J'aime la vie - Sandra Kim

The Japanese really know how to package their singles - they regularly come with totally different sleeves and then there's the sleeve notes at the back in Japanese too. And in this case, a totally different B-side! 

'J'aime la vie' was, of course, the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986. It remains the only time that Belgium won the Contest, and with a rather dreadful song I might add. But it still has all the hallmarks of an Eighties production, with synthesizers and drum beats galore. 

In a 2006 online interview with 12points.be, Kim was asked if she sings 'J'aime la vie' "with pleasure" at concerts and events now, to which she responded, "Not always." She then said, "It's a little girl's song, with little girl's lyrics, with a young adolescent's atmosphere. Nowadays, singing 'J'aime la vie'... do you like life every day? Me neither."

My collection: 7" single no. 6868
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 February 2023
Tracks: 'J'aime la vie' / 'Liberté'