Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej - Malta

'Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej' was the winner of the Swedish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973. The duo Malta, consisting of Claes af Geijerstam and Göran Fristorp, ran into a problem when they went on to the international Contest: their name was similar to a country - and although Malta did not participate in 1973, they still had to change their name. They became Nova, and their song was translated into English, and became 'You're summer'. 

This single features the original Swedish version, and to add to the excitement the sleeve has been signed by Claes and Göran. I don't have an official confirmation, but the signatures look authentic enough. The B-side 'Här kommer sol' is a Swedish version of - you guessed it - the Beatles' 'Here comes the sun'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6615
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 30 SEK
Tracks: 'Sommar'n som aldrig säger nej' / 'Här kommer sol'

Nova - You're summer

Keywords on blogs can be misleading. Nova, for instance, exists as a Dutch duo of synthesizer wizards, but also as a Swedish duo consisting of Claes af Geijerstam and Göran Fristorp, who made a name for themselves representing their country at the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. They were originally called Malta, but were forced to change their band name because of the possible confusion with one of the participating countries in that year's contest.

Their song was called 'You're summer', which contains the rather intriguing line 'Your breasts are like swallows in nesting', written by the well-known poet Lars Forssell. At the close of voting, it had received 94 points, placing 5th in a field of 17 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 5732
Found: Discogs.com, received February 25, 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'You're summer' / 'You never tell me no'

...

Christmas forever - Nova

It's impossible to find information about the Dutch duo Nova, that recorded the single 'Christmas forever' in 1981. It was released but never charted, and the song is credited to E.O. MacDonald and H. Promes and recorded and mixed at 'Rena Sound' in Rotterdam. The single was released on the unknown MacProPoc label.

Of course, there was also 3a synthesizer duo called Nova around at the time, but this duo remains unlisted on any of the websites around today. Still, it's a Christmas song with religious overtones and a nifty melody line.

My collection: 7" single no. 4643
Found: All that music, Leiden, March 13, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Christmas forever' / 'My dream'

Cygnus - Nova

The synthesizer wizards of Nova recorded two albums, but they will always be remembered for their debut single 'Aurora'. It's as if they never recorded anything else! But they did.

'Cygnus' was the first single from their second album 'Quo vadis', released in 1983. The single did not make a dent in the charts, although it didn't sound very different from the material on their first album. But perhaps that was the problem...

My collection: 7" single no. 4149
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, November 7, 2009
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Cygnus' / 'Jig'

Sol - Nova

'Sol' was the second single released by the instrumental synthpop band Nova. Expectations were high, since 'Aurora' made number one in the Dutch Top 40. By comparison, 'Sol' did less well, but it still made a very respectable number 20 in the summer of 1982.

It was the only Nova single I bought that year, since 'Aurora' had been played to death on the radio and I really didn't need to hear it anymore. That said, I don't think I played 'Sol' very often...

My collection: 7" single no. 125

Found: Wouters, Den Haag, 1982

Cost: 3 guilders

Tracks: 'Sol' / 'Ariane (The traveler)'

Download: Album 'Terranova', including both tracks

La luna - Nova

After 'Aurora' and 'Sol' had become chart hits, CNR Records released a third single from Nova's debut album 'Terranova', 'La luna'. Despite the fact that it was another beautiful instrumental synthpop tune, the audience had had enough: the single didn't chart at all.

It didn't mean that Nova quit: another album, 'Qua vadis' would be released, and for Veronica television they would compose a soundtrack. But the commercial success was over for good.

My collection: 7" single no. 3555

Found: All that music, Leiden, January 24, 2009

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'La luna' / 'Terra'

Download: Album 'Terranova', including both tracks

Aurora - Nova

The Dutch instrumental synthpop band Nova was founded in 1982 by Rob Papen, Ruud van Es and Peter Kommers. They started out as Peru (The first two letters of the names of original band members Peter Kommers and Ruud van Es) but decided to also start Nova as the commercial side of their music projects.

'Aurora' was originally a music theme in the track 'Sons of dawn' by Peru. The song got discovered by Willem van Kooten, who was the boss of record company Red Bullet. The single was released in March 82 and shot to number 1 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 3554

Found: All that music, Leiden, January 24, 2009

Cost: 1,6 euro

Tracks: 'Aurora' / 'Reel'

Download: here