Femme dans ses rêves aussi - Roger Bens

I visited a record fair today, hunting for new old vinyl. The fair was not spectacular (mainly Dutch dealers and a few lost Germans and one Englishman), but I managed to get some nice rarities anyway. A weird one is this one: plucked from the bargain bin, the French entry for the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest.

France was represented by young Roger Bens who sang 'Femme dans ses rêves aussi'. I can honestly say that I didn't have a clue what this song was like. I have seen it a couple of times during my life (since I own the 1985 Eurovision on dvd) but it's passed me by completely. When you hear the single you will understand why: it is a very forgettable track. The main attraction is the B-side, a beautiful ballad with typical eighties romanticism.

My collection: 7" single no. 3605

Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, March 14, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Femme dans ses rêves aussi' / 'Piano souvenir'

Jeanny - Falco

'Jeanny' was released in 1986 and would become one of Falco's best known and most controversial singles. The song is about a relationship between a man and a girl named Jeanny. The song is sung in a slightly unhinged voice, but the lyrics don't actually contain any direct reference to the act of rape or abduction. It is left to the listener's imagination. Falco argued that it's about the musings of a stalker, but also said the song was inspired by serial killer Jack Unterweger.

The song was banned in East Germany. There were also demands to prohibit the song in West Germany, but this didn't happen, although some radio stations did boycot the song. Despite all this, Falco had a number one hit in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland with 'Jeanny'.

My collection: 7" single no. 412

Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, 1986

Cost: 6 guilders

Tracks: 'Jeanny' / 'Männer des Westens'

Didn't you kill my brother? - Alexei Sayla

While Alexei Sayle's debut single ''Ullo John! Gotta new motor?' was a genuinely funny take on people with strange dialects saying the oddest things, I didn't quite 'get' 'Didn't you kill my brother?'.

As I've only recently found out, the single was the theme song of an episode of the satirical Comic Strip TV comedy series in which Alexei Sayle plays both halves of a pair of gangster twins, not so loosely modelled on the Kray twins, the notorious Moss brothers Carl and Sterling. The episode also remakes Bicycle Thieves whilst lampooning British liberal values. Produced by Sayle and Chaz Jankel, the single was a flop.

My collection: 7" single no. 333

Found: LP Top 100, Den haag, 1985

Cost: 5,5 guilders

Tracks: 'Didn't you kill my brother?' / 'Dedicated'

Why me? - Linda Martin

Thousands of viewers of the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest must have struggled with the question Linda Martin raised at the end of the programme. Why did she, of all people, win that year's edition? It wasn't a remarkable song, like Cleopatra's 'Olou tou kosmou i elpida' for Greece, or slightly mysterious like Evridiki's 'Teriazoume' for Cyprus. And it certainly wasn't the jewel that Italy contributed in the form of Mia Martini's 'Rapsodia', which is still a favourite with many Eurovision fans to this day. If anything, the song was middle of the road. But then, maybe the juries were exactly that in 1992.

Written by Eurovision dinosaur Johnny Logan, 'Why me' wasn't exactly a big hit outside of Ireland, the country Linda represented. The single peaked at number 23 in the Dutch Top 40 and stalled at number 59 in the UK. Some winners are best left forgotten.

My collection: 7" single no. 1656
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, May 30, 1992
Cost: 6 guilders
Tracks: 'Why me?' / 'Shades of blue'

Sex talk (live) - T'pau

T'pau's second single 'Intimate strangers' hadn't been a success, so after they'd had more luck with 'China in your hand' and 'Valentine', they tried it again with a live version of that track. Now titled 'Sex talk', it was more successful and peaked at number 23 in the UK. In Europe, the single wasn't released - and so I had to go to London to find a copy of this single.

Bizarrely, the cd-single of this live track was available in the Netherlands, so it became one of the first times that I had a cd-single before I had the vinyl version.

My collection: 7" single no. 1050
Found: Record Exchange, London, October 17, 1989
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'Sex talk (live)' / 'Monkey house (live)'

The telephone call - Kraftwerk

Taken from their album 'Electric cafe', 'The telephone call' followed up 'Musique non stop'. The track appeared on side two of the album, which meant that it had a more conventional pop song structure. 'The telephone call' is notable for being the first and only Kraftwerk song to feature Karl Bartos on lead vocals.

The sleeve of this single features stills of the facial animation that was seen in the video for 'Musique non stop'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2617

Found: Record fair, February 10, 1996

Cost: 5 guilders

Tracks: 'The telephone call' / 'Der Telefon Anruf'

It won't be long - Alison Moyet

Following a period of personal and career evaluation, Alison Moyet released her third solo album 'Hoodoo' in 1991. 'Hoodoo' was a definite change in direction for Moyet: gone was the glossy softpop sheen of previous albums and a rawer, earthier sound and more personal lyrics replaced it. Compared to her earlier releases, 'Hoodoo' received little label support and only minimal promotion.

The first single from the album was the menacing 'It won't be long'. This single was nominated for a Grammy in the USA but fell behind commercially: it peaked at number 50 in the UK.

My collection: 7" single no. 1449

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, June 15, 1991

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'It won't be long' / 'My right A.R.M.'