Chiquitita - Abba / Too much heaven - Bee Gees

This single is a nice curiosity, since it features two big hits from the year 1979: Abba's 'Chiquitita' and 'Too much heaven' by the Bee Gees. Both tracks feature on the album 'Music for Unicef concert: a gift of song', which was released in 1979. It was the album that accompanied the benefit concert of popular music held in the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on 9 January 1979. It was intended to raise money for UNICEF world hunger programs and to mark the beginning of the International Year of the Child. The concert was the idea of impresario Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees, and David Frost, who originally conceived it as an annual event. Not all of the performances were truly live, with ABBA lip-synching their new song 'Chiquitita' and the Bee Gees lip-synching their song 'Too Much Heaven'. It's kindof ironic that these two songs were chosen for a single release.

The concert raised less than one million dollars at the time for UNICEF, although this figure did not include longer-term royalties from the songs and repeat performances. (The Bee Gees' song 'Too much heaven', for example, earned more than seven million dollars for UNICEF as of 2003). 

My collection: 7" single no. 6881
Found: Discogs.com, received 2 March 2023
Tracks: 'Chiquitita' (Abba) / 'Too much heaven' (Bee Gees)

En gång i Stockholm - Monica Zetterlund

Monica Zetterlund was born as Eva Monica Nilsson on 20 September 1937. During her lifetime, she starred in over 10 Swedish film productions and recorded over 20 studio albums. 

Her long career also included the song 'En gång i Stockholm', a jazz ballad with which she represented Sweden in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest. She finished last, however and scored nul points, but remained successful in Sweden.  

It was quite difficult to find a good copy of this single for a reasonable price, so I had to make do with this one, which comes without the four prong centre.

My collection: 7" single no. 6880
Found: Discogs.com, received  March 2023
Tracks: 'En gång i Stockholm' / 'En gospel om dej'

Mit potpourri - Katy Bødtger

If you want to buy a copy of the single 'Det var en yndig tid', the song with which Katy Bødtger represented Denmark at the 1960 Eurovision Song Contest, you will have to pay 45 euros or more. By contrast, this 10" compilation LP, which includes the song, only costs a few euros. So obviously I went for the latter. 

It is actually a very nice collection of songs that presents the state of music in the early 1960's quite well. It all sounds ancient right now, but these were real instruments and a very capable singer. Katy Bødtger ended up in joint tenth place with 'Det var en yndig tid' at the Eurovision Song Contest, which I think is one of those inexplicable injustices by the international juries.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 February 2023
Tracks: 'To rode roser', 'Min barndoms klokker', 'Visne roser', 'Fiskerpigens sang', 'Det var en yndig tid' / 'Sa laenge du er til', 'Bla viol', 'Somand, mon du drømmer?', 'Jeg elsker dig fordi', 'Farvel Jimmy, farvel'

Hush - Tommy Körberg et al.

EP's like this were quite popular in the Sixties and Seventies, because it was a way to own several hits for a reduced price. The only downside was that they were not the original versions of the hits, but rather recorded by other artists. 

This Swedish EP is a bit weird, because it features Tommy Körberg quite prominently on the front sleeve. Tommy, of course, went on to become quite a wellknown Swedish performer, representing Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 and 1988. On this disc he performs a version of the Deep Purple song 'Hush'. Another attraction is Sue Miller's version of the Marty Wilde song 'I'm a tiger', made famous by Lulu. And that, of course, is the reason I bought this disc. There's an interesting version of 'Son of a preacher man' by Martha Dove. And finally there's an interesting song called 'Lord of the ring', which indeed is a musical retelling of the Tolkien story. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6877
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 February 2023
Tracks: 'Hush' (Tommy Körberg), 'I'm a tiger' (Sue Miller) / 'Son of a preacher man' (Martha Dove), 'Lord of the ring' (Downliners Sect)

Ring! RIng! - Klaus & Servants

Even before Abba reached worldwide fame, they were quite successful in Sweden. They participated in the Swedish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with 'Ring! Ring!', and although this song did not win, it inspired quite a few Scandinavian acts to cover the song.

Klaus & Servants was a Danish pop band, established in 1965 in Præstø by Klaus Strand-Holm. They made their recording debut as The Servants in 1968 with two unsuccessful singles. From 1971 the band was marketed as Klaus & Servants, and the national break-through came same year with the single 'Bank tre gange' that reached number 1 on the Danish chart. 'Ring! Ring!' was released in May 1973, just two months after the song was performed at the Swedish national final.

My collection: 7" single no. 6876
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 February 2023
Tracks: 'Ring! Ring!' / 'Har du glemt?'

Slaughter on 10th avenue - Los Valentinos

Los Valentinos was a Danish group who made a name for themselves with instrumental numbers between 1974 and 2000. In the band's heyday from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, the group recorded 10 albums.

One of their first releases was this single, 'Slaughter on 10th avenue'. What makes this single interesting for me is the B-side: it's a version of the Marty Wilde composition 'Polaris', which he created for a group called The Boys - which was a pseudonym for the Wildcats. And the Wildcats, of course, were the band who supported Marty, much like the Shadows did for Cliff Richard. I haven't found a copy of The Boys' version yet, but at least I have this cover version now.

My collection: 7" single no. 6875
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 February 2023
Tracks: 'Slaughter on 10th avenue' / 'Polaris'

Marlene - Dominique Dussault

The song 'Marlène' was a tribute to Marlène Dietrich, and the words included references to the movie ‘The Blue Angel’, which featured the song ‘Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuss Auf Liebe Eingestellt’, a sentence that is also paraphrased – in German – in this song.

The song was performed by Dominique Dussault, who was just 16 years old at the time. When she was much younger, she spent five years in hospital. That’s when she started singing. According to legend, it’s also where she was discovered. At the Eurovision Song Contest, she finished in eighth place. 

I have searched for this single for the longest time, because it's the last one I needed to complete my collection of Monegasque Eurovision entries. Their first, 'Mon ami Pierrot' by Jacques Pills, was never released on record, unfortunately. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6871
Found: Discogs.com, received 23 February 2023
Tracks: 'Marlène' / 'Marlène (instrumental)'