Romantica - Robertino

Robertino recorded an EP of songs from the San Remo festival 1963, which I bought late last year. It turns out that this wasn't the only time the child star recorded Eurovision-related material: this single presents his version of the 1960 Italian entry, 'Romantica'. And it has to be said that this version is performed with a passion and emotion that rather impresses. It sounds more mature than one would expect from a 12-year-old.

Although this is a Dutch pressing, the single did not make it into the charts. Perhaps this is not surprising: even the original version by Renato Rascel did not chart. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6715
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 7 May 2022
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Romantica' / 'Lettera a Pinocchio'

A walk in the park - Nick Straker

In 1987, the producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman were everywhere. Their hits with Mel & Kim, Rick Astley, Samantha Fox and Kylie Minogue were high in the charts all over Europe. They were also involved with some lesser known tracks, songs that didn't quite make it. 

One example of this is this single: a 1987 remix of Nick Straker's 'A walk in the park'. This version bears all the characteristics of an Eighties hit, but it didn't manage to convince the record buying public at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 6716
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 7 May 2022
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'A walk in the park (1987 production)' / 'Way of life (1987 production)'

La la la / Jedan dan - Willy Schobben

Willie Schobben (also: Willy Schobben) was a Dutch trumpeter, composer, conductor and arranger. Already at the age of six he played trumpet with the local fanfare Sint Hubertus from Maastricht. He was educated at the music lyceum of Maastricht. In 1927 he played the predecessor of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra with the Maastricht Municipal Orchestra (MSO). 

Shortly after the Second World War, together with Bep Rowold and Pi Scheffer, he founded the band Red, White and Blue Stars, the predecessor of the well-known big band The Skymasters, where he, since the first rehearsal in 1946, played the trumpet. His greatest success came in 1962, when two of his records reached the number one spot in the Dutch charts, "Mexico" and the instrumental version of "Brandend Zand". He lived in Kerkrade for the last years of his life, where he died in early 2009 at the age of 93, after a short illness.

This single presents his versions of the Eurovision classics 'La la la' and 'Jedan dan', which were both performed at the 1968 edition. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6714
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 7 May 2022
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'La la la' / 'Jedan dan'

Tophits van de Turk - Draaiorgel "De Turk"

Barrelorgans are an important piece of cultural heritage in the Netherlands. When you're walking the streets in one of the bigger cities you may still get across one of them, usually with one or two men hoping to get a little money from passers by. 

One of these barrelorgans is "De Turk", built in 1908 by Limonaire in Paris, France. The organ had a chocolate colored front and the Kapellmeister (the statuette) on the organ had a Turkish appearance, hence the name. Actually, it was an image of a Zuaaf, but everyone called it a Turk. This image disappeared from the organ during a renovation in 1915; however, the name was retained.

During the Sixties several singles and albums were recorded with this machine, with instrumental versions of popular hits of the time. This single, featuring four medleys, includes a version of the 1964 Eurovision entry of the Netherlands: 'Jij bent mijn leven'. You will hear it in medley no. 26. You will also hear songs like 'Pour moi la vie va commencer', 'Quiereme mucho' and 'Tender years'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6713
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 7 May 2022
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'No. 23', 'No. 24' / 'No. 25', 'No. 26'

Mamma Mia - Abba

With the recent resurgence of Abba in "abbatar" form, it is appropriate, I guess, to post another single by the Swedish quartet. I am still collecting some of their singles, in particular the ones that were released in the GDR by the state-run Amiga label. 'Dancing queen / Fernando' was my first acquisition, and here's another one: 'Mamma mia', released with the song 'Tropical loveland' on the B-side. 

As you can see, the sleeve is hardly exciting, without a colourful photograph that was always there on the single releases in Western Europe. I guess the good people in the eastern part of Germany were not meant to be shown the kind of glamorous pictures we were constantly bombarded with back then.

My collection: 7" single no. 6712
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 7 May 2022
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Mamma mia' / 'Tropical loveland'

Love is blue - The Dells

The Dells were a male soul/doo-wop/funk/disco vocal group, formed in 1952 in Harvey, Illinois (USA). Their vocal leaders were the falsetto singer Johnny Carter and baritone singer Marvin Junior. In the late Fifties they had some line-up exchanges with the doo-wop vocal groups The Moonglows and The Flamingos.

This single was released when Paul Mauriat's instrumental version of 'Love Is Blue' became a big hit in the USA. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6711
Found: Discogs.com, received 30 April 2022
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Can sing a rainbow, Love is blue' / 'Hallelujah baby'

It's just a game - Bendik Singers

The Bendik Singers were a four-member Norwegian vocal group, brought together by singer and composer Arne Bendiksen to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. The group consisted of Anne-Karine Strøm, Ellen Nikolaysen and brothers Bjørn and Philip Kruse. They performed Bendiksen's song 'Å for et spill' at the Norwegian national selection and were voted the winners. Before the contest the song was translated into English, with words and phrases also included from other European languages, and retitled 'It's just a game'.

'It's just a game' was an unusually structured song for Eurovision, featuring jazz-influenced freestyle vocal interplay, and proved distinctive enough to earn Norway its first top 10 placing since 1966, finishing the evening in 7th place with 89 points. This proved to be Norway's only top 10 ranking of the 1970s, and would not be bettered until the victory of Bobbysocks in 1985.

My collection: 7" single no. 6711
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 April 2022
Cost: €7
Tracks: 'It's just a game' / 'Memories of you'