Twee kleine Italianen - Conny

Conny Froboess represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962 with 'Zwei kleine Italiener', a song that went on to become a bit of a classic. Such was its popularity, that Conny recorded the song in three other languages besides German: English, Italian and Dutch!

The Dutch version can be quite hard to get hold of - several copies online are being sold without its picture sleeve. So I felt rather lucky when I found a good copy at last week's record fair. 'Twee kleine Italianen' roughly follows the lyrics of the original song  Even the B-side was recorded in Dutch.

My collection: 7" single no. 7150
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Twee kleine Italianen' / 'Hallo, hallo, hallo'

Ein kleiner gold'ner Ring / Einmal sehen wir uns wieder - Lale Andersen

Lale Andersen (23 March 1905 – 29 August 1972) was a German chanson singer-songwriter, born in Lehe (now part of Bremerhaven). She is best known for her interpretation of the song 'Lili Marleen' in 1939, which by 1941 transcended the conflict to become World War II's biggest international hit. Popular with both the Axis and the Allies, Andersen's original recording spawned versions, by the end of the War, in most of the major languages of Europe, and by some of the most popular artists in their respective countries.

 In 1961, she participated as the West German representative in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Einmal sehen wir uns wieder', which only reached 13th place with three points. Fifty-six years old at the time, she held the record of the eldest participant at Eurovision for over 45 years – surpassed only in 2008 by the 75-year-old Croatian entertainer 75 Cents. Her Eurovision song was, oddly, only released on the B-side of a single, this 'Ein kleiner gold'ner Ring'. Finding a copy was hard... but I finally did it!

My collection: 7" single no. 7149
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Ein kleiner gold'ner Ring' / 'Einmal sehen wir uns wieder'

Un premier amour - Jean-Paul Mauric

'Un premier amour' was the winning song of the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest. It was performed by Isabelle Aubret, but as per usual back then, other artists were quick to cash in on that success. One of them was Jean-Paul Mauric, who represented France a year ealier with 'Printemps (Avril carillone)', a song that was met with rather less enthusiasm. 

This EP presents four songs by the singer, displaying a wide range of musical styles. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7145
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Twist avec maman', 'Un premier amour' / 'Qu'est ce que c'est', 'Un printemps'

Angel - David Gates

Ex-Bread singer David Gates thought he would make it on his own and released a few albums on his own, before reuniting with his old band. His second solo album was 'Never let her go', from which this single, 'Angel' was taken. I was curious enough to want to take this single home.

I was quite surprised when I found that this single was listed for sale on Discogs by three people, with prices starting at €50. However, I also learned that the single has never sold on there, so I guess these people are just very optimistic. Anyway: it's a German promotional disc, which I guess does count for something. Maybe not €50 though.

My collection: 7" single no. 7143
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Angel' / 'Never let her go'

It's great fun - Hearts of Soul

The Hearts of Soul represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970 with 'Waterman', and continued to release singles in the years after that. 'It's great fun' was actually their last single, before they moved to Antwerp and formed Dream Express after that. 

This promotional German single features a special promo sleeve (quite usual for German promotional singles around that time) with a short blurb about the trio. 'It's great fun' didn't chart, although it did make an appearance in the Dutch 'Tipparade', the top 30 of candidate Top 40 singles, where it peaked at number 5.

My collection: 7" single no. 7142
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'It's great fun' / 'Dream'

Do or die - Grace Jones

'Do or die' was the first and in most parts of the world the only single release from Jones' Fame, her second disco album. On Fame it made up the first part of the A-side non-stop medley 'Do or die /Pride / Fame'. The 7" single featured a heavily edited version (3:22) with the French-language non-album track 'Comme un oiseau qui s'envole' as the B-side, included as a bonus track on the Canadian edition of the Fame album. 

'Do or die' reached number 13 in the Spanish chart but only reached dance charts in the USA and Canada. Eartha Kitt recorded a cover of the song for her 1989 album I'm Still Here. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7141
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Do or die' / 'Comme un oiseau qui s'envole'

Limousine - Hubert Kah

One of my weaknesses is I can't resist coloured vinyl. There was a time in Germany where they released red vinyl singles as limited editions, and I actually have quite a few of those. In the case of this Hubert Kah single, I didn't know the track, but I was vaguely familiar with the work of producer Michael Cretu, who during this time was also producing Sandra and made some excellent singles with her.

So, because this single was pretty cheap, I decided to take it and I didn't regret it. It's a typical mid-Eighties song. It pays to buy a single on a whim from time to time.

