Occidentali's karma - Francesco Gabbani

Well, this year's Eurovision Song Contest happened, with a landslide victory for Portugal - and rightfully so. It was the first time in a very long time that I agreed 100% with the song winning. Musically the song vaguely resembles the 1963 winner Dansevise, with its timeless melody and, yes it has to be said, lyrics almost no-one can understand.All the same, this was the only song this year that was actually moving and beautiful.

It doesn't seem likely that we'll get a vinyl single of 'Amar pelos dois', but in the mean time another former (!) favourite for the Eurovision trophy has made it to 7" vinyl, and that's Italy's Francesco Gabbani. Lyrically, 'Occidentali's karma' is quite interesting, stating that despite all our technology, Westerners are still naked apes dancing in the rain. The fact that the performance underlined this by presenting the audience with a person in a gorilla suit once more outlined the 'gimmicky' nature of the Eurovision Song Contest. And so I'm happy that the song didn't win. This 7" single, pressed on blue translucent vinyl, is a keeper though.

My collection: 7" single no. 5828
Found: Amazon.it, received May 13, 2017
Cost: 8 euro
Tracks: 'Occidentali's Karma' / 'Occidentali's Karma (instrumental)'

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Heel de wereld - Corry Brokken

Tomorrow night is Eurovision night for the 62nd time, so it is appropriate to post something Eurovision before the fun starts. The Netherlands won't win this year - again - so I might as well post something from the old days when we still had winning artists.

Corry Brokken won the Contest in 1957 with 'Net als toen'. I can't post about that one because I already have. However, she also competed in 1958. That single has proved elusive during the past five or so years. Believe me, I was looking everywhere: Ebay, Discogs, record fairs... the lot. And suddenly, earlier this week, I thought I might as well type in 'Corry Brokken Heel de wereld kopen' (kopen being Dutch for 'buy') in Google and see what happened. And there it was... a link to a Dutch web store, selling a copy of this single for a ridiculously low price. I ordered it right away and received the single today, just in time for a little Eurovision celebration.

My collection: 7" single no. 5827
Found: Klaver vijf webstore, received May 12, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Heel de wereld' / 'Weet je'

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Hide and seek - Marty Wilde

You are bound to see a few Marty Wilde singles on this blog in the foreseeable future, because I am working on getting them all. That's not always easy, but this week I managed to mail order five of 'em together.

'Hide and seek' is the oldest of the lot, released in July 1961. After 'Rubber ball' was a top 10 hit, peaking at number 9 in the UK singles chart, this single was a relative disappointment, stalling at number 47. The B-side, 'Crazy dream' was written by Marty himself, while the A-side was a cover of a song written by Lionel Bart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5823
Found: Recordsale.de, received May 11, 2017
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Hide and seek' / 'Crazy dream'

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Wonderful life (re-recording) - Black

In 1988 Black re-recorded his 1987 hit 'Wonderful life' for the American market. The new version was included in a version of his second album 'Comedy' that was compiled for the USA. It included this version of 'Wonderful life' and 'Sweetest smile', and a selection of tracks from 'Comedy' as it was released in Europe.

I didn't know that a single of this re-recorded version existed, until I started scouring websites like Discogs.com some time ago. And even then I didn't feel the urgency to buy the single. But the opportunity came up recently when I bought a stack of singles from a German dealer, and I just couldn't resist. As far as I know, this single is the only one with the re-recorded version, although CD-singles exist. But, of course, I do own those.

My collection: 7" single no. 5826
Found: Recordsale.de, received May 11, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Wonderful life (re-recording)' / 'I can laugh about it now'

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The Mexican boy - Marty Wilde

Marty Wilde is best known for his run of hit singles between 1958 and 1962, but his output from later years is less well known. Most compilation albums focus on those five years, whereas he naturally evolved as a singer and songwriter. This single from 1964 is a great example.

The music of 'The Mexican boy' evokes images of Latin America whereas the story told by the lyric of the song is like a small theatre piece. Marty almost sounds like a crooner despite his relatively young age (he was 25 years old at the time). The single didn't become a hit, but obviously it should have been.

My collection: 7" single no. 5821
Found: Recordsale.de, received May 11, 2017
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'The Mexican boy' / 'Your kind of love'

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Military drums - Hubert Kah

'Erstauflage in rotem vinyl' declares the sleeve of this single, meaning that red vinyl is what you get. And that is of course a great incentive for buying a single. In this case, it was my main incentive because I didn't know the song. I did know, however, that Hubert Kah collaborated with Michael Cretu and Sandra at the time, and that meant that this single would probably be German pop at its best.

And indeed it is. 'Military drums' delivers quickly, and the production is typically Michael Cretu mid-'80s style. No real surprises, then, but a pleasant piece of pop nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 5809
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 8, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Military drums' / 'Explain the world in a word'

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De mono-kini - De Strangers

There have been a few earlier entries about the Belgian band De Strangers, as they have a repertoire partly consisting of covers of Eurovision songs. These covers are interesting because they are so different from the original.

'De mono-kini' is a version of '9 to 5', originally performed by Dolly Parton. But I really bought this single for the B-side.'Mor ni me den deze' - recorded in their local Antwerp dialect as usual - is a version of Bucks Fizz's 'Making your mind up'. I wish I could tell you what the lyric is about, but there is no way of knowing for someone who cannot understand that dialect. The fact that I found this single at a local flea market makes it interesting: how does a Belgian single like this end up near The Hague?

My collection: 7" single no. 5812
Found: Flea market, Voorburg, April 16, 2017
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'De mono-kini (9 to 5)' / 'Mor ni me den deze (Making your mind up)'

Listen to the song