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'

Roses are red - Mac Band

Released in 1988, 'Roses are red' is a typical Eighties production, sounding a lot like the Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis productions for Janet Jackson. The song was actually produced by L.A. & Babyface. It was the band's only single to reach the UK singles chart, peaking at number 6.

The song was taken from the band's debut album 'The Mac Band featuring the McCampbell Brothers', also released in 1988. They released two further albums, 'Love U 2 the limit' (1990) and 'The real deal' (1991), after which they called it quits.

My collection: 7" single no. 5608
Found: Kringloop Hebbes, Rijswijk, February 7, 2015
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Roses are red' / 'Roses are red (instrumental)'

Je vais me marier Marie - Patrick Juvet

Patrick Juvet was born on August 21, 1950 in Montreux, Switzerland. While his early career was focused on making pop records, in the second half of the Seventies he found international success as a disco performer.

Before that, however, he represented his country in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Je vais me marier Marie' ('I'm getting married, Mary'). At the close of voting, it had received 79 points, placing 12th in a field of 17 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5607
Found: Discogs.com, received January 20, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Je vais me marier Marie' / 'Moi j'ai le coeur sauvage'

't Spinnewiel - Saskia en Serge

Saskia & Serge competed in the Eurovision Song Contest once, with the forgettable song Tijd in 1971. However, the year before, they participated in the Dutch national final with this song, ''t Spinnewiel'. They were almost selected, but in the end the Hearts of Soul were chosen with their song 'Waterman'.

While I still have to find a copy of that song, I did manage to get hold of Saskia & Serge's song on this single. Listening to it now, it's hard to imagine that they would stand a chance against 1970's winner, Dana with All kinds of everything.

My collection: 7" single no. 5606
Found: Discogs.com, received January 20, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: ''t Spinnewiel' / 'Dans met me mee'

Vas vas vas - Ofra Haza

Back in 1983, the late Ofra Haza participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with Hi. Readers of this blog will know that I managed to buy the original version and the German version Frei in 2000 and 2011 respectively. I recently managed to add one more version to the collection: 'Vas vas vas', which is the French version.

I have to be honest: I almost didn't buy this single. Through the years I've seen this sleeve so often, that I almost believed I'd already bought it. But usually the price was too high, causing me to leave the single with the various suppliers. This time around, though, I got lucky. And it's a pristine copy too!

My collection: 7" single no. 5605
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 16, 2015
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Vas vas vas' / 'Hi'