Stress - Viggo & Reidar

'Stress' was the Norwegian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968, performed by Odd Børre. That single remains a bit hard to find, but meanwhile I did get my hands on this cover version by the duo Viggo & Reidar, who created their take on the track in 1989.

The track appears on their album 'Tidligere Utgitt På Alvor', but on the back sleeve of this single it is announced as 'Norges dummester poplåter'. When you realize the latter means 'Norway's dumbest popsongs' and the former means 'Previously issued seriously', you get that they are actually making fun of certain songs. No wonder that this single is released on the label 'Garbage records', with the tagline 'Where most stars belong'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6928
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 April 2023
Tracks: 'Stress' / 'B-siden'

Željo Moja - Doris

The single 'Love is fire' features two versions of the Yugoslavian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, 'Željo Moja', in Croatian and English. However, the Yugoslavian record company Jugoton also released an EP with two more versions on it: in French and German. It's interesting to hear this song in four different languages and I was happy to get a copy of this single from a Norwegian dealer on Discogs. 

'Željo Moja' finished eleventh in the contest, in a field of 20 competitors. Quite why the single was released in several different European countries at the time remains a bit of a mystery.

My collection: 7" single no. 6927
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 April 2023
Tracks: 'Željo Moja', 'Love is fire' / 'Vive la douleur', 'Meine Sehnsucht'

Race to the end - Demis Roussos

I don't think I've ever seen this single before - and I have visited loads of shops, record fairs and markets through the years. If I'd seen it before I would certainly have picked it up, because it's very interesting to find out what Demis Roussos would make of 'Chariots of fire', the classic melody by Vangelis.

For that's what this is: a vocal version of 'Chariots of fire', with lyrics provided by Jon Anderson (who recorded loads of tracks together with Vangelis himself). And although this version isn't quite as beautiful as the original instrumental version, it's interesting nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 6944
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'Race to the end'  / 'Seasons of love'

Da' ya' think I'm sexy - Rod Stewart

These days Rod Stewart has become a bit more jaded, singing songs from the American Songbook and so on, but back in the Seventies, he became this racy, sex-obsessed maniac. Or so it seems. This single illustrates this best, with the big hit 'Da' ya' think I'm sexy' plus the B-side 'Dirty weekend', which delivers exactly what it promises: two songs about sex and being sexy.

The song was released as the first single from Stewart's 1978 album 'Blondes Have More Fun'. It reached number one in the UK and the USA, as well as Canada and Australia. Royalties from the song were donated to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Stewart performed the song at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly in January 1979.

My collection: 7" single no. 6940
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'Da' ya' think I'm sexy' / 'Dirty weekend'

San Salvador - Azoto

From 1980 to 1992 San Salvador was the scene of a bloody civil war between a right-wing government and left-wing guerrilla groups. It makes you wonder why Azoto decided to release an upbeat disco song with the title 'San Salvador'. The song was written by Celso Valli and Julie Scott. The Italian Celso Valli was actually hidden behind the studio group Azoto. He is an Italian composer, conductor and musician. At the beginning of his career, in the late 1970s, he was at the forefront of the Italian disco scene. During the 1980s he produced a large number of songs belonging to the so-called Italo disco. 

Astonishingly, Valli also wrote 'Ti Sento' by Matia Bazar and 'Self Control' by RAF (and later Laura Branigan). After 1985, Valli decided to focus more and more on Italian pop music. Since then, as a songwriter, arranger, keyboardist and/or producer, he has collaborated with many well-known Italian artists, including Andrea Bocelli, Filippa Giordano, Giorgia, Jovanotti, Mina, Laura Pausini, Eros Ramazzotti, Vasco Rossi and Il Volo.

My collection: 7" single no. 6939
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'San Salvador' / 'San Salvador (instrumental)'

Ma Baker / Baby do you wanna bump - Boney M

This 'original double hit' single comes from 1982 and features two of the earliest hits of the group Boney M. What's interesting about this release is that the version of 'Baby do you wanna bump' brings together the two parts that appear on the original single as one track. 

The record label Hansa also continues their tradition of putting the wrong track times on the label. 'Ma Baker' is said to last 4 minutes and 10 seconds (and actually lasts for 4 minutes and 33 seconds) and 'Baby do you wanna bump' is listed as 6 minutes and 10 seconds, but in reality adds 43 more seconds. Basically you get more - which is always good, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 6931
Found: Easter market, Den Haag, 9 April 2023
Tracks: 'Ma Baker' / 'Baby do you wanna bump'

Lover don't go - Princess

'Lover don't go' would turn out to be the last single by Princess, released in 1989. She'd released two albums, but while the first album, recorded with Stock, Aitken & Waterman was a big success, the second album was already less successful. 

In 1989, Princess released the stand-alone single 'Lover Don't Go', which failed to chart. Her brother/manager Don alleged that the single's chart prospects were unfairly halted, after its sales were mysteriously assigned to another artist's record, causing Princess' single to miss the top 100. "On the Tuesday, the track was 108 the chart, but come Thursday, we see nothing. We hear later on it dropped to 365, and they told us that they made an error with the barcode and gave our sales to some other record. That killed the record." Her third album, 'Say It', which was slated for release in 1990, was never issued as Princess retired from the music scene and moved to the US. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6937
Found: Easter market, Den Haag, 9 April 2023
Tracks: 'Lover don't go' / 'Lover don't go (instrumental)'