Dikke Lou - De strangers

The 1984 Eurovision winners the Herreys delivered the nonsensical song 'Diggi loo diggi ley' and somehow went away as the winners of that edition. This wasn't the only time in the Eighties and Nineties that the international juries had taken leave of their senses.

Anyway, in Dutch the song would be paraphrased in a variety of naughty ways, but the Belgian Strangers kept it relatively clean, by singing about 'Dikke Lou' ('Fat Lou'). It is only one of their many Eurovision cover versions - and my collection of these is growing every time I visit Belgium.

My collection: 7" single no. 6519
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Dikke Lou' / 'De zonnebank'

Rock bottom - Brothers of the world

If you didn't want to fork out 10,000 Italian lira (or whatever the price of a vinyl single was at that time) for the original version of 'Rock bottom' by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran, you could always buy the cheaper version by the Brothers of the world in Italy. At least, I think this must have been a cheaper single, because it was performed by uncredited studio musicians. 

The Brothers of the world struck the previous year with a version of 'Save your kisses for me', and this was their second and last single. Both singles were only released in Italy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6533
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Rock bottom' / 'A little bit more'

Oui oui oui oui - Les Djinns

This EP actually features four different songs, but it is their cover of 'Oui, oui, oui, oui' (originally performed by Jean Philippe) that caused this particular purchase. Upon playing the entire EP, I had to conclude that I wouldn't probably listen to all the other tracks much. 

Les Djinns were a French choir with a distinctive singing style, composed of sixty girls between the ages of nine and eighteen years, conducted by Paul Bonneau. In 1959, the French government organized a 'Master School' for the instruction of girls in musical subjects in order to ensure a supply of performance talent for the country's radio and television industry. The Master School set a course of study where the girls followed a curriculum of standard academic subjects in the morning hours, then musical courses in the afternoons consisting of scales, vocal techniques, harmony and choral vocalizing. Upon graduation, each girl was accepted into Les Djinns. Within six weeks of the group's founding, Les Djinns were awarded the Grand Prix of the Academy of Records in France, and their popularity began to proliferate with stage appearances in France and tours in other European countries. Eventually, a total of 88 tunes were recorded, including a Christmas album and an album of American favorites sung in French, and released on the ABC-Paramount label. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6532
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Une rose rouge', 'Oui, oui, oui, oui' / 'Balade Irlandaise', 'L'ames des poètes'

Een beetje - John de Mol

The Dutch national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 took place on 17 February of that year in Hilversum. It was a complicated affiar: seven different songs were performed by two artists each. Previous winner Corry Brokken was one of the performing artists, as well as Greetje Kauffeld, who would go on to represent the Netherlands in 1961. 

The winning song was, of course, ''n Beetje', in the version of Teddy Scholten. She would also go on to win the Eurovision Song Contest in Cannes on 11 March. However, 'Een beetje' was also performed by John de Mol, who as a singer released several singles between 1958 and 1961. This single was a recording of his version of the song.

After his music career, De Mol founded the Conamus Foundation in 1962 to represent the interests of other Dutch artists. In 1964 he started working as a sales representative for music publisher Strengholt. In 1987 he founded the Academy for Light Music in his position as director of Conamus. In the early 1970s, De Mol was director of the offshore radio station Radio North Sea International (RNI). He was also the father of John and Linda de Mol, who would plague Dutch TV until this day.

My collection: 7" single no. 6531
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Een beetje' / 'Luna napoletana'

Some people - Paul Young

'Some people' was the second single taken from Paul Young's third solo album 'Between two fires'. The album and this single had a sound that was a bit more America-oriented. None of the singles taken from this album would reach the UK Top 40; 'Some people' peaked at number 56.

In a review for Rolling Stone magazine, Laura Fissinger wrote about the album: "Through the first few listens, the album seems muted and reticent, a bashful mishmash of pop riffs and references. But after those initial plays, 'Between Two Fires' takes on remarkable colours, as if its ten tracks were strips of film coming to life in a photographer's darkroom. The record finally reveals itself to be a detailed portrait of the problems human beings have with sharing things – whether it's a whole planet or just a queen-size bed." Quite.

My collection: 7" single no. 6528
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Some people' / 'A matter of fact'

San Remo festival - Robertino

Robertino Loreti was born in Rome on 22 October 1947. As a child he sang in restaurants and in the early Sixties he was discovered by Danish TV producer Volmer Sørensen. Because of this the artist had the opportunity to become one of Italy's best known boy singers.In 1963 he released this EP, performing several songs from the San Remo festival from that year.

