'Chi Sara' ('Who Will Be With You') was the Italian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973, performed in Italian by Massimo Ranieri. The song was performed tenth on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 74 points, placing 13th in a field of 17 competitors.
Massimo Ranieri was no stranger to Eurovision: he participated in the 1971 edition as well, with 'L'amore E' Un Attimo'. Although I haven't featured that single on this blog yet, the French version can be found here.
My collection: 7" single no. 5754 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Chi sara' / 'Domenica Domenica'
The duo Eyjólfur Kristjánsson and Stefán Hilmarsson participated in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Draumur um Nínu', representing Iceland. They appeared on stage as the second act of 22. At the close of voting, they ended up in 15th place.
Although the song did not fare too well in the contest it has remained
one of Iceland's most popular songs of all time, still receiving regular
airplay.
My collection: 7" single no. 5753 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Nina (English version)' / 'Nina (Icelandic version)'
Wolfgang Ziegler was born in Rostock on October 8, 1943. His first solo album 'Halt mich' was released in 1988 on the East German Amiga label. It featured a cover version of Johnny Logan's 1987 Eurovision winner 'Hold me now', entitled 'Halt mich fest'.
That single was released in the Western part of Germany, and although it didn't become a hit, it is a decent version of that song. It is every bit as (over)emotional as the original track. The big success arrived a year later, when the next single 'Verdammt' was released. By the time Wolfgang's second solo album was released, Germany was no longer separated between East and West.
My collection: 7" single no. 5752 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Halt mich fest' / 'Nächte in Berlin'
I wrote about the disappointment of the United Kingdom's 1986 Eurovision Song Contest entry 'Runner in the night' before, and how its tinny sound and unruly synthesizers ruined what could theoretically have been a good song.
So why extend the horror even more? Well, there was a maxi single release at the time, and it features an extended version that, because of its approach of the song, manages to make it slightly more enjoyable than it was. There aren't many remixes of Eurovision entries, even from the Eighties, so this makes a rather interesting release after all.
My collection: 12" single no. 656 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Runner in the night (extended)' / 'Runner in the night', 'Runner in the night (ballad)'
Armando António Capelo Diniz da Gama was born on April 1, 1954 in Luanda, Angola. He grew up in a colonial family in Angola and moved to Portugal in 1971. He studied at the Portuguese music conservatory in Luanda and managed to sell over five million records in Portugal alone during his career which now spans four decades.
In 1983 he represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Esta balada que te dou' ('This ballad that I give you'). Gama describes the end of a relationship, all the while dedicating "this
pretty ballad" to his former lover and explaining that there is nothing
wrong with being sad. At the close of voting, it had received 33 points, placing 13th in a field of 20 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5750 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Esta balada que te dou' / 'When love has gone'
Keeley Ford was born as Mair Davies and hails from Redditch. In 1973, she represented the United Kingdom on the Japanese World Popular Song Festival with a song called 'Head over heels'. Two years later, she recorded a cover version of the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest entry for the UK by the Shadows, 'Let me be the one'.
What's more remarkable, is that she also recorded a cover version of that song in French. 'Laisse-moi danser tout l'été' was released in France, but whether it was a commercial success remains unknown. In fact, there isn't a lot of information about Keeley Ford at all, although it seems she passed away not so long ago if I am to believe certain messages on the web.
My collection: 7" single no. 5749 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Laisse-moi danser tout l'été' / 'Le jour où je t'ai rencontré'
Hearts of Soul was formed by three Dutch Indo sisters from Harderwijk: Bianca, Stella and Patricia Maessen. They worked in the late 1960s as session singers for Dusty Springfield until 1968. In 1969, they recorded their debut album.
In 1970, they were chosen to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Waterman'. They finished 7th out of 12 competitors. In the mid-seventies the group moved to Belgium. There they formed Dream Express in 1975 with former Pebbles musician Luc Smets (who married Bianca). They represented Belgium in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest. During the Eurovision song contest of 1986 Patricia was the backing singer of winning entrant Sandra Kim. In 1987, she was also a backing singer for Plastic Bertrand's Luxembourg entry.
Patricia Maessen died on May 15, 1996 in Mortsel near Antwerp at the age of 44, from the effects of a stroke.
My collection: 7" single no. 5748 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 11, 2015 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Waterman' / 'Kom nou'