Romantica - Gunnar Wiklund

Renato Rascel represented Italy with 'Romantica' at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960. The song was covered by many artists across Europe; attentive readers will have seen my entries on versions by Willy Alberti, Achille Togliani and Robertino. 

Up north, you had Gunnar Wiklund, who would record more Eurovision covers during the 1960's. This EP featured his first flirt with Eurovision repertoire, after having released more than a dozen singles with original material in Swedish. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7061
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Romantica', 'Partners' / 'Han måste gå', 'Midnatt'

Die heerlijke wereld - Micha Marah

Micha Marah made headlines earlier this year when she decided to finally record her Eurovision entry from 1979, 'Hey nana'. Until now, only the version by composer Charles Dumolin has been available on record, and unfortunately it seems like it will remain like this, since there is no physical release of Micha's version yet. 

We'll have to made do with Micha's cover version of 'En un mundo nuevo', Spain's Eurovision entry from 1971. She recorded it as 'Die heerlijke wereld' ('That delicious world') in 1971, and it sounds as joyful as the original - even if the lyrics sound rather naff if you can understand Flemish/Dutch.

My collection: 7" single no. 7060
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Die heerlijke wereld' / 'Die ring'

La source - Guy Bonnet

Guy Bonnet wrote 'La source', the song that represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968. It was performed by Isabelle Aubret, who did this for her country for the second time. It was a successful attempt, since she landed in third place.

However, Guy decided to also record the song himself. This single contains his version along with a tribute to that famous film character, Scarlett O'Hara. Whether this version is better than Isabelle's... well, I think it isn't really. But it's a nice item to have nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 7059
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'La source' / 'Scarlett O'Hara'

Die Worte dieser Nacht - Nana Mouskouri

Nana Mouskouri represented Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1963 with 'A force de prier'. I managed to buy the English version 'The one that got away' two years before the original French version, and now, two years after I found the original French version I found the German version, 'Die Worte dieser Nacht'. It would be quite something if I found the Italian version in 2025. 

There's a rumour that a Japanese version of the song also exists, somewhere on a 'various artists' compilation, but who knows? I certainly don't. Suggestions welcome in the comments, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 7057
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Die Worte dieser Nacht' / 'Wir geh'n im Regen'

Primaballerina - Siw Malmkvist

Germany was represented by Siw Malmkvist at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969. She sang 'Primaballerina', a title that accurately descibes the subject of the song. Besides the original German version she also recorded the song in Swedish and Spanish. 

This single contains the Spanish version, and fortunately the sleeve states 'en español', because there is also a version from the Spanish record company Belter that contains the original German version. Make no mistake: despite the title 'Me falta el botón', the B-side is in German.

My collection: 7" single no. 7056
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Primaballerina (en español)' / 'Mir fehlt der Knopf'

Solitude - Karel Gott

The cover of this single says 'Soledad', but the single contains the French version of Karel Gott's 1968 Eurovision entry for Austria, 'Tausend Fenster'. This is because the Spanish had the slightly irritating habit of translating song titles despite the fact that the actual song is not in Spanish. 

This sleeve is in a bad state, which caused the seller to drop the price significantly, despite the fact that a good copy easily fetches an amount well into the double digits. Fortunately the disc itself plays very well!

My collection: 7" single no. 7055
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Solitude' / 'Raina'

Through the eyes of a child - Frida Boccara

One of the most beautiful songs ever performed on the Eurovision stage is Frida Boccara's 'Un jour, un enfant'. No wonder, then, that I am after every version of that song. I found 'Un dia, un niño' four years ago at a record fair, and now the English version also turned up duing a record fair. 

The single comes in a standard Philips sleeve, as picture sleeves weren't that common in the UK back in the Sixties. 

What's next? The German and Italian versions. That's not going to be easy.

My collection: 7" single no. 7054
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 11 November 2023
Tracks: 'Through the eyes of a child' / 'So fair'