My collection: 7" single no. 7140
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Limousine' / 'Drowning'

Native love (Step by step) - Divine

They were called transvestites in those days: men who dressed as women. In the case of Divine, you had a rather voloptuous man, Harris Glenn Milstead, looking like a cross between an overweight housewife and a glamorous pop star. After some success appearing in film productions during the Seventies, Divine first appeared in 1979 at a gay club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where his unscripted act included shouting "fuck you" repeatedly at the audience and then getting into a fight with another drag queen, a gimmick that proved popular with the club's clientele. Subsequently, he saw the commercial potential of including disco songs in with his act.

In 1982, he joined forces with young American composer Bobby Orlando, who wrote a number of Hi-NRG singles for Divine. Among them was this single, 'Native love (Step by step)'. It was his first hit in the Netherlands, reached number 34 in the Dutch Top 40. Subsequent singles 'Shoot your shot' and 'Shake it up' would prove to be even more successful.

My collection: 7" single no. 7139
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Native love (Step by step)' / 'Native love (Step by step) (Remixed version)'

Heart begin to beat - Savage progress

The racial mix within Savage Progress was never fully stressed in the media, but had a definite effect on their music: Glynnis Thomas was born in Zimbabwe to mixed race/African parents, Rik Kenton came from Nottingham, Carol Isaacs was English-Jewish, Ned Morant had Indian parentage, and Andrew Edge was from Leeds, in northern England. 

This mix of differing cultures proved to be advantageous for Savage Progress' music, as Kenton infused their songs with as many cultural influences as possible. 'Heart begin to beat' is an example of their work, sounding slightly weird and certainly not your standard chart fodder. Although the music video was shown regularly on channels like Sky and Music Box in 1984, the single did not chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 7138
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Heart begin to beat' / 'Dark town'

Lead me to the water - Gary Brooker

'Lead me to the water' was Gary Brooker's second solo album, released in 1982. The title track was released as a single, but like most of his solo singles, it didn't chart. What's interesting about the sleeve of this single, is that it's very similar to the one of 'The Angler'. 

While Gary Brooker wasn't that successful as a solo artist, he was a much sought after musician, appearing on albums by Alan Parsons Project and Kate Bush. He remains best known, of course, for founding Procol Harum, the band which he reformed in 1991 and toured with during the three decades that followed until his untimely death on 19 February 2022.

My collection: 7" single no. 7137
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Lead me to the water' / 'Badlands'

Walk like an Egyptian - Bangles

Although I already own a copy of 'Walk like an Egyptian' on 7", that one is a re-release and this is the original one. In fact this version was also included in the double pack of 'Walking down your street', complete with the B-side 'Not like you', but who could resist a poster sleeve? I never could.

'Walk like an Egyptian' was actually the third single release from the Bangles' album 'Different light'. It became a number one hit in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and the United States. In the UK, where this poster sleeve was released, the single only reached number 3, amazingly enough. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7136
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Walk like an Egyptian' / 'Not like you'

White winter hymnal - Fleet foxes

'White winter hymnal' is the first single from Fleet Foxes' debut 2008 self-titled album. Released by European label Bella Union in July 2008, the single was issued on 7" vinyl as well as digital MP3 format. The B-side is the non-album track 'Isles'. 

Former Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde, the head of record label Bella Union, was considering shutting his label down due to financial troubles, but after hearing a demo version of 'White winter hymnal', he was motivated to continue going on and signed Fleet Foxes to the label based on how much he liked the song. The single ended up selling more than 200,000 units and was certified silver. The song was covered by Kim Wilde, together with her dad Marty and her brother Ricky, on her album 'Wilde winter songbook', which is how I got to know this track. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7135
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'White winter hymnal' / 'Isles'

Ah! Quelle histoire (Congratulations) - Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, but the amount of singles that spawned is quite amazing. Thanks, of course, to the fact that he recorded his Eurovision songs in numerous languages. I already had 'Congratulations' on 7", as well as 'Man gratuliert mir', the German version of that song, and of course 'Congratulations' in Spanish.

And then... here's 'Ah! Quelle histoire', the French version of 'Congratulations'. The only version I don't have yet is the Italian one. Something tells me it will be just a matter of time...

My collection: 7" single no. 7134
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Ah! Quelle histoire' / 'Girl you'll be a woman soon'

A cidade (até ser dia) - Anabela

During the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993 Portugal was represented by Anabela with the song 'A cidade (até ser dia)', written by Pedro Abrantes, former Eurovision entrant Paulo de Carvalho, and Marco Quelhas. The song was arranged by the song writer's brother Fernando Abrantes, who also performed it at the piano live on stage together with the singer Anabela during the Eurovision final in Ireland. The song ended up in tenth place.

