C'est la vie - Claude

Although the Eurovision Song Contest gives me a right amount of pleasure, that pleasure doesn't often come from the Netherlands. Fortunately we've had the absolute worst last year, so things could only get better. I'm talking about the quality of the songs, of course, not even about all the madness that a certain Dutch artist caused during the event.

This year the Netherlands come up with a song that is normal again. It's not outstanding or especially moving, but at least it is a song. The single was released well in advance, and it is pressed on yellow vinyl too. Let's see what Claude can do next month!

My collection: 7" single no. 7030
Found: Official website, received 11 April 2025
Tracks: 'C'est la vie' / 'C'est la vie (instrumental)'

Strobe lights - Red Sebastian

The Eurovision Song Contest is still almost a month away, but the first vinyl single is already here. It's Belgium's Red Sebastian with the song 'Strobe lights'. And I'm using the term 'song' lightly, because it's mostly beats and a high-pitched voice. The comparison to last century's Eurovision songs isn't always very favourable, but I do think that people who are into dance music will like this one. 

As for me, I'll continue to collect Eurovision singles, especially when they are, like this one, pressed on red vinyl. It is a beauty. I'm not sure whether Red Sebastian will make the final. But we'll have to wait and see.

My collection: 7" single no. 7629
Found: Official website, 9 April 2025
Tracks: 'Strobe lights' / 'Strobe lights (extended mix)'

Annorstädes vals - Ingvar Wixell

Some would argue that the Eurovision Song Contest was "much better in the early days", and their eyes would fill with a nostalgic look. Indeed it's hard to imagine that a country like Sweden would send in a celebrated tenor to sing a classically oriented jazz song like 'Annorstädes vals' these days. But times have changed, and so has the music that people want to see on the TV screen.

Sweden didn't actually send in 'Annorstädes vals' back in 1965 either: they opted for the English translation called 'Absent friend'. This was a kind of protest against the fact that Carmela Corren had sung 'Vielleicht geschieht ein Wunder' partly in English in 1963, because Austria should have stuck to their country's own language (as was the unwritten rule back then). The protest worked; the unwritten rule became a written rule and countries had to stick to their official languages from 1966 onwards. 

There is, of course, a single of 'Absent friend' as well, but so far I've only seen that one for thrice the price I paid for this one. And this one was already a bit on the expensive side.

My collection: 7" single no. 7628
Found: Discogs.com, received 8 April 2025
Tracks: 'Annorstädes vals', 'Förtrollad stad' / 'Stilla och tyst', 'Kommer var'

Don't you want me / Love action - Human League

Although my collection of Human League singles is complete, there are sometimes such curiosities as this one. It's a combination of two big hits by the band, brought together on a single, released in the A&M Memories series in the USA some years after their original release. How many years? There is no way of knowing, because there is no year of manufacture anywhere on the label of this single.

A little bit of research reveals that AM-8643 was released in 1982, so it looks likely that this single was released in 1982 or 1983. Some memories aren't really that old.

My collection: 7" single no. 7627
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Don't you want me' / 'Love action (I believe in love)'

Lucifer - Alan Parsons Project

'Lucifer' appeared on the B-side of 'You don't believe', a single by the Alan Parsons Project which I bought in January. The funny, thing is, 'You don't believe' in turn was a B-side of 'Don't answer me'. And now 'Lucifer' appears on an A-side as well; it was released in 1979, so actually five years before 'You don't believe'. I guess the record company wanted a good single to promote the greatest hits album in 1984. 

The album Eve, from which 'Lucifer' was taken, was the Alan Parsons Project's fourth album. The single scored particularly well in Germany and Austria, peaking at number 8 and 4 respectively.

My collection: 7" single no. 7626
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Lucifer' / 'I'd rather be a man'

Puls(t)ar - Ben Liebrand

'Puls(t)ar' is the curious title of a Ben Liebrand production from 1990, and a cover version of the wellknown track by Vangelis. 

Although a commercial release with a picture sleeve certainly exists (it was 1990 after all, and vinyl singles were still commonly produced, although that would change within a few years) I was struck by this Spanish one-sided promo, which gives the listener exactly what he wants: just the one track, and no B-side. Were Spanish DJ's still using these singles at the time? I don't know.

