Winds of chance - Stephanie

Stéphanie Marie Elisabeth Grimaldi, or princess Stephanie of Monaco as she is better known is a regular appearance on this blog, because she had a nice little music career in the second half of the 1980's and the beginning of the 1990's. Her last single 'You don't die from love' was featured here in 2016, and now I have found the last missing single, the equally ill-fated 'Winds of chance'.

Produced by Michael Verdick and Ron Bloom, this song reveals the rather thin voice of the princess, and some auto-mutant drum beats that do little to improve the song. Certainly not her best effort.

My collection: 7" single no. 6244
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, January 24, 2020
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Winds of chance' / 'Winds of chance (instrumental)'

T'en vas pas - Esther Ofarim

Exactly eight months after my last visit to Antwerp's Chelsea Records, I went there again. It's an amazing record store, stacked up to the ceilings with boxes of singles and albums. As usual, I checked out the Eurovision boxes first, and to my delight I found a copy of Esther Ofarim's 'T'en vas pas' within the first two minutes.

Almost three hours later, when the time had come to check out, the shop owner looked at the single and said this was a lovely single, and hard to find. I agreed - I actually bought one online a few months ago but although the sleeve was lovely it contained the wrong single ('Non je regrette rien' by Edith Piaf, to be exact). 'A rewarding visit then', he concluded. And I couldn't agree more.

Ofarim represented Switzerland in 1963 with this song. At the close of the voting, the song had received 40 points, placing 2nd in a field of 16 competitors. The winner that year? 'Dansevise' - admittedly a more legendary Eurovision song.

My collection: 7" single no. 6243
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, January 24, 2020
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'T'en vas pas' / 'La cité de mon coeur'

Dear Mr. Jones - Tommy Körberg

Back in 2014, I bought 'Judy min vän' by Tommy Körberg. I already wrote back then that there was also an English version of the single. It took me some time, but I have finally bought a copy of that one.

Featuring an entirely different photograph, but a similar layout, this single was released in Sweden. On the back of the sleeve we learn that Tom has released an album featuring cover versions of 'Jezamine' (the amazing Marty Wilde composition) and 'Nights in white satin'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6242
Found: Discogs.com, received January 22, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Dear mr. Jones' / 'Bird you must fly'

Det blir alltid värre framat natten - Björn Skifs

Two months ago, I bought 'When the night comes', the English version of 'Det blir alltid värre framat natten'. It was only a matter of time, of course, until I would get the original Swedish version as well - so here it is.

As you can see, the sleeve is virtually the same as the English version, however this single is made in Sweden and not in Germany like the other one. I ordered this single along with a few others from Norway.

My collection: 7" single no. 6241
Found: Discogs.com, received January 22, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Det blir alltid värre framat natten' / 'Part time love'

Dag efter dag - Chips

I already owned 'Day after day', the English version of this single, but as a Eurovision collector it was worth picking up the original Swedish version of the single as well. This single presents the original Swedish version 'Dag efter dag' along with a B-side called 'Här kommer solen' ('Here comes the sun'), which is not, as you might expect, a cover of the Beatles song.

Chips was founded by Kikki Danielsson and Lasse Holm in 1979.In 1980 they released their self-titled debut album, followed by 'Having a party' in 1982. This album included the two versions of 'Dag efter dag': in English and in Swedish. That album sold over 100.000 copies in Sweden. They toured the northern parts of Europe and had a successful 1982. However, the group split in 1983, due to limited success outside Sweden and Norway, and also because both members had solo careers.

My collection: 7" single no. 6239
Found: Discogs.com, received January 22, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Dag efter dag' / 'Här kommer solen'

I wanna change the score - Nik Kershaw & Tony Banks

Tony Banks is best known as founding member of the rock band Genesis. However, he is also a prolific solo artist, releasing six solo albums that range through progressive rock, pop, and classical music.

In 1991, he released his third solo album called 'Still'. On the album he collaborated with Fish from Marillion on one track, and with Nik Kershaw on two tracks. The song 'I wanna change the score' was released as a single from the album. Despite a fairly heavy promotional effort by Giant Records, the album and the single failed to sell well.

My collection: 7" single no.  6238
Found: Discogs.com, received January 22, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'I wanna change the score' / 'Hero for an hour'

Arabesque / Orphans - Coldplay

Released on October 24, 2019, 'Arabesque' and 'Orphans' are two tracks from Coldplay's eighth studio album 'Everyday life', released a month later. The album was divided in a 'sunrise' and 'sunset' part, and the single follows that pattern: 'Arabesque' is taken from the former and 'Orphans' from the latter.

The single wasn't the big hit that it might have been suspected to be: it only peaked at number 27 in the UK singles chart. It is a result, perhaps, of being labelled 'uncool' by many over recent years. Which is odd, because at the beginning of this century Coldplay was deemed to be the best invention since sliced bread. So you see, celebrity is a fleeting thing. Well, at least the band still knows how to make great music.

My collection: 7" single no. 6237
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received January 21, 2020
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Arabesque' / 'Orphans'