Mammie waar is pappa - Anny & Tosca

Tosca Verkooyen was born in 1969. She recorded her first single in 1979 together with Anny van de Ruit, the singer who would go on to record solo singles as Annie. I bought this single mostly as a curiosity, because it predates Annie's slightly legendary solo work.

Of course, there is an element of tragedy in this single as well: Tosca wonders where her dad is in this song, and Anny replies that he ran away with another woman. And so it fits in wonderfully with the repertoire we've come to know so well from Annie.

My collection: 7" single no. 7329
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 September 2024
Tracks: 'Mammie waar is pappa' / ''s Nachts langs de straat'

Romantica - Dalida

After recording 'Ciao ciao bambina (Piove)' in 1959, Dalida continued the next year with another cover version of an Italian Eurovision song: 'Romantica', originally performed by Renato Rascel. The version on this single was recorded in German, although a version in French also exists.

The other A-side (yes, this single actually has two A-sides) is the song 'Milord', which was another big hit around 1960. That song was recorded by a number of Eurovision artists, including Corry Brokken. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7328
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 September 2024
Tracks: 'Romantica' / 'Milord'

Qu'est-ce qu'une autre annee - Noelle Cordier

Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1980 with 'What's another year'. Noelle Cordier, herself a Eurovision veteran having represented France with 'Il doit faire beau la-bas' in 1967, decided to record a cover version of the song - in French.

'Qu'est-ce qu'une autre annee' is a faithful reproduction of the original song, but with less feeling. The French lyrics were provided by Claude Lemesle.

My collection: 7" single no. 7327
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 September 2024
Tracks: 'Qu'est-ce qu'une autre annee' / 'Un peu d'amour'

Een paljaske van ne vent - The Strangers

The Belgian band The Strangers have appeared on this blog before, and most of their singles I own are covers of Eurovision songs. This one is no exception, and it's the oldest one of the lot: 'Een paljaske van ne vent' is a version of 'Puppet on a string', the song with which Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. 

This song turns the original idea of the lyric around: while the woman in the original version is a 'puppet on a string', in this song the man is a 'clown of a guy', because he is suppressed by his wife. He comes up with an idea to hook her up with another man but the same night she comes back, the other man by her side. As always, the song is probably better understood by those who speak the Antwerp dialect.

My collection: 7" single no. 7326
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 September 2024
Tracks: 'Een paljaske van ne vent' / 'Een plat tangoke'

Ik ben verliefd - Ronny Temmer

Ronny Temmer (Oudenaarde, 23 April 1942) is a Flemish pop singer, who was popular during the 1960s. His name remains associated with the song 'De Ranke Roos'. This baker's son - born as Jean-Pierre De Temmerman - was initially a postman, but became a professional singer after his success in Canzonissima. Canzonissima was the biennial selection competition for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, when it was the Flemish broadcaster's turn. 

In 1970 he recorded a Flemish version of the Luxembourg entrance to that year's Eurovision Song Contest, 'Je suis tombé du ciel'. It was translated as 'Ik ben verliefd' ('I'm in love') by Yves de Vriendt.

My collection: 7" single no. 7325
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 September 2024
Tracks: 'Ik ben verliefd' / 'Mam'selle'

Voi-Voi - Nora Brockstedt

In 1988, Nora Brockstedt re-recorded 'Voi Voi', the song with which she represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960. The reason for thsi re-recording is unknown, but it does have all the trademarks of an Eighties recording, and sounds more 'modern' than the 1960 version.

In her last years, Brockstedt focused more on the jazz genre, with successful albums like As Time Goes By (JazzAvdelingen, 2004) and Christmas Songs (JazzAvdelingen, 2005). She sang jazz in the 1960s, but was more known for her 'conventional' pop songs. She died after a short illness at Ullevaal Hospital in Oslo on 5 November 2015, aged 92.

My collection: 7" single no. 7324
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 September 2024
Tracks: 'Voi-Voi' / 'Oslo - Oslo'

Come-Comedie - Nicole Josy & Hugo Sigal

Nicole Josy and Hugo Sigal represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971 (with 'Goeiemorgen morgen') and in 1973 (with 'Baby baby'). In 1972 they didn't compete, because in Belgium the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters take turns when they represent their country. Still, the Eurovision bug was scratching the duo, and so they decided to record a Flemish cover of the French entry of 1972: 'Come-comedie', originally performed by Betty Mars.

