On your knees - Grace Jones

'On your knees' is exactly the sort of title you would expect from Grace Jones - her attitude was legendary already in the late Seventies. It was the only single released from her third album Muse in 1979. The single was ignored by the record-buying public and left little impact on dance music charts in the US. 

The album version was 6 minutes and 20 seconds long; for this single release it was edited down to three minutes and 47 seconds. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7861
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'On your knees' / 'Don't mess with the messer' 

Kom terug - Johnny White

Anne Marie David won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 with 'Tu te reconnaitras'. It was a popular song at the time, so many other artists wanted to have a piece of the pie and started recording their own versions. 

One of them was Johnny White, whose real name was Johnny Wittevrouw, born in Belgium on 13 June 1946. During his career he released a handful of albums and over fifty singles. 'Kom terug' ('Come back') was his version of the Eurovision winner, and it sounds as emotional as this melody dictates.

My collection: 7" single no. 7859
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Kom terug' / 'Nu geen tranen' 

Aan de stroom - Erik van Neygen & Sanne

Erik Filip Van Neygen was born in Anderlecht (Belgium) on 1 May 1951. He started his career with the  skiffle group Motten Drizzle, which he founded together with his classmate Johan Verminnen. In 1975 he recorded his first solo single.

Since 1989 he primarily worked with singer Sanne, with whom he also had a relationship. Their 1992 single 'Aan de stroom' is a Flemish version of the 1975 Eurovision entry from Yugoslavia, 'Dan ljubezni'. It's quite unusual for such an obscure song to resurface after 17 years, but there you go!

My collection: 7" single no. 7858
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025 
Tracks: 'Aan de stroom' / 'Allemaal cinema'

9 to 5 - Sheena Easton

Although Sheena Easton's hit single was called 'Morning train' in Europe as a result of Dolly Parton's hit single already being called '9 to 5'. But in Japan, the single was unashamedly called '9 to 5'. The sleeve was a thing of beauty, with a very young Sheena Easton pictured in between the titles.  

Japanese singles tend to be very expensive for some reason, even when they're very old, but this time a dealer came up with the standard price of 3 euros. It was a good deal for this beautiful item.

My collection: 7" single no. 7865
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: '9 to 5' / 'Moody (My love)'

 

Money, money, money - Abba

Although this French sleeve of 'Money, money, money' uses the same photographs as the Dutch one, it uses them far more effectively. I didn't notice it until now, but the Italian one mirrored those photographs, which I guess was a mistake on the part of the Italian record company. 

The songs remain the same, obviously. I remember 'Money, money, money' from my early childhood and I remember that Frida's low voice certainly made an impression. It remains a great moment in pop history.  

My collection: 7" single no. 7869
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Money, money, money' / 'Crazy world'

Omdat ik van je hou - Louis Neefs

The sleeve of this single doesn't give it away, but 'Omdat ik van je hou' ('Because I love you') is actually a cover version of the song 'L'amore e un attimo'. Massimo Ranieri represented Italy with the song at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971. 

Louis obviously had some Eurovision experience himself, in 1967 and 1969, and kept a close eye on the competition afterwards. I imagine he heard the song and decided to record his own version with lyrics in Flemish. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7857
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Omdat ik van je hou' / 'Du bist mijn meisje' 

Zwischen Wolga und Don - Edina Pop

Just last month I bought a copy of 'Komm komm zu mir' by Edina Pop, and now I was lucky enough to find another Eurovision-themed cover version by the same artist.

'Zwischen Wolga und Don' is a version of 'Alors je chante', as proclaimed on the sleeve, and that, of course, is the French title of the Spanish Eurovision song 'Vivo cantando'. Just like other covers Edina recorded the lyrics were translated into German, and the title suggests that the subject has changed entirely yet again too.

My collection: 7" single no. 7856
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 15 November 2025
Tracks: 'Zwischen Wolga und Don'/ 'Jambo'