Pump pump - Fredi & Friends

One of the reasons why the Eurovision Song Contest is derided by some people, is that some of the acts on stage have a certain dodgy quality. It's hard to explain why, but sometimes these dodgy act are what makes the contest so much fun.

One has to wonder, for example, whether Fredi & Friends, coming from Finland in 1976, seriously thought they had a chance with 'Pump pump'. The song was slightly catchy, but the group looked like they'd only rehearsed it a couple of times before losing their minds completely during the live broadcast. The enthusiasm of the female singer was a big contrast with the inertia displayed by frontman Fredi. Still, 'Pump pump' ended up on 11th place in a field of 18 contestants, so it wasn't too bad after all. And very funny, too.

My collection: 7" single no. 5586
Found: KG Records, Sweden, received August 1, 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Pump pump' / 'Listen to the rolling sea'

All make believe - Ilanit

In 1973, Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, creating the first occasion on which a country from outside geographical Europe competed. This is explained by the fact that the Contest is open to members of the European Broadcasting Union, an organisation that extends beyond Europe - in fact, there are members from all continents.

'All make believe' is the English version of the song 'Ey sham', which was performed (in Hebrew) by Ilanit. She reached fouth position with the song. Ilanit participated in the 1977 edition as well, and would also have participated in 1984, but her entry was withdrawn when the broadcast day coincided with an Israeli memorial day.

My collection: 7" single no. 5612
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'All make believe' / 'Still the green grass grows'

I can't wait - Nu Shooz

Nu Shooz is an American Freestyle-R&B-Dance group fronted by husband-and-wife team of John Smith and Valerie Day, based in Portland, Oregon. The Shooz released four albums in the U.S. during the 1980s, and it was its third album, Poolside, that brought the group's sound to a wider audience.

The single "I Can't Wait", taken from that album, climbed to number 2 on the R&B charts and number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1986. In Europe, it was a top 10 hit in many countries, and included in many DJ megamixes which were so popular at the time.

My collection: 7" single no. 5481
Found: Kringloop Hebbes, Den Haag, July 25, 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I can't wait' / 'Make your mind up'

Spirits having flown - Bee Gees

For some reason I never managed to secure a copy of the Bee Gees' 'Spirits having flown' until now. I did buy a copy some years ago, but that one turned out to have a different single inside the sleeve. If I'd noticed it earlier, the dealer wouldn't have made any money of me, but in this case, I was too slow.

This time I had more luck. This Portuguese copy of the single features a different sleeve (although it has to be said that it's only different from the Dutch version, as the UK version didn't have a picture sleeve at all) and had the right disc inside.
Great! This is actually one of the trio's better tracks, in my humble opinion.

My collection: 7" single 5372
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Spirits (having flown)' / 'Wind of change'

Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej - Claes-Göran Hederström

One would not expect a title like "It's beginning to look like love, damn it" to enter the Eurovision Song Contest back in the Sixties, but that's exactly what the title of this Swedish entry means.

Claes-Göran Hederström represented his country a year after his television debut and this became his most recognised song, partly thanks to its unconventional title and partly because of its humorous lyrics. The fact that this song ended up fifth in a field of 17 contestants also helped, of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 5583
Found: KEG Records, Sweden, received August 1, 2014
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej' / 'Natten är så lång'

Sámiid Aednan - Sverre Kjelsberg & Mattis Haetta

Every once in a while I get to buy a single I've been searching for - I mean, actively searching for - for many years. Earlier this week I finally had this beauty in my mailbox. It's the, frankly, rather bizarre Norwegian entry for the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest. Entitled 'Sámiid Aednan', the song was inspired by the autonomy movement among the Sami people of northern Norway. The line "framførr tinget der dem satt, hørtes joiken dag og natt" (in front of the parliament where they sat, the yoik was heard day and night), refers to a hunger strike in front of the Norwegian parliament building.

It is quite remarkable that such a politically-laden song made it into the contest, but even more remarkable is the song itself: after a rather traditional start, the song suddenly breaks off at 1'25 with Mattis Hætta contributing his yoik - a Sami form of vocal music without words. The song finished 16th in a field of 19 contestants.

My collection: 7" single no. 5601
Found: Discogs.com, received August 6, 2014
Cost: 6 euro
Tracks: 'Sámiid Aednan' / 'Detsikavisa'

Non ho l'eta'... [1990 version] - Gigliola Cinquetti

Re-recording songs is seldom a good idea. Too many artists have re-recorded their hits from the beginning of their career, and it usually signalled a lack of creativity or it was motivated by legal complications involving greedy record companies.

Gigliola Cinquetti decided to re-record 'Non ho l'eta' in 1990. I have found no information why she did it, but one would guess it was prompted by Italy's Eurovision win that year, when Toto Cotugno performed 'Insieme: 1992' in Zagreb and won the Contest. She went on to present the 1991 edition together with Toto. This version is unfortunately not as charming as the original track from 1964.

