Old man fiddle - Pihasoittajat

Finland has regularly stunned Eurovision audiences with eccentric entries. This year's 'Cha cha cha' is reasonably modern, but I wonder if Pihasoittajat wasn't totally out of step when they performed this in 1975. 

'Od man fiddle' is the English version of 'Viulu-ukko', the song they won the Finnish national final with. Thanks to the relaxed language rules that year they could at least perform in English, and so they didn't totally bewilder the juries. 'Old man fiddle' reached seventh place in a field of 19 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 6982
Found: Discogs.com, received 2 May 2023
Tracks: 'Old man fiddle' / 'Summer call'

Don't give in - Snow Patrol

Sometimes when you wait long enough records become affordable. Take for instance this 10" single from Snow Patrol, released on Record Store Day in 2018. It features only two tracks, but it was pressed on off black colour recycled vinyl in commemoration of International World Earth Day 2018. Hence the price target of almost 20 euros. 

However, during the last record fair I visited, a stack of these records were on sale for only 5 euros. Obviously that was what I was waiting for. I like Snow Patrol, but not so much that I am willing to shell out 20 euros for two tracks. 5 euros? Better.

My collection: 10" single [unnumberd]
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Don't give in' / 'Life on earth'

Don Quixote - Nik Kershaw

It's hard to resist a beautiful picture disc, and some great ones were released in the Eighties. Not that this one is particularly stunning, because it simply recreates the picture sleeve of the regular single, but the photograph does warrant a picture disc edition nonetheless.

According to Nik Kershaw: "The lyric that ended up as 'Don Quixote', was actually 'Gorgonzola'! So I was walking about the house singing 'gor-gon-zola' all day long, trying to think of a lyric. Basically the music was a sort of Samba thing, which reminded me of Spain, and Don Quixote happened to come to mind so I thought, 'Why not write a song about Don Quixote?'. So I went and bought the book."

My collection: 7" single no. 6978
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Don Quixote' / 'Don't lie'

In the name of love - Thompson Twins

It has to be said that I already own the music on this single, as I bought the European edition in 1985. It was on red vinyl too. But it's hard to resist an original UK pressing, especially when it comes in the original picture sleeve. And so I got this single, which is a bit of a repeat of the one I've owned for almost four decades now.

At the time of the release of this single, Thompson Twins were a septet, consisting of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie, Joe Leeway, John Roog, Chris Bell, Peter Dodd and Matthew Seligman. Only the first three would go on to release the very successful album 'Into the gap' in 1984.

My collection: 7" single no. 6977
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'In the name of love' / 'In the beginning'

Wot! - Captain Sensible

Captain Sensible achieved his only chart hit in the Netherlands in the last weeks of 1982 with the single 'Wot!', a track that featured the female backing singers Dolly Mixture. 

According to Captain Sensible, the song came to be when he was in the USA during a tour with the Damned. He heard this horrible pounding sound coming from outside at 5am. It was coming from a building site and as it was so early and he wanted to sleep in the hotel, he recorded the noise to make a complaint. He played it to the reception, informing them that it was disgusting and a ploy to upset British bands, and he was trying to get some sleep, and they just said, "Have a nice day". Nothing was done and he got no sleep. When he returned to the UK, he played the tape to Tony Mansfield who took the tape and created a loop (backing track) from it within about 10 minutes. This sound loop formed the basis of the song. The loop can be heard clearly at the beginning and near the end of the song. 

'Wot!' reached number 10 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 26 in the UK singles chart. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6976
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Wot!' / 'Strawberry dross'

Love lies lost - Helen Terry

I bought a copy of Helen Terry's 'Love lies lost' 13 years ago and I wrote about it on this blog. (I can't believe it's been around for that long, actually!) The single was a minor hit in the UK but it was also Helen's only hit. 

Then last weekend I suddenly found a copy of the single's picture disc. It's always hard to resist a beautiful picture disc and especially when it's only 1 euro. And so of course I snapped it up. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last Helen Terry release I'll ever buy.

