Chiquitita (cantado en español) - Abba

I have memories of Abba premiering 'Chiquitita', the song they wrote for Unicef, which was performed at a special concert and broadcast everywhere including the Netherlands. I was only eight years old but somehow the moment stuck in my head. I was never too fond of the song: compared to their earlier songs it was too schmaltzy, too kitsch and too slow for my taste. There was of course one exception: the last few seconds of the song with the impressive piano solo.

Being an Abba fan - and having been one for over forty years now, I am proud to say - I have recently acquired all the original German singles of them. It started when I bought the singles box set and saw all these replicas, and I wanted to have the originals as well. I found most of them for less than a euro, and some of them cost a little more - but I am very satisfied to have them all now. I have started looking into the rarer singles - as long as they are not insanely expensive, like most 'weird' Abba singles tend to be.

This Spanish version of 'Chiquitita' is my most recent Abba acquisition. I couldn't fault the price and it was nice to reacquaint myself with this little beauty. I think I like the Spanish version a little better than the original version, in fact!

My collection: 7" single no. 5964
Found: Discogs.com, received December 7, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Chiquitita (cantado en español)' / 'Lovelight'

Toi - Geraldine

After Abba won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, some countries were quick to adapt to the new times... and others were not. The Netherlands almost copied the style of that song, 'Waterloo', and won the contest.

Other countries weren't so smart and went ahead the way they always had, with boring ballads and incomprehensible lyrics. One of them was Luxembourg's Geraldine Brannigan with the song 'Toi'. She still managed to reach fifth place in a field of 19 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5967
Found: Discogs.com, received December 7, 2018
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Toi' / 'C'est mon secret'

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'