De Troubadour - Lenny Kuhr

Today is the 40th anniversary of Lenny Kuhr winning the Eurovision Song Contest with 'De Troubadour'. The event took place on March 29, 1969 and the 16 participating countries awarded the exact same 18 points to four competitors, causing four countries to win that year. Since there was no tie-break rule in place, Spain's Salome won with 'Vivo Cantando', Lulu from the United Kingdom won with 'Boom bang-a-bang', France's Frida Boccara won with 'Un jour, un enfant' and Lenny Kuhr won for the Netherlands.

According to some, France would have been the overall winner because it was their song that got votes from all but six countries, although Lenny Kuhr was the only participant of the four that got the highest mark from one country: six points. Whatever the real outcome might have been, today is a great day to highlight this song. There is a whole website devoted to the 40th anniversary of 'De Troubadour' here, and if you want to hear the song in German, Spanish, French, English and Italian, go to this page. On this blog you can hear the original song plus its B-side, 'Mais non monsieur'.

My collection: 7" single no. 3600

Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, March 14, 2009

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'De Troubadour' / 'Mais non, monsieur'

Me and my foolish heart - Johnny hates Jazz

Before Johnny hates Jazz signed to Virgin records and released the debut album that yielded these hits, they recorded their debut single on RAK records, the label owned by the father of band member Calvin Hayes: Mickie Most. This single did not chart, but the track would end up on their debut album anyway.

Sounds familiar? Well, true, because I wrote about the 12" single of 'Me and my foolish heart' a while ago. The 7" single is in my collection as well. It's got less tracks and a different sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 2097
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, April 16, 1994
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'Me and my foolish heart' / 'Living in the past'
Download: here

Miyel - Joelle Ursull

After Joelle Ursull participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'White and black blues', my friend Puck suddenly bought this cd-single by her. I didn't know the song 'Miyel', but it turned out to be an earlier track by her, taken from her debut album of the same name, released in 1988. The cd-single contained four mixes of the track, and I had to admit that it was a nice song. Not outstanding, but nice.

The vinyl single, which I bought shortly after that, actually featured a B-side track, 'Mal'. It proved that Joelle rarely surpassed the level of 'average'. Except for that French entry of the Contest in 1990, of course...

My collection: 7" single no. 1274

Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, August 16, 1990

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Miyel' / 'Mal'

Secret garden - T'pau

In 1987 T'pau became one of my favourite bands. I had all their singles, bought the album, and waited anxiously for album number 2. When their new single 'Secret garden' came out, I couldn't wait to buy it, and so I didn't. It turned out to be a disappointment: I didn't like the harsh rock sound of the A-side, and the B-side sounded just as messy and loud.

It was a first sign of things to come: the album 'Rage' was full of tracks like this, and contained only a few standout tracks. I don't know why I held on. Thankfully, album number three was much better.

My collection: 7" single no. 657

Found: Leiden, September 23, 1988

Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Secret garden' / 'This girl'

Sealed with a kiss - Bobby Vinton

When Jason Donovan hit the charts in 1989 with 'Sealed with a kiss', I immediately recognised a beautiful song - but with a terrible singer. I was relieved when I found out that it was actually a cover version and older versions existed.

One of those versions was pointed out to me by my sister: Bobby Vinton recorded the track in 1972 and reached number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 with it. It's my favourite version, although earlier versions also exits: Four Voices recorded it in 1960, Brian Hyland in 1962 and Gary Lewis and the Playboys in 1968.

My collection: 7" single no. 1411

Found: Grammofoonwinkel, Utrecht, April 3, 1991

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Sealed with a kiss' / 'All my life'

Believe in me - Utah Saints

Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt formed Utah Saints in 1990. Early on in their career they had a few hit singles in what they call their 'vocal sample trilogy', of which this one, 'Believe in me' is the third. It features a sample of the Human League's 'Love action', whereas the B-side, a remix of the first part in the trilogy 'What can you do for me', with a sample from the Eurythmics' 'There must be an angel (playing with my heart)'.

The single did not chart in the Netherlands, but peaked at number 8 in the UK singles chart. I bought the single because of the Human League sample. When you listen to this track you quickly realise that the guys forgot to make a song.

My collection: 7" single no. 2709

Found: House of Rhythm, London, July 3, 1996

Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Believe in me (7" edit)' / 'What can you do for me (Def Mix 7 inch)'

Love action - Human League

'Love action' was the Human League's first top 10 hit in the UK in 1981, which was quite a feat since they'd been at it since 1977. The song is a semi-autobiographical account of lead singer Phil Oakey's relationships. The song contains a cryptic reference to Lou Reed in the lyric, 'I believe what the old man said'. Oakey, speaking in 1982 said, 'no one ever asks me who the old man is... it's Lou (Reed).'

At the time, as a short-lived marketing stunt, the Human League labelled their singles 'Red' or 'Blue'. This was supposed to help buyers differentiate between the band's musical styles. 'Red' was for dance tracks, 'Blue' for pop songs, although the exact difference was never fully explained. 'Love Action' was designated 'Red'.

My collection: 7" single no. 2829

Found: February 1, 1997

Cost: 2 guilders

Tracks: 'Love action' / 'Hard times'