Kraftwerk are pioneers of techno pop, and have been responsible for some of the most astonishing records of the Seventies. It's remarkable that they were able to produce music that sounds timeless even now, mostly thanks to the technology that has become mainstream now, but was quite difficult and expensive back then.
The hyphenated title of the album 'Radio-activity' (1976) displays Kraftwerk's typical deadpan humour, being a pun on the twin themes of the songs, half being about radioactivity and the other half about activity on the radio.
More word plays are evident in the track listing: "Radio Stars", which
as a title could refer to pop stars, but upon listening is revealed to
be about quasars and pulsars. The title track was issued as a single and reached number 7 in France and number 31 in Italy - but failed to chart everywhere else.
My collection: 7" single no. 5433 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Radio-activity' / 'Antenna'
Robert Cogoi was born as Mirko Kogoj on October 25, 1939 in Châtelet to Yugoslav parents. In 1961 he picked up a contract with Philips Records, and the following year, won first prize at the Grand Prix International des Variétés at the Casino in Ostend with the song 'Si un jour', which went on to sell 100,000 copies in France, earning Cogoi a gold disc.
In 1964, he represented belgium with 'Près de ma rivière' ('Near my river'). At the close of voting, it had received 2 points, placing 10th in a field of 16 competitors. Cogoi also recorded the song in English, German and Italian language versions, entitled, respectively, 'My River of Memories', 'Weit, da wo der Strom beginnt' and 'Sulla mia riviera'. The English version, however, was not released until nearly 30 years after the Contest.
Cogoi continued releasing albums and singles, with modest success, until the late 1960s. In 1976 he appeared in the Belgian movie 'Les arpents dorés'. After many years out of the public eye, Cogoi made a guest appearance, along with several other former Eurovision participants, at the Belgian Eurovision national final in 2005.
My collection: 7" single no. 5652 Found: Marktplaats.nl, November 5, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Pres de ma riviere' / 'Quand le jour se leve'
'Only the light', written and composed by Richard Peebles, was the United Kingdom's entry at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Peebles himself, who was credited as Rikki.
Rikki won the right to perform at Brussels by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe, where he was the first singer to perform.
At the end of judging that evening, 'Only the light' finished on 13th place. It was a huge disappointment to the United Kingdom as it was the lowest placement any of the country's entries had received up to that time.
Like the previous year, a rock song was in the offering, with an unclear theme (it is never explained what "the light" is, what kind of metaphor it is, why "the light" is after him or why he is avoiding it). In the UK singles chart, the single rose no further than to number 96.
My collection: 7" single no. 5632 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Only the light' / 'You came into my life'
Luca Barbarossa is an Italian singer/songwriter who was born on April 15, 1961. He has released 12 albums since 1981, appearing at the prestigious San Remo festival numerous times. In 1988, he was chosen by Italian broadcaster RAI as the representative for Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, performing the song 'Ti Scrivo'.
The song is a ballad, in which Barbarossa apologises to the recipient of a letter he is writing for using this method of communication. This recipient appears to be a former lover, as he sings that 'Without a good reason / I just scream out your name / It makes me feel alive' and makes mention of deep feelings which needed to be communicated.
At the close of voting, the song had received 52 points, placing 12th in a field of 21 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5631 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Ti scrivo' / 'Da grande'
The band Profil was put together especially for the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest to represent France with the song 'Hé Hé M'sieurs dames' ('Hey hey, Ladies and Gentlemen'). The band members were: Martine Havet, Martine Bauer, Francis Rignault, Jean-Claude Corbel and Jean-Pierre Izbinski. Their song was performed sixteenth on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 45 points, placing 11th in a field of 19 competitors.
This single is one of only three I still needed to complete my collection of singles from the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest. It will be a real feast when I find the last one, 'Huilumies', the song that represented Finland.
My collection: 7" single no. 5647 Found: Discogs.com, received September 11, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Hé hé m'sieurs dames' / 'Jour de chance'
In 1968, the Netherlands were represented in the Eurovision Song Contest by Ronnie Tober. He sang the song 'Morgen', a ballad in which the singer expresses his desire for "tomorrow" to arrive as soon as possible, enabling him and his wife, who is far away, to be reunited. This is slightly ironic, since Ronnie Tober later turned out to be gayer than Christmas.
The song was performed second on the night. At the close of voting, it had received 1 point, placing 16th (equal last) in a field of 17 competitors. Of course, the next year, the Netherlands would be one of four winners of the Contest, when it was organised in Spain.
