Boom bang-a-bang - Heidi Brühl

After covering the song 'La la la' in 1968, Heidi Brühl continued the next year with another winning Eurovision song: her version of 'Boom bang-a-bang'. The song was given a German lyric by Elisabeth Bertram née Merkels, also known as Lilibert.Heidi Brühl, of course, appeared in Eurovision herself in 1963 with the song 'Marcel'. 

In 1970, Brühl moved to the United States where she appeared in Las Vegas and in episodes of such television series as Columbo. She returned to Germany to play in two further Immenhof sequels in 1973–1974, The Twins from Immenhof and Spring in Immenhof. Brühl and Halsey divorced in 1976, and she returned to live in Germany the following year. She did dubbing work on films such as 'The NeverEnding Story' and 'Look Who's Talking Too', and her last roles were in television serials such as Ein Fall für zwei and Praxis Bülowbogen. She died of breast cancer in Starnberg on 8 June 1991, aged 49.

My collection: 7" single no. 6544
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Boom bang-a-bang' / 'Der Himmel weint Freudentranen'

Marcel - Heidi Brühl

And then, finally, I have found the Eurovision single I have been waiting for all my life. Who wouldn't love to have a Eurovision song dedicated to him- or herself? Well, back in 1963 - years before I was born - German singer Heidi Brühl performed the song 'Marcel', and it's a great one too: the song is sung from the perspective of a young woman telling her lover (the titular Marcel) that he is moving too quickly for her. She tells him that 'only a gentleman has a chance with me' and that he needs to respect that. The song ended up in ninth place out of 16 competitors.

Heidi didn't stop her involvement with Eurovision after this: in 1968 she recorded a cover version of that year's Spanish winning song, 'La la la'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6121
Found: Ebay, received June 11, 2019
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Marcel' / 'Das grosse Spiel'

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