Love is blue - Jeff Beck

The song 'L'amour est bleu' competed in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967, performed by Vicky Leandros, and it became a big hit worldwide, especially when Paul Mauriat released his version in 1968. But he wasn't the only one to cover the song.

Jeff Beck released his version in 1968 as well. He had some success, as the single reached number 23 in the UK singles chart. The single is quite a catch, because I've never seen a copy before.

My collection: 7" single no. 7160
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Love is blue' / 'I've been drinking'

Ein Lied ist wie ein Vogel - Ilanit

It doesn't happen very often that two versions of a single appear with the same seller, especially when you're after both versions. But that's exactly what happened earlier this month when I finally found 'Ahava hi shir lishnayim' and its German counterpart, 'Ein Lied ist wie ein Vogel'. It was a bit of a relief to find both singles in quick succession.

Ilanit recorded her 1977 Eurovision entry in several languages, but the original version and this German version are possibly the hardest to get hold of.Of course, now there is still the English version to go.

My collection: 7" single no. 7153
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Ein Lied ist wie ein Vogel' / 'Lass dich mal gehen'

Yo soy aquel - Willy Alberti

Although the A-side of this single is really the Italian song 'Nessuno mi puo giudicare', all the attention has to be focused on its B-side, a version of 'Yo soy aquel', one of the most impressive Spanish Eurovision entries ever. 

The original was performed on the Eurovision stage on 5 March 1966. Dutch singer Willy Alberti was quick to recognize the quality of the song and released his version just two months later, on 9 May 1966. Finding this single was a real surprise for me - and the fact that the original picture sleeve was included was very fortunate.

My collection: 7" single no. 7159
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Nessuno mi puo giudicare' / 'Yo soy aquel'

La la la (She gives me love) - Joan Manuel Serrat

Like I wrote when I bought the French version of 'La, la, la', I only had the Portuguese and English version of Joan Manuel Serrat's version of the song to go. And this month the day has come that I can present the English version.

'La, la, la (She gives me love)' is basically the male version of 'La, la, la (He gives me love)' which was recorded by Massiel when Joan Manuel Serrat was replaced after he refused to perform his song in Catalan. The colourful sleeve of this single is a bit of a bonus.

My collection: 7" single no. 7158
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'La la la (She gives me love)'  / 'Mis gaviotas'

L'amour est bleu - Vicky Leandros

Having already bought 'L'amour est bleu' and 'A taste of Vicky', I thought I had a pretty decent selection of Japanese singles of this song, but it turns out there was one more: this re-release from 1980 featuring Vicky's Eurovision song and a cover version in French of Mary Hopkin's 'Those were the days'. 

It's interesting that even this single doesn't complete the collection: these two tracks were originally released on a Japanese single in 1971. Something tells me that version will land in my collection pretty soon as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 7154
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'L'amour est bleu' / 'Les temps des fleurs'

Dios mio, como te quiero - Domenico Modugno

It's funny how Domenico Modugno keeps popping up on this blog, while I'm really only after three of his songs. However, 'Volare', 'Piove' and 'Dio, come ti amo' have all become classics and they have been covered by many artists as well. 

In the case of the latter, it was Domenico himself who recorded a different version. He recorded 'Dio, come ti amo' in Spanish and released it in Spanish-speaking countries as 'Dios mio, como te quiero'. Whether it was a big success in those territories, I don't know, but it is certainly as good as the original version.

My collection: 7" single no. 7157
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Dios mio, como te quiero' / 'Es una cosa grande'

Dance butterfly - Milestones

The Milestones represented Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 with 'Falter im Wind'. It remains one of the most underrated and undiscovered gems of Eurovision history, with its combination of dreamy lyrics and - a first on the Eurovision stage, I reckon - the use of a transverse flute. 

The band also recorded the song in English. That single is very rare, and I was lucky enough to pick up a copy that apparently used to be in the archives of Radio Miramar in Spain. It is, of course, a Spanish pressing of the single. 'Dance butterfly' sounds even better in English, I think.

My collection: 7" single no. 7156
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Dance butterfly' / 'Oh fairy day'

Children, Kinder, enfants - Margo, Franck Olivier, Diane Solomon, Malcolm Roberts, Ireen Sheer, Chris Roberts

I bought 'Children, Kinder, enfants' in 2009, a single by an international group of singers. I bought it a few times after that, because I knew there was a different version of the single, but somehow I always ended up buying the one with the 'international version' on it. Somehow I just couldn't remember that I already owned that one.

This time I finally managed to get the correct one. This version of 'Children, Kinder, enfants' features the French version like it does on the B-side of the 'international version', but also the English version of the song. This should mean that I own all three versions of the song, finally. There's also a 12" single of this song, but it doesn't contain any different version.

My collection: 7" single no. 7155
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Children, Kinder, enfants (French version)' / 'Children, Kinder, enfants (English version)'

Ahava hi shir lishnayim - Ilanit

Back in 1977 Ilanit represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time. She'd been the country's first representative in 1973 but she was invited back when the entries of the years after that didn't deliver the goods. While Ilanit had reached fourth place, Poogy only managed seventh place, Shlomo Artzi only got to place 11 and while Chocolate Menta Mastik reversed the county's fortunes by landing on sixth place, it wasn't enough for the ambitious Israeli broadcaster.

And so, Ilanit came back with the song 'Ahava hi shir lishnayim' ('Love is a song for two'), not exactly the most accessible title but a melodious song nonetheless. Ilanit also recorded the song in French as 'Ensemble' and in German as 'Ein Lied ist wie ein Vogel'. The song ended up in a slightly disappointed 11th place. In 1978 Israel would go for gold with Izhar Cohen.

My collection: 7" single no. 7161
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Ahava hi shir lishnayim' / 'Hene halaila'

Das war eine schöne Party - France Gall

In September 2021 I wrote: "France Gall only recorded a French and Japanese version of ['Poupée de cire, poupée de son'], as far as I know", but how wrong I was. She also recorded the song in Italian and German. It's the German version that landed in my collection last week.

It was released, obviously, in Germany, but confusingly, the sleeve was very similar to the German sleeve of the original version. Fortunately the title of the song is printed prominently next to the photograph, otherwise buyer would never have known the difference. Listening to this version, it's quite impressive how France Gall managed to pronounce German in this song.

My collection: 7" single no. 7152
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Das was eine schöne Party' / 'Meine erste grosse Liebe'

Pump pump - Fredi ja Ystävät

Having bought 'Pump pump' and 'Schon wieder macht mein Herz bump bump', obviously I was curious whether I could get hold of the original Finnish version of Fredi & Ystävät's legendary Eurovision entry from 1976. 

Lo and behold, I actually found the single - albeit without its picture sleeve - during last week's record fair. The funny and catchy song was released in three languages, which means that I now have all versions.

My collection: 7" single no. 7151
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Pump pump' / 'Kun ita hämärtyy'

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'