Save your kisses for me / Fernando

So who performed these two cover versions? There's no information on the sleeve or label. All we know is that this single was released in Portugal and there's a decidedly seductive sleeve on this one.

'Save Your Kisses For Me' is, of course, a cover version of Brotherhood Of Man's winning Eurovision song from 1976, whereas 'Fernando' was originally recorded by Abba in the same year (and by Frida from that band a year earlier). The Eurovision cover sounds a lot like the original, the other one... well, not so much. Still, it is an interesting rarity that I ordered together with two Portuguese Eurovision songs.

My collection: 7" single no. 6386
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 May 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Save Your Kisses For Me' / 'Fernando'

Desfolhada Portuguesa - Simone

Simone de Oliveira was born on 11 February 1938 and raised in Lisbon. Her Portuguese mother had black African roots in São Tomé and Príncipe (then a Portuguese territory), and her father was Belgian. She started singing in high school. She first represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965 with 'Sol de inverno'. 'Desfolhada Portuguesa' was her second attempt, in 1969.

The song deals with the love of Portugal - the first occasion on which this was the theme of the Portuguese entry, but far from the last. The song compares the love from the conception of a child to patriotic love. At the close of voting, it had received 4 points, placing 15th in a field of 16 competitors. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6384
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 May 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Desfolhada Portuguesa', 'Cinco quadras cinco pedras' / 'Avé-Maria do Povo'

Shine - Five Star

Like many other acts, Five Star had trouble maintaining their success when the Eighties ended and the Nineties began. House and techno music were ruining the charts and pop stars were not as popular as before, audiences opting for anonymous acts and DJ's instead. Having said that, in the case of Five Star their material was becoming a bit bland too. Having made exciting pop hits in the mid-Eighties and a more aggressive style during their Another Weekend phase, 'Shine' (1991) sounded slightly bland.

As a result, 'Shine' did not chart and the accompanying album didn't either. It took them four years to return into the UK charts, although '(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons' and 'I Give You Give' would only reach number 84 and 83 respectively.

My collection: 7" single no. 6375
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 May 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Shine' / 'Feelings'

Come back to stay - Dickie Rock

Richard Rock, nicknamed 'Dickie' was born in the North Strand, Dublin and raised in Cabra on Dublin's Northside. Between 1963 and 1972 he was one of the frontmen of the Miami Showband. (The two tracks on the B-side of this EP are actually with that band.) 

In 1966 he represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Come Back to Stay'. A number one hit in Ireland, it finished in fourth place in the Contest. Rock went solo in 1973, although still performed occasionally with the Miami Showband after this. He continues to tour in his eighties (as of 2020), after a career spanning almost sixty years. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6382
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 May 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Come back to stay', 'Can't make up my mind' / 'One by one', '(I lost my heart) In San Francisco'

Une chanson c'est une lettre - Sophie

Sophie was born on 9 October 1944 in Dax (France) as Sophie Hecquet. Early in her career, as Jenny Ann, she toured with French rock 'n roll legend Johnny Hallyday. In 1962 she appeared in a short film directed by Claude Lelouch. She started her recording career, as Sophie, in 1963, and appeared in Michel Boisrond's film Cherchez l'idole. She released a succession of singles and EPs for Decca Records in France, as an exponent of the yé-yé style, arranged by either Eddie Vartan or Jacques Loussier. She often recorded French language versions of American or British pop songs. After a break, she resumed a singing career in the early 1970s. In 1975, she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Une chanson c’est une lettre', co-written and arranged by André Popp, finishing in 13th place.

Her career continued after this, working in radio and television, presenting children's programmes, among other things. In the early 2000s she opened the restaurant 'La Maison de Sophie' in Uccle, Belgium. In 2012, she was moved to Paris for an operation on a ruptured aneurysm, but died in hospital there, aged 68, on 28 October 2012.

My collection: 7" single no. 6381
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 May 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Une chanson c'est une lettre' / 'Madame à la faux'

Die Zeiger der Uhr - Margot Eskens

This single has been on my wantlist for some time. It's one of the prettiest cover photos from the Sixties-era Eurovision singles, partly because it ties in so neatly with the title of the song. 'Die Zeiger der Uhr' ('The hands of time') was the German entry to the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest. The song is a ballad, with Eskens singing about the feelings brought on by reading old love letters and seeing photographs from an old relationship. As she explains, however, 'The hands of time only turn / forwards, forwards and never backwards'. The song ended up in tenth place in a field of 18 competitors. 

Eskens' career continued for decades, although her success was limited to German-speaking countries only. In 2005 she celebrated 50 years on stage. She has sold over 40 million records during her long and impressive career.

My collection: 7" single no. 6380
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 May 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Die Zeiger der Uhr' / 'Nur deine Bilder'

Moskow Diskow / Eurovision - Telex

Nothing is more appropriate this month than highlighting that classic Belgian song 'Euro-vision' by Telex. They performed it on the Eurovision stage in The Hague in 1980. I do have the original single, of course, but more recently the track was re-released on a special cover 7" single with the magazine Electronic Sound. That issue - number 74 - is actually a few months old but I only discovered this one recently, and ordered it straight away.

This single presents the English version of 'Euro-vision' together with the track 'Moskow Diskow' on yellow vinyl. The hallucinating sleeve image requires you to look away after a few seconds in order to avoid going crazy - or getting a headache. Other than that, this is a brilliant little collector's item. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6379
Found: Electronic Sound magazine website, received 8 May 2021
Cost: 8 pounds
Tracks: 'Moscow Diskow' / 'Eurovision'