Fire of love (Pali się)- Tulia

It should come as no surprise that I will be watching the first final of the Eurovision Song Contest tonight, and before I do, I will post this entry on my blog because it is so appropriate. Poland will be represented by Tulia. Joanna Sinkiewicz, Dominika Siepka, Patrycja Nowicka and Tulia Biczak formed Tulia in 2017 and immediately caught the attention of their country by posting a cover version of Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy the silence' on YouTube.

I was pleased to find out that their Eurovision entry was released on 7" vinyl recently, and I ordered it straight away. Upon receiving the disc I found out that it was signed by all four, and the disc is actually on coloured 'splatter' vinyl! It may be one of the most beautiful Eurovision singles I own.

My collection: 7" single no. 6063
Found: eBay, received May 7, 2019
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Fire of love (Pali się)' / 'Pali się'

I giorni dell'arcobaleno - Nicola di Bari

I don't know if anyone has ever wondered if there is a connection between The Doors and the Eurovision Song Contest, but if you have been wondering about this, wonder no more, because this single offers the solution to that particular riddle. Italian singer Nicola di Bari offers not only his 1972 Eurovision entry on this EP, but also cover versions of 'La Bamba' (the Richie Valens song) and 'Light my fire' (The Doors track).

Nicola di Bari was born as Michele Scommegna on September 29, 1940. His first commercial success followed in 1964 when he recorded the song 'Amore ritorna a casa'. Since then he was a regular competitor at the San Remo festival, winning in 1971 and 1972. 'I giorni dell'arcobaleno' ('The days of the rainbow') went on to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 and reached sixth place in a field of 18 competitors.The EP was given to me as a gift during a visit at a fellow Eurovision fan recently. Music connecting people.

My collection: 7" single no. 6063
Found: Den Haag, May 8, 2019
Tracks: 'I giorni dell'arcobaleno', 'La bamba' / 'Era di primavera', 'Dammi fuoco'

Love's theme - Love Unlimited

The female vocal trio Love Unlimited, consisting of Glodean James, Linda James and Diane Taylor, were most famous for providing backing vocals for American singer Barry White. However, they also found success with their own recordings.

'It may be winter outside (but in my heart it's spring)' was written by Barry White and Paul Politi and became a minor hit for Love Unlimited, reaching number 83 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 11 in the UK singles chart. This Belgian contains that song but also the instrumental A-side 'Love's theme', a top 10 hit in the Netherlands in 1974. Younger listeners will remember this melody from OMD's single 'Dream of me'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6060
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, May 4, 2019
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Love's theme' / 'It may be winter outside'

Opstalan - Monica Aspelund

Monica Aspelund represented Finland during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977 with 'Lapponia', a happy song about a region in the nordic country.

Some marketing genius in the Netherlands made possible something you'd never expect to see nowadays: a promotional single featuring a Dutch version of the song to promote Opstalan isolation plates, made of Finnish plywood. Although Monica's pronunciation of Dutch leaves a little to be desired, it is a remarkable feat for a Finnish woman to record a song entirely in Dutch, especially when the lyrics suggest a product is 'strong as our reindeers'.

I was aware of this single and had seen the sleeve pictured online, so when I saw this copy in real life, I immediately grabbed it. The price was worth it: online it is always more expensive, especially when it's in such a good state as this copy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6062
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, May 4, 2019
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Opstalan', 'En Karneval' / 'Jojk', 'So you're having an affair'

De do do do de da da da - The Police

The Police recorded their nonsensical 1980 single 'De do do do de da da da' in two languages other than English: in Japanese and Spanish. It's not easy to find a good copy of this single in mint condition, so I was rather stunned to find one in the centre of Den Haag during today's record fair.

Unusually for an American 7" single this copy has a small centre hole. And it has to be said, hearing Sting sing in Japanese is an interesting experience, although Japanese readers of this blog would have to say whether his pronounciation is good enough. I would also venture that the Japanese version is better than the Spanish one.

My collection: 7" single no.  6059
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, May 4, 2019
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'De do do do de da da da (Japanese)' / 'De do do do de da da da (Spanish)'

Jerusalem - The Divine Comedy

This single features three different bands, but my reason for buying was undoubtedly the band featured on the A-side: The Divine Comedy. I own most of their albums (the earliest one are still hard to find) and most of their singles (again, the earliest ones are hard to find) so this is a nice addition. 'Jerusalem' also appeared on the Divine Comedy's debut mini album 'Europop'.

The other bands on this EP are A House and The Frank And Walters, also signed to the Setanta label. The two tracks on the B-side didn't grab me much - but perhaps you like them.

My collection: 7" single no. 6058
Found: Discogs.com, received May 3, 2019
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Jerusalem' (The Divine Comedy) / 'I lied' (A House), 'Daisy chain' (The Frank And Walters)

Ready boy & girls? - Tears for fears

Strangely enough, 'Ready Boy & Girls?' is the only new release by Tears for fears this decade. This is as much a statement of fact as it is a prediction. A new album by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal has been awaited for the last few years, but nothing seems to be forthcoming. They are performing live, but if we were to believe Curt Smith on Twitter, the partnership is hanging by its fingernails right now - he almost didn't come along on tour this year.

So here it is, a white vinyl 10" vinyl record, featuring three cover versions done in Tears for fears style, released in a limited edition of 3000 for Record Store Day 2014. The songs on this record were originally recorded by Animal Collective, Arcade Fire and Hot Chip respectively. It took me five years to get this record, because Record Store Day releases are infamous for their ridiculous prices and their limited availability - especially since the region where I live has no record shops anymore. But lo and behold, I found a good copy for a reasonable price.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received May 2, 2019
Cost: 9 pounds
Tracks: 'My girls' / 'Ready to start', 'And I was a boy from school'