The lyrics for this version were written by Ernie Frank, a prolific songwriter in Belgium during the Sixties and Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 7323
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 September 2024
Tracks: 'Come-comedie' / 'Hello my love'

Marcel - Margot Eskens

Although Heidi Brühl was selected internally to sing five songs for the German national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963, other artists were quick to jump on that bandwagon. The winning song, 'Marcel', which Heidi went to London with, was quickly covered by Margot Eskens, in the hopes of having a hit with it as well.

While Heid Brühl recorded 'Das grosse Spiel' as the B-side, a song she didn't perform at the national final, Margot did a smarter thing and recorded 'Ein schöner Tag' on the B-side - the song that was the runner-up during the national final. In the end, both versions of 'Marcel' only reached number 36 in the German chart during a one week run.

My collection: 7" single no. 7322
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 September 2024
Tracks: 'Marcel' / 'Ein schöner Tag'

Mijn moesje - Annie

A lot has been written about Annie on this blog, particularly the lyrics of her Eighties singles which were a bit morbid at times. Those lyrics can't be followed by those of you who can't understand Dutch, which is why I try to describe them.

'Mijn moesje' ('My mum') is very different from previous singles, because it is a bit of a tribute to mothers. The singer expresses her love and gratitude to her mum, but in the last verse it turns out that mum is old and parked in a retirement home. The B-side, 'Je bent toch mijn zoon' ('You're still my son') sounds like a lament of a mum who has a son that never comes to visit. "Why don't you come and see me?", she complains.

This was Annie's last single, released in 1986. Annie passed away in 2013.

My collection: 7" single no. 7258
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 July 2024
Tracks: 'Mijn moesje' / 'Je bent toch mijn zoon'

Linoleum smooth to the stockinged foot - The The

The The have released three singles from their new album Ensoulment until now, but unfortunately the first and third one have eluded me until now. Not strange when you realize the 7" singles sold out within a day online. 

'Linoleum smooth to the stockinged foot' was number two, and I managed to order that one from an online vendor recently. Matt Johnson - the only permanent member of The The - wrote the lyrics in a hospital bed, under the influence of morphine whilst recovering from a life-saving operation. As fate would have it, Johnson’s weeks in hospital had nothing to do with Covid, but occurred at precisely the time Covid reached crisis proportions, making for an even more surreal ordeal. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7317
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 September 2024
Tracks: 'Linoleum smooth to the stockinged foot' / 'Mycelium muse'

Under attack - Abba

Although war crept in to some Abba tracks from time to time (most notably 'Waterloo' and 'Fernando'), the feeling of paranoia and fear was never more obvious than on 'Under attack', a real Cold War song. It was released as Abba's last single - or so we thought. After 'Under attack' there were endless re-releases of singles until the band surprised us in 2021 with 'I still have faith in you'. 

'Under attack' was not a commercial success upon its release. ABBA's popularity was in decline and the two preceding singles ('Head over heels' and 'The day before you came') had failed to reach number 1 anywhere. Although a Top 5 hit in Belgium and the Netherlands, and a Top 20 single in a couple of other European charts, it did not become a major hit anywhere else. It peaked at number 26 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 7311
Found: Sounds, Delft, 31 August 2024
Tracks: 'Under attack' / 'You owe me one'

The day before you came - Abba

After a short break, Abba returned to the studio in the spring of 1982. The first results were deemed disappointing: the tracks 'Just like that' was never released (a snippet appeared on the box set Thank you for the music in 1994), 'I am the city' only made it out in 1993 on More Abba Gold and 'You owe me one' would become a B-side later in 1982. Concluding that a new full length album was not a realistic prospect for 1982, Polar Music decided instead to release a double-album compilation of ABBA’s most successful singles in autumn 1982, in which would be included some new recordings which could also be released as singles.

