Sunny - Boney M

Bobby Hebb wrote 'Sunny' and recorded it in 1963. Hebb wrote the song after his older brother, Harold, was stabbed to death outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by the event and many critics say it inspired the lyrics and tune. According to Hebb, he merely wrote the song as an expression of a preference for a "sunny" disposition over a "lousy" disposition following the murder of his brother.

Boney M turned the song into a disco hit in 1976. It became a huge hit all over Europe, But it also made the charts in Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. Whether the song was a hit in Japan I don't know, but the single was released there with a totally different sleeve.

My collection: 7" single no. 8346
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 July 2026
Tracks: 'Sunny' / 'New York City' 

Head over heels - Abba

It's been a while since I last bought an Abba single, but here we are again. This is the Japanese single for 'Head over heels', which amusingly has a different B-side: 'Lay all your love on me' from the band's preceding album Voulez-vous. Perhaps the original B-side, 'The visitors', was too dark for the Japanese record company. 

There aren't many variants of the 'Head over heels' single. It wasn't a big hit for the Swedish quartet, and it signalled the end for them. Fortunately they recorded two more singles after this, before they disappeared from the scene for many decades in 1982.

My collection: 7" single no. 8345
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 July 2026
Tracks: 'Head over heels' / 'Lay all your love on me' 

Save your kisses for me - Brotherhood of man

The United Kingdom won the Eurovision Song Contest a few times, but the best known song is probably Brotherhood of Man's 'Save your kisses for me', which provided the country's victory in 1975. The UK pressing of the single can be found in thrift shops all over Europe, but this Japanese single is pretty rare.

In an interview the band explained: 'We wanted something cheerful, it had to be catchy, and thematically, of course, it had to be something everyone could identify with. Lee came up with the melody quite quickly, but what should the lyrics be about? We could sing about animals; everyone loves animals, right? But then we decided to make it about a child, and that decision was probably the right one.’ 

My collection: 7" single no. 8344
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 July 2026
Tracks: 'Save your kisses for me' / 'Let's love together' 

What do I do - Sandra & Andres

I got 'What do I do' in 2000 as a present from Puck, and since I had all the other versions of 'Als het om de liefde gaat' I wrote that I probably wouldn't post any other Sandra & Andres singles on this blog anymore because I had all the versions after I bought 'C'est pour demain' in 2021.

But of course, I didn't know then that 'What do I do' had already been released in Japan. And Japanese singles, as we all know, are in a league of their own. Of course, I had to order this copy.

My collection: 7" single no. 8343
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 July 2026
Tracks: 'What do I do' / 'Gypsy man' 

愛のおとずれ - Katja Ebstein

Katja Ebstein represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970 with 'Wunder gibt es immer wieder'. While I was searching for some Japanese singles online, I found this Japanese copy on red vinyl. It was beautiful, if slightly on the expensive side. I had it on my wish list for a year or so, and recently I found a French seller who had a copy. Well, the shipping costs are certainly lower than if I'd ordered it from Japan.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that this single contains the Japanese version of the song. (This is actually shown on the sleeve, in the green banner - but unfortunately my Japanese isn't good enough that I could read 'Japanese versions' in those characters.) Katja certainly made an effort: she also recorded the song in English, French, Italian and Spanish. The first three will probably appear on this blog at some point.

My collection: 7" single no. 8342
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 July 2026
Tracks: '愛のおとずれ' / 'Der draht in der Sonne (Wichita Lineman)'

You light up my life - Debby Boone

Debby Boone was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the third of four daughters born to singer-actor Pat Boone and Shirley Foley Boone, daughter of country music star Red Foley. When Boone was 14 years old, she began touring with her parents and three sisters: Cherry, Lindy, and Laury. The sisters first recorded with their parents as The Pat Boone Family and later as the Boones or Boone Girls. They primarily recorded gospel music, although the sisters also released singles that were remakes of secular pop music featuring Debby as the lead vocalist.

With her older sisters married and younger sister Laury in college, Boone was actively encouraged by producer Mike Curb to launch a solo career. Boone released her first solo effort, 'You light up my life' (which had been featured in the film of the same name), in 1977. The song became the biggest hit of the Seventies, lasting ten consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart – longer than any other song in the Hot 100 history to that point. The B-side of the single features a cover version of the Abba song 'Hasta mañana', which was the main reason for me to buy this single. 

My collection: 7" single no. 8341
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'You light up my life' / 'Hasta mañana' 

Rock me - Riva

'Rock Me’ was composed by Rajko Dujmić, with lyrics by Stevo Cvikić. Dujmić performed with his own band Novi Fosili in 1987 and composed both the Yugoslav entries ‘Ja zam sa ples’ in 1987 and ‘Mangup’ in 1988. His entry from 1989 would turn out to be a winner. Dujmić recalled: ‘Back then, the songs were sung in the language of the country you represented. There was no option to choose the English language, so I suggested to Cvikić to put two or three words in the lyrics in English.’ 

Emilija Kokić was only 21 years old. With Dalibor Musap (keyboards and vocals), Nenad Nakic (bass and vocals), Zvonimir Zrilic (guitar and vocals), and Boško Colic (drums), she formed Riva, the act that would win the Eurovision Song Contest this year. They were young and inexperienced, and certainly nervous during rehearsals. But after the rehearsals in the days leading up to the broadcast, those nerves slowly disappeared. Just like ‘La det swinge’ four years earlier, the juries were likely captivated by the song's retro feel. Riva was, despite being the winners of the competition, quite unpopular in Europe. ‘Rock Me’ did not sell in many countries and was not even released in some. Terry Wogan, the commentator for the United Kingdom, called it ‘the death knell’ for the competition.

My collection: 7" single no. 8340
Found: Gaga Music, Goch (Germany), 15 July 2026
Tracks: 'Rock me (English version)' / 'Rock me (Original version)'