
At the close of voting, it had received 57 points, placing 9th in a field of 18 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5726 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Sonntag' / 'Honey Bee'
Katja Ebstein was just 25 years old when she represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time. She was born in Girlachsdorf (now Gniewków, Poland) and would go on to represent her country two more times: in 1971 and in 1980.
Her first attempt took place in 1970, with 'Wunder gibt es immer wieder'. Written by Christian Bruhn and Günter Loose, the song has a positive message: there is no point in complaining because miracles happen all the time, so one will inevitably happen for you too. At the close of voting, it had received 12 points, placing 3rd in a field of 12 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5725 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Wunder gibt es immer wieder' / 'Ich will ihn'
Serge Lama was born on February 11, 1943 in Bordeaux, France. His career as a songwriter took off with the song 'Je suis malade', made famous by Dalida and Lara Fabian.
In 1971 he represented his country in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Un jardin sur la terre'. The song deals with the chaos of daily life, with Lama expressing his
desire for a place where he can find solitude amid everything else. At the close of voting, it had received 82 points, placing 10th in a field of 18 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5724 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Un jardin sur la terre' / 'Bungalow 73'
Jacques Hustin (15 March 1940 – 6 April 2009) was a Belgian singer-songwriter and artist who was successful in his homeland in both fields, and is best known internationally for his participation in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
He participated with his self-penned song 'Fleur de liberté' in Brighton. In a very competitive contest (featuring Abba, Olivia Newton-John and Gigliola Cinquetti among others) he ended up in ninth place out of 17 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5723 Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Fleur de liberté' / 'On dit de toi, on dit de moi'
Please note: Divshare has been defunct for over a month now, and it looks like it won't be resolved any time soon. I haven't found a good alternative for streaming music in a player, so I guess I won't be able to let you hear these singles. If you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments and I'll do my best to oblige.
The Eurovision Song Contest has a rich history of famous winners, but there are a few songs that have become classics without even winning. The best example of this comes from the first few years of the contest: Italian singer Domenico Modugno performed the song 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' in 1958 during the third edition of Eurovision after winning the San Remo festival with the same song. At the close of voting, it got 13 point and became 3rd out of 10 competitors.
Following commercial success in Italy, where it sold almost a million copies, the song was also released in the United States and in the rest of Europe. In the United Kingdom, Modugno's single was released on 23 August 1958, together with eight other versions recorded by international artists. The single obtained global acclaim, becoming an international hit. However, somewhere along the line the song became better knows as... 'Volare'.
This single is an Italian pressing, presumably from 1958, on blue vinyl. I don't know, but it might be a real collector's item.
My collection: 7" single no. 561 Found: Marktplaats.nl, received February 14, 2015 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' / 'Lazzarella'
