Rivers of Babylon - Boney M

Back in 1980, I already bought a copy of Boney M's biggest hit - and one of the biggest hits of all time - 'Rivers of Babylon'. That sleeve and record were made in the Netherlands. This one, bought more recently, was made in Germany. And as you can see, the sleeve is far prettier.

Apparently, there are different versions of this song on different pressings. The original pressings featured an early version that was soon replaced by a more widely available mix. The initial single mix of 'Rivers of Babylon' is most notable for lead singer Liz Mitchell's ad-libs ('Dark tears of Babylon, you got to sing a song, sing a song of love, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah') between the two verses. On subsequent single pressings, only the 'yeah's were retained. Well, both singles I have are apparently 'original pressings', because there is no difference.

My collection: 7" single no. 71 (2)
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Rivers of Babylon' / 'Brown girl in the ring'

Love of the common people - Paul Young & The Family

Many people know Paul Young's 'Love of the common people' - just not in this particular version. It was the original single by Paul Young & The Family, released as his second solo single after 'Iron out the rough spots'. Just like that single, this one did not chart. It almost seemed like his solo career ended as soon as it had begun.

It was his cover version of 'Wherever I lay my hat' that subsequently saved his behind. But that is a story for another future entry in this blog...

My collection: 7" single no. 6116
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 1, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Love of the common people' / 'Tender trap'

Method of modern love - Daryl Hall & John Oates

Back in 1985, Daryl Hall and John Oates were regulars on pre-MTV music channels Sky Channel and Music Box. Their colourful music video for 'Method of modern love' appeared regularly - so much so that I got to hate the video and the track in time. Too much of a good thing and all that.

And so here we are in 2019 - and I am buying that single. What helps is that I haven't heard the song in three decades and that the pop music of today has become so much worse in the mean time. And then there's the added bonus of a second single in this package, presenting live versions of earlier hits 'I can't go for that' and 'Maneater'. Not bad at all!

My collection: 7" single no. 6115
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 1, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Method of modern love' / 'Bank on your love' // 'I can't go for that (No can do) (live version)' / 'Maneater (live version)'

Stuck on you - Lionel Richie

Lionel Richie is one of those artists that are loved by many and scorned by the rest. Especially his ballads are divisive: considered too mushy by some, and adored by many. 'Stuck on you' is one of those ballads. Taken from his multiplatinum album 'Can't slow down', this was the fourth single from that album. It reached number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 12 in the UK singles chart and number 18 in the Dutch Top 40.


In 2003, 'Stuck on you' was covered by American band 3T. It was the first single from the band's second studio album 'Identity'. Released in summer 2003, it achieved success in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, where it was a top ten hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 6114
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 1, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Stuck on you' / 'Round and round'

Walk right now - The Jacksons

Record dealers are often likely to charge an arm and a leg for records of famous bands and the Jacksons can count as one of the most famous bands of all time. So it was a source of much pleasure to find a very good copy of this single by the Jacksons for just one euro during an open air record fair last week.

'Walk right now' was taken from the album 'Triumph', the album that gave us the hits 'Can you feel it' and 'Lovely one'. The single performed well in the UK, peaking at number 7, but only got to number 73 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 6113
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 1, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Walk right now' / 'Your ways'

Almost over you - Sheena Easton

'Almost over you' sees Sheena Easton at her most melodramatic. The single was taken from her 1983 album 'Best kept secret', the first one in her career to be entirely recorded in the USA.Not surprisingly, the material went down better in the USA than it did in the UK. The album reached number 33 in the US album chart, but only got to number 99 in the UK.

The single followed the same pattern: while it peaked at number 25 in the US Billboard Hot 100, it only got to number 89 in the UK singles chart. Sheena's UK career would never recover: only 'The arms of Orion', her 1989 duet with Prince would do marginally better in the UK than it did in the USA.

