Just an illusion (the 1989 remix) - Imagination

In the second half of the Eighties, it became a bit of a habit to remix everything that moved, basically. Old hits by Jackie Wilson or Marilyn Monrie, for instance, but also more recent songs fell victim to this. Even songs that were pretty perfect to begin with. 

Imagination's 'Just an illusion' is a good example. There was nothing wrong with this Jolley and Swain production, but still Mike Pickering and Graeme Park thought they could improve on the track. The 1989 remix was released in, er, 1989, and failed to trouble the charts, predictably. The single was taken from a remix album called 'Like it is: hot sensational re-mixes', but this album also failed to chart. Sometimes people prefer to hear songs like they are.

My collection: 7" single no. 6774
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 September 2022
Tracks: 'Just an illusion (the 1989 remix)' / 'LTO (Love's taking over) (L.J.´s Blues Mix)'

Gwendolyne - Salomé

In 1970, Julio Iglesias represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Gwendolyne'. Salomé, who was one of the four winners in 1969 when she performed 'Vivo cantando', thought it was a good idea to record her own version of this song, and perhaps profit a little from the success that Iglesias might have with this song in Spain.

Unfortunately, Salomé's version doesn't come close to the subtle beauty of Iglesias' version; it is a bit bland to be honest. Still, with singles like this it is always interesting to add a bit of history to your collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 6768
Found: Discogs.com, received 30 August 2022
Tracks: 'Gwendolyne' / 'Llévatelo'

Parlez-vous Français - Baccara

I've only got two singles by Baccara in my collection, and they are both called 'Parlez-vous Français?'. One features the French version, the other presents the English version. I recently found out that there was also an extended version of the song, but bizarrely it was only ever released in Mexico. And, get this: it was pressed on various colours of vinyl. 

I ordered one copy of this 12" single, pressed on red vinyl, and not only does it feature an extended version of the song (incorporating both the French and English versions), the B-side features a version of that ole Doors classic 'Light my fire'. What's not to like? It is a very interesting addition to my collection. 

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 14 September 2022
Tracks: 'Parlez-vous Français? [extended]' / 'Baby, why don't you reach out? Light my fire'

Verona - Koit Toome & Laura

It's always nice when Eurovision songs are released on 7" or CD-single. Somehow, a 12" release is always a bit of a pain - especially when a song is released on 12" only. This was the case with one of the best entries in the Eurovision Song Contest of 2017 - 'Verona' by Koit Toome and Laura from Estonia. For a long time, this 12" single was only available for premium prices, and sad to say, the price hasn't really dropped in the years that followed.

Still, this particular 12" single was worth obtaining, because it offers six different versions of the song. I can't help but wonder why this was not released on a CD-single as well, but we know by now that record companies are not interested in consumer preferences. 

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 21 September 2022
Tracks: 'Verona (radio version), 'Verona (Italian version)', 'Verona (Moon Taxi remix)' / 'Verona (Eurovision 2017 version)', 'Verona (club remix)', 'Verona (1985 version)'

Popcorn - Danny Danova

Danny Danova is the stage name of Danny Boddin, a Belgian producer and keyboard player, who released a couple of singles in the mid-1970s. Not much is known about this man, unfortunately. 

This single is a bit of a strange one: it features the wellknown Kingsley composition Popcorn, as performed by Danova, but it is released in the 'Golden 45's' series, which is all about re-releasing old hits. Except: there is no other (original) release of Danova's 'Popcorn'! The B-side, 'Pagoda', was originally released in 1975. Both tracks are very enjoyable, with spacey sounds and great melodies. It's just weird that some artists seem to have vanished off the face of the earth...

My collection: 7" single no. 6767
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 August 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Popcorn' / 'Pagoda'

Verão - Carlos Mendes

I already owned 'A festa da vida', Carlos Mendes' second Eurovision song from 1972, but six years earlier he represented Portugal for the first time with the song 'Verão'. The song, composed by Pedro Vaz Osório and written by José Alberto Diogo, was about a man with a broken heart who realises that summer is over and he can’t wait until summer starts again. It was a very short song, clocking in at just over two minutes. 

This EP presents three more songs, of which 'I'll get over it' is the most enjoyable. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6766
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 August 2022
Cost: €6
Tracks: 'Verão', 'Nobody wants you when you're down and out' / 'I'll get over it', 'Mensagem'

Ensemble - Ilanit

It's impossible to find copies of Ilanit's two Eurovision songs in Hebrew, so for now I have to be satisfied with versions in other languages, which are sometimes available for more affordable prices. Like for instance this one: 'Ensemble' is the French version of  'Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim', the song she performed at the 1977 edition when she represented Israel for the second time.

The French translation was contributed by Patrick Loubié, who would also deliver a translation for the Turkish song 'Pet'r Oil' in 1980. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6765
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 August 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Ensemble' / 'Bon voyage bonne chance'

Dansevise - The Cousins

The Belgian band The Cousins formed in the late Fifties. They started under the name Les jeunes équipes, but inspired by their frequent performances in the dance club Les Cousins ​​near the Brussels Grand-Place, they changed the name to The Cousins. In 1960 the band was discovered by record executive Jean Kluger. They had a big hit that year with 'Kili Watch', which sold a million singles. The success of 'Kili Watch' caused disputes in the band over royalties. After composer Gustave Derese had registered the copyright of the gigantic hit with SABAM, he left the group. He later founded the less successful band The Killy Jacks. 

