Come summer - Fra Lippo Lippi

Some would say that this blog focuses too much on Eurovision lately, and they would be right of course. So it is nice to venture out in pop land - even if the pop music in this case comes from Norway. I have a fairly complete Fra Lippo Lippi collection, I think, but whereas I have the 12" single of 'Come summer', I never quite managed to find the 7" single of that title. Fortunately I finally caught one recently. The artwork on the single sleeve is equally beautiful but it's funny that it contains a lot less of the lyrics of the song. 

'Come summer' is actually one of the strongest tracks on their album 'Songs', from which the hit 'Shouldn't have to be like that' was taken. That song caused me to find out more about the band, and made me buy more of their singles and albums. It still amazes me that they never managed to get more hits over here in Europe, whereas they became very famous in Asia. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6645
Found: Discogs.com, received 1 March 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Come summer' / 'Even tall trees bend (original version)'

The eve of the war - Jeff Wayne

You wouldn't expect it when you see the sleeve (pictured here), but this is actually the Ben Liebrand remix version of 'The eve of the war' by Jeff Wayne. It certainly wasn't what I expected when I ordered this single: I simply got it for the fact that this is a Spanish promo 7" single, with just one track. That is, the B-side is empty. 

Of course, the Ben Liebrand remix is wellknown - it was released commercially in 1989 around the time when Jeff Wayne's album 'War of the Worlds' was re-released for the first time. It certainly wasn't the last time: over the past four decades Jeff Wayne has released multiple remix albums, new recordings and toured the album several times, both in the UK and in Europe. The artwork of the album remains the most beautiful reimagination of H.G. Wells' story of invading Martians.

My collection: 7" single no. 6644
Found: Discogs.com, received 1 March 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'The eve of the war (Ben Liebrand radio edit)'

Mil etter mil - Jahn Teigen

Jahn Teigen became a celebrity in Norway because of 'Mil etter mil'. Not because he won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1978 with 'Mil etter mil', but rather because he lost... He ended up in last place with zero points. Normally you would expect everyone to turn against him, but Jahn turned his misfortune into a triumph: later that same year he released an album called 'This year's loser', which sold like hot cakes.

Meanwhile, the single dominated the Norwegian singles chart for more than four months, being among the 10 most-bought singles for no less than 19 consecutive weeks, for five of those also topping the chart for the nation's most popular international hit. After 30 years in the nation's spotlight, this remains his most successful hit. Perhaps that's why he had a few more attempts at Eurovision fame... for instance with the songs Adieu and Do re mi.

My collection: 7" single no. 6642
Found: Discogs.com, received 1 March 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Mil etter mil', 'Claudius' / 'I natt er jeg din'

Lykken er - Hanne Krogh

In 1971, Norway sent Hanne Krogh to the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Lykken er'. It was her first of three appearances at the contest over the years. 

The 15-year-old Krogh came on stage under an umbrella that she swung around during her performance. At the close of voting, it finished in 17th place with 65 points.  

My collection: 7" single no. 6641
Found: Discogs.com, received 1 March 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Lykken er' / 'Peter Pan'

Oliver - Anita Skorgan

I bought Anita Skorgan's 'Oliver' not so long ago, her second attempt at Eurovision success. That single featured the English version - this single features a Swedish version of the song. As far as I know, Anita didn't record a Norwegian version of the song, which is weird, because this was 1979's Norwegian entry. 

The song 'Oliver' would end up in 11th place in a field of 19 competitors, which is quite surprising given the fact that some really bizarre songs ended up above it. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6639
Found: Discogs.com, received 24 February 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Oliver (Swedish version)' / 'Oliver (English version)'

Romantica - Willy Alberti

I've posted a lot of singles by Willy Alberti recently, and that's mainly because I discovered these Eurovision covers by him for reasonable prices. There is still a little bit of Dutch pride within me, that I really wanted to have them all, because unlike his daughter Willeke, he really could sing. At least, that's what these singles seem to prove.

'Romantica' was Italy's 1960 entry to the Eurovision Song Contest - performed by Renato Rascel - and Willy does a very decent version of this song. He manages to sound Italian, as the back cover of this EP attests: "When he visited New York and Philadelphia in December 1959, and performed in theatres and night-clubs there, he astonished even the Italian members of his audiences, who could not believe that he was a Netherlander". 

My collection: 7" single no. 6638
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 February 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Romantica', 'Libero' / 'Quando vien la sera', 'E' mezzanotte'

Pour être vraiment sincère - Ben Cramer

When Ben Cramer represented the Netherlands in 1973 with 'De oude muzikant', he must have believed that he was on to an international hit. He recorded several other versions: in English as 'The old street musician' and in German as 'Der alte Musikant'. Both these versions were relatively faithful translations of the Dutch original - which is why it's a bit puzzling that the French version is called 'Pour être vraiment sincère', a title that doesn't resemble these other versions in any way.

The French version is very rare, and as a result singles are hard to find these days. The only copy I could get my hands on for a reasonable price was this one - but unfortunately it doesn't come with the original sleeve. But pour être vraiment sincère, it is the music that I was after most of all in this case.

My collection: 7" single no. 6637
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 February 2022
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Pour être vraiment sincère' / 'Je t'emmene a la fête'