Auntie - Hildegard Knef, Enrico Macias, Sandra & Andres, Alice Babs, Demis Roussos, Vicky Leandros

'Auntie' is a song released by Philips Records in 1972 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the BBC. It is named after the affectionate nickname for the corporation, and featured artists from six countries. The singers are Hildegard Knef, Enrico Macias, Sandra & Andres, Alice Babs, Demis Roussos and Vicky Leandros. The composer is Dutch musician Hans van Hemert. 

Though the single peaked at number four in the Netherlands and number five in Greece, it failed to chart in the United Kingdom. Critics observed similarities between Van Hemert's 'Auntie' composition and 'Those were the days', a 1968 hit by Mary Hopkin. In turn, the Belgian entry to the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest - 'Hey nana' by Micha Marah - was accused of plagiarising the song 'Auntie'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6648
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 March 2022
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Auntie' / 'Auntie (instrumental version)'

C'est pour demain - Sandra & Andres

I already had three singles by Sandra & Andres and they are all the same song. It's their Eurovision Song Contest entry for 1972: 'Als het om de liefde gaat'. The duo recorded the song in several different languages. I already owned the German and English versions, but recently I was fortunate enough to also find the French version.

It's interesting that the sleeve of this single differs a lot from the three others. It looks like this will be the last Sandra & Andres single I buy, since I don't know any other versions of this song. But who knows, I might be surprised.

My collection: 7" single no. 6409
Found: Discogs.com, received 22 June 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'C'est pour demain' / 'Dans chaque mélodie'

What do I do - Sandra and Andres

Sandra and Andres represented the Netherlands in the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Als het om de liefde gaat'. They also recorded two versions in other languages: the song was titled 'Was soll ich tun' in German and 'What do I do' in English.

It's a miracle that my friend Puck and I didn't buy the same singles on May 5. While he bought 'Als het om de liefde gaat' and this English single somewhere else in the country, I was back in my hometown buying the single 'Was soll ich tun'.

My collection: 7" single no. 3705
Found: May 5, 2009
Cost: -
Tracks: 'What do I do' / 'Gypsy man'

Was soll ich tun - Sandra en Andres

Like I mentioned here, it's a miracle that Puck and I didn't buy the same singles on May 5. While he bought 'Als het om de liefde gaat' and its English version (soon on this blog) somewhere else in the country, I was back in my hometown buying this single: 'Was soll ich tun', the German version of 'Als het om de liefde gaat'.

Part of the charm of Eurovision collections is owning different language versions of entries. They are often collectable, because Eurovision artists usually don't have a lot of success abroad. As was the case with this one: it did not chart anywhere.

My collection: 7" single no. 3696

Found: Empire Records, Den Haag, May 5, 2009

Cost: 2 euro

Tracks: 'Was soll ich tun' / 'Wenn der Zigeuner lacht'

Als het om de liefde gaat - Sandra en Andres

Sandra Reemer (born October 17, 1950 in Bandung, Indonesia) teamed up with Dries Holten (born January 30, 1942 in Tjimahi, Indonesia) to form the duo Sandra & Andres. They performed together between 1966 and 1975. In 1972, they represented the Netherlands during that year's Eurovision Song Contest. 'Als het om de liefde gaat' ended up in fourth place. They recorded the song in a few other languages. But more about that soon...

My friend Puck bought this single for me elsewhere in the country while I ended up in a record shop myself. Since we both bought some Eurovision singles for me, it's a miracle we didn't end up with the same titles...

My collection: 7" single no. 3704

Found: May 5, 2009

Cost: -

Tracks: 'Als het om de liefde gaat' / 'Oude zigeuner'