The Cousins continued their career but couldn't match the success of 'Kili Watch'. In 1963 they released this single, a cover version of the winning song of that year's Eurovision Song Contest, 'Dansevise'. It was an instrumental version. In 1966 the band broke up. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6763
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 August 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Dansevise' / 'Boomeranga'

Bien plus fort - Tereza

Tereza Ana Kesovija was born on 3 October 1938. She graduated from the flute program at the Zagreb Music Academy, and as a student began appearing in amateur music events. In 1962, shortly after the start of her professional career, she won her first international contest at Saint-Vincent, Italy. After this success, Tereza had a tour in USSR and she recorded one EP with Italian songs for the biggest Russian music company – Melodiya. She spent 1963 and 1964 touring USSR, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden. She also had a lot of TV appearances in these countries. 

In 1965, she moved to France. One year later, she was chosen by Grace Kelly to represent Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest. Her song was 'Bien plus fort'. She also recorded the song as 'Još Mnogo Jače', in Serbo Croat. I had that version earlier than this original French version - but it's good to finally own it now.

My collection: 7" single no. 6762
Found: Discogs.com, received 12 August 2022
Cost: €6
Tracks: 'Bien plus fort', 'Tu viens de très loin' / 'Demain', 'Et c'est pour toi'

Leila - Seid Memic Vaita

Sometimes it seems like I am buying things multiple times, but this single is a good example how that makes sense. I already own the single 'Leyla' by Vayta, which was released internationally after he represented Yugoslavia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981. 

However, in Yugoslavia itself, this single was released. 'Leila' is the original version of the song, which is very different from the Yugoslavian version on that other single. As a bonus, this single features another song by the singer - and a totally different sleeve. This is one of the things that make a Eurovision singles collection so great: there's always something to discover.

My collection: 7" single no. 6689
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 April 2022
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Leila' / 'Covjek bez problema'

Saludos al mundo - Ivan & M's

Seven years ago I got my hands on the original single by 4M, 'Dobar Dan'. Last year, I added an EP featuring four songs from the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, on which that song was presented by the Yugoslavian quartet in Spanish. And now, here's the actual single, released in Spain, with the Spanish version of  'Dobar Dan', entitled 'Saludos al mundo'.

What's interesting about this single, is that the B-side, 'Don Pasquale', was actually recorded in 1964 and released as a title track of an EP in Yugoslavia at the time. The sleeve of this single is in the style of other singles released in Spain at the time of the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, since the event took place in Spain that year.

My collection: 7" single no. 6749
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 July 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Saludos al mundo' / 'Don Pasquale'

When the boys talk about the girls - Valerie Carr

Valerie Carr was born in 1936. She made her singing debut in the Fifties, recording some singles for the King Records label, until she signed with Roulette in 1958. This single, 'When the boys talk about the girls' peaked at number 19 in the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1958 and number 29 in the UK singles chart. It is a charming little song, which was covered in 1966 by the Shirelles.

I bought this single along with a handful of other ones, but unfortunately this copy is warped. I'll leave it under a stack of heavy books for some time, but in the mean time I found some recordings of both sides so I can still hear these tracks. Buying singles online can be a bit like Russian Roulette sometimes.

My collection: 7" single no. 6746
Found: Discogs.com, received 11 July 2022
Cost: 0 (yep, I got a refund)
Tracks: 'When the boys talk about the girls' / 'Padre'

The winner takes it all - Abba

What can I say about Abba that hasn't been said already a hundred times before? Well, maybe that their "live" show in London is absolutely groundbreaking, but also prohibitively expensive. You would think that once the expenses of creating a purpose-built arena in London have been earned back, the prices for those seat would go down but there is no sign of that happening anytime soon. And so Abba will remain the biggest money-making machine Sweden has ever created (with only the possible exception of Ikea). 'The winner takes it all', indeed. 

This 7" single was released in the GDR, or East-Germany as we would call it back then. We didn't know much about that part of Germany except that it was ruled by communists and that Amiga was their state-controlled record company. Those Amiga Abba-singles have now become a nice little sub-collection for me, and I'm glad to add this one to my already too large Abba collection.

My collection: 7" single no. 6624
Found: Discogs.com, received 29 January 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'The winner takes it all' / 'Elaine'

Falter im Wind - Milestones

The Milestones came together in 1968. The band's original line up was Beatrix Neundlinger, Günter Grosslercher, Robert Unterweger and Rudi Tinsobin. Their first self-titled album was released in 1970. In 1972, just before they were selected to represent Austria at Eurovision, Unterweger and Tinsobin left the band and were replaced by Norbert Niedermeyer and Christian Kolonovits.

Although Austria isn't known for its great Eurovision entries, this certainly can compete with the best of them. The song is tastefully arranged and has rather poetic lyrics. This single was also released in a sort of proto-gatefold sleeve, with one piece of paper folded into another one, with either a photograph of a dog or a photograph of the band appearing in the hole in the middle of the front sleeve. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6760
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 August 2022
Cost: €9
Tracks: 'Falter im Wind' / 'Du schöner Tag'

Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep - Middle of the road

Among my early memories of pop music I find this song, 'Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep' by Middle of the road. Which is odd, considering it was released when I was just a baby. All I know is that my older brother and sister were suitably impressed by this group and they must have played their copies of this single later on in the Seventies.

It took me a while, but I finally bought my own copy. It has to be said that I bought it along with a couple of other single I ordered online - but at the same time, I'm rather glad to have this song because it is a charming little pop song from (gulp) 51 years ago.

My collection: 7" single no. 6758
Found: Discogs.com, recieved 9 August 2022
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Chirpy chirpy cheep cheep' / 'Rainin' 'n painin''