The Big Four, no. 11 - Frankie Vaughan, Kaye Sisters, Shirley Bassey, Marty Wilde

This EP was released in May 1959, and featured four hits from 1958 and 1959. My reason for buying this EP is obviously the appearance of Marty Wilde with his hit 'Donna', but there are a few more gems on this: a young Shirley Bassey who sings 'Kiss me, honey honey, kiss me' and Frankie Vaughan with 'Venus' (not the Shocking Blue song). The Kaye Sisters deliver a dreamy version of 'Goodbye, Jimmy, goodbye'.

There have been 20 of these 'big four' EP's between 1956 and 1960, and Marty appears on number 9, 11, 14, 17 and 20. That should make an interesting subcollection, don't you think? Watch this space...

My collection: 7" single no. 6671
Found: Discogs.com, received 30 March 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Venus' (Frankie Vaughan), 'Goodbye, Jimmy, goodbye' (The Kaye Sisters) / 'Kiss me, honey honey, kiss me' (Shirley Bassey), 'Donna' (Marty Wilde)

Uno per tutte - Willy en Willeke Alberti

Recent entries in this blog have shown that Dutch singer Willy Alberti recorded quite a few Eurovision songs during the first years of the event. In 1963, he was at it again, and this time he took along his daughter Willeke Alberti as well. 

Willeke was born on 3 February 1945 and was eighteen when she recorded this duet with her father. 'Uno per tutte' and 'Non costa niente' were both performed at the Italian San Remo festival in 1963, with the former going on to the Eurovision stage in a version by Emilio Pericoli. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6672
Found: Discogs.com, received 30 March 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Uno per tutte' / 'Non costa niente'

Weit, so weit der Regenbogen reicht - Ilanit

Ilanit was Israel's first representative at the Eurovision Song Contest ever. This happened in 1973, with the song 'Ey Sham'. Although I didn't yet get a copy of the original version of the song, I bought the English version, 'All make believe', back in 2014, and recently I acquired this German version. Somehow I think 'Ey Sham' will one day be in my collection as well.

Ilanit said in interviews that she had rather mixed feelings about singing in German, because of Germany's troubled history in World War II, but she came to know Germans who were friendly people and this changed her point of view towards them.

My collection: 7" single no. 6670
Found: Discogs.com, received 30 March 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Weit, so weit der Regenbogen reicht' / 'Noch sind Wiesen grün'

Danser contre toi - Sergio Dalma

Sergio Dalma represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 with the song 'Bailar pegados'. It was a decent effort, and expectations were high. In the end, the song finished in fourth place, which was still quite respectable.

The singer didn't waste any time to try and conquer the whole of Europe. He recorded an Italian version entitled 'Bailare stretti', which I managed to buy last year, and this new addition to my collection, the French version 'Danser contre toi'. A promotional 12" single, released in Spain, brought all three versions together, but it's nicer to have the three singles individually, of course. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6669
Found: Ebay, received 29 March 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Danser contre toi (version eurovision)' / 'Danser contre toi'

Blau wie das Meer (L'amour est bleu) - Vicky

Vicky Leandros represented Luxembourg in 1967 with 'L'amour est bleu'. The song became a worldwide hit, also thanks to the version by Paul Mauriat, 'Love is blue'. However, Vicky herself also recorded an English version of her song, which was entitled 'Colours of love'. 

This single presents yet another version of the same song: 'Blau wie das Meer' is a German translation of 'L'amour est bleu', released to cater to the Central European market. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6668
Found: Discogs.com, received 26 March 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Blau wie das Meer (L'amour est bleu)' / 'Nie mehr scheint mir die Sonne so hell (Le soleil a quitté ma maison)'

Retour - Henri Dès

Henri Dès was born on 14 December 1940 in Renens, Vaud (Switzerland) as Henri Destraz. In 1969, he won the Sopot International Song Festival. He represented Switzerland in the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Retour'. The song finished in fourth place. Later that same year, he released his first album, also titled 'Retour'. Dès also founded his own record label, Disques Mary-Josée, which he named after his wife.

During his career, Henri became known for songs aimed at children. On 15 March 2019 he joined striking school children in Lausanne protesting against climate change. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6667
Found: Discogs.com, received 26 March 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Retour' / 'Sylvie'

Du Hör En Sång - Inger Öst & Torsten Wallin

Although some parties in Sweden were very critical of the Eurovision Song Contest, it was still a very popular event in Scandinavia, and many of the Eurovision songs were covered by local artists. This single features a Swedish version of the Dutch entry of the 1974 edition, 'I see a star' ('Ik zie een ster'). 

The song was translated by Bosse Carlgren and performed by Inger Öst and Torsten Wallin. Lilian Inger Elisabeth Öst Hellström was originally part of the singing group Family Four, before she went solo in the late 1960's and had several hits in Sweden, including 'Touch me'. Torsten Wallin, who appears on the A-side of this single only, is a Swedish singer, musician and comedian. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6666
Found: Discogs.com, received 24 March 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Du Hör En Sång' / 'En grön dröm om mej'