Ein Bisschen Frieden - Nicole

I dare say that no Eurovision Song Contest collection is complete without this maxi single. Although Nicole's 'Ein Bisschen Frieden' certainly isn't the best song ever to come from the Contest, it has become rather immortal, for instance because of the fact that the young girl spontaneously sang her winning song in several languages after securing the top spot in the Contest in 1982.

I already had Ein Bisschen Frieden, A little peace, La paix sur terre, Een beetje vrede, En smule fred and Un poco de paz on single, but this 12" single features a medley that strings all of them together - well, except the Danish version. But for all its polyglottal glory, the sleeve of this 12" single still spells the word 'Merci' wrong.

My collection: 12" single [unnamed]
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Ein Bisschen Frieden/A Little Peace/La paix sur terre/Een beetje vrede/Un poco de paz' / 'Thank you, merci, danke (German/English/French/Dutch version)'

Un poco de paz - Nicole

So when you have Ein Bisschen Frieden, A little peace, La paix sur terre, Een beetje vrede and En smule fred, there's only one more version of 'Ein Bisschen Frieden' to get hold of: 'Un poco de paz' of course. It's the Spanish version of the 1982 Eurovision winner, and I have searched for this one for years. Try it yourself: when you come across it online it's a pretty expensive item.

At the Record Fair in Utrecht, which takes place every six months, I never saw this single before either, but during the last edition I was finally lucky. If the price seems a bit high to you, you have to consider that shipping is usually part of the deal when ordering online. So I think I still got a good deal. Now I'll never have to buy a Nicole single anymore...

My collection: 7" single 5350
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Un poco de paz' / 'Thank you, merci, danke'

A little peace - Nicole

So I've got 'Ein Bisschen Frieden', 'La paix sur terre', 'Een beetje vrede' and 'En smule fred'. No wonder that I've also got the English version: 'A little peace'. This is the only single released on the CBS label and with a different sleeve (although I do believe another version does exist with the same sort of sleeve as the other four).

It's rather unusual for any Eurovision winner to reach the UK singles chart, let alone reaching the top position. But that's exactly what Nicole did in May 1982. It may well have been the first time in a long time that any German captured the hearts of UK citizens.

My collection: 7" single no. 3572
Found: eBay.com, received February 2, 2009
Cost: 3 pounds
Tracks: 'A little peace' / 'Thank you, merci, danke'

Ein Bisschen Frieden - Nicole

'Ein Bisschen Frieden' was written by Eurovision Song Contest veterans Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger. It was performed at the 1982 edition of the Contest by 17 year old high school student Nicole. With her innocent looks and white guitar, she managed to secure Germany's first (and last) ever win.

I hated the song with a passion. The tacky lyrics and the corny melody did nothing for me. But all these years later, there is one convincing reason to own this single: I have nearly all of the Eurovision winners.

My collection: 7" single no. 3376

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2003

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Ein Bisschen Frieden' / 'Thank you, merci, danke'

La paix sur terre - Nicole

Nicole recorded various versions of the song that gave her victory in the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, 'Ein Bisschen Frieden'. On this blog, you've already seen 'En smule fred' and 'Een beetje vrede', and now here's the French version, 'La paix sur terre'. The B-side is also performed in French.

I spent some time trying to find this single, and of course I found it after some time on eBay. It's just about the only place to find rare singles these days. There are a few more versions, but they are even harder to find. I'm still looking for the Spanish and Italian singles...

My collection: 7" single no. 3608

Found: eBay, France, received March 20, 2009

Cost: 3 euro

Tracks: 'La paix sur terre' / 'Thank you, merci, danke'

Een beetje vrede - Nicole

The winner of the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, Nicole, recorded her winning song 'Ein Bisschen Frieden' in six languages. One of them was the Dutch version, 'Een beetje vrede'. The thing that struck me back then was that this young German girl spoke (sang) better Dutch than my aunt in her fourties, who was born in Germany but spent two decades in the Netherlands, did.

Not only the A-side, but also the B-side, 'Thank you, merci, danke' was recorded in Dutch. It all helped Nicole reach the first place in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 3477

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2003

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Een beetje vrede' / 'Thank you, merci, danke'

Download: here

En smule fred - Nicole

German singer Nicole won the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest with her song 'Ein Bisschen Frieden'. After winning the contest, she recorded her song in several different languages: French, Dutch, English, Spanish and... Danish.

When I was in Esbjerg, Denmark in 2006 and visiting a local record shop, I just couldn't resist buying this single when I saw it. This is the weird thing about a Eurovision collection: even if you decide to only buy the songs you really like, there are always items that you know are rare and collectable. It's just too good to leave such an item standing there when the price is low and the opportunity knocks. And so now I own a Danish Nicole single...

My collection: 7" single no. 3427

Found: Esbjerg (Denmark), June 17, 2006

Cost: 10 Danish crowns

Tracks: 'En smule fred' / 'Thank you, merci, danke'

Download: here