Romantica - Aurelio Fierro

Whenever a single sleeve promises 'San Remo' in big letters it's time to be on my guard, because this could be one of the many cover versions of early Italian Eurovision entries. And indeed, in this case, Aurelio Fierro performs a version of Renato Rascel's 'Romantica'.

Aurelio Fierro (13 September 1923 – 11 March 2005) was an Italian actor and singer, specialising in songs in the Neapolitan dialect. His first big hit was with 'Scapricciatiello' in 1954. His best-known songs are probably 'Guaglione', recorded in 1956, and 'A pizza', from the Naples song festival of 1966.

My collection: 7" single no. 7650
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Libero', 'Vento, pioggia e scarpe rotte' / 'Romantica', 'Il mare'

Take a chance on me - Abba

Collecting Abba singles has gone out of hand a bit. I used to want to have all the tracks, but now I am also drawn to strange versions from different countries. This one, for instance, was just too hard to resist. 

It's a Yugoslavian pressing of 'Take a chance on me', with, bizarrely, 'Thank you for the music' on the B-side. Official releases would never contain these two songs on one 7" single. As a bonus, this single has a beautiful sleeve too. You can see how I gladly shelled out a few euros for this one.

My collection: 7" single no. 7649
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Take a chance on me' / 'Thank you for the music'

Wishing (If I had a photograph of you) - A Flock of seagulls

One of my favourite songs from the early Eighties is A flock of seagulls' 'Wishing'. You would know that if you saw my previous entries on this song. Two singles would be enough for most people, but when I spotted this picture disc, I simply couldn't resist.

A flock of seagulls have enjoyed a bit of a comeback recently, and their new album Some dreams was released in December 2024. Without the strange haircuts, because even Eighties artists get older.

My collection: 7" single no. 7648
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Wishing (If I had a photograph of you)' / 'Committed'

Gerdundula - Status Quo

Those who know Status Quo from their late Seventies/early Eighties material will associate the band with long hair and just the slightest bit of headbanging. But their beginnings were quite different, as songs like 'Pictures of matchstick men' and 'Ice in the sun' have already proven on this blog.

My latest acquisition is 'Gerdundula', a 1970 single from the band. Confusingly, the song was written by Manston & James, which would lead someone to think that Marty Wilde was somehow involved, as he used the pseudonym Frere Manston at the time. However, in this instance it's the pseudonym for band mates Francis Rossi and Bob Young.

My collection: 7" single no. 7647
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Gerdundula' / 'Lakky Lady'

Miazoume - Takis Biniaris

Some Eurovision singles tend to be overly expensive when you go look for them online. This particular single demands 300 euros on Discogs - at least, if you want it with the picture sleeve. Fortunately, I found my copy for a lot less, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.

'Miazoume' was the Greek Eurovision entry from 1985, performed by the singer Takis Biniaris with his dramatic timbre. The song is a ballad with Binaris declaring that despite his and his lover's differences they are alike. The song finished in 16th place in a field of 19 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 7646
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Miazoume' / 'Matia mou'

Playboy - Ann Christine

'Playboy' was Finland's song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966. The candidates for the Finnish qualifier were selected from an open competition, to which about 200 compositions were received. Playboy's composer Ossi Runne had just been chosen to succeed George De Godzinsky as the conductor of Yleisradio, but in the Finnish qualifier on 22 January 1966, Godzinsky was still conducting the orchestra. The qualifying vote was in two stages and the top three from the first round advanced to the second round. The 12-member jury scored Playboy by far the best and 21-year-old Ann-Christine Nyström was able to go to the international competition. 

Shortly before going on stage, Ann-Christine became worried and asked Ossi: "What if I forget the lyrics?", to which Ossi replied comfortingly: "Don't worry, no one understands them". Finland's seven points were enough for tenth place.

I was actually holding out for a copy with a picture sleeve, until the friendly seller told me that the Finnish version of the song was never released in a picture sleeve at all! This copy remains the only Finnish recording of the single and even though the center has been dinked, I am very happy to have this one.

My collection: 7" single no. 7645
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Playboy' (Ann Christine) / 'Peini sana' (Danny)

Auf Wiederseh'n in Monaco - Caline & Olivier Toussaint

'Les jardins de Monaco' was the Eurovision entry for Monaco in 1978. The song was performed by Caline and Olivier Toussaint, and their song was quite successful: it finished in fourth place.

There was enough reason to think that other countries would be interested in the song, and so the duo also recorded it in German. The lyrics were translated by Wolfgang Mürmann, a successful German composer, writer and producer who worked with many German and foreign artists during his lifetime.

My collection: 7" single no. 7644
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Auf Wiederseh'n in Monaco' / 'Alle die verliebt sind'