My collection: 7" single no. 6111
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 1, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Almost over you' / 'I don't need your word'

Deeper than the night - Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John's career is long and impressive. In 1978 she didn't just appear in (and sing on the soundtrack to) the movie 'Grease', but she also released the excellent album 'Totally hot'. Excellent, because some great singles were taken from that disc: 'A little more love', the title track 'Totally hot' and this one, 'Deeper than the night'.

After having scored four singles that were awarded silver, gold and/or platinum, the chart performance of this single was a relative disappointment, as it only reached number 64 in the UK singles chart and number 18 in Canada. However, it did reach number 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and that's still quite impressive.

My collection: 7" single no. 6110
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, June 1, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Deeper than the night' / 'Please don't keep me waiting'

Primaballerina - Siw Malmkvist

Germany was one of a few countries that didn't win that year's Eurovision Song Contest - 1969 is the year that came up with four winners after all. 'Primaballerina' was performed by Siw Malmkvist, a Swedish singer who was popular in Sweden and Germany during the Sixties. 'Primaballerina' ended up in ninth place in a field of 16 competitors.

Malmkvist went on to have some 40 hits on Swedish radio chart Svensktoppen and 20 on the German singles chart, she has altogether recorded about 600 songs (and has made recordings in ten different languages: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, German, English, French, Italian and Spanish) throughout the past five decades, which makes her one of the most productive and successful Swedish female singers.

My collection: 7" single no. 6104
Found: eBay, received May 24, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Primaballerina' / 'Mir fehlt der Knopf am Pyjama'

Für immer (Rock bottom) - Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran

Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977 with 'Rock bottom'. Such was the popularity of the song that they decided to also record the song in German. 'Für immer' was only released in German-speaking territories.

As brave as their attempt was, the single did not chart. Which makes this single all the more interesting, because it wasn't pressed in huge quantities. It is therefore a great pleasure to have found a copy for a reasonable price.

My collection: 7" single no. 6105
Found: eBay, received March 24, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Für immer' / 'You shouldn't say that'

Einfach weg - Anita

Austria was represented at the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest by Anita Spanner, born on December 22, 1960 in the Fürstenfeld District, Styria in Austria. As a virtual unknown she managed to win the national preselection with 'Einfach weg' as a clear winner. She was less successful in the Eurovision competition, as she ended up in the last of 19 places with only 5 points - 4 from Denmark and 1 from Ireland. Nonetheless the song topped the Austrian singles chart for two weeks that year.

Between 1987 and 1991 she released three more singles before fading away from the music business. She withdrew from the public eye to raise a family. She has recently returned to performing as a member of a seven-piece live band called Hit4You.

My collection: 7" single no. 6103
Found: eBay, received May 24, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Einfach weg' / 'Einfach weg (instrumental)'

Boom boom boomerang - Schmetterlinge

Eurovision Song Contest fans always have to deal with criticism from other people. There are always comments about the music, the nonsensical lyrics, the show itself, the dreadful presenters, the boring intermezzo acts, sometimes even the organising country. But to Eurovision fans, all these elements are just part of the deal: in order to discover beautiful songs you'll have to deal with the odd nonsensical ones, just like when you listen to the radio.

The Austrian band Schmetterlinge have took the 'nonsensical lyrics' aspect to uncharted terrritories in 1977. What to make of a chorus that goes: 'Boom Boom Boomerang, Snadderydang / Kangaroo, Boogaloo, Didgeridoo / Ding dong, sing the song, hear the guitar twang / Kojak, hijack, me and you'? The performance is also memorable, as the band featured four male singers wearing cream suits and red shirts. During the performance, the men would turn their backs to the audience at various points, revealing a costume which looked like the front of a tuxedo, complete with a fake face. The song ended up in seventeenth place out of 18 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 6106
Found: eBay, received May 24, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Boom boom boomerang' / 'Mr. Moneymaker's Musicshow'

Songfestival-successen - Various artists

I don't often post LP's on this blog, simply because I don't often buy them. And even the ones I did buy were not always that interesting for this blog. But here's an exception to that rule. 'Songfestival-successen' is a compilation album of Eurovision Song Contest songs, performed by various Dutch artists. The album presents twelve tracks in glorious mono sound.

