Non andare piu lontano - Claudio Villa

Claudio Villa was born as Claudio Pica on 1 January 1926. From an early age he showed that he had a strong propensity for singing. He recorded his first album in 1946, and starred in his first film in 1952. His first appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest happened in 1962 with the song 'Addio Addio'. This happened after several appearances on the Italian San Remo festival. 

In 1967 he returned to the Eurovision stage with 'Non andare piu lontano'. This appearance was slightly less successful: whereas he reached 9th place in 1962, this time he only made it to 11th place. The slightly pompous song has not made a big impression on Eurovision fans, although the single remains sought after. But perhaps that is because of the sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 6620
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 January 2022
Cost: €7
Tracks: 'Non andare piu lontano', 'Cuore Zingaro' / 'Non dirmi addio', 'Zapattore'

O vento mudou - Eduardo Nascimento

Eduardo Nascimento was 23 years old when he represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. He came from Angola, at that time a Portuguese colony. There were suspicions that his impressive win at the Portuguese national final, the Festival da Cançao, with ‘O Vento Mudou’ was orchestrated by the Portuguese dictator Antonio Salazar. His regime was accused of racism at the time, and so the dictator would have favoured sending Nascimento as the first black male singer to the Contest, just to wipe out such accusations. Nascimento ended up in 12th place in a field of 17 competitors. His song 'O vento mudou' didn't make the history books, but it is a song that ends in a very rousing way. It's definitely worth a listen. 

In 1969, Nascimento retired from the music industry and focused on his other passion: aviation. After training as a commercial airline pilot for TAP Air Portugal, he worked in this business for decades. In 2019 he appeared at the Festival da Canção alongside Cais Sodre Funk Connection, to sing ‘O Vento Mudou’ once more. He passed away, aged 76, at a hospital in Lisbon on 22 November 2019. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6619
Found: Discogs.com, received 28 January 2022
Cost: €10
Tracks: 'O vento mudou', 'A lenda do rochedo' / 'Stop please don't cry', 'Um homem só'

Volare - Bobby Rydell

Bobby Rydell was born as Robert Louis Ridarelli on 26 April 1942. After winning a talent show in 1950 he gained a spot on Paul Whiteman's TV Teen Club, where he remained for several years. Near the end of the Fifties he signed a contract with Cameo Records and enjoyed a handful of hits. 

In 1960, he recorded a cover version of 'Volare', a song we know as 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', performed by Domenico Modugno at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958.  It was a big hit in the USA, peaking at number 4, whereas it also reached number 22 in the UK singles chart. This EP is a Swedish copy, but I don't know if it was a hit in Sweden. Rydell continued to make music until well into the Seventies.

My collection: 7" single no. 6617
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 75 SEK
Tracks: 'Volare', 'I'd do it again' / 'Little bitty girl', 'What'd I say'

Love is blue (L'amour est bleu) - Ted Heath and his music

Received on the same day as the version by Santo & Johnny, here's another cover version of 'L'amour est bleu'. Ted Heath led what is widely considered Britain's greatest post-war big band, recording more than 100 albums, which sold over 20 million copies. They were the most successful band in Britain during the 1950s.

Their version of 'L'amour est bleu'  was released in 1968 - a year after Vicky Leandros' performance at the Eurovision Song Contest. Ted Heath died the year after that, in 1969. His band remained in existence, surviving his passing until 2000.

My collection: 7" single no. 6616
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 30 SEK
Tracks: 'Love is blue (L'amour est bleu)' / 'Cherokee'

Catherine - Romuald

I predicted this last month, and here it is: 'Catherine' by Romuald. I received the Spanish version exactly a month ago, and this EP features the original verion in French. 

Romuald Figuier represented Luxembourg when he performed this song on the Eurovision stage in Spain, and he finished in 11th place. His song was covered by Daniele Vidal - but regular readers of this blog already know that, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 6607
Found: Ebay, received 18 January 2022
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Catherine', 'Seul notre amour n'a pas changé' / 'Meme un enfant', 'Les tambours du vent'

Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej - Malta

'Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej' was the winner of the Swedish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. The duo Malta, consisting of Claes af Geijerstam and Göran Fristorp, ran into a problem when they went on to the international Contest: their name was similar to a country - and although Malta did not participate in 1973, they still had to change their name. They became Nova, and their song was translated into English, and became 'You're summer'. 

This single features the original Swedish version, and to add to the excitement the sleeve has been signed by Claes and Göran. I don't have an official confirmation, but the signatures look authentic enough. The B-side 'Här kommer sol' is a Swedish version of - you guessed it - the Beatles' 'Here comes the sun'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6615
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 30 SEK
Tracks: 'Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej' / 'Här kommer sol'

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'