The most interesting track on this EP for me is his cover version of 'Uno per tutte'. The song was written by Tony Renis, Mogol and Alberto Testa. It was first performed by Renis and Emilio Pericoli during the Sanremo Music Festival in February 1963, where they performed two different versions of the song, placing first in the competition. The song was then chosen to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1963, where it was performed by Pericoli. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6522
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Uno per tutte', 'Giovane giovane' / 'Non costa niente', 'Occhi neri e cielo blu'

Every time you go away - Paul Young

'Every time you go away' is probably my least favourite Paul Young song. Not because it's particularly bad, but because I have heard it so many times back in the day - and it doesn't really excite me. On the other hand, I am glad that I finally bought this single, because I discovered a song I've  never heard before: 'This means anything' doesn't appear on the accompanying album 'The secret of association', but it is a great little track. 

Meanwhile, 'Every time you go away' was one of Paul's most successful singles, peaking at number 4 in the UK singles chart and even reaching the top spot in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Considering it was his only top 10 hit over there (with the exception of 'Oh Girl', which reached number 8), that is a mean feat.

My collection: 7" single no. 6527
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Every time you go away' / 'This means anything'

(We don't need this) Fascist groove thang (Rapino Brothers remixes) - Heaven 17

I tend to think that the Nineties were the turning point for pop music. All the creativity of the Eighties seemed to have evaporated and made way for soulless dance music. Oddly enough, a lot of those Eighties acts disappeared or suffered from the tests of time. Record companies often felt it was a good idea to release remix versions of those songs that were popular a decade earlier.

'(We don't need this) Fascist Groove Thang' was a big hit for Heaven 17 in the UK in 1981. In 1993, the track was remixed by the Rapino Brothers, but unfortunately all the freshness and originality of the original version was not found in this new version. Still, it scraped to number 40 in the UK singles chart. Ironically, this was five places higher than the original's peak position. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6526
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: '(We don't need this) Fascist groove thang (Rapino edit)' / '(We don't need this) Fascist groove thang (Democratic edit)'

Vivre, vivre heisst leben - Carole Vinci

Carole Vinci initially wanted to be a sports teacher. At the end of 1977 she was approached to participate in the Swiss preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. With the song 'Vivre' she won the final, which allowed her to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, which was held in Paris. After her participation, she would soon disappear into anonymity again.

However, she also recorded her Eurovision song in German, and that version appears on this sought after single. You'd have a hard time finding a copy online for less than €10, and so finding this copy for a much more attractive price made my heart jump.

My collection: 7" single no. 6520
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Vivre, vivre heisst leben' / 'Leiden und trotzdem lachen' 

You'll always be a friend - Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate's career really took off with the song 'Emma' in 1974 - their first international hit. But before that, the band already had a string of hits in the UK. However, they were all non-album singles and nowadays pretty hard to find.

'You'll always be a friend' was released in 1972 and reached number 23 in the UK singles chart. The single was released in a RAK Records company sleeve, like all those early singles. Although it has to be noted that in some other territories - Italy and Germany - the record company gave the single an illustrated sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 6524
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'You'll always be a friend' / 'Go go girl'

Kick it out - Heart

The American band Heart has released some classic tracks like 'Magic Man', 'Alone' and, oddly, the one I always hear in the supermarket 'All I wanna do is make love to you', but some of their singles remain lesser known. Like this one.

'Kick it out' was taken from their 1977 album 'Little queen' and only charted in the USA (peaking at number 79) and Canada (peaking at number 67). This pressing comes from Germany, which is proof enough that it was released in Europe as well, but to no avail. In fact, their first hit in the UK was 'These dreams', whereas there is a gaping hole in the Netherlands between 1977's 'Barracuda' and 'These dreams' in 1986. I am quite pleased that I have a lot of singles by this band, although some are still missing. More to hunt for, I guess.

My collection: 7" single no. 6523
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Kick it out' / 'Dream of the archer'

Den dopper - De Strangers

Although the A-side of this single is De Strangers' take on 'Rivers of Babylon', a big hit for Boney M at the time, this single attracted me for its B-side: a version of 'A-ba-ni-bi', the song with which Izhar Cohen won the 1978 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.

As always, the Belgian group made the song totally their own with a lyric in Antwerp dialect. What exactly 'Nie doeke-mieke doen, nee nee' means... I can't tell you.

My collection: 7" single no. 6518
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Den dopper' / 'Nie doeke-mieke doen, nee nee'

Wa d'hee die nen dikke nek - De Strangers

My collection of singles by the Belgian band De Strangers is still expanding, and it's all because they have recorded so many covers of Eurovision Song Contest songs. This single presents not one, but two songs from the annual songfest: versions of 'Lass die Sonne in dein Herz', the German entry, and the Belgian entry 'Soldiers of love'.

