Auntie - Hildegard Knef, Enrico Macias, Sandra & Andres, Alice Babs, Demis Roussos, Vicky Leandros

'Auntie' is a song released by Philips Records in 1972 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the BBC. It is named after the affectionate nickname for the corporation, and featured artists from six countries. The singers are Hildegard Knef, Enrico Macias, Sandra & Andres, Alice Babs, Demis Roussos and Vicky Leandros. The composer is Dutch musician Hans van Hemert. 

Though the single peaked at number four in the Netherlands and number five in Greece, it failed to chart in the United Kingdom. Critics observed similarities between Van Hemert's 'Auntie' composition and 'Those were the days', a 1968 hit by Mary Hopkin. In turn, the Belgian entry to the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest - 'Hey nana' by Micha Marah - was accused of plagiarising the song 'Auntie'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6648
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 March 2022
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Auntie' / 'Auntie (instrumental version)'

Happy Hawaii (Why did it have to be me) - Manuela

German singer Manuela recorded a generous amount of cover versions during her career, and two of them already made their way to this blog: 'Der schwarze Mann auf dem Dach' and 'Alles und noch viel mehr'. Both these songs were cover versions of Eurovision songs, but that's not the only place where Manuela fetched her songs from. 

'Happy Hawaii' is a cover version of an Abba song. It was released in 1980 on a 7" single that was sponsored by Hapag-Lloyd Flug, an airline that operated between 1973 and 2007. It operated scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly to holiday resorts in Europe. Its successor is today's TUI fly Deutschland. 

This single actually features two songs about exotic islands: the B-side is called 'Gran Canaria', which was released as a single in 1978. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6650
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 March 2022
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Happy Hawaii (Why did it have to be me)' / 'Gran Canaria'

You only live twice - Nancy Sinatra

'You Only Live Twice' is the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film of the same name. The music was by veteran Bond film composer John Barry, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. It was performed by Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank and Nancy Sinatra. The song is widely recognized for its striking opening bars, featuring a simple 2-bar theme in the high octaves of the violins and lush harmonies from French horns. It is considered by some to be among the best James Bond theme songs, and has become one of Nancy Sinatra's best known hits. 

The song has been covered by many artists including Coldplay, Soft Cell and Shirley Bassey. In 1998, Robbie Williams re-recorded portions of the song (including the opening strings) for use in his UK number one single 'Millennium'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6651
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 March 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'You only live twice' / 'Jackson' (with Lee Hazlewood)

Twist in the dark - Frida

Although Agnetha Fältskog is often named as the most beautiful and talented of the two Abba women, I usually prefer Frida. She has recorded some very interesting albums, especially her early solo work and the Nineties Swedish album 'Djupa Andetag'. This single comes from a largely ignored album, 'Shine'. 

'Twist in the dark' was released in France only, and features 'Come to me (I am woman)' on the B-side - a track that was released as an A-side in other territories. I haven't bought a Frida single in over ten years, so it is fun to add something to the collection after all that time.

My collection: 7" single no. 6647
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 March 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Twist in the dark' / 'Come to me (I am woman)'

Bingo (Bem Bom) - Doce

The Portuguese girl group Doce represented their country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1982 with the song 'Bem Bom'. I wasn't aware until very recently that they also recorded their song in Spanish. The single was titled 'Bingo (Bem Bom)', which doesn't tell you much about the actual language of the song - it could have been English, Dutch or anywhere else where the word 'Bingo' is part of the national vocabulary. 

But it is a Spanish version, translated by J.R. Flores. The musketeer outfits which they wore on the Eurovision stage and on the sleeve of the Portuguese single 'Bem Bom' had to go in favour of sexier clothes and big motorbikes. I'm not sure why. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6646
Found: Discogs.com, received 1 March 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Bingo (Bem Bom)' / 'OK KO'

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)'