Popcorn festival - Mat Camison

I have a lot of versions of the immortal Gershon Kingsley composition 'Popcorn', but there are very few with lyrics as it was originally an instrumental track. Mat Camison recorded this version in 1974 and it features French lyrics. Not that they make any sense: apparently it's all about girls and guys hanging out at the Woodstock festival and cops who apparently don't like the music.

I found this single by accident, browsing the stock of one of those online vendors you have to check out these days because there are no record stores anymore. It's hard to find anything by accident unless, like me, you have lots of weird little sub-collections in your record collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 5966
Found: Discogs.com, received December 7, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Popcorn festival' / 'Ma fleur d'amour'

You're hurting me - Dora

In 1986, Portugal was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest by Dora Maria Reis Dias de Jesus (born 1966), simply called Dora for the occasion. She sang the song 'Não sejas mau para mim', written by Guilherme Inês, Zé Da Ponte and Luís Manuel de Oliveira Fernandes. The song finished in 14th place in a field of 20 competitors.

For this single release, the song was translated by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey and called 'You're hurting me'. It was released in several European countries but without any chart success.

My collection: 7" single no. 5962
Found: Discogs.com, received December 7, 2018
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'You're hurting me' / 'This will be the last time'

That's what friends are for - Swarbrigg

When you listen to 'That's what friends are for', you hear it's a rather quaint, slightly boring song. You certainly wouldn't expect a band to win a song contest with it.

Thomas and John James Swarbrigg, two Irish music promoters, still got on with it and took it to the Eurovision Song Contest stage in 1975. Their performance was notable for the fact that the singers wore identical electric blue suits, taking full advantage of the increasing trend towards bright and eye-catching costumes. At the close of voting, they ended up in ninth place in a field of 19 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5960
Found: Discogs.com, received November 30, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'That's what friends are for' / 'Love is'

Send me an angel 88 version - Real Life

The Australian band Real Life became one of the shooting stars of the year 1984 when they released 'Send me an angel'. In Germany they reached number 1 in the singles charts, and stayed there for four weeks.

In 1988, the band released a remixed version of the track. The single appeared on translucent red vinyl, making it more interesting for the record buying public. Still, this single didn't chart in Germany. The remix did fairly well in Australia and the USA, reaching number 51 and 26 respectively.

My collection: 7" single no. 5953
Found: Discogs.com, received November 14, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Send me an angel 88 version' / 'Send me an angel (Cloud nine mix)'

Ne vois-tu pas? - Madeleine Pascal

Born in Paris in 1946, Madeleine Pascal started to sing when she was just 13 years old. Her professional singing career was short-lived: she released five EP's in 1965 and 1966, and then disappeared from the scene.

In the middle of all that was her appearance at the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, representing Switzerland with 'Ne vois-tu pas?', a song written by Pierre Brenner and Roland Schweizer. The song ended up in sixth place.

My collection: 7" single no. 5906
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Ne vois-tu pas?', 'François' / 'Aux amoureux du monde', 'Le jour ou il va m'embrasser'

Ce soir je t'attendrais - Michèle Torr

The 1977 entry Une petite Française by Michèle Torr was not her first appearance on the Eurovision Song Contest stage. She first appeared in the 1966 edition, and while she represented Monaco in 1977, she appeared in the 1966 edition for Luxembourg.

The song was 'Ce soir je t'attendrais', composed by Bernard Kesslair and Jacques Chaumelle. At the close of voting, it had received 7 points, placing 10th in a field of 18. Torr recorded the song in French, German, English, Spanish and Italian. On this EP, the original French version appears. I actually bought this single in April, but it disappeared. I found it last week under my desk, where it has laid for six months. Which only goes to show that I sometimes make a mess in my room...

My collection: 7" single no. 5905
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 14, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Ce soir je t'attendrais', 'Notre amour n'est pas mort' / 'J'ai brule ta lettre', 'Je t'aime tant'

No trams to Lime Street - Marty Wilde

'No trams to Lime Street' is a British television play, written by the Welsh playwright Alun Owen. It was originally transmitted in 1959 on ITV in the UK. In 1965, the play was remade by the BBC and broadcast on 21 March 1965. Both these versions have been lost.The play was remade for television a second time, again by the BBC, in 1970. Broadcast on March 18, 1970, it included songs and music by Marty Wilde and Ronnie Scott. This version survives as a black and white telerecording, although it was made in colour.

The title track, 'No trams to Lime Street' was released as a single, with a Wilde composition on the B-side: 'A prelude to old age'. If you don't like the whimsical A-side, you are sure to love the more introspective, melancholical B-side. It's a thing of beauty.

My collection: 7" single no. 5954
Found: Discogs.com, recieved November 20, 2018
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'No trams to Lime Street' / 'A prelude to old age'