Klop klop hallo - Willeke Alberti

Although I'm not particularly a fan of Willeke Alberti, a few singles have ended up in my collection, and that's all because of her connection with the Eurovision Song Contest. Like her father, Willy Alberti, Willeke covered a handful of Eurovision songs, and it's quite interesting to hear her versions because they come with translated lyrics. Translated into Dutch, that is.

And so, in 1970, 'Knock knock who's there' became 'Klop klop hallo' and 'All kinds of everything' became 'Duizenden dingetjes'. Both songs were from the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970 (representing the UK and Ireland respectively) and they appear on this single from 1970. It's just a pity that this single was released on mono only. But it's a rare piece nonetheless: a copy without a picture sleeve commands at least 15 euro on Discogs!

My collection: 7" single no. 7665
Found: Easter market, Den Haag, 20 April 2025
Tracks: 'Klop klop hallo' / 'Duizenden dingetjes'

Vse rože sveta - Lado Leskovar

Lado Leskovar was born as Vladimir Leskovar in Ljubljana on 23 March 1942. He began his music career in the early Sixties. In 1967 he represented Yugoslavia at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Vse rože sveta' ('All the flowers in the world'), finishing in eighth place.

Although he tried to further his singing career, he ended up working for Radio Televizija Slovenija. During the parliamentary elections in Slovenia in 2008 he was a candidate for the party Zares. Ten years later (2018) he ran for a seat in the National Assembly under the auspices of the Desus party.

An unexpected bonus on this EP is 'Jokal bom na dežju', a Slovenian version of the Everly Brothers song, 'Crying in the rain'.

My collection: 7" single no. 7664
Found: Discogs.com, received 14 April 2025
Tracks: 'Vse rože sveta', 'Orly' / 'Potraži me u predgradu', 'Jokal bom na dežju'

Lass mich dein Pirat sein (remix '91) - Nena

Although 'Engel der Nacht' was Nena's last single as a band, the record company decided to release a compilation album called Nena, die Band in 1991. In order to promote that album, this remix of 'Lass mich dein Pirat sein' was released as a single.

The remix does respect the original version of the song, fortunately, but adds some elements in order to make it sound a little more contemporary. Jens Kuphal was responsible for the additional programming, postproduction and mix.

My collection: 7" single no. 7663
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Lass mich dein Pirat sein (remix '91)' / 'Du kennst die Liebe nicht (live version)'

Bang-a-boomerang - Abba

Surprisingly, I didn't already have 'Bang-a-boomerang' on a 7" single, and even more surprisingly, 'S.O.S.' is on the B-side of this single. It is a French release on the Vogue label, with a very colourful sleeve.

The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson and at one point had the working title 'Stop and listen to your heart'. The lyrics compare the "message of love" with the returning boomerangs which the Aboriginal Australians developed. The song was originally written for Svenne & Lotta, who competed in the Swedish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with it. The duo had a big hit with it in Sweden. Abba then recorded the song and released it as a single in France and included it on their Greatest Hits album in November 1975. It was never released as a single in Scandinavia.

My collection: 7" single no. 7662
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Bang-a-boomerang' / 'S.O.S.'

Waterloo - Abba

What can I say about Abba's 'Waterloo' that hasn't been said already about a thousand times? Not much, I fear, and so I only need to explain why I bought this particular single. 

It's the Danish pressing of the single and it was released in 1974 in two different versions: with green lettering and red lettering. I'm not sure if I'm going to collect all versions of this single, because many different pressings exist, but this one was amusing and looked good too - and the price was right.

My collection: 7" single no. 7661
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Waterloo' / 'Watch out'

Amiga Quartett - Fleetwood Mac

The last Amiga Quartett EP I bought last week at the record fair was this one by Fleetwood Mac. The band seems to be very popular these days; copies of their old LP's are selling like crazy. I think a new generation is discovering the band, which can only be a good thing because they made some amazing music.

This EP features some of their early Eighties tracks, including 'Hold me' and 'Gypsy', two singles that are among my favourites. The other two tracks are less familiar, but equally great.

My collection: 7" single no. 7660
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Hold me', 'Eyes of the world' / 'Oh Diane', 'Gypsy'

Amiga Quartett - MIke Oldfield

Did I really need this MIke Oldfield EP? Sure I did, because I didn't have all the tracks on vinyl yet. 'Shadow on the wall' is a firm favourite, of course, as is 'Moonlight shadow', but I didn't yet own the other two tracks. 

'In high places' features guest vocals by Jon Anderson, and 'Foreign affiar' is a song I got to know via a cover version many years ago. All in all, another attractive package from those East German Amiga guys.

My collection: 7" single no. 7658
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Moonlight shadow', 'In high places' / 'Shadow on the wall', 'Foreign affair'