Since 1993 the single has become quite rare. When you search for it online you can get a decent copy for more than 25 euros, which in my book is much too high a price. And so I have to say that going to record fairs really is a good thing if you know where to look. In this case, I ended up with a seller who had some Eurovision singles - not too much - and in between the expected titles by Bucks Fizz, Johnny Logan, Celine Dion and others, there it was: a good copy of 'A cidade (até ser dia)'. I've searched for this one for quite a long time, and finding it during the first hour of my visit to the record fair in Den Bosch was a really good start of the day.

My collection: 7" single no. 7133
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'A cidade (até ser dia)' / 'Nightfall in the city'

Always on my mind - Pet Shop Boys

Back in August 1987, a TV special was broadcast on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. Various artists, including Kim Wilde, Boy George and others, performed Elvis songs with some of Elvis' original musicians. One of the artists performing were the Pet Shop Boys, who did a version of 'Always on my mind'. Their performance was released on this special Japanese 7" single, free with copies of the album 'Actually' in that country. 

Of course, the Pet Shop Boys recorded the track and had a number one hit single with it at the end of the year, but this single features the original version as performed on that TV special, which makes this quite a rare single. I found a copy without the accompanying LP - which is fine, because I don't really 'do' LP's anymore. So guess what? I'm quite pleased with this find.

My collection: 7" single no. 7132
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Always on my mind' / 'Heart (dub)'

Piove - Domenico Modugno

I already bought a clear vinyl copy of Domenico Modugno's 'Piove' five years ago, but I was pretty surprised to find another version recently online. It was also pressed on clear vinyl, but this time the disc featured four tracks and a picture sleeve. It looks like this EP was produced in 1959, the year of Modugno's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song.

The three tracks accompanying 'Piove' on this EP are a nice representation of Italian music at the end of the 1950's. It's oldfashioned but still quite attractive. Especially 'Farfalle' is a catchy tune.

My collection: 7" single no. 7130
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 March 2024
Tracks: 'Piove', 'Farfalle' / 'Io', 'Come prima'

The girls are back in town - Risqué

Probably for the last time I can please this blog's reader and avid Risqué-fan Jos with a record by the Dutch girl group Risqué. This record represents the last one that I still needed to complete the collection - and it is actually their debut single, in 12" format.

'The girls are back in town' was remixed to make it a six minute epic - and what's nice about this 12" single is that the B-side was also remixed and extended. This one was pressed in Canada, as I was ordering some records from over there anyway. No picture sleeve, alas, but the music remains the same as on other pressings.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 March 2024
Tracks: 'The girls are back in town [extended]' / 'Risqué Disco [extended]'

Volare - Explosivo

When you buy a record from the other end of the world - in this case, Canada - it would be stupid not to buy more than one record. And so I went searching for a little bit more. Being still in a Eurovision mood, it was a no-brainer to get this 12" single: a version of the legendary 'Volare', but in a dsico guise.

Explosivo was a short-lived outfit, having released just this one 7" and 12" single back in 1981. I found out later that the 7" single contains exactly the same tracks, but the A-side, 'Volare', is edited on the 7" single. So it's good to get this full length version, going on for over five minutes. For some reason, the verses are omitted in this cover version, so you get a few repetitions of the chorus - with a disco beat, of course.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 March 2024
Tracks: 'Volare' / 'Latin express'

Michael Caine - Madness

Such is the shake-up of my record collection that all of the Madness singles except 'Driving in my car' have been binned. Most of them looked pretty tattered anyway and I have a cd with all of those hits which makes the singles somehow superfluous.

Of course, there are exceptions. Poster sleeves and picture discs are always interesting, and so I am introducing this double single featuring 'Michael Caine' and a picture disc of 'The sun and the rain' almost at the same time. The song is about an informant during the Troubles, and the lyrics suggest a state of paranoia and mental disintegration. It is named after English actor Michael Caine and includes his vocal samples, recorded specifically for this song. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7128
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 March 2024
Tracks: 'Michael Caine' / 'If you think there's something' // 'The sun and the rain' / 'Fireball XL5'

I'm a wonderful thing (baby) - Kid Creole & the Coconuts

'I'm a wonderful thing baby' appears on the B-side of this single of 'Stool pigeon', but it was also released as a single in its own right. And, to make matters even more interesting, it was pressed on red vinyl in the Netherlands. It was the first single released from the album Tropical Gangsters and their first major hit reaching a peak of number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. In the Netherlands it got to number 21 in the Dutch Top 40.

In 1993, the single was remixed by Brothers in Rhythm and released as a single to promote the compilation album Cre~Olé: The Best of Kid Creole & the Coconuts.

My collection: 7" single no. 7127
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 March 2024
Tracks: 'I'm a wonderful thing (baby)' / 'Table manners'