My collection: 7" single no. 5477
Found: Kringloop Hebbes, Den Haag, July 25, 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Non ho l'eta'... [1990 version]' (Gigliola Cinquetti) / 'Gli occhi miei' (Dino)

I love the nightlife - Alicia Bridges

No-one pronounces the word 'action' quite like Alicia Bridges, who scored a big hit in 1978 with 'I love the nightlife'. The song was a favourite in discotheques and was covered by artists like Laura Branigan, Bronski Beat and Taylor Dayne.

It also appeared in several Simpsons episodes and the movies 'Priscilla, queen of the desert' in 1994.

My collection: 7" single no. 5475
Found: Kringloop Hebbes, Den Haag, July 25, 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I love the nightlife' / 'Self applause'

Games without frontiers - Peter Gabriel

Although I do have a single with Peter Gabriel's 'Games without frontiers' on it (see it here) I really wanted to have the original single as well. So here it is, in all its weird glory.

For me, this single is also a celebration of the fact that in six weeks I will get to see the backing singer on this track, Kate Bush, live. Will Peter Gabriel appear live on stage with her? There is no telling, but it would be quite a thrill if they were to perform this track - or that other immortal duet 'Don't give up' live together. We'll wait and see...

My collection: 7" single no. 5470
Found: Kringloop Hebbes, Den Haag, July 25, 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Games without frontiers' / 'The start I don't remember'

Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel

There was a bit of excitement recently when a compilation album of Eighties 12" remixes - you know the ones - suddenly included a rare remix. It was the dance mix by John Potoker of Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer', released only once previously on this limited edition 12" single. The regular 12" single simply contained the album version of the track, so this remix was a bit of a rarity.

Now that the track has finally been released on cd, it was time to dig out my own crackly vinyl copy, so you can listen to 'the real thing', so to speak. Music on vinyl is what it's all about, after all...

My collection: 12" single no. 652
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Sledgehammer (dance mix by John Potoker)', 'Don't break this rhythm' // 'Biko (12" extended version)', 'I have the touch ('85 remix)'

Love like blood - Killing Joke

Sometimes there are these surprises when you're going through a stack of records. And finding this 12" single of Killing Joke's 'Love like blood' is a good example. I found this and for a moment I couldn't believe this disc actually contained a 'version' of the song. It isn't that strange in itself, since the single was released in the Eighties, but somehow I never thought there would be an extended version of this excellent track. Don't know why.

As it turns out, this extended version is excellent. A worthy addition to my collection.

My collection: 12" single no. 651
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Love like blood (version)' / 'Love like blood'

Funny how love is - Fine Young Cannibals

'Funny how love is' was released as the fourth and final single from Fine Young Cannibals' self-titled debut album in early 1986. Unlike 'Johnny come home' and 'Suspicious minds', two of the three previous singles, this wasn't a big success, even if the track, originally produced by the band themselves, was re-recorded and produced by Robin Millar, famous for his work with a.o. Sade. No wonder, then, that there is a distinct Sade-esque feeling to this track.

The track was written by the band, although it sounds like an old jazz standard - which is quite a feat in itself! By buying this single I have completed the Fine Young Cannibals discography as far as I know, although tips for obscure releases are of course always welcome.

My collection: 7" single no. 5364
Found: Fun Records (Germany), received July 5, 2014
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Funny how love is [single version]' / 'Funny how love is (album version)'

Popcorn - Techno Talk

Although the intro of this version of Popcorn sounds a lot like Belgian techno collective Technotronic's 'Pump up the jam', this track is actually produced and arranged by Theo Werdin, a  producer and sound engineer from Bad Homburg, Germany.

I bought a damaged copy of the 3" cd single some 10 years ago, so it was nice to find a 7" single of the same version now. The dub edit included on this 7" single does not appear on that cd-single, so it is an exclusive track.

My collection: 7" single no. 5363
Found: Fun Records (Germany), received July 5, 2014
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Popcorn (single edit)' / 'Popcorn (dub edit)'

Popcorn - Coba

The timeless melody 'Popcorn', composed by Gershon Kingsley, has been covered many times, with varying success. Thanks to my recent order with Fun Records, I managed to find two singles from 1990. This is the first one, released by the unknown German act Coba. This particular copy was released 'for promotion only', as is printed on the back sleeve. One has to wonder whether this single was even released commercially.

The tune is kept intact, but suffers from typical Nineties production values, and so this 'fresh hot mix' has gone quite stale in time.