My collection: 7" single no. 6975
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Love lies lost' / 'Laughter on my mind'

Goodbye cruel world - Shakespears sister

The single 'Goodbye cruel word' was actually released twice. I didn't know that before, but I bought this single and then discovered the other one that was already in my collection. And so the blurb I wrote before actually refers to this single from 1991, while the one I wrote about in 2009 was actually a re-release from 1992.

This would explain the different B-side: this single has the non-album track 'Black sky' on the flipside, whereas the re-release features an album track instead. I found out about all this thanks to purchasing this single, which proves yet again that record buying is a learning experience. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6974
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Goodbye cruel world' / 'Black sky'

This town ain't big enough for both of us - British whale

The Sparks' 'This town ain't big enough for both of us' was one of the first songs I was grabbed by as a child, not just because of the strange appearance of Ron Mael. It's a great, dynamic song and a true classic. 

Several cover versions of the song exist, but I didn't know about this one until last weekend. This single comes with a free poster and is pressed on clear vinyl. Reason enough, I think, to pick up this disc and to listen to what this synth-pop solo project of Justin Hawkins of 'The Darkness' fame made of it. Well... it's not bad. A bit strange, maybe.

My collection: 7" single no. 6973
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'This town ain't big enough for both of us' / 'America'

Festival de San Remo 1959

Another one of those San Remo-inspired EP's was released in 1959 by Gianni Ales y su conjunto, also known as  Gianni Ales ed il suo complesso, because the band is actually Italian - but this is a Spanish EP.  I got it from a Spanish seller, of course.

Released in 1959, this EP features four songs from that year's San Remo festival, including the Domenico Modugno composition 'Ciao ciao bambino (Piove)', a song that has been covered numerous times. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6968
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Chao chao bambina (Piove)', 'Io sono il vento' / 'Conoscerti', 'Una marcia in fa'

Sanremo 1965 - Los Mustang

Back in the Sixties, the Sanremo festival was a popular music festival and spawned many cover versions. This single from the Spanish group Los Mustang demonstrates just how international the appeal of the festival was. 

This EP presents four songs from the Sanremo Festival 1965, including Italy's Eurovision entry 'Se piangi, se ridi' - and this obviously explains my interest in this disc. All four songs are translated into Spanish to appeal to the Spanish record-buying public. My copy is a bit tatty but it's a great item nonetheless.

My collection: 7" single no. 6967
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Yo que no vivo sin ti', 'Antes o despues' / 'Amigos mios', 'Si lloras, si ries'

Tracks of my tears - Colin Blunstone

This single is a bit of an odd beast. Colin Blunstone has one of the best voices in the business and 'Tracks of my tears' is a classic song that probably everyone loves. Add in some early Eighties synth bleeps... and then you get this single. 

Somehow it doesn't quite work as it should. That's not to say that I don't like this single, but much to my own surprise, I think the B-side is better. Trying out singles from time to time means coming up with surprises like this.

My collection: 7" single no. 6971
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Tracks of my tears' / 'The last goodbye'

Si tu eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer - Jennifer Rush

It's the song you know in a version that you don't. Jennifer Rush had a big hit in 1985 with 'The power of love', but she also recorded the song in Spanish. The title for this version isn't as short: 'Si tu eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer' ('If you are my man and i am your woman').

I found this single - not surprisingly - at a stand of a Spanish seller, and I was interested enough to pick up this single. The B-side features the original English version of the song.

My collection: 7" single no. 6969
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Si tu eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer' / 'The power of love'

Eenmaal kom je weer - Claude Lombard

It's only 16 months since I bought Claude Lombard's 'Quand tu reviendras', and even then I was aware that there was also a Flemish version of the song. (I am always tempted to say 'Dutch', but since Claude comes from Belgium the correct word is actually 'Flemish'.) 

'Eenmaal kom je weer' ('One day you'll return') is a pretty faithful translation of 'Quand tu reviendras', whereas ''t Geluk ligt verborgen' ('Happiness lies hidden') takes a bit more liberty from the original title 'Le temps ça s'invente'. Claude also recorded her song in German ('Wenn du wieder kommst') and Spanish ('Se que volveras'), but whether I can find those singles for a reasonable price remains to be seen...

