Neste barco a vela - Nevada

Portugal was never very successful in the Eurovision Song Contest, even if they managed to send in some beautiful songs through the years. Undoubtedly part of their problem was the language: Portuguese isn't exactly a language that is understood all over Europe, and then the inclination to employ their national fado and saudade as their strategy hasn't worked to their advantage either.

The song 'Neste barco a vela', performed by Nevada in the 1987 edition, is a praise of Portugal itself. The two singers describe their "overfull boat" which apparently has a "childish look" as travelling on a "path of hope". It sounded slightly modern at least, but it didn't help: they finished in 18th place in a field of 22 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 6633
Found: Discogs.com, received 14 February 2022
Cost: €€
Tracks: 'Neste barco a vela' / 'Neste barco a vela (instrumental)'

Love is blue - Al Martino

I remembered (correctly) that I already owned a single by Al Martino; it was his version of Volare, which I bought over 12 years ago. While that was a hit for him in 1970, his version of 'Love is blue', which he released in 1968, was less successful. At least: it didn't chart in the Netherlands, but he still managed to reach number 57 in the US Billboard Hot 100 with it. 

The back of this sleeve is a real gallery of stars: it features an advert for singles by the Dave Clark 5, Ray Charles, the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Back in those days, big stars were all over the place, and they would endure for decades. Compare that to nowadays, and you'll be blue in an instant.

My collection: 7" single no. 6632
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 February 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Love is blue' / 'I'm carrying the world on my shoulder'

Aprite le finestre - Willy Alberti

I have yet to find a copy of 'Aprite le finestre' by Franca Raimondi. She performed the song during the first ever edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, after having won the Italian national final. The single is, of course, extremely rare, being over 65 years old.

In the meantime, I found this EP by Willy Alberti, featuring his version of the song. The EP, simply titled 'Willy Alberti', features four different Italian songs, and it marks the first time Willy recorded a Eurovision song. This EP is as old as the Italian single, but apparently it's much less sought after. I was quite pleased with the state it's in, it's a beautiful copy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6630
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 February 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Aprite le finestre', 'La vita e' un paradiso di bugie' / 'Mia cara Carolina', 'Ricordate Marcellino?'

Nel blu dipinto di blu - Willy Alberti

While I am generally not terribly convinced of the merits of Dutch artists, this single by Willy Alberti was curious enough to get my hands on it. Willy, the father of Willeke who entered the Eurovision Song Contest during the Nineties with a terribly oldfashioned song, had an interesting career, singing lots of Italian standards - and his version of 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' was only one of those singles.

Between 1956 and 1960 he recorded a handful of Italian Eurovision Song Contest songs, and this single was just one of them. It is backed with a cheerful version of 'Nanni (Qua gita a li castelli)', a cheerful song composed by Franco Silvestri.

My collection: 7" single no. 6631
Found: Discogs.com, received 9 February 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' / 'Nanni (Qua gita li castelli)'

For Vår Jord - Karoline Krüger

Karoline Krüger was born in Bergen (Norway) on 13 February 1970 - exactly 52 years ago today. Her first TV appearance was at the age of 11, in a youth show called 'Halvsju'. She got her breakthrough in 1988, first by winning the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix with the song 'For vår jord' ('For our earth'), while still a student at Langhaugen Skole (1986–89). This qualified her for the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 final, held that year in the Irish capital Dublin, where she finished in fifth place. 

Later that same year she released her debut CD, 'Fasetter'. Krüger is married to another familiar Norwegian singer Sigvart Dagsland, and together they have two daughters, Sophie (born in 1998) and Emma (born in 2002). Krüger continued to release albums until very recently, all of them in Norwegian. The Christmas album 'Jul', released in 2013, was recorded together with her husband. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6629
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 February 2022
Cost: €4,5
Tracks: 'For Vår Jord' / 'Hvorfor er det meg'

Uno per tutte - Emilio Pericoli

I already bought versions of 'Uno per tutte' by Marino Marini, Louis Neefs, Tony Renis and Robertino, but the version at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was performed by Emilio Pericoli. His version was considerably more difficult to get hold of. In the end I got this copy directly from Italy.

Pericoli managed to win the San Remo festival with his version, and then went on to the Eurovision Song Contest, where he ended up in third place. I guess a song like this would be less successful in this day and age, simply because the statement 'Uno [male] per tutte [female]' goes against the current #MeToo climate.

My collection: 7" single no. 6540
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 February 2022
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Uno per tutte' / 'Sull'acqua'

Dopo te (Après toi) - Vicky Leandros

Vicky Leandros recorded 'Après toi', the song with which she represented Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 - and won, in German as 'Dann kamst du' and in English as 'Come what may'. It's no surprise, then, that there are more international versions of this song. Recently I managed to buy the Italian version: 'Dopo te'.

There are also versions in Spanish, Greek and even Japanese - who knows, if I can find a copy for a reasonable price, those will also appear on this blog sometime. For now, though, this beautiful version in a pretty well preserved sleeve can be shown here now.

My collection: 7" single no. 6627
Found: Discogs.com, received 3 February 2022
Cost: €7
Tracks: 'Dopo te (Après toi)' / 'Il principe'