My collection: 7" single no. 5362
Found: Fun Records (Germany), received July 5, 2014
Cost: 1,75 euro
Tracks: 'Popcorn (Fresh hot mix)' / 'Dago's Popcorn Rezept'

Heut' nacht - Frank Boyen

I have collected all of Dutch singer Frank Boeijen's singles (the result is shown here), but his ventures into foreign language have always been difficult to find. I knew that he'd recorded one single in German, called "Heut' nacht", but even in this internet age, I never found this disc. Until I found out, recently, that this German release was not by Frank Boeijen, but the name 'Frank Boyen'. Probably his real name was too hard to pronounce for German speakers.

Armed with the name 'Frank Boyen', I found this single within minutes. The indispensable Fun Records in Berlin had it in stock, and along with three more singles and a stack of cd-singles it arrived on my doorstep this morning. I was pleasantly surprised by the B-side, which is a longer version of the track 'Laat mij alleen', translated into 'Lass mich allein'. Both tracks were produced and arranged by Rob & Ferdi Bolland, who are, of course, pretty wellknown in their own right.

My collection: 7" single no. 5361
Found: Fun Records, Berlin, July 5, 2014
Cost: 3 euro
Tracks: 'Heut' nacht' / 'Lass mich allein'

Sweetest smile - Black

Black's 'Sweetest Smile' was originally released in 1987 as the second single from his most successful album 'Wonderful life', just before the title track became a worldwide hit and an Eighties classic. Slightly more beautiful and sophisticated, the song never became as famous as 'Wonderful life' but it is worth a spin or two if you like good music.

During last month's Record Store Day, a special 10" record was sold featuring a 2011 re-recording of the track, which sound a lot like the original version but unlike its 1987 counterpart the rights belong to Colin Vearncombe himself and not to the Universal record company mammoth. What really makes this disc special is the inclusion of three other tracks from his post-2000 output. Listen to this tracks and you'll probably want to have this disc - or the cd's which these tracks were taken from - yourself. Head on over to www.colinvearncombe.com for more information.

I wasn't able to get this record on Record Store Day, but fortunately this disc was sold online after the day, so you can imagine I am a happy bunny now.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Cost: 9 pounds
Found: Vinyl180, UK, received May 20, 2014
Tracks: 'Sweetest smile [2011 re-recording]', 'Where the river bends' / 'In a heartbeat', 'Grievous angel'

Slave to the rhythm - Grace Jones

A deluxe cd version of her career-overshadowing album 'Slave to the rhythm' has still not been issued, so all we can do in the mean time is pick up all the releases and rip the tracks from vinyl. Such as this one, the 12" single of Grace Jones' album's title track. I couldn't find it for a long time, but I finally found a good copy today - and for a very reasonable price, too.

The sleeve doesn't give you much information about the tracks contained on this disc, so I turned to Discogs.com for help. Fortunately, there is a decent listing for this disc. The 'blooded' version on the A-side is probably the best version of 'Slave to the rhythm' I've heard in a long time, as it adds much interesting things to the all too familiar single version. As for the B-side... Well, experimentation can be fruitful sometimes.

My collection: 12" single no. 648
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Slave to the rhythm (blooded)' / 'Junk yard', 'Annihilated rhythm'

Lover come back to me - Dead or Alive

Nobody suspected that Stock, Aitken and Waterman would dominate the pop charts for the next half of the Eighties when this single, 'Lover come back to me' was released back in 1985. It was the second big hit for the UK group Dead or Alive, which, like the previous single 'You spin me round', was produced by the infamous trio.

'Lover come back to me' packs a good punch and it is demonstrated even more firmly in this extended 12" version. The '7" bonus mix' included on the B-side is different from the 7" single version, so basically fans got two remixes for their money. Which was never a bad thing in those days.

My collection: 12" single no. 649
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Lover come back to me (extended version)' / 'Far too hard', 'Lover come back to me (7" bonus mix)'

It ain't necessarily so - Bronski Beat

Bronski Beat had already had two hits in 1984 when they released 'It ain't necessarily so', a cover of the George and Ira Gerschwin classic. The song questions the authenticity of biblical tales; the song is a metaphor for African-Americans questioning slavery, Jim Crow and oppression in the USA as the natural order of things. The single reached the UK Top 20.

This 12" single features a slightly longer version of the track as well as two more dance-oriented B-side tracks.

My collection: 12" single no. 647
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'It ain't necessarily so' / 'Close to the edge', 'Red dance'

Waterloo - Lecia & Lucienne

It's a special year for Abba fans, as 'Waterloo' is celebrating its 40th birthday. Even back in 1974, the song was used as a vehicle by other stars to have a go at chart success. Take for instance the Danish sisters Lecia & Lucienne Jönsson. They started to compete in talent shows in 1961 and won no less than 43 of them. In 1964, they released their debut album.

Ten years later, they recorded this cover version of Abba's winning Eurovision song. You can hear how the production of this version is not quite up to the original, but it is still interesting to hear how a song is used and changed this way, only weeks after its release.

My collection: 7" single no. 5360
Found: Record fair, Utrecht
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Waterloo', 'Kom - tag min hand'