L'enfant que j'étais - Lys Assia

The legendary Lys Assia won the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, but she returned the next year, representing Switzerland again with 'L'enfant que j'étais'. I was quite surprised to find this EP with a picture sleeve, featuring not only that song but also three others. Picture sleeves weren't all that usual back in the 1950's. 

'L'enfant Que J'étais' ('The Child I Was') was written by Émile Gardaz and composed by Géo Voumard, the same duo who wrote the previous year's Swiss entry and Eurovision winner. The song is about looking back at childhood.

My collection: 7" single no. 7038
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 October 2023
Tracks: 'Histoire d'un amour', 'L'enfant que j'étais' / 'Buenas noches mi amor', 'Scusami'

Amami se vuoi - Tonina Torrielli

The very first Eurovision Song Contest took place in 1956. Not all songs were released as a single, but some were. During this first edition every country was allowed two songs, and some countries also sent out two different artists. Italy sent Franca Raimondi with 'Aprite le finestre' and Tonina Torrielli with 'Amami se vuoi'. 

Both songs were released on single, but they are obviously quite hard to get these days. I was happy to find this EP featuring Tonina Torrielli's song. Torrielli wasn't necessarily impressed with her Eurovision song: “I never loved it very much", she said in an interview, "it was a little song. I loved poetry very much, I studied lyrics which was a whole other thing. Singing cheesy songs with lyrics like "I'm yours, forever yours in your arms," I didn't like.”

My collection: 7" single no. 7037
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 October 2023
Tracks: 'Andalucia', 'La violetera' / 'Amami se vuoi', 'L'edera'

Comme è ddoce 'o mare - Peppino di Capri

You would almost forget if you listen to the cheesy 'Insieme: 1992' or the infernal racket of Italy's most recent winners Maneskin, but besides these undeserved winners, Italy was capable of sending some outstanding songs to the Eurovision Song Contest. 

Take for instance 'Comme è ddoce 'o mare', performed by Peppino di Capri in 1991 - the year after Toto Cutugno's politically-motived win. Sung entirely in Neopolitan with a beautiful melody, it stunned TV audiences all over Europe. 

I happened to be in Italy for one day in 1991, and searched the local music stores for this single, but without any luck. For years I even doubted the existence of it, until I saw it listed on Discogs a couple of years ago. I had to wait until very recently to find a copy for a somewhat reasonable price. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7036
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 October 2023
Tracks: 'Comme è ddoce 'o mare' / ''O Sole'

The lamentations of Jeremiah - Vince Clarke

Since I live in the Netherlands I tend to get very jealous of Germans and British people, who can just go to the shop and buy those magazines with free singles on them. I did it myself in July, when I was in Germany, but throughout the year these magazines keep coming up with the goodies, and all I can do is order them and pay for postage. 

Anyway, the most recent one is this single by Vince Clarke, featuring a track from his forthcoming instrumental album. It comes in a clear vinyl disc and with an exclusive B-side that's not on the album. Of course I had to order it!

My collection: 7" single no. 7035
Found: Electronic Sounds magazine, received 3 October 2023
Tracks: 'The lamentations of Jeremiah' / 'The cave'

Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt - Peter Horten

On 22 September Austrian singer-songwriter Peter Horton passed away, aged 82. His 'Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt' was on my wishlist for some time now and this fact caused me to buy this single the same evening. You could expect that the man's singles would only become more expensive, and this one wasn't particularly cheap to begin with. But I lucked out, because I found a French copy for a reasonable price.

Why 'Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt', you ask? Well, because it was the song he performed on the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. It is perhaps his biggest claim to fame, because the rest of his career brought him mainly fame in Austria and surrounding countries. His Eurovision song is marvellously oldfashioned.

My collection: 7" single no. 7034
Found: Discogs.com, received 27 September 2023
Tracks: 'Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt', 'Lass sie laufen' / 'Nur im traum', 'Ich weiss nicht wie'

Oui, oui, oui, oui / Ciao, ciao, bambina (Piove) - Frédérica

Not much is known about Frédérica Pietra, except the release of her singles between 1956 and 1960. She even released one album (on a 10" disc) in 1953.

This EP from 1959 features four tracks by the singer, including two from the Eurovision Song Contest of that year. They are 'Oui, oui, oui, oui', originally performed by Jean Philippe for France, and 'Ciao, ciao, bambina (Piove)', originally performed by Domenico Modugno for Italy. Both songs were incredibly successful that year, and so it's no surprise that Frédérica also tried her luck with these tracks.

My collection: 7" single no. 7031
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 September 2023
Tracks: 'Rendez-vous à cinq heures, chéri', 'Oui, oui, oui, oui' / 'Les innocents', 'Ciao, ciao, bambina (Piove)'

Liebe - Laurent Voulzy

Slowly but steadily I am getting more and more singles by Laurent Voulzy; tracks that apppear on his compilation album 'Carib islander' which started my love affair with the man's music. One of the tracks on that compilation is 'Liebe', which turns out to be a single from 1983. 

The B-side of this single consists of two very short songs (90 and 110 seconds respectively) that Laurent  wrote with Elain Rowen and D. McNeil respectively. Usually he collaborates with Alain Souchon (as with the A-side), so this is a bit of a surprise.

My collection: 7" single no. 7029
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 September 2023
Tracks: 'Liebe' / 'Cadillac cruise', 'Meu samba pra voce'