My collection: 7" single no. 5594 Found: Marktplaats.nl, August 1, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Morgen' / 'Die ouwe pianola'
Dario Campeotto was born on February 1, 1939 in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen to Italian parents, Emma and Ernesto Campeotto.
He started performing at the age of ten, but his breakthrough was a victory in the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in 1961 with the song 'Angelique', which went on to finish fifth in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song is a love ballad directed towards one Angelique, with Campeotto singing about the various things he would do for her if he had the skill - such as writing poetry if he were William Shakespeare or playing the violin if he were Yehudi Menuhin.
Following Angelique, Dario Campeotto released a number of records,
starred in theatrical play, operettes, revues, and movies. He has been married twice and once lived in Italy with his
former wife, actress Ghita Nørby, but returned to Denmark where he is
currently continuing his career.
My collection: 7" single no. 5660 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 23, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Angelique' / 'Du er min kaerlighed'
Bryan Johnson was born on July 18, 1926. He became a regular appearance on 'A Song For Europe', the UK national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest. He competed in 1957, 1960 and 1961, but only qualified for the 1960 edition with 'Looking high, high, high', a song written by John Watson. He ended up in second place on the Contest, behind 'Tom Pillibi' by Jacqueline Boyer. The single reached number 20 in the UK singles chart.
Johnson was also an actor who, in Donald Wolfit's company, played such roles as Feste in Twelfth Night and the Fool in King Lear. In Ronald Harwood's biography of Wolfit, the actor is quoted as saying that he was "the best Fool I ever had". Later he played roles in musicals such as 'Lock Up Your Daughters' and enjoyed a late success as Scrooge in a touring production of 'A Christmas Carol'. He died on October 18, 1995.
My collection: 7" single no. 5602 Found: Marktplaats.nl, received August 6, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Looking high, high, high' / 'Each tomorrow'
'The Right Thing' was released by Simply Red in 1987. It was taken from their second album 'Men and Women'.
It displays more of a funk influence than the group's previous hits, but also retains the soul sound that became their trademark during the '80s. According to some sources, the racy sexually implicit nature of the song caused the album to be banned in Singapore.
The single reached number 11 in the UK singles chart in early 1987, but did not find significant success in the United States, only reaching number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 at a time where the group were at their peak amount of success in the States.
My collection: 7" single no. 5446 Found: unknown Tracks: 'The right thing' / 'There's a light'
Exile had a big hit in 1978 with Kiss you all over, and for most people, that's where their story ended. That single came from the album 'Mixed emotions'. A year later, they released 'All there is', the album featuring How could this go wrong and this single, 'Too proud to cry'.
Listening to these two singles, it would seem that the band tried a rougher and tougher approach. The album did well in Europe but also signalled less popularity in the USA. Oddly, in 1983, the band re-established themselves as a country music group.
My collection: 7" single no. 5672 Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 23, 2014 Cost: 0,5 euro Tracks: 'Too proud to cry' / 'Destiny'
In 1965, French singer France Gall represented Luxembourg with the song 'Poupée de cire poupée de son'. It was composed by Serge Gainsbourg, also from France, and inspired by the Piano Sonata No. 1 by Beethoven. As is common with Gainsbourg's lyrics, the words are filled with double
meanings, wordplay, and puns. The title can be translated as "wax doll,
rag doll" (a floppy doll stuffed with bran or chaff) or as "wax doll,
sound doll" (with implications that Gall is a "singing doll" controlled
by Gainsbourg).
At the time of her performance, France Gall was too young to understand all these double meanings. In later years, she disassociated herself with the Eurovision Song
Contest, and refuses to discuss it in public or perform her winning
song.
Finding this single was a feat in itself. This original French pressing has become very rare and it's hard to track down such a good copy. I'm happy that I finally managed to get this one, in what I would call mint condition.
My collection: 7" single no. 5614 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014 Cost: 5 euro Tracks: 'Poupée de cire, poupée de son', 'Un prince charmant' / 'Dis a ton capitaine', 'Le coeur qui jazze'
Five years ago, School already appeared on this blog, but this single predates that one, and it's now part of my collection as well. The song was never officially released as a single when it was released on the album 'Crime of the century' in 1974.
It turns out that it was released as a single almost a decade later: this single was made in 1983, after the success of their album 'Famous last words' and the single 'It's raining again'. This was while the band was - probably - still under contract with A&M Records, and as such, this was released on the A&M label.
