Petit Bonhomme - Camillo

This cheerful young man is called Camillo Felgen, born in Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg on 17 November 1920. He started his career as a teacher. During the Second World War, Felgen was a translator for the German occupiers, and then a reporter with a French-language newspaper. He studied theater and opera in Brussels and Liège; in 1946, he joined Radio Luxembourg as a chorus singer and a French-language reporter. In 1949, the mastering of his baritone completed his theatre and opera studies. 

In 1951, he had his first international hit record, 'Bonjour les amies' ('Hello Friends'). The song went on to become the theme song for his national broadcaster. He represented his home country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 with 'So laang we's du do bast', becoming the first Luxembourger and the first male contestant to represent Luxembourg and the first participant to sing in Luxembourgish. He finished last with only one point. Two years later he entered the contest again, this time doing much better by finishing in third place with the song 'Petit bonhomme'. 

From 1965 until 1973, Felgen was the host and commentator for the German broadcasts of Jeux Sans Frontières (Spiel Ohne Grenzen). He died in his birthplace on 16 July 2005. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6355
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 March 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Petit bonhomme', 'Ballade pour une trompette' / 'Le tango de minuit', 'Demain'

I got stung / One night - Elvis Presley

Another icon from the past that hasn't featured much on this blog is Elvis Presley. Important though he was, his music never touched me quite the same way as pop music from the late Seventies and first half of the Eighties did. But as I am reaching a certain age, my interest in his work has increased slightly, and there was another good reason for buying this single: 'One Night' was covered by none other than Kim Wilde back in 1987. 

This single is, apparently, quite sought after, because to my surprise it was listed for a mere 30 euros on Discogs. I got my copy for considerably less, so who knows, I might sell it one day. But for now, I am quite pleased to own this - even if it is a reissue of these two songs from 1969. They were originally released in 1958!

My collection: 7" single no. 6359
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, 20 March 2021
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'I Got Stung' / 'One Night'

Lay lady lay - Bob Dylan

Those of you who are into Bob Dylan will probably wonder why he has never appeared on this blog before. To some, he is truly the best ever and they worship him like he's some kind of godlike entity. To me, it has always been a mediocre singer at best, and his music never managed to touch me in any way. His lyrics, amazingly awarded the Nobel Prize for literature a few years ago, seemed a bit inane to me as well. 'The answer is blowing in the wind' has become some sort of catchphrase but I never really understood why.

Which makes the purchase of this single, perhaps, a mystery. I only heard 'Lay Lady Lay' some years ago and I didn't really recognize Bob Dylan as the singer. I mean, the man isn't exactly renowned for holding a melody is he? But this is a nice tune, even if it is hardly Nobel Prize material.

My collection: 7" single no. 6358
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, 20 March 2021
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Lay lady lay' / 'I threw it all away'

Rock this town - Stray Cats

These days you don't hear any rock 'n' roll or rockabilly music in the charts anymore, but 40 years ago, while pop music was being taken over by synthpop artists, the Stray Cats still managed to score with this great music style. 'Rock this town' entered the UK singles chart on 2 July 1981 and peaked at number 9 during a chart run of 8 weeks. They also scored in Europe: the single peaked at number 3 in the Netherlands and also made top 10 in several other European countries.

In fact, the Stray Cats kept making music all through the Eighties, despite breaking up a few times in between. After 1992's Dave Edmunds-produced 'Choo Choo Hot Fish', and the cover album 'Original Cool', the group called it quits again. Further reunions happened in 2008 and 2018. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6357
Found: Kringloop Den Haag, 20 March 2021
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Rock this town' / 'Can't hurry love'

Lapponia (English version) - Monica Aspelund

My collection of Monica Aspelund singles seems to revolve around one song: Lapponia, the song she represented Finland with at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest. I have the original Finnish version and a Dutch version, and now I can add the English version of the song. 

Circa 1980 Aspelund, who had just been divorced, relocated with her two-year-old son to Lake Worth, Florida. She performed locally and on Caribbean cruise ships making periodic visits to Finland and Sweden, notably in 1986 when she headlined in the stage musical Cats in Helsinki. It was reported in 2010 that Aspelund had returned to Finland on a permanent basis. No doubt she's visited Lapponia a few times since then.

My collection: 7" single no. 6353
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 March 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Lapponia (English version)' / 'La la sing a song'

A day of love - Ashes and blood

The Yugoslavian band Pepel In Kri - credited in the Eurovision Song Contest as Ashes and Blood - represented their country with the song 'Dan ljubezni' in 1975. It marked the fourth and final time the Socialist Republic of Slovenia represented the whole of Yugoslavia at Eurovision. The music composition was written by Tadej Hrušovar, lyrics were written by Dušan Velkaverh and arranged by Dečo Žgur. At the close of voting, it had received 22 points, placing 13th in a field of 19 competitors.

The song is a ballad, with the band calling for a day of love in the whole world that never ends. The song was released as 'A day of love', the version that is presented on this single. This version failed to chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 6352
Found: Discogs.com, received March 19, 2021
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'A day of love' / 'Naj bo baby'

Mikado - Simone Drexel

Simone Drexel was born on 13 May 1957 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 1973 she took first place in the talent competition of the youth magazine Bravo. Drexel's entry into the music business was when she represented her country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975. With the song 'Mikado' she ended up in sixth place in a field of 19 competitors. After a few more singles she decided against a long-term career as a pop singer. 

After training to be a medical practice assistant, Drexel married a musician, changed her last name to Johnson and became a mother in 1984. A year later she began her work in a transfusion medicine laboratory. In recent years Drexel has returned to the music industry as a music teacher, she is also the lead singer of the group Bluesonix. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6351
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 March 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Mikado' / 'Die Marionetten'

Eons roll by - Gentlemen without weapons

I didn't really know that the Gentlemen without weapons album 'Transmission' came with two single releases. I bought Unconditional Love (Planet Earth) back in 1989 around the time of its release, but this single, 'Eons Roll By' passed me by. I wasn't the only one: the single didn't chart in any territory. 

The album 'Transmissions', from which both singles were taken, was equally unsuccessful in reaching the charts, but the trio remained undeterred and started the project Spirit Of The Forest, enlisting the help of many famous stars to create a song that would perhaps persuade more people to think about the environment. Thirty years later, my cynical conlusion is that people didn't care then, and they still don't care now. At least we got some remarkable songs out of it. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6350
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 February 2021
Cost: 1,66 euro
Tracks: 'Eons roll by' / 'Uchu o mamoro'