Dschingis Khan - Marco Polo

The band Dschingis Khan had considerable success with their 1979 Eurovision entry Dschingis Khan - even if it seemed a bit tasteless for a German band to go to Israel to sing a song about a mass murderer. But there was also another band who recorded the track. Confusingly, that band was named Marco Polo and all their singles were released in Japan only. It remains unclear whether 'Marco Polo' was a German band, although it seems to be the case. 

The track appears in two versions on this single: in English and in German. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6406
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 June 2021
Cost: ¥290
Tracks: 'Dschingis Khan [English version]' / 'Dschingis Khan (German version)'

E4 - Emiliana Torrini

Eight singles with remixes of Emiliana Torrini songs sounds like a good proposition, but when you expect all remixes to be great, this single will come as a disappointment. At least it did for me. The tracks have strange names and the sounds coming from these grooves are even stranger. 

I wonder why some remixers feel it's okay to create something that has absolutely nothing in common with the original tracks? At least back in the 1970's and 1980's, extended remixes were just that: extended versions of songs you knew and loved. By the end of the 1980's, some remixers started experimenting and this single is perhaps the worst example of such practices. Shame on Antenna Farm and Motion, I say.

My collection: 7" single no. 6404
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 June 2021
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Ambush Emiliana (Antenna Farm remix)' / 'Tracking Misalignment (Motion remix)'

Η Αγαπη Ακομα Ζει - Stavros & Dina

Cyprus was represented by the duo Stavros & Dina, singing 'Η Αγαπη Ακομα Ζει' ('I agapi akoma zi'), a plea for unity and peace on a folk-inspired musical backing. 

Stavros Sideras is a successful singer/songwriter, having been awarded two platinum and three gold albums during her career. Dina (a.k.a. Constantina) is equally successful - her career actually started with this Eurovision appearance but she's released more than 20 albums since then.

My collection: 7" single no. 6405
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 June 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Η Αγαπη Ακομα Ζει' / 'Love is still alive'

Twilight zone / When the lady smiles - Golden Earring

The annual Record Store Day is a feast for collectors and those who sell items on for ridiculous amounts of money on Ebay. But sometimes there are some scraps for casual buyers like me. I found not one, but about twenty copies of this Record Store Day release last week. Apparently a limited edition of 3000 copies on yellow vinyl was more than enough to satisfy everyone in the Netherlands.

I already had the single 'Twilight zone' already - I bought it back in 1982 - but the single 'When the lady smiles', which appears on the other side of this release, was still missing. That single became a classic for its controversial music video, although 'controversial' couldn't apply to a music video like that nowadays. Violence and nudity have become regular ingredients in music videos these days.

My collection: 7" single no. 6398
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 12 June 2021
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Twilight zone' / 'When the lady smiles'

E6 - Emiliana Torrini

When I discovered these singles by Emiliana Torrini I was lucky enough to find an online seller who had five singles of the eight in the series. Unfortunately, one of them went missing, but he still sent me four of them. This number six contains another two remixes from her 1999 album 'Love in the time of science'.

Foehn is the working alias of Bristol-based Debbie Parsons. She's released three albums between 1998 and 2000 and a few self-released tracks more recently. Chasm is Robert Hampson, who to date has only released on 12" single himself.

My collection: 7" single no. 6401
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 June 2021
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Wednesday's child (Foehn remix)' / 'Dead things (Skywave) (Chasm remix)'

E3 - Emiliana Torrini

This single has no indication of track names, or artist name: it just says 'E3' on the sleeve, and that's all. I would never have bought this single in a shop, but in the online world, things are different. I discovered this single, along with seven others, on Discogs as a release by Emiliana Torrini. Apparently these singles were released in October 2000, a year after the release of her remarkable album 'Love in the time of science', which was produced by Tears for Fears' Roland Orzabal.

Each of these singles contain two remixes of tracks from that album. The remixes are sometimes reminiscent of the original tracks, sometimes they can't be recognized. These two fall in the second category.

My collection: 7" single no. 6400
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 June 2021
Cost: 4 pounds
Tracks: 'Wednesday's child (Professor Ludlow & Dr. Smith remix)' / 'Love in the time of science (Stromba remix)'

Anna-Marie Elena - Andy Paul

The singer/songwriter Andy Paul immigrated from Cyprus to the UK in the early Sixties. He was influenced by artists like Elvis, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. He won a talent contest imitating his childhood idol Elvis and got a recording contract on the strength of this. 

In 1984 he was asked to represent Cyprus with the song 'Anna-Marie Elena', a song he wrote himself. The song ended up in 15th place in a field of 19 contestants. The recordings on this single were produced by Pete Waterman, while the English version of this song was translated by Matt Aitken. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6399
Found: Discogs, received 16 June 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Anna-Marie Elena (English version)' / 'Anna-Marie Elena (Greek version)'