Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüssen - Jimmy Fields

An EP like this is slightly frustrating, because I only bought it for one track, but I get four of them, which aren't necessarily attractive for me. Which is why this entry is named after that one track. Charlotte Marian, Jimmy Fields and Udo Spitz are engaged to sing four tracks on this EP with the orchestra Teddy Todd and the orchestra Rolf Andy. 

The real catch here is, of course, the cover version of 'Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüssen', the Austrian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965. Jimmy Fields delivers a solid version of the Udo Jürgens classic.

My collection: 7" single no. 7245
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 June 2024
Tracks: 'Küsse unterm Regenbogen' (Charlotte Marian), 'Schenk mir doch ein Bild von dir' (Jimmy Fields) / 'Sag ihr, ich lass sie grüssen' (Jimmy Fields), 'Tanz die ganze Nacht mit mir' (Udo Spitz)

Weak in the presence of beauty - Alison Moyet

Quite why Alison Moyet decided to record a cover version of 'Weak in the presence of beauty' is not something I know. The original was not a hit, but Alison's version actually reached number 6 in the UK singles chart. It just proves that sometimes a good song just needs a wellknown singer. 

Floy Joy's lead singer Desy Campbell was asked if he felt cheated that the song was a hit for Moyet, but not for Floy Joy. He said, "On the contrary, my association with that song has and continues to open many doors for me and I'm very proud to have been part of a little piece of pop history."

Moyet, on the other hand, later confessed that she didn't actually like the song. In an interview she said: "'Love Letters' and 'Weak in the Presence of Beauty' – neither song I enjoy now – they're both my fault. I found them. That was when I was feeling smart, thinking that I knew what a hit was - I don't know what's a fucking hit! But they were hits, and now I'm forever to fucking sing them years later!"

My collection: 7" single no. 7243
Found: Discogs.com, received 25 June 2024
Tracks: 'Weak in the presence of beauty' / 'To work on you'

Teddybeer / De tijd staat niet stil - Reggy van der Burgt

Dutch singer Reggy van der Burgt was born on 14 September 1944 in Uden. She started singing early on, but things really took off when she is offered a permanent engagement with dance orchestra The Continentals from Den Bosch. In between performances with The Continentals, she works freelance with various other dance orchestras and combos. She became the winner of the singing competition 'Miss Talent' in 1965. Soon after that she lands a recording contract. 

In 1966, her second single 'Teddybeer' becomes a hit. Some 40.000 copies were sold. The B-side of the single is 'De tijd staat niet stil', a Dutch version of 'Die Zeiger der Uhr', the German entry of the Eurovision Song Contest that year.Reggy's career was pretty successful for a couple of years, but by 1968 it ended when she met her husband and started raising their daughter. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7241
Found: Discogs.com, 25 June 2024
Tracks: 'Teddybeer' / 'De tijd staat niet stil'

Gwendolyne - Lola Flores

Flamenco is the national pride of Spain, a music style with a lot of pathos and drama. Lola Flores could be seen as one of the biggest cultural phenomena of the country, having acted in several films and recorded many studio albums. She is considered an icon of the Gypsy and Roma community in Spain, particularly since she married into a gypsy family.

In 1970 she recorded a version of 'Gwendolyne', the song originally written and performed by Julio Iglesias at the Eurovision Song Contest that year.  Lola's version is very different, being influenced by her flamenco style, but it's equally compelling.

My collection: 7" single no. 7240
Found: Discogs.com, received 26 June 2024
Tracks: 'El Lerele', 'Gwendolyne' / 'Mojamachis', 'Somos'

Paradise - Sade

In Spain, promotional singles were often made in a special edition of only one side. The B-side remained blank, and for some people, including me, that means they are desirable collector's items. I try to not go overboard with this, because there are limits to my budget, but every now and then I like to order some of these beauties. 

Sade released 'Paradise' in 1988, a track from her third album Stronger than pride. It was remixed for the single release, because the album version was a bit too long. This single has - you guessed it - one side, but the sleeve remains the same as the commercial one, announcing an instrumental version of 'Paradise' on the B-side. I guess DJ's could do without it.

My collection: 7" single no. 7238
Found: Discogs.com, received 26 June 2024
Tracks: 'Paradise (remix)'

Bonjour, bonjour (en Español) - Paola

Paola represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 with the song 'Bonjour, bonjour'. The song was sung in German, even if the title was in French. The same goes for this version, which is performed in Spanish. 

Attentive readers will notice that the sleeve of this single is made in the style of other Eurovision entries from 1969, like 'Primaballerina', 'Un dia, un niño' and 'Saludos al mundo'. This single represents a rarity in Paola's repertoire, because she mostly recorded songs in German and French. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7237
Found: Discogs.com, received 26 June 2024
Tracks: 'Bonjour, bonjour' / 'Vals de amor'

Eurovision '69 - Various artists

The Spanish record company Belter released this promotional EP featuring three Eurovision songs in 1969 and called it Eurovision '69. Fair enough - but why did they also include three other tracks on the B-side? Probably to promote their other repertoire as well, but it is a kind of baffling combination.

 The nice thing about this EP is the fact that they included Spanish versions of Eurovision classics, and so  'Un jour, un enfant' becomes 'Un dia, un niño', 'Jedan dan' becomes 'Saludos al mundo' and 'Primaballerina' becomes, er, 'Primaballerina'. I'm not  so sure about the other three tracks, but I guess recipients of this promotional disc had no right to complain. It was probably a freebie anyway.

My collection: 7" single no. 7236
Found: Discogs.com, received 26 June 2024
Tracks: 'Un dia, un niño' (Frida Boccara), 'Primaballerina' (Siw Malmkvist), 'Saludos al mundo' (Ivan &M's) / 'Lala' (Michel), 'Mil veces volverias' (Madalena Iglesias), 'Bajo el cielo de Moscu' (Michel)