Ich hol' Dir gerne vom Himmel die Sterne (Abergavenny) - Ilja Richter

Ilja Richter was born on 24 November 1952 in East Berlin. His parents moved to West Berlin a year later, where Ilja was stimulated to became an actor by his mother Eva, a former actress herself. During the 1970's he became the presenter of the German TV show Disco, a music show filmed before a young live audience in which he also performed in sketches.

Before that, however, he also had a career in music. Between 1969 and 1983 he released about a dozen singles, one of which was 'Ich hol' Dir gerne vom Himmel die Sterne'. You wouldn't guess it, but it's a German version of Marty Wilde's 'Abergavenny'. The song was recorded together with the orchestra of Roberto Delgado, a famous German bandleader, arranger and composer. It's an interesting take on a classic song.

My collection: 7" single no. 6498
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 November 2021
Cost: €8
Tracks: 'Ich hol' Dir gerne vom Himmel die Sterne (Abergavenny)' / 'Da da, njet njet njet'

Ljubim te pesmama - Extra Nena

While Yugoslavia was being torn apart in a huge and violent civil war, they still managed to send a representative to the Eurovision Song Contest. Extra Nena would be the country's last participation as a union (although it was already reduced to Serbia and Montenegro): from 1993 onwards the various ex-Yugoslavian countries would participate separately (and exchange points for some reason).

Extra Nena, real name Snežana Berić, performed 'Ljubim te pesmama' in Serbian and managed to collect 44 points, placing 13th in a field of 23 competitors. This single features the French version on the other side; English and Italian versions also exist.

My collection: 7" single no. 6555
Found: Ebay, received 3 December 2021
Tracks: 'Ljubim te pesmama' / 'Je t'embrasse par mes chansons'

Hajde da ludujemo - Tajči

This 7" single is the companion piece to the 12" single 'Let's go crazy', which I bought just three months ago. It features two tracks that can't be found on that one, i.e. the original versions of 'Hajde da ludujemo' and 'Let's go crazy'. 

It isn't easy to find a copy of this single, but there are some sellers online who offer it. When they do, it isn't usually cheap - but I managed to get a good deal for this and seven other discs. And so, here it goes... Let's go crazy!

My collection: 7" single no. 6554
Found: Ebay, received 3 December 2021
Tracks: 'Hajde da ludujemo' / 'Let's go crazy'

No time to die - Billie Eilish

One 7" single of 'No time to die' was not enough. Coinciding with the cinema release (finally, after almost two years!) of the latest James Bond movie and the strange event that is called Black Friday came this limited release of 'No time to die'. Billie Eilish mumbles her way through two alternative versions of her James Bond song: one recorded live at the Brit Awards earlier this year, and the other is the 'original demo'. 

It's remarkable how this girl never manages to pronounce any words clearly, as if she's afraid to let us hear the lyrics of her songs. The sleeve follows her lead: there is almost no contrast. The track names are printed dark grey on black, and this is what we have to work with. What on earth were they thinking? Well, at least here's another addition to my subcollection of James Bond themes.

My collection: 7" single no. 6553
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 1 December 2021
Cost: -
Tracks: 'No time to die (live at the Brit awards)' / 'No time to die (original demo)'

From Russia with love - Matt Monro

'From Russia with love' is one of the great forgotten Bond themes, performed in 1963 by Matt Monro. It was named after the second James Bond movie, based on Ian Fleming's Cold War thriller. I have always loved the old Bond theme songs, because they were so beautifully orchestrated and sung by classic artists.

I rediscovered this song, actually, when it was performed live by Colin Vearncombe a.k.a. Black, not long before his sudden and untimely death in 2016. (One of these performances can be enjoyed on YouTube.) 

It certainly isn't easy to get hold of all those early Bond songs, but I came across this pristine copy and it was an opportunity I couldn't pass on.

My collection: 7" single no. 6552
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 1 December 2021
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'From Russia with love' / 'Here and now'

Emotional rescue - The Rolling Stones

The Bee Gees did it, Prince would also do it, and Mick Jagger tried his hand at it too: singing in falsetto. The song is notable as one of the earliest songs by the group to show the growing rift between Jagger and Richards. Although Richards plays guitar and added backing vocals towards the end of this track, he is believed to have disliked the disco-like direction in which Jagger was trying to take the band, although this may have been exaggerated by the media.

Jagger said the song was about "a girl who's in some sort of manhood problems", not that she was going crazy but she's "just a little bit screwed up and he wants to be the one to help her out". The song became a fairly big hit for the Stones, peaking at number 3 in the US Billboard Hot 100, number 9 in the UK singles chart and number 8 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 6551
Found: 33|45 Records, Den Haag, 1 December 2021
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Emotional rescue' / 'Down in the hole'

De speeldoos - De Selvera's

The Selvera's were a Dutch duo from Weert that repeatedly reached the top of the Dutch charts in the Fifties and Sixties and sold more records than many rock and roll artists. The Selvera's consisted of the sisters Mieke (1937-2000) and Selma Jansen (1931-2019). 

In 1963 they released this cover version of the song 'Speeldoos', originally performed by Annie Palmen. Unlike previous singles 'Twee reebruine ogen' and 'De postkoets', which were immensely popular in 1956 and 1957 respectively, this single failed to capture the imagination of the record buying public. Mieke turned to acting quite quickly after this release, Selma tried to continue the Selvera's with other partners but this didn't reverse the career downturn. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6550
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'De speeldoos' / 'Dans met mij'