Frère Jacques - Anne Marie B.

'Frère Jacques' was the Luxembourgish entry in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by French singer Anne-Marie Besse. As the title suggests, the disco-influenced song contains several references to the nursery rhyme of the same name; 'Frère Jacques, dormez-vous?' ('Brother John, are you sleeping?') 'J'entends les cloches qui sonnent' ('I can hear the bells ringing') and 'Tu aurais bien mieux à faire que de jouer au grand frère...' ('There are so much better things for you to do than pretending to be my big brother....'). The singer compares the childish rhyme to her current adulthood, singing about how she longs to have a relationship with some of Jacques/John's friends; 'I'm not a child anymore, you know'. The song ends with the line 'Frère Jacques, réveille-toi et viens dormir avec moi...' ('Brother John, wake up and come sleep with me...'). At the close of voting, the song had received 17 points, placing 16th in a field of 18 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5616
Found: eBay.com, received February 12, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Frère Jacques' / 'Bébé chat'

Lapponia - Monica Aspelund

Finnish singer Monica Aspelund was born in Vaasa on July 16, 1946. She debuted at the age of fourteen and since released many singles, including Finnish covers of international hits. In 1977 she participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Lapponia', which received 50 points and finished 10th in a field of 18 competitors.

Despite its moderate placing at the Eurovision final, 'Lapponia' was given release in twenty European countries and also in Australia, Brazil, Israel and Turkey. Aspelund recorded "Lapponia" in six languages; Finnish, her mother tongue Swedish, English, German, French and Dutch. "Lapponia" afforded Aspelund a number 5 hit in Finland and also reached number 5 in Sweden.

My collection: 7" single no. 5614
Found: eBay.com, received February 12, 2015
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Lapponia' / 'La-la laula laulu'

Pozdrav svijetu (Dobar dan) - 4M

Two weeks ago, as I was on Ebay bidding on a series of Eurovision singles (and won seven out of ten, as you can read here), I noticed that most of the action happened in the last two minutes. Suddenly there were bidders (or it was only one, I couldn't tell) coming up and offering more than my maximum - which, admittedly, wasn't exactly high. By quickly throwing in one more bid - which, again, wasn't very high - I was  able to steal back the singles in the last few seconds. There was just one exception: this 1969 Yugoslavian entry by 4M. And that's remarkable, since it's such an old record from a country that doesn't even exist anymore.

'Pozdrav svijetu' is a ballad, in which the 4M's salute all people of the world, wishing them a "good day" in several languages: Spanish, German, French, English, Dutch, Italian, Russian and Finnish. At the close of voting, it had received just 5 points, placing 13th in a field of 16 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5613
Found: eBay.com, received February 12, 2015
Cost: 0,7 euro
Tracks: 'Pozdrav svijetu (Dobar dan)' / 'David i Ruth'

Romeo - Ketil Stokkan

Ketil Stokkan was born on April 29, 1956 in Harstad, Norway. As well as being a singer in the Norwegian band Zoo, Ketil performed as a solo singer, most notably in the Eurovision Song Contest - twice.

His first appearance was in 1986 with his self-penned song 'Romeo'. The Contest was held in Bergen, Norway that year, after the previous year saw the Bobbysocks win with the rather retro La det swinge. The song became more significant for the appearance onstage of a drag queen, a member of the Norwegian drag troupe "Great Garlic Girls", dressed in stylised clothing reminiscent of the 18th century, thus representing the first occasion on which a sexual minority was visible onstage. At the close of voting, 'Romeo' had received 44 points, placing 12th in a field of 20. Stokkan returned on the Eurovision stage in 1990 with the unsuccessful 'Brandenburger Tor'. But I am still looking for a (cheap) copy of that single...

My collection: 7" single no. 5612
Found: eBay.com, received February 12, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Romeo' / 'Vi overlever regnet'

Donne moi une chance - Modern Times

In 1993, Luxembourg participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the very last time. Despite regular rumours of their return to the Contest, the country has not made an appearance in the last 22 years so it seems likely that this song by Modern Times, a duo consisting of Simone Weis and Jimmy Martin, will remain their last.

'Donne moi une chance' is sung partly in Luxembourgish. It starts off with a strong intro but becomes a bit dull after that. Apparently the juries thought the same: at the end of the voting, the song had acquired 11 points, finishing as 20th in a field of 25 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5611
Found: eBay.com, received February 12, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Donne moi une chance' / 'Heaven only knows'

Suspicious minds - Elvis Presley

Mark James wrote and recorded 'Suspicious minds' in 1968. After his single was a commercial failure, the song was handed to Elvis Presley, who turned it into one of the most notable hits of his career. It was his seventeenth and last number one hit in the USA.

Session producer Felton Jarvis made the unusual decision to add a premature fade-out to the song starting at 3:36, mirroring the way Presley used to perform it in his live Las Vegas stage act. This fade-out lasts for about 15 seconds before fading back in, conveying a message of relationship in the song.

My collection: 7" single no. 5610
Found: Kringloop Hebbes, Rijswijk, February 7, 2015
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Suspicious minds' / 'You'll think of me'

Dishwasher - General Public

The white sleeve of this single informs the reader only that the disc contains 'Dishwasher', which was used in the Dutch radio show 'Avondspits'. Having listened to this show all through the Eighties, there's no small chance that I heard this tune every day for years. And indeed, the tune sounds very familiar.

General Public formed when Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger decided to continue working together in a new ventur after the breakup of their previous band The Beat. They recruited Mickey Billingham, Mick Jones, Horace Panter and drummer Stoker and signed to Virgin Records. 'Dishwasher' is an instrumental mix of General Public's track 'Burning bright', from their debut album 'All the rage' (1984). The single actually reached number 38 in the Dutch singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5609
Found: Kringloop Hebbes, Rijswijk, February 7, 2015
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Dishwasher' / 'General public'