12th House - Delegation

Buying singles online goes a little bit different than in a real shop. Often you search for songs or artist you already know. In this case, I was searching for singles that were produced by Tony Mansfield - one of my favourite producers - and I came across this interesting little disc.

I knew the song '12th house' as a track by New Musik. It was released as a B-side to their single 'All You Need Is Love'. However, the track was also recorded by a band called Delegation. It turns out their version was actually first released in 1980 - a year before the New Musik version. The track was written - and in the case of Delegation, not produced - by Tony Mansfield. I ordered this single as a matter of interest and I was not disappointed. It's a nice take on a song that I am very familiar with. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6614
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 29 SEK
Tracks: '12th house' / 'Singing'

La belle amour - Paule Desjardins

This EP presents four songs by Paule Desjardins, who represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 with 'La belle amour'. It's interesting how little is known about this song. It was composed by Guy Lafarge (5 May 1904 - 17 December 1990) and written by Francis Carco (3 July 1886 - 26 May 1958). 

The song finished in second place, behind Corry Brokken's 'Net als toen', the first time the Netherlands took home the prize. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6618
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 100 SEK
Tracks: 'La chanson de Lima', 'La belle amour' /  'Amour perdu', 'Dis-moi quelque chose de gentil'

Love is blue - Santo & Johnny

Vicky Leandros participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'L'amour est bleu' in 1967. Despite the fact that the song didn't win, a whole load of cover versions of the song exists, including the most famous one - an instrumental version by Paul Mauriat and his Orchestra.

This single also presents an instrumental version, but it has to be said that the sleeve of this single is a lot more attractive than the Paul Mauriat one. The designers opted for a bodypainted model, with all the lettering and design that was so popular around that time. Santo & Johnny were an American duo from Brooklyn, New York, composed of brothers Santo Farina (born on 24 October 1937) and Johnny Farina (born on 30 April 1941). They continued to release albums and singles until the end of the Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 6612
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Love is blue' / 'Hello goodbye'

April, april - Lill-Babs

Lill-Babs represented Sweden in the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'April, april'. It had been performed by Siw Malmkvist and Gunnar Wiklund in the national final, but Lill-Babs was selected to perform the song in Cannes. The song was not particularly successful: it finished in 14th place in a field of 16 competitors. 

Lill-Babs continued her career throughout the following decades. A two-part documentary was broadcast on Swedish TV4 in 2017 called 'Lill-Bas, Leva livet' ('Lill-Babs, to live life'), which presented her life and career. She died on 3 April 2018 after suffering from cancer and heart failure.

My collection: 7" single no. 6613
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 100 SEK
Tracks: 'April april', 'Hem hem till lilla järvsö' / 'Gummi-boll', 'Fröken Blyg'

Gut dass es Freunde gibt - Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard recorded both of his Eurovision songs in German. A couple of years ago I already posted 'Man gratuliert mir', the German version of 'Congratulations', and now I've found a copy of the German version of 'Power to all our friends': 'Gut dass es Freunde gibt' ('Good that there are friends'). And it's not just any copy of this single: it looks like it was made just a few weeks ago. Never has a single from almost 50 years ago looked and sounded so good.

Richard recorded several songs in German in his early career. He even released two German LPs: 1969’s 'Here ist Cliff' ('Here is Cliff') and 1971’s 'Ich träume deine Träume' ('I’m dreaming your dreams'). 

My collection: 7" single no. 6611
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: €6
Tracks: 'Gut dass es Freunde gibt' / 'Ein Spiel ohne Grenzen'

Samedi, Dimanche et fetes - Carene Cheryl

Isabelle Morizet became known in the mid-Seventies as Carene Cheryl, singing romantic songs. When the years progressed she abandoned this pseudonym, and started calling herself Karen Cheryl, recording disco-oriented material. Using her real name she started presenting programmes on the French national radio stations and on French TV. 

Back in 1976, she was quick to realize the potential of Abba's 'Mamma Mia'. She recorded a version of the song and stuck it on the B-side of this single, 'Samedi, Dimanche et fetes', which managed to chart in Belgium, peaking at number 23. Whether it was a hit in France remains unknown to me.

My collection: 7" single no. 6606
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 January 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Samedi, Dimanche et fetes' / 'Oh! Mama Mia'

Volare - Gipsy Kings

Domenico Modugno's 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' (usually shortened to 'Volare') has been recorded by scores of artists, one cover version more successful than the other. Having heard quite a few versions by now, I would put this version by the Gipsy Kings in the 'more successful' category. 

The Gipsy Kings were perhaps best known for their hit 'Bamboleo' in 1987. The song got a silver award in the UK and became a hit all over Europe. In 1990 they recorded 'Volare' for the film 'Vanille fraise', a French film by Gerard Oury. This is also mentioned on the cover of this single. The single reached number 16 in the French singles chart and number 30 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 6605
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 January 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Volare' / 'Come prima'