Most of these tracks are familiar Dutch entries to the Contest, but there are a few interesting exceptions. 'Fernando en Filippo' is not performed by Milly Scott, who represented the Netherlands in 1966, but Conny van Bergen. There's also a cover version of 'Nous les amoureux', partly in Dutch, by Jan van der Most and a cover version of 'Non ho l'eta' by Sandra Reemer, also in Dutch ('Als jij maar wacht'). And finally, the songs 'Middellandse zee', 'Geweldig' and 'Niet voor mij 'were never performed on the Eurovision stage. 'Middellandse zee' was a hit for Anita Berry in 1962. Ronnie Tober reached second place in the Dutch national final for Eurovision with 'Geweldig' in 1965 and 'Niet voor mij' was performed at the Dutch national final for Eurovision in 1960. (Remarkably, Kauffeld ended up representing the Netherlands with the song 'Wat een dag' in 1961, but that song was never released on any record!)

My collection: LP [unnumbered]
Found: Marktplaats, received May 11, 2019
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Net als toen' (Corry Brokken), 'Katinka' (De Spelbrekers), 'Middellandse Zee' (Anita Berry), 'Geweldig' (Ronnie Tober), 'Niet voor mij' (Greetje Kauffeld), ''t Is genoeg' (Conny van den Bos) / 'Fernando en Filippo' (Conny van Bergen), 'Als jij maar wacht' (Sandra), 'Jij bent mijn leven' (Anneke Grönloh), 'Nous les amoureux' (Jan van der Most), 'Speeldoos' (Annie Palmen), ''n Beetje' (Teddy Scholten)

Eitt lag enn / One more song - Stjórnin

I only had one Icelandic entry to the Eurovision Song Contest on 7" vinyl so far - Stefan & Eyfi's 'Nina' - and, it must be said, it isn't easy to get hold of Icelandic singles for a reasonable price. But somehow I managed this time, when I won an auction on eBay recently.

Stjórnin represented Iceland in the 1990 edition of Eurovision with 'Eitt lag enn'. At the close of voting it was fourth in a field of 22 competitors, which made it Iceland's best placement in the contest so far at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 6102
Found: eBay, received May 24, 2019
Cost: $10
Tracks: 'One more song' / 'Eitt lag enn'

Boys keep swinging - David Bowie

Parlophone continues with their series of '40th anniversary picture discs' of David Bowie singles. It is a lucrative series because the singles keep selling despite their decidedly inflative prices. It's hard to realise that you'd only pay a couple of pounds for a single like this 40 years ago, a price that has doubled a few days now in 2019. Shame on Parlophone.

This picture discs presents the 2017 mix by Tony Visconti of 'Boys keep swinging', along with a rare unreleased track 'I pray, Olé' - at least, it was unreleased in 1991 when it appeared as a bonus track on the Rykodisc reissue of the album 'Lodger'. Although the takes of the instruments and vocals were recorded during the sessions of the 'Lodger' album, the mix of the song was performed in 1990. It is unclear whether overdubs were recorded later.

My collection: 7" single no. 6101
Found: Fnac, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 14 euro (!)
Tracks: 'Boys keep swinging (2017 Tony Visconti mix)' / 'I pray, olé'

Occhi di ragazza - Gianni Morandi

Italy was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970 by Gianni Morandi, singing 'Occhi di ragazza' ('Eyes of a girl'). The breezy song is a ballad, with Morandi musing on the power of his lover's eyes. Initially, he describes them as windows into her soul and places where he can see their future. The song ends, however, on something of a pessimistic note, as he explains that these same eyes will one day fill with tears as their relationship ends. The song received 5 points, placing it eighth in a field of 12 competitors.