My collection: 7" single no. 7625
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Puls(t)ar'

Wood beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin) - Scritti Politti

This is one of those singles I thought I already had, but I didn't. I found this UK pressing and I thought I'd buy it because if I had it it would probably be the European version, but when I checked my collection, this title wasn't there at all. So that was a nice surprise. 

'Wood beez' reached number 10 in the UK chart, but didn't chart in Europe. The song's subtitle is a reference to 'I say a little prayer', Aretha Franklin's biggest UK hit. Arif Mardin, who produced this song for Scritti Politti had also produced Franklin.

My collection: 7" single no. 7624
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Wood beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin)' / 'Wood beez (Pray like Aretha Franklin) (version)'

I can't dance - Genesis

When you look at the music video for 'I can't dance', you can see Genesis at their most humorous. It's hard to believe that they were such a 'serious' prog rock band back in the seventies, but things evolved over time. 

Originally, the band did not think of the song as anything more than a joke recording that would be discarded quickly, because the song was too simple, too bluesy, and unlike Genesis' style. Tony Banks said in an interview: "It was one of those bits you thought was going to go nowhere. It sounded fun but wasn't really special". 

The single ended up peaking at number 7 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK singles chart, but it topped the Dutch Top 40!

My collection: 7" single no. 7623
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'I can't dance' / 'On the shoreline'

 

Would you dance with a stranger? - Mari Wilson

I do have a few Mari Wilson singles, but I wasn't familiar with this one. The sleeve leapt out at me, because her name was on it but the woman on the sleeve didn't look anything like her! Turns out this is a track from a movie, and the woman on the sleeve apparently plays in it. (Fortunately a small picture of Mari Wilson herself appears on the back of the sleeve.)

Dance with a stranger is a British film from 1985, and the title track is a cover version of Peggy Lee's 1951 track. The film made a comfortable profit. Goldcrest Films invested £253,000 in the film and received £361,000, making them a profit of £108,000. Mari Wilson's single, however, didn't chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 7622
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Would you dance with a stranger?' / 'Ruth's bedroom (dialogue)', 'Jazz break'

Oh what a night (1988 remix by Ben Liebrand) - The Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli

In the second half of the Eighties many classic songs fell victim to the remix fad of the day. Many songs were remixed by DJ's with or without talent. Some results were quite terrible, others made the song slightly more appealing to the audience at the time.

Dutch DJ and producer Ben Liebrand remixed 'Oh what a night' by the Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli and re-released it as a single. The single didn't chart in 1988, but it was an interesting remix nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 7621
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Oh what a night (1988 remix by Ben Liebrand)' / 'Oh what a night (original version)'

Winter melody - Donna Summer

Although Donna Summer was wellknown for her sighing and groaning on 'Love to love you', she appears on the sleeve of this single in winter clothes. 'Winter melody' is a soul ballad. The song speaks of a woman struggling to come to terms with the fact that her relationship has ended. As with much of Summer's material at that time (particularly with songs found on her concept albums), the song played for a considerable amount of time (over six minutes), however, the song was edited for its release as a single. 

The single was taken from the album Four Seasons of Love, and the song represented the "winter" phase of this concept album. It reached number 43 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 27 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 7620
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Winter melody' / 'Full of emptiness'

Lay all your love on me / On and on and on - Abba

Although I bought a picture disc of the tracks on this single just last year, this American version from 1980 was just too interesting to resist. (And to be honest, I'd forgotten that I already had 'Lay your love on me' on any single.)

While these tracks were only released on a 12" single in Europe, America had the chance to buy them on a normal 7" single. Unfortunately the Americans didn't get a picture sleeve, and so this is a relatively anonymous release from the Swedish hitmakers.

My collection: 7" single no. 7619
Found: Record fair, Rijswijk, 30 March 2025
Tracks: 'Lay all your love on me' / 'On and on and on'

Twee hartjes en twee namen - Yvette Ravell & Ronny Temmer

In 1972 Serge & Christine Ghisoland represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'A la folie ou pas du tout'. They represented mainly the French speaking part of the country, as they were chosen by the Walloon broadcaster. In the Flemish part of the country, Yvette Ravell and Ronny Temmer stepped in and took it upon themselves to provide a translation with this single, 'Twee hartjes en twee namen' ('Two hearts and two names').

