Främling - Carola Haggkvist

Although I realise that I already had the A-side track of this single on the B-side of 'Je ogen hebben geen geheimen' by Carola, I couldn't resist buying the original Swedish release of her 1983 Eurovision Song Contest entry. With a different sleeve and the original Swedish version of 'Life' (on the B-side of 'Love isn't love') the set is now complete. Well, almost, because there is also the multi-language 12" version, which I am still looking for.

The song was a good success in various countries, thanks to the English (and Dutch!) version, but the original Swedish version remains the most charming one. Of course, Carola went on to win Eurovision by the end of the decade - but with a much less charming song.

My collection: 7" single no. 6284
Found: Discogs.com, received May 23, 2020
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Främling' / 'Liv'

Lost in your love - John Paul Young

John Paul Young will forever be remembered for that other single, 'Love is in the air', but that isn't the only single he ever released. In fact, between 1975 and 1983 he released ten studio albums and a multitude of singles.

'Lost in your love' was taken from the same album as 'Love is in the air', which explains why it sounds so similar. The single became a minor hit in the USA, Austria and the Netherlands only. The real pull of this particular single is that it is pressed on gold vinyl. Well.... gold in this case means a sort of oily brown, but it's still coloured vinyl.

My collection: 7" single 6283
Found: Discogs.com, received May 14, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Lost in your love' / 'Standing in the rain'

Summer kisses winter tears - Julee Cruise

Julee Cruise became a big star for a moment when she rode the wave of the phenomenon that was 'Twin Peaks' in the early 1990's. Her music was produced by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti, giving the single 'Falling' the same mysterious atmosphere as the legendary TV series. When the series ended, Cruise had already been forgotten by most people.

But she still released one more interesting single: 'Summer kisses winter tears' was recorded for the motion picture 'Until the end of the world' and still produced by Lynch and Badalamenti. It's a short but engaging track, which I've had on CD for decades now. I was glad to find this 7" vinyl version.

My collection: 7" single no. 6282
Found: Discogs.com, received May 14, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Summer kisses winter tears' / 'Falling'

Popcorn - Tom Spencer

Tom Spencer was one of many people who recorded a cover version of the Gershon Kingsley tune 'Popcorn', but he is the only one - as far as I know at least - who can claim to have recorded the 'Deutsche Originalversion', in other words: the German original version. Which in itself seems like a lie, because the original version of 'Popcorn' was certainly not German.

As for Tom Spencer, he is an unknown artist who released only this single and a single called 'Ghostrider (Riders in the sky)', both in 1972.

My collection: 7" single no. 6281
Found: Discogs.com, received May 12, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Popcorn' / 'Moog March'

Tattoo - Mike Oldfield

I guess I should save this single for December because of its seasonal B-side, but heck, this is Mike Oldfield and this is Tubular Bells, so I couldn't really wait that long. 'Tattoo' was released in 1992 and charted in - you guessed it - December of that year, peaking at number 33 in the UK singles chart.

It was one of three single releases taken from his album 'Tubular Bells II', a different take on his classic 1970's album. Years later, he would also make 'Millennium Bells' and 'Tubular Bells III', and we're all still waiting for 'Tubular Bells IV', which is rumoured to be an interactive thing. We can't wait.

My collection: 7" single no. 6280
Found: Discogs.com, received May 12, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Tattoo (edit)' / 'Silent night'

Ka' du se hvad jeg sa'? - Kirsten & Søren

After Det' lige det in 1984 and Sku' du' spørg fra no'en? in 1985, Kirsten & Søren returned to the Eurovision stage in 1988 with 'Ka' du se hvad jeg sa'?', another breezy Danish pop tune in their all too familiar style. It was their most successful attempt, finishing in third place.

I was quite surprised to find that I did have the single Who is wrong and who's right, featuring both the English and French versions, but the original Danish version was still lacking. I was lucky to find this single with the same dealer who was selling Brandenburger Tor, which eased the pain of having to shell out postage from Finland a little.

My collection: 7" single no. 6279
Found: Discogs.com, received April 23, 2020
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Ka' du se hvad jeg sa'?' / 'Lullaby (Sang til Kaj)'

Brandenburger Tor - Ketil Stokkans Pop Band

The Eurovision Song Contest suffered a bit after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Suddenly songs about freedom and happiness ran rampant, and every country wanted to profit from the glee that suddenly engulfed Europe. This is how we got 'Keine Mauern mehr', 'Frei zu leben' and the terrible winner of 1990, 'Insieme'.

Even Norway went along: they sent in Ketil Stokkan with the shameless song, dedicated to that famous Norwegian landmark 'Brandenburger Tor'. But at least, this was a rather funny song. At least, it sounded funny because Norwegian is hard to understand, so the only surviving lyric for foreign ears was that very title. It didn't help matters much: at the close of voting, Ketil ended up in a shared last place in a field of 22 competitors. The single, meanwhile, is incredibly rare, so I was glad to get my hands on a copy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6278
Found: Discogs.com, received April 23, 2020
Tracks: 'Brandenburger Tor (Norsk version)' / 'Brandenburger Tor (English version)'