Kaupungin lapset - Make Lentonen

There are many versions of Kim Wilde's 'Kids in America', but there are also a lot of versions of 'Kaupungin lapset', the Finnish translation of that very song. The earliest version was already recorded in the same year as the original song (1981) by Mona Carita - and many other Finnish artists have had a stab at this translated version since.

Make Lentonen recorded his version in 1993. This single is hard to find; for a long time a version without the picture sleeve has been available on Discogs.com, but finding the version with its original cover proved to be more difficult. It took me a long time, but I've finally found a copy - also on that website. Once it was offered, I snapped it up within a couple of hours.

My collection: 7" single no. 5817
Found: Discogs.com, received December 19, 2015
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Kaupungin lapset' / 'Puistokatu krs. 6'

Listen to the song

Think sometimes about me - Sandie Shaw

'Think sometimes about me' was released in November 1966, just months before the singer would become a Eurovision icon with 'Puppet on a string'. This single would end up on the album named after that Eurovision hit.

What's interesting (for me anyway) is not so much the A side of this single, but the B side: 'Hide all emotion' was written by Marty Wilde. Hence, I had to have this single.

My collection: 7" single no. 5816
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, December 19, 2015
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Think sometimes about me' / 'Hide all emotion'

Listen to the song

Monsieur - Park Cafe

Park Cafe formed in 1986 with members Rom Heck, Maggie Park and Gast Waltzing in Luxembourg. They released their self-titled debut album a year later. In 1989, they represented Luxembourg during the Eurovision Song Contest with this song, 'Monsieur'. As you can hear, it was a bouncy pop song that would have done well in the charts with proper promotion. As it was, they only reached 20th place in a field of 22 competitors. That said, that year's winner was Riva's infamous 'Rock me', proof that the real winning songs sometimes end up down below.

The band released the album 'Monsieur' that same year, and eventually folded in 1993. This single is a real rarity and only appears online from time to time for rather excessive prices.

My collection: 7" single no. 5815
Found: Discogs.com, received November 26, 2015
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Monsieur' / 'Living in toonland'

Listen to the song

La la la - Heidi Brühl

Heidi Rosemarie Brühl was born on January 30, 1942. She was a German singer and actress who came to prominence as a young teenager and had a prolific career in film and television. She was also a successful recording artist, and is known for her participation in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest for Germany with the song 'Marcel'.

In 1968, she recorded this cover version of Spain's winning song 'La la la' - in German. She died of breast cancer on June 8, 1991, aged just 49.

My collection: 7" single no. 5813
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2015
Cost: 0,8 euro
Tracks: 'La la la' / 'Und mein Zug fährt immer weiter...'

Listen to the song

Red rose - Alphaville

'Red rose' was the fifth and final single from Alphaville's 1986 album, 'Afternoons in Utopia'. It was released in April 1987.

Although the single didn't chart anywhere in Europe, it did reach number 24 on the US Hot Dance Chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5813
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2015
Cost: 0,8 euro
Tracks: 'Red rose' / 'Concrete Soundtracks For Imaginary Films 1: Big Yellow Sun'

Listen to the song

Falling - D. Twins

Five years ago you met the D. Twins on this blog, with a 12" single of 'Falling', which was a cover version of Julee Cruise's theme song for 'Twin Peaks'. It turns out that besides cd-singles and this 12" single there was also actually a 7" single! And since I collect 7" singles (avidly), I had to buy this copy the first time I saw it - which was this time five weeks ago. Fortunately it came cheap, too.

My friend Puck and I have had a lot of fun about this version because of the silliness of certain versions, but I guess you had to be there to fully appreciate the fun of it. So for now, just enjoy these cover versions for yourself if you can.

My collection: 7" single no. 5812
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, December 26, 2015
Cost: 0,8 euro
Tracks: 'Falling (Peaks version)' / 'Falling (Twin Club mix)'

Listen to the Peaks version / Listen to the Twin Club mix

The way you are - Agnetha Fältskog & Ola Håkansson

Agnetha Fältskog and Ola Håkansson of the Swedish band Secret Service recorded 'The way you are' in 1986. The song was used to promote Falun, Sweden as a candidate for hosting the 1992 Olympic Winter Games. Falun was not selected to host the Games, but the song became a big hit in Sweden. 
The song on the B-side, "Fly like the eagle", was also a duet by Fältskog and Håkansson.

Both songs were featured in the documentary 'It's Time for Sweden'. The single reached No. 1 in Sweden, but was not successful in the rest of the world.

My collection: 7" single no. 5811
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2015
Cost: 0,8 euro
Tracks: 'The way you are' / 'Fly like the eagle'

Listen to the song

Alles und noch viel mehr - Manuela

Another example of Manuela's practice of recording German versions of Eurovision songs is this single: 'Alles und noch viel mehr', a version of Dana's winning song for Ireland in the 1970 Contest. The single reached number 26 in the German singles chart.

Manuela, born as Doris Inge Wegener, died on February 13, 2001. Ten years later, a road was named after her: the Manuelaweg in Berlin-Kladow.

My collection: 7" single no. 5810
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2015
Cost: 0.8 euro
Tracks: 'Alles und noch viel mehr' / 'Sei wieder gut'

Listen to the song

Der schwarze Mann auf dem Dach - Manuela

The popularity of the Eurovision Song Contest was perhaps even bigger in the Seventies than it is now. The winning songs were often big hits everywhere in Europe and even songs that didn't win made an impact.

German singer Manuela made a career out of recording German-language versions of Eurovision songs. This single is an example: 'Der schwarze Mann auf dem Dach' is the German version of Clodagh Rodgers' 'Jack in the box', the 1971 Eurovision entry from the United Kingdom.

My collection: 7" single no. 5809
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2015
Cost: 0,8 euro
Tracks: 'Der schwarze Mann auf dem Dach' / 'Dich vergessen kann ich nie'

Listen to the song