The group went back in the studio in August and recorded 'Cassandra' and 'Under attack'. Under the working title ‘Den lidande fågeln’ (‘The Suffering Bird’) they also started on what would become 'The day before you came'. The song was based on "a single melodic fragment that lent itself to being repeated in a series of ascending and descending phrases over several key changes", according to Benny. 

Björn wrote the lyrics at and following the session. His first task was to decide on a theme, and here he was inspired by the characteristics of the melody he and Benny had written: "The tune is narrative in itself, and relentless. That almost monotonous quality made me think of this girl who was living in a sort of gloominess and is now back in that same sense of gloom." His idea for a theme therefore was "a woman recounting all the dull, ordinary things she “guessed she must have done” the day before she had a highly charged encounter with a man" and began a relationship that would end unhappily: "He has left her, and her life has returned to how it ‘must have been’ before she met him.”

Many years after the song was recorded, Michael Tretow recalled Agnetha performing the lead vocals with dimmed lights and said that the mood had become sad and everybody in the studio knew that 'this was the end'. Although 'Under attack' would be released after 'The day before you came', this song certainly sounds like Abba's last great moment, and it remains one of my absolute favourite songs of the band. 

This edition is a picture disc released as part of a series accompanying the re-release of the album The Visitors in 2023.

My collection: 7" single no. 7310
Found: Sounds, Delft, 31 August 2024
Tracks: 'The day before you came' / 'Cassandra'

Head over heels - Abba

'Head over heels' was released in March 1982 as the second single from the album The Visitors.  Agnetha Fältskog sang the lead vocals, singing about her "very good friend", played in the music video by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, an overactive high-society woman who rushes through the shops, with her hapless and exhausted husband (played by Ulvaeus) following behind and being forced to carry the shopping bags. 

The single reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40, while it stalled at number 25 in the UK singles chart. No further singles were released from the album - in Europe at least, because the B-side 'The Visitors' was released as a single in the USA in April 1982, with 'Head over heels' added on the other side.

This edition is a picture disc released as part of a series accompanying the re-release of the album The Visitors in 2023.

My collection: 7" single no. 7309
Found: Sounds, Delft, 31 August 2024
Tracks: 'Head over heels' / 'The visitors'

One of us - Abba

At the start of the 1980s, Abba was slowly falling apart. After the divorce of Björn and Agnetha (which some felt was documented in 'The winner takes it all'), Benny and Frida followed suit and the album The Visitors, released in 1981, was definitely a more sombre affair when compared to previous albums.

The lead single was 'One of us', one of a number of tracks that explored the darker territory of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's songwriting, as the two men's divorces were beginning to influence their musical output. The message of the song is about a woman trying to revive a relationship she had ended. The single reached number 3 in the UK singles chart and number 1 in the Dutch Top 40. 

This edition is a picture disc released as part of a series accompanying the re-release of the album The Visitors in 2023.

My collection: 7" single no. 7308
Found: Sounds, Delft, 31 August 2024
Tracks: 'One of us' / 'Should I laugh or cry'

Oude wonden - Annie

Having released one album and six singles on the WEA/Arti label, Dutch singer Annie found herself without a recording contract. No wonder: all of her releases failed to chart, as her repertoire was probably just too depressing for most.

But she persevered. 'Oude wonden' ('Old wounds') was released in 1985 on the small 'Audio records' label. The material she sang was as depressing as ever: 'Old wound never heal' she sings on the A-side, and the B-side, 'Waarom ging je heen' ('Why did you leave') is an ode to someone who committed suicide. It was another remarkable addition to an already remarkable repertoire. Unsurprisingly, this single, too, wasn't a hit.

My collection: 7" single no. 7229
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 June 2024
Tracks: 'Oude wonden' / 'Waarom ging je heen'

Wild hearted woman - All About Eve

My recent post about All About Eve's 'Wild hearted woman' was one part of the story. There's another part to it, of course, because back in 1988 the band released many different formats and configurations of their singles.

Take for instance this limited edition version of the same 12" single. It comes in a box, which includes the 12" single in a completely different sleeve plus an enamel badge. That's all. No posters or postcards, just a badge. However, the 12" features an extra track compared to the 'regular' 12" single. The fourth track is a 'reprise' of 'What kind of fool' - a song that would get a single release some months later after the chart success of 'Martha's harbour'. 

