Oliver - Anita Skorgan

Norway didn't have the best track record in Eurovision in the Seventies and early Eighties. A lot of that had to do with the artists that seemed to reappear almost every year: Jahn Teigen and Anita Skorgan. They usually ended up somewhere near the bottom of the list, even if their song were, in hindsight, not really that bad.

This contemporary dance track 'Oliver', for instance, has aged well. It is, of course, certainly of its time, but it sounds like a lot of music that was popular at that time. However, at the close of voting, it had received 57 points, placing 11th in a field of 19 competitors. Anita would appear on stage again in 1981, 1982 and 1983, once in a duet with Jahn, and the other two times as a backing singer.

My collection: 7" single no. 6431
Found: Discogs.com, received 11 August 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Oliver' / 'Together'

The Mike Oldfield EP - Mike Oldfield

When Mike Oldfield went on tour in Germany in 1982 (remember tours?) this limited edition EP was released. It is an interesting collection of songs, because it brings together the A- and B-sides of the singles 'Mistake' and 'Family Man', which were released separately in the same year. 

The tour took Mike all through Western Germany on 26 dates between 30 September and 29 October 1982. This we learn from the back cover, where all the albums he'd released up until then were shown as well. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6429
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 7 August 2021
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Mistake', '(Waldberg) The Peak' / 'Family Man', 'Mount Teide'

Romantica - Achille Togliani

If the title 'Romantica' seems familiar, it's because it was performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 by Renato Rascel. This cover version by Achille Togliani, an Italian singer and actor who released an enormous amount of singles between 1950 and 1966. He also participated in the Italian San Remo festival - the festival that usually delivered the artist who would represent Italy on the Eurovision Song Contest. 

I'm not in the habit of buying every cover version of every Eurovision song - it would take a while and lots of money to do that - but when I come across one, for instance at a record fair, I can't resist.

My collection: 7" single no. 6425
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 7 August 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Romantica' / 'Perderti'

Bold as brass - Split Enz

About 25 years ago I had a friend with whom I shared the same sense of appreciation for certain kinds of music. During one of my visits she played me the album 'Dizrythmia' by Split Enz. Most of that album went past me, but the opening track 'Bold as brass' certainly made an impression. So much so that I contemplated buying that LP a couple of times over the past decades.

Imagine my surprise when I suddenly saw this single at a record fair recently. (Yes, a real record fair! We haven't had one of those in a long time either...) Obviously I bought this single. And obviously I never saw it before - nor did I ever think this track was released as a single, for some reason. It's great to have this now. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6428
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 7 August 2021
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Bold as brass' / 'The woman who loves you'

Made in Spain (La chica que yo quiero) - La decada prodigiosa

It's been a long time since I last posted a 12" single on this blog, so I am happy that I have a good find right now. It's the extended remix of Spain's 1988 Eurovision entry by La decada prodigiosa, 'Made in Spain (La chica que yo quiero)'. For the longest time I didn't know there was an extended version of this song, but here it is.

Perhaps the funniest aspect of this song is that the group consistently sings 'Made in Espain', which is logical from a Spanish point of view, but it sounds a bit strange to those of us who are more acquainted with the English language. This extended version is a delightful Eighties-style remix: adding instrumental parts instead of replacing almost everything but the vocals. 

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 August 2021
Cost: 7,5 euro
Tracks: 'Made in Spain (La chica que yo quiero) [extended version]' / 'Sí, sí, mañana'

Don't ever cry - Put

When Yugoslavia fell apart in a wave of violence, the separate provinces were quick to enter into Eurovision separately. In 1992, Yugoslavia was still there (represented by Extra Nena), a year later we had Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia all competing side by side.

Croatia was represented by Put, a group put together by Vivien Galletta, Angela Jeličić, Melita Sedić, Naim Ajra, Petar Cucak Migliaccio and Olja Desic.Their song 'Don't ever cry' was a rather sentimental tune, pleading for peace and ending with the line 'Don't ever cry, my Croatian sky'. It was a kind of nationalism that hadn't really been seen on the Eurovision stage before - but several Eastern European countries would follow in these footsteps in the following years and decades. In the English version, the line in the chorus suddenly changes from 'Don't ever cry' to 'Why should we cry?'. I wonder why.

My collection: 7" single no. 6423
Found: Bea Records, received 3 August 2021
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Don't ever cry (original version)' / 'Don't ever cry (English version)'

Hot summer - Prince

The prolific Prince has recorded so much music during his lifetime that we can probably expect new albums to appear regularly for decades to come. Not everything will be great, but it's usually enjoyable nonetheless.

This single was released in Germany with the August issue of Rolling Stone magazine, and I happened to come across it on the last day of my holiday there, in Cologne. A cover single is usually a good reason to buy a magazine, and the fact that this is a 'worldwide exclusive' made it even more attractive. Fortunately, 'Hot summer' is a nice song, taken from the new album 'Welcome 2 America', which was released a week ago. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6422
Found: Köln Hbf, 28 July 2021
Cost: 9,90 euro (with the magazine 'Rolling Stone')
Tracks: 'Hot summer' / 'The bird (live)'