Looking for clues - Robert Palmer

I bought Robert Palmer's single 'Looking for clues' back in 1989 in London. Obviously this was the UK pressing, which was an ordinary 7" single. While ordering some singles online I found this version of the single, released in the Netherlands on white vinyl. I can never resist a little coloured vinyl single, and so I just chucked it in my virtual shopping cart.

Robert Palmer is perhaps best known for his later singles, but to me, 'Looking for clues' is one of his best singles.

My collection: 7" single no. 6589
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 January 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Looking for clues' / 'Good care of you'

Quand tu reviendras - Claude Lombard

Claude Lombard was born in Brussels on 25 February 1945. She studied at INSAS, a college of film, theatre and television studies in Brussels. She learned to play piano and guitar, and began composing music. 

In 1968, she represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Quand tu reviendras'. The song finished in seventh place in a field of 17 competitors.

In the Seventies, she moved to France and enjoyed a successful career as a musical voice-over artist for films and television series. She passed away on 20 September 2021.

My collection: 7" single no. 6588
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 January 2022
Cost: €8
Tracks: 'Quand tu reviendras', 'Le temps ça s'invente' / 'Les petits couteaux' *, 'Pas moi' * (* avec Freddy Zegers)

Tubular bells - 101 strings

I found some information about 101 strings. According to Discogs: depending on the selections and arrangements, the orchestra is composed of 128 to 141 players. Of these, there are 30 first violins, 26 second violins, 20 violas, 18 cellos and 7 string basses. The rest may be woodwinds, brass or percussion. Performances include Broadway musical scores, mood music, travel impressions, standard popular songs from films scores and classics.

No doubt, 'Tubular bells' appeared on the radar of this act when the Mike Oldfield composition appeared on the soundtrack of the movie 'The Exorcist'. In fact, the sleeve of this single says so. It is an interesting version of the track, and a nice little addition to my sub-collection of 'Tubular bells' cover versions.

My collection: 7" single no. 6587
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 January 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Tubular bells' / 'Torna sunda'

Julie - Tommy Solo

The song 'Julie' by Daniel was very popular after the performance at the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest. The song became a hit all over Europe; in the Netherlands the single reached number 3. Perhaps this was what prompted Dutch singer Tommy Solo to record a cover version of the song, with new lyrics in Dutch. 

Tommy Solo's real name is Jur Eckhardt. He was born in Groningen ìn 1949. 'Julie' was the only single he released as Tommy Solo; further releases happened under other pseudonyms, like Tutti Frutti and Tommy Toeter. None of his releases were ever a hit. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6586
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 January 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Julie' / 'Ik ben een rocker'

Catherine (en español) - Romuald

Previous entries about Romuald already showed you he was a regular at the Eurovision Song Contest, appearing in 1964 with 'Où sont-elles passées' and in 1974 with 'Celui qui reste et celui qui s'en va'. As I write this, the only one that's missing is 'Catherine' from 1969, but it is currently on its way to me and I should receive it quite soon.

Meanwhile, I recently bought the Spanish version of 'Catherine', which was released in 1969 as well. Besides the French and this Spanish version, Romuald also recorded 'Caterina', an Italian version of this song, and 'Catherine, Catherine', a German version. Unfortunately those singles are prohibitively expensive, so they won't appear on this blog anytime soon.

My collection: 7" single no. 6585
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Catherine (en español)' / 'Cada vez (en español)'

Als het weer lente is - Lize Marke

Lize Marke was born as Liliane Couck in Wemmel (Belgium) on 1 December 1936. She started singing professionally in 1962, and first participated in the Belgian Eurovision selection in 1963, when she performed two songs, 'Luister naar de wind' and 'Saksisch porselein', but she didn't win. Two years later, she sung all six songs in the national selection, and 'Als het weer lente is' ('When it's spring again') was chosen by jury vote as the Belgian representative in the tenth Eurovision Song Contest, held on 20 March 1965 in Naples, Italy.

The song failed to score, however, and finished in joint last place with Finland, Germany and Spain in a field of 18 competitors. It was Belgium's second "nul pointer", following Fud Leclerc's zero in 1962. In 1965, Marke fronted her own television show on Belgian channel BRT. After this, her career went quieter, although she continued to release records and perform live until the mid-Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 6584
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 January 2022
Cost: €6
Tracks: 'Als het weer lente is' / 'Jij alleen'

Honeycomb - Marty Wilde

This blog has never featured a 78rpm disc before. But I've had a few of these for some years now, and I think it's only right to include the one that has two tracks on it that I don't actually have on 7" vinyl. This is 'Honeycomb', released by Marty Wilde in 1957. It was his debut release, and a version of an American number 1 hit by Jimmie Rodgers. The B-side, 'Wild cat', was written by Lionel Bart and Marty himself.

'Honeycomb' failed to chart, just like the two subsequent singles, 'Love bug crawl' and 'Oh-oh, I'm falling in love again'. It wasn't until his fourth single, 'Endless sleep', that Marty's career would take off - he would be in the UK singles charts for five consecutive years.

My collection: 78rpm disc [unnumbered]
Found: Ebay
Cost: €10
Tracks: 'Honeycomb' / 'Wild cat'