Il est là - Paule Desjardins

The very first Eurovision Song Contest took place in 1956 and every participating country (seven in total) performed two songs each. Some countries chose to send two different performing artists as well. In the case of France, they were Mathé Altéry with 'Le temps perdu' and Dany Dauberson with 'Il est là'. For some inexplicable reason, both songs were not released on disc at the time.

A version of 'Il est là' appeared on an EP, however, and it was performed by Paule Desjardins (who would go on to represent France the next year). This EP is quite rare, and I was lucky enough to find a copy from a Portuguese seller online. Sometimes you never know where those rare records come from!

My collection: 7" single no. 7008
Found: Discogs.com, received 5 August 2023
Tracks: 'Il est là', 'Mango-rumbo' / 'Casino blues', 'Viens plus près'

La belle amour - Paule Desjardins

This EP presents four songs by Paule Desjardins, who represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 with 'La belle amour'. It's interesting how little is known about this song. It was composed by Guy Lafarge (5 May 1904 - 17 December 1990) and written by Francis Carco (3 July 1886 - 26 May 1958). 

The song finished in second place, behind Corry Brokken's 'Net als toen', the first time the Netherlands took home the prize. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6618
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 January 2022
Cost: 100 SEK
Tracks: 'La chanson de Lima', 'La belle amour' /  'Amour perdu', 'Dis-moi quelque chose de gentil'