It's a nice package, which I managed to buy at a record fair some time after its release.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record fair, 1990
Tracks: 'Wild hearted woman [extended]', 'What kind of fool (Reprise)' / 'Appletree man', 'Like Emily'

Lay all your love on me - Abba

'Lay all your love on me' was not intended to be a single but after a remixed version gained popularity in nightclubs, the song was released as Abba's final single from the album Super Trouper - but only as a 12" single.  At the time, it was the highest selling 12-inch record in UK chart history, where it peaked at No. 7. 

The song is known for a descending vocal sound at the end of the verse immediately preceding the refrain. This was achieved by sending the vocal into a harmoniser device, which was set up to produce a slightly lower-pitched version of the vocal. In turn its output was fed back to its input, thereby continually lowering the pitch of the vocal. Andersson and Ulvaeus felt that the chorus of the song sounded like a hymn, so parts of the vocals in the choruses were run through a vocoder, to recreate the sound of a church congregation singing, slightly out of tune.

This edition is a picture disc released as part of a series accompanying the re-release of the album Super Trouper in 2020. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7319
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 September 2024
Tracks: 'Lay all your love on me' / 'On and on and on'

Super trouper - Abba

I've always viewed 'Super trouper' as an Abba-by-numbers track. Sure, the melody is there and the vocals are spot on, but the lyrics seem a bit uninspired. Being the big pop stars they were at that time, it seemed a bit too 'easy' to get inspired by a super trouper - the kind of spotlight used during live performances - and telling the story of a singer who waits for her lover to appear.

But still, the audiences loved it. The single was actually Abba's last number 1 hit in the UK. It also topped the charts in a handful of European countries. 

This edition is a picture disc released as part of a series accompanying the re-release of the album Super Trouper in 2020. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7318
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 September 2024
Tracks: 'Super trouper' / 'The piper'

The winner takes it all - Abba

Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson started writing 'The winner takes it all' in the summer of 1979 in a cottage on the island of Viggsö. The demo had an original title of 'The story of my life' and the first arrangement for the song was uptempo with a constant beat. However, they felt their first effort "much too stiff and metrical", so they left the song for a few days while they worked on other songs. 

Four days later they returned to the song, and Andersson came up with the idea of using a French chanson-style arrangement with a descending piano line and a looser structure. Ulvaeus then recorded a demo using nonsense French words for lyrics, and took the recording home to write the lyrics. According to Ulvaeus, he drank whiskey while he was writing, and it was the quickest lyric he ever wrote. He said, "I was drunk, and the whole lyric came to me in a rush of emotion in one hour." Ulvaeus said that when he gave the lyrics to Fältskog to read, "a tear or two welled up in her eyes. Because the words really affected her." Ulvaeus denies the song is about his and Fältskog's divorce, saying the basis of the song "is the experience of a divorce, but it's fiction. 'Cause one thing I can say is that there wasn't a winner or a loser in our case. A lot of people think it's straight out of reality, but it's not". However, Ulvaeus admitted that the heartache of their breakup inspired the song, but noted that the words in the song should not be taken literally. These days, 'The winner takes it all' is recognized as one of Abba's strongest tracks. 

This edition is a picture disc released as part of a series accompanying the re-release of the album Super Trouper in 2020. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7312
Found: Abba Fanclub, received 3 September 2024
Tracks: 'The winner takes it all' / 'Elaine'

Voulez-vous (extended dance remix) - Abba

The extended dance remix of 'Voulez-vous' on this 7" single was originally released on a promotional 12" single in the USA only. In 2001, the track resurfaced on the 2001 compilation album The Definitive Collection. And then, of course, Abba being Abba, the track was re-released several times. In 2005 it was included in the 'blue' box set The Complete Studio Recordings and in 2012 it was released on a blue sparkling 12" single for Record Store Day.

This edition is a picture disc released as part of a series accompanying the re-release of the album Voulez-Vous in 2019. It is actually the first release of this remix on a 7" single.

My collection: 7" single no. 7315
Found: Abba Fanclub, received 3 September 2024
Tracks: 'Voulez-vous (extended dance remix)' / 'If it wasn't for the nights'