Straight or curly hair - Debbie Cameron & Tommy Seebach

The Danish entry for the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest was the inimitable Krøller eller ej by Debbie Cameron and Tommy Seebach. I wrote about that single 18 monts ago, so I thought it would be nice to post this English edition today. I got it via mail order just over two weeks ago. I didn't know it existed, but now that I have it, it is a real find.

Tommy Seebach has had quite a life, although unfortunately he probably didn't die a happy man, judging from his biography. The Eurovision songs he's made during his career (he entered the contest on three occasions and tried to get it a few times more) were a bit camp but always enjoyable. And this English version just adds to the wonder. Listen to those strange lyrics...

My collection: 7" single no. 5589
Found: KG Records, Sweden, received August 1, 2014
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Straight or curly hair' / 'Tiger'

Krøller eller ej - Debbie Cameron & Tommy Seebach

For about ten years, I've seen a record dealer from Denmark in Utrecht every six months, with a decent Eurovision collection. The only reason that I never bought anything from the man - although I was tempted from time to time - was the fact that his prices were too high. Starting at 4 euros, an interesting title would easily cost you 10 euros or more.

Much to my surprise, this weekend he was selling off all of his singles for just 2 euros. I guess he is stopping his business. Good news for me though; I got my hands on four singles that were missing from my collection, and this one is perhaps the most interesting of the four. Tommy Seebach is a Eurovision icon and 'Krøller eller ej' was one of his Eurovision successes. An overly hysterical Eighties production, but very amusing nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 5338
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 13, 2013
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Krøller eller ej' / 'Jeg en gard mig bygge vil'

Disco tango - Tommy Seebach

Tommy Seebach did his first of three performances at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979 with 'Disco tango'. The song was well received and ended up in sixth place out of 19 competitors. It became a major hit in Denmark and other European countries.

Seebach later became one of those tragic Eurovision heroes, as his other performances were less successful: 'Krøller eller ej' ended up in 11th place in 1981, and 'Under stjernerne på himlen' only reached 22nd place in 1993. The poor result meant that Denmark did not qualify for the ESC 1994, and Seebach was widely criticized, and never competed again. Seebach passed away on March 31, 2003 after a heart attack.

My collection: 7" single no. 5276
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 27, 2012
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Disco Tango (English Grand Prix version)' / 'Disco Tango (Danish Grand Prix version)'