Gian Luigi Morandi was born in a little village called Monghidoro on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. His father Renato was active within the Italian Communist Party and Gianni used to help him sell the party newspapers. At an early age Morandi worked as a shoe-shiner, cobbler and as a candy vendor in the village's only cinema. His vocal abilities led him to a number of small gigs, some of which were during the Communist Party’s activities. His career took flight during the Sixties. He achieved national stardom with the song 'Fatti mandare dalla mamma', and remained Italy’s darling throughout that decade. He remains active in the Italian music scene until the present day. One of his most recent hits is a duet with Fabio Rovazzi, called 'Volare' - not the Domenico Modugno song!

My collection: 7" single no. 6100
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Occhi di ragazza' / 'T'amo con tutto il cuore'

Li´ per li´ / Piove...! - Teddy Reno

Released in 1959, this single features cover versions of two wellknown songs of that time: Li' per li' (also covered by Teddy Scholten and Willy Alberti that year) and 'Piove', the song made famous by Domenico Modugno when he represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Teddy Reno was born as Ferruccio Merk Ricordi in Trieste on July 11, 1926. The Italian singer and actor started his career in the Fifties and took part in several San Remo Music Festivals in Italy. In 1948 he founded one of Italy's first record companies, CGD (i.e. Compagnia Generale del Disco), which he later sold to Ladislao Sugar. In the 1960s he focused his career on discovering and producing new talents, mainly through the Festival degli sconosciuti (Festival of the Unknowns) which he created in 1961. Some or Reno's discoveries at the Festival include The Rokes, Dino and Rita Pavone, whom he married in 1968.

My collection: 7" single no. 6098
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Li' per li'' / 'Piove...!'

King of fools - Perfect day

Having bought 'Jane' and 'Liberty town' in April, I followed up last month with the acquisition of 'King of fools', another single by Perfect Day. As with the previous two, the involvement of Ricky Wilde made me want to check this one out: the B-side 'Step out' is produced by him and contains some of the hallmarks that makes Kim Wilde's music so glorious.

This single was released in a special gatefold sleeve, probably in an attempt by the record company to make this a more attractive package. Unfortunately this didn't help: this was to be the band's final release.

My collection: 7" single no. 6066
Found: Discogs.com, received May 10, 2019
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'King of fools' / 'Step out'

I love Paris / Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu) - The 'Go' Sound of the Kirby Stone Four

Domenico Modugno's 'Nel blu dipinto di blue' - better known as 'Volare' is one of the Eurovision Song Contest's best known songs ever, and it has been covered by many different artists including David Bowie and the Gypsy Kings. Collecting all those cover versions is not something I will attempt, but whenever I see a cheap one, I won't leave it behind.

And so I picked up this single by the Kirby Stone Four, apparently made in the Netherlands or Belgium. It wasn't even listed on Discogs.com yet, so that makes it rarer than most singles. As for this version, you will probably enjoy it. It's quite amazing to hear this kind of music sixty years after its original release.

My collection: 7" single no. 6097
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I love Paris' / 'Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)'

Se piangi, se ridi - Bobby Solo

Collecting Eurovision singles is a confusing business, especially when there are so many different releases of the same song in different territories. I didn't realise that I already had this song on an EP I bought two years ago when I found this one.

So this is the Dutch release of 'Se piangi, se ridi', the song that represented Italy during the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Bobby Solo. This single presents two songs, as opposed to the Festival San Remo 65 EP that I bought in 2017.

My collection: 7" single no. 6095
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, March 24, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Se piangi, se ridi' / 'Saro' un illuso'

Call of the wild - Midge Ure

I didn't just find Midge Ure's 'Dear God' on clear vinyl recently, but also his lesser known single 'Call of the wild'. For the longest time I believed I already had this one, but that was a mistake.

'Call of the wild' was released in 1986, after three singles taken from his debut solo album 'The gift'. Despite the fact that it was a new song, it didn't quite deliver in terms of chart success: it only reached number 27 in the UK singles chart. As a result, the song did not appear on Ure's next album, 'Answers to nothing'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6092
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Call of the wild' / 'When the winds blow (live at Wembley Arena, 23 December 1985)'