The B-side of this single is a cover version of 'Als her om de liefde gaat', the Dutch entry from that year. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7617
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Twee hartjes en twee namen' / 'Als het om de liefde gaat'

Everything I own - Bread

David Gates wrote 'Everything I own', which was recorded by his band Bread in 1971. Although initial listeners may have interpreted it as a song about a broken relationship, David Gates revealed that it was written in memory of his father who died in 1963 before he achieved his success with Bread. David said: "My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record 'Everything I Own' about him. If you listen to the words, 'You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, you gave my life to me, set me free', it says it all."

The single reached number 5 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 32 in the UK singles chart. Surprisingly, the single didn't chart in the Netherlands.

My collection: 7" single no. 7607
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Everything I own' / 'I don't love you'

Horis skopo - Christos Callow

A rare gem, this Eurovision single from 1990. Christos Callow represented Greece with his song 'Horis skopo' and only managed 19th place in a field of 22 competitors. Not that the song was so bad, the juries just went for other songs and they continued to show their bad taste like they'd done through most of the Eighties.

Christos was born in Athens in 1955. He starred as the Archbishop in Jesus Christ Superstar in Greece in 1979. After his Eurovision performance, he was also a candidate in the greek Eurovision finals in 1987 (3rd) and in 1988 (unknown result). 

My collection: 7" single no. 7618
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Horis skopo' / 'Without a purpose (Take my way)'

Syng lille laerke / En smule - Raquel Rastenni

The Danish singer Raquel Rastenni was born in Copenhagen on 21 August 1915. She started her career as a dancer in the Helsingør Revue in 1936. She debuted as a singer in 1938 by being broadcast on radio. As a Jew, she fled Denmark in October 1943 along with her family, as the country had come under Nazi occupation. She spent the rest of the war years in Sweden where she continued having great success with her career, performing with orchestras and in cabarets and varieties.

In 1958 she represented her country at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Jeg rev et blad ud af min dagbog' (a single I am still searching for, actually). She kept in touch with the Contest after that, because a lot of her singles are actually cover versions of Eurovision songs. This single, for instance, presents her Danish versions of the number 1 and 2 of the 1959 edition. 'Syng lille laerke' is a version of 'Sing little birdie', and 'En smule' is Raquel's take on ''n Beetje'. It sounds rather good actually!

My collection: 7" single no. 7616
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Syng lille laerke' / 'En smule'

Aprite le finestre - Nilla Pizzi

'Aprite le finestre' was Italy's first ever Eurovision song, performed by Franca Raimondi in 1956. Although the single still eludes me, there were plenty other artists recording that song and it is a lot easier to get hold of those versions. 

This EP features four songs by Nilla Pizzi, and 'Aprite le finestre' is one of them. Nilla Pizzi was born in Sant'Agata Bolognese on 16 April 1919. She won the first ever San Remo festival in 1951 and performed a total of 31 songs at that festival throughout her career. With her charismatic, warm voice, she is considered the most successful San Remo singer of all time. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7615
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 March 2025
Tracks: 'Arrivederci Roma', 'Aprite le finestre' / 'Due teste sul cuscino', 'Musetto'

So long - Paunita Ionescu

When I order records online, sometimes there are such items that I just buy because they're cheap and interesting. And a disc like this is certainly that. For just 1 euro extra I got this rare gem. 

The Romanian singer Păunița Ionescu recorded a cover version of Abba's 'So long', and it appears on this EP with three tracks. Ionescu apparently had a musical background, as both her parents were opera singers. She started singing in the 70s with the band Catena (Latin for “chain”), a girl band. Finally, Păunița Ionescu opted for a solo career in 1974. She left Romania in 1990 but occasionally returns to her homeground.

My collection: 7" single no. 7614
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 March 2025.
Tracks: 'Don't tell me', 'Is everybody happy?' / 'So long'

Golden years - David Bowie

'Golden years' was the lead single from David Bowie's tenth studio album Station to Station (1976). Harry Maslin, who co-produced the track, recalled that the song was "cut and finished very fast. We knew it was absolutely right within ten days. But the rest of the album took forever." Like the majority of Station to Station, the song's elements were primarily built in the studio rather than written before.

The single was very successful, reaching number 10 in the US BIllboard Hot 100 chart, number 8 in the UK singles chart and number 6 in the Dutch Top 40. I thought I'd bought this single a long time ago, but apparently not. So I did.

My collection: 7" single no. 7610
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 1 March 2025
Tracks: 'Golden years' / 'Can you hear me'