My collection: 7" single no. 5411 Found: unknown Tracks: 'School' / 'Oh darling'
'Train of love in motion' was released as the second single off Heaven 17's 1988 album 'Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho'. It wasn't the band's most successful album, causing them to fall silent for many years. This single fared even worse than its predecessor The Ballad of Go Go Brown, because it failed to chart at all.
When Heaven 17 returned, it was 1996. They released 'Bigger than America', another album that failed to chart. You'd think they'd gone for good, but fortunately Heaven 17 found a second lease of life in this century, releasing new albums (a new one is planned for 2015) and even performing live - something they never did in the Eighties.
My collection: 7" single no. 5406 Found: Record Exchange, London Cost: 10p Tracks: 'Train of love in motion' / 'Work'
After releasing a version of the 1985 Eurovision winner as Lot ons swingen, Belgian band De Strangers decided to make an annual event of it. Their 1986 cover version was derived from Sandra Kim's J'aime la vie. Sandra represeted Belgium, and it was the first time that Belgium won the Contest.
In their undecipherable Antwerp dialect, the Strangers sing that they would like to be a policeman. Not exactly sure, because I can't really understand what they are singing at all. Evidently, most Belgians could, as this single actually gave them a hit: ''k Zen zo gere Polies' peaked at number 23 in the Belgian chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 5618 Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, August 10, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: ''k Zen zo gere Polies' / 'Allee allee mokt da na mee'
One of the biggest news stories in the Netherlands today was the fact that 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen didn't make number 1 in the annual Top 2000, the chart that is compiled by Radio 2 listeners who vote on a website during a couple of weeks near the end of the year. The chart is broadcast every year in the last week, the period between Christmas and New Year's Eve. This year, The Eagles' 'Hotel California' surpassed the classic Queen song for the first time in many years.Well, at least the Rhapsody is still number 2.
By contrast, many Queen singles have been long forgotten. Who remembers, for instance, 'Spread your wings'? This single was released in February 1978 and only managed to reach number 34 in the UK singles chart and number 20 in the Dutch Top 40. The previous single from the album 'News of the World', 'We are the champions' is remembered by many more people - despite the fact that this single is far more interesting.
My collection: 7" single no. 5441 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Spread your wings' / 'Sheer heart attack'
This limited edition 'special 2 record set' brings together two of Dollar's singles, the 1986 single 'Haven't we said goodbye before' and their debut single from 1978 'Shooting star'. It is an odd pairing, probably made because the record company thought there would be some interest in a re-release of the duo's debut, which peaked at number 14 when it was originally released.
The plan didn't work: 'Haven't we said goodbye' did not chart in any territory. It would take an Erasure cover to resurrent their career, albeit briefly.
My collection: 7" single no. 5385 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Haven't we said goodbye before' / 'Platinum rap' // 'Shooting star' / 'Tokyo'
Although I already had a copy of Sandie Shaw's Puppet on a string, I thought this German copy would be a worthwhile addition for its colourful sleeve. The different B-side is just a bonus, of course.
Sandie Shaw won the 1967 edition of the Contest with this song, despite the fact that she wasn't particularly fond of the song. In August 2014, Shaw was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. I guess she wanted Scotland to be the puppet on England's string, then...
My collection: 7" single no. 5628 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014 Cost: 1 euro Tracks: 'Puppet on a string' / 'Had a dream last night'
Despite this song's irresistible hook, Level 42's 'Out of sight, out of mind' only managed to get to number 41 in the UK singles chart, just missing the top 40. The song was released as the first single from their 1983 album 'Standing in the light', the album that gave them their first top 10 hit in the shape of 'The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)'.
It would take the band two more years to become world famous with the album 'Running in the family'. Compared to some of their later singles, this one sounds fresher and more innovative... but that's just my opinion.
My collection: 7" single no. 5436 Found: unknown Tracks: 'Out of sight, out of mind' / 'You can't blame Louis (remix)'
Atlantis 2000 competed in the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest with Dieser Traum darf niemals sterben. I bought the single of that song five years ago, as you can see here. I didn't know, however, that an English version was also released. That version appears here, on a single which contains both the English and German version. The lyric of the English version was written by Richard Palmer-James.
It was a nice try, but this single didn't chart in any territory. And so, the never-ending dream came to a premature end.
My collection: 7" single no. 5626 Found: Fun Records, Berlin, received August 29, 2014 Cost: 2 euro Tracks: 'Never-ending dream' / 'Dieser Traum darf niemals sterben'
