Det var en yndig tid - Grete Klitgaard

Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 with the song 'Det var en yndig tid', performed by Katy Bødtger. The song was also recorded, and in the same year, by Grete Klitgaard.

Grete Klitgaard (real name: Grete Vita Johansen, born on 5 December 1934) won a singing competition in 1953 at the National Scala, Copenhagen and got a record contract with the Danish record company Tono. Over a period of just over 10 years, she managed to record a very large number of tunes, many of which are considered evergreens. Among other things, she will be remembered for her clear voice and her always smiling mood. She passed away on 26 January 1964. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6686
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 April 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Det var en yndig tid' / 'Gør Hvad Du Vil'

Sig dejlige ting til mig - Poul Bundgaard

In 1963, Ronnie Carroll participated in the Eurovision Song Contest, representing the UK, with 'Say wonderful things'. The Danish singer Poul Bundgaard was quick to try and profit from the prominence of this song (it finished in fourth place) and recorded a Danish cover of the song the same year. Entitled 'Sig dejlige ting til mig', the Danish lyrics were provided by Peter Mynte. I bought my copy from a friendly Danish dealer I hadn't seen for three years. It's good to have international record fairs again after all this Covid shenanigans.

Poul Arne Bundgaard was a Danish actor and singer. In addition to having appeared in a large number of Danish films, Bundgaard starred in a number of operettas in the late 1940s until the 1950s, and worked at the Royal Danish Theatre as a singer between 1958 and 1973; however, he focused mostly on acting later on in his career, partly due to stage fright. He died during the filming of 'Olsen-bandens sidste stik' on 3 June 1998, aged 75.

My collection: 7" single no. 6685
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 April 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Sig dejlige ting til mig' / 'Jeg sa kun et glimt af dig'

Haleluyah - Offen

Filadelfiakyrkan is a Pentecostal church building at Rörstrandsgatan 7 in Stockholm, Sweden; it was dedicated on 2 November 1930. The building is owned by the Filadelfia Stockholm congregation, the largest congregation in the Swedish Pentecostal movement with about 5,400 members as of 2015. 

Why am I telling you this? Because in 1979 the choir from this church recorded a cover version of Milk and Honey's 'Hallelujah', the song that gave them victory at the Eurovision Song Contest that year. There are, of course, many cover versions of that song but this single is a bit of a rarity it seems, as it was the only single this choir released and since it's actually performed in Swedish. As far as I know, the song has not been performed in Swedish by other artists - but correct me if I'm wrong.

My collection: 7" single no. 6684
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 April 2022
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Haleluyah' / 'Vi Är En Familj'

Ciao ciao bambina (Piove) - Dalida

Domenico Modugno's song Piove (Ciao ciao bambina) was extremely successful, despite not winning the Eurovision Song Contest with the song in 1959. It was covered by many artists, some virtually unknown, some world famous. 

Dalida would fall in the latter category. The Italian-French singer was born in Egypt and interpreted her songs in eleven languages. She recorded 'Piove' in French on this EP. Since her death, Dalida has become a cult figure to a new generation of fans. In 1988, the Encyclopædia Universalis commissioned a poll, published in the French newspaper Le Monde, that aimed to reveal the personalities who had the greatest impact on French society. Dalida polled second, behind Général de Gaulle.

My collection: 7" single no. 6683
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Ciao ciao bambina (Piove)', 'Ce serait dommage' / 'Tout l'amour', 'La fille aux pieds nus'

Va dire à l'amour - Marjorie Noël

Marjorie Noël was born as Françoise Nivot on 25 December 1945 in Paris (France). She made her first recordings in 1964, and in 1965 she was invited to represent Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest. 'Va dire à l'amour' was written by Raymond Bernard and Jacques Mareuil. The song ended in ninth place in a field of 18 competitors. 

Marjorie would later take part in the 1965 La Rose d'Or festival in Antibes, and released in total seven EP's. She retired from showbusiness in 1967 and spent the rest of her life in anonymity. She died of a cerebral hemorrhage, aged 54, in Cavaillon, Vaucluse, on 30 April 2000.

My collection: 7" single no. 6682
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Va dire à l'amour', 'De trop mentir' / 'Non docteur', 'Bonjour mon amour'

Μόνο Εσύ (Apres Toi) - Βίκυ (Vicky Leandros)

'Après toi' was the song that gave Vicky Leandros victory at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972. She represented Luxembourg, but she was actually from Greece. No wonder, then, that she also recorded her song in Greek. A copy of that single, made in Greece, finally arrived on my doorstep. Μόνο Εσύ actually means 'Only you', which is an indication that the Greek lyrics differ from the original French version.

Other versions of the song are 'Come what may', 'Dann kamst du', 'Dopo te', as well as Spanish and Japanese versions, which may one day be mine as well. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6681
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2022
Cost: €8
Tracks: 'Μόνο Εσύ (Apres Toi)' / 'Αναμνήσεις (Wenn Die Sehnsucht Nicht War)'

The pros and cons of hitch-hiking - Roger Waters

Roger Waters is of course best known for his work, and subsequent legal issues, with Pink Floyd. After working on 'The Wall' and 'The final cut', the band fell apart and Waters recorded a solo album, entitled 'The pros and cons of hitch-hiking'. One of the tracks, with the same title, was released as a single. 

Remarkably, the single was not a big hit: it only reached number 76 in the UK singles chart and number 30 in Australia. However, in the Dutch Top 40 the single reached number 16, and this is why I still remember the song - back in 1984 I followed that chart every week. Waters is still making music, and still "having issues" with his old Pink Floyd band mates. Sometimes you wish that adults would grow up.

My collection: 7" single no. 6680
Found: Velvet, Leiden, 2 April 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'The pros and cons of hitch-hiking' / 'Apparently they were travelling abroad'