As always, they wrote new lyrics for these songs in Antwerp's dialect, full of Flemish expressions.

My collection: 7" single no. 6517
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Wa d'hee die nen dikke nek' / 'Eieren of joeng'

Non ho l'eta / Si - Gigliola Cinquetti

Released in 1977, this single combines the two Eurovision entries of Gigliola Cinquetti on one disc, with an attractive new sleeve. 'Non ho l'eta' was the 1964 entry with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest, whereas 'Si' was her attempt to win again in 1974, but she finished in second place... behind Abba's 'Waterloo'. 

In 1990, Gigliola released a new version of 'Non ho l'eta', which was equally unsuccessful in reaching the charts as this combined re-release single.

My collection: 7" single no. 6516
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Non ho l'eta' / 'Si'

One more song - Halla Margret

Buying singles online can be a good way out for rare items, but one has to be careful not to be cheated out of huge amounts of money. This particular single, for instance, is currently for sale on Discogs for anything upwards of €15. However, during my visit to Chelsea Records I found a copy for one fifth of that amount. It is a matter of luck, of course, because this single is quite rare.

Halla Margrét Árnadóttir was born on 23 April 1964 in Reykjavík. She represented Iceland during the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, in Brussels. The song ended in 16th place in a field of 22 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 6514
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'One more song' / 'Haegt og hljótt'

Diamonds are forever - Shirley Bassey

The James Bond movies used to be accompanied by classic tunes, songs that would stand the test of time. Before the producers fell for the limited talents of Sam Smith and, god help us, Jack White and Alicia Keys, they employed real singers. Like for instance, Shirley Bassey.

'Diamonds are forever' was the theme tune for the movie of the same name in 1971. It was not Shirley's first James Bond song: in 1964 she recorded 'Goldfinger' and she would also record the song for 'Moonraker' in 1979. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6513
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Diamonds are forever' / 'Pieces of dreams'

Viens l'oublier - Jean Vallée

In 1978, Jean Vallee represented Belgium with 'L'amour ça fait chanter la vie'. I found that single 12 years ago in Chelsea Records. But it wasn't Jean's first attempt: in 1970 he had his first Eurovision experience with 'Viens l'oublier'. And lo and behold: it was again Chelsea Records where I found this particular single.

Jean Vallée was born as Paul Goeders in Verviers on 2 October 1941. He passed away on 12 March 2014 in Clermont-sur-Berwinne. He was appointed Knight of the Order of the Crown by HM Albert II in 1999. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6512
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Viens l'oublier' / 'Il y ferait bon dedans'

Le soleil donne - Laurent Voulzy

The majority of my Laurent Voulzy discs come from Antwerp, and this one is no exception. I bought the 7" single of 'Le soleil donne' at Chelsea Records 12 years ago, and now I found the 12" single in that same shop. 

I have a soft spot for Voulzy, not only because of his song 'Les nuits sans Kim Wilde', but also because of the brilliant songs I discovered on the compilation album 'Carib Islander'. Every single track on that one is great - and so obviously I was curious to hear the extended version of 'Le soleil donne' which features on this 12" single. In fact the extended version also appears on the compilation album (I didn't realise that) but the dub version is very interesting too.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Le soleil donne' / 'Le soleil donne (dub)', 'Le soleil donne [edit]'

Era troppo carina - Alain Barriere

It's always nice to find a Eurovision song in a different language than the original version, but performed by the original singer. And so, here is 'Era troppo carina', the Italian version of 'Elle était si jolie', by Alain Barriere. The single was released commercially with a picture sleeve, featuring a goodlooking woman walking over the Champs Elysées in Paris, but this here is a promotional jukebox version of that same single.

The tracks remain the same. The B-side is the Italian version of 'Plus je t'entends', which appears on the French EP of the song. The original RCA Italiana company sleeve is a nice surprise. You never know what you get when you order online...

My collection: 7" single no. 6509
Found: Discogs, received 17 November 2021
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'Era troppo carina' / 'E piu' ti amo'

Julie - Daniel

21 years after buying 'Julie' by Daniel, I bought it again... but this time it's the original Yugoslavian single, which features the original version 'Džuli' that went missing on the international release for some reason. This single came to me directly from Croatia, since I bought a couple of singles from a Croatian dealer on Discogs.

Even after almost three decades, this song is still as infectious as ever, although it may sound dated to some.

My collection: 7" single no. 6510
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 November 2021
Cost: $3
Tracks: 'Julie' / 'Džuli'