My collection: 7" single no. 6962
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Eenmaal kom je weer' / ''t Geluk ligt verborgen'

Triad dimensions - Rheingold

Three decades went by since I bought 'Dreiklangs dimensionen' by Rheingold. The band was confident enough to also record an English version of their song. And 'Triad dimensions' came to be. 

My copy is an Italian promotional single, recognizable thanks to the little holes in one corner of the sleeve saying 'Campione Gratuito'. I think I still prefer the German version, but this is a nice little version as well.

My collection: 7" single no. 6961
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Triad dimensions' / 'River'

Viviremos todo de nuevo - Al Bano & Romina Power

Having bought a Spanish single of 'We'll live it all again' before, I was extra cautious before buying this one. Like the other one, it features the Spanish title 'Viviremos todo de nuevo' but this time it adds the notice 'cantan en español', which made me more certain that this is actually the Spanish version of the duo's Eurovision entry from 1976.

Still, like the original version this song is only partly in Spanish: some parts are still in English. For a while during the 1970's it was allowed to sing in different languages than the country's own, just like in more recent times. Despite this, the Italian duo didn't manage to get higher than 7th place.

My collection: 7" single no. 6960
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Viviremos todo de nuevo' / 'Na, na, na'

Waterloo (German version) - Abba

It's always great to find an Abba single I don't have yet, and this is a special one: the German version of 'Waterloo'. Yes, the Swedes actually recorded their winning Eurovision song in German and released it in Germany. The single isn't especially rare, but it is still hard to find. I finally got myself a copy at the stand of a Eurovision singles seller, and it's a great find.

Obviously I've already got the English and Swedish versions, as well as a beautiful picture disc (and cover versions by Dr. and the Medics, the Gerd Michaelis Chor, Lecia & Lucienne and a certain Swedish Group!) but this single was one I'd been searching for some time already. Now I only want the French version, but I'd rather not pay 100 euros for it...

My collection: 7" single no. 6959
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Waterloo (Deutsche originalaufnahme)' / 'Watch out'

Volare - Barry White

You wouldn't think that the American singer with the deep, sultry voice Barry White and the Eurovision Song Contest have anything in common, but they do: in 1991, Barry White covered the Italian entry from 1958, 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', best known as 'Volare'. He wasn't the first either: artists such as Al Martino, the Gypsy Kings and David Bowie had gone before him.

What's even more astonishing is that Barry recorded his version in two languages: Italian and English. The latter is logical, the former... well, less so. Both languages feature in his recording of the song that was issued as a single in 1991.

My collection: 7" single no. 6958
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Volare (edit)' / 'Dark & Lovely (You over there) (edit)'

Hey nana - Charles Dumolin

In 1979, Belgium was represented by Micha Marah, who performed a handful of songs during a national final. Contrary to what she expected, the song she liked least, 'Hey nana', won the vote. She was in total shock. She hated the song with its naïve and childish lyrics in which the singer suggests marriage to her lover and paints a picture of domestic bliss. As it turned out, the song ended up in a shared last place at the Eurovision Song Contest, together with Austria's Christina Simon and her 'Heute in Jerusalem'. 

Micha never recorded the song. In the end, composer Charles Dumolin recorded the song himself and released it as a single. I wonder if it reached the charts... but probably not.

My collection: 7" single no. 6957
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Hey nana' / 'Queen Cherbourg'

 

Ciao, ciao, bambina (Piove) - Four Jacks

It's funny how many cover versions there are of 'Piove', the 1959 Italian Eurovision entry by Domenico Modugno. This blog has presented quite a few of them already and here's another one - from Denmark this time. 

Four Jacks was a Danish pop/schlager vocal quartet. They formed in 1956. Original member Otto Brandenburg left in 1958 to pursue a successful solo career and was replaced by Flemming Rasmussen, better known under his stage name James Rasmussen. After the quartet split in 1963 John Mogensen served as a bar pianist for some years before becoming Denmark's most popular schlager artist of the first half of the 1970's. 

This single was released in 1959. In the same year they also released a song called 'Waterloo' - not the famous Abba song from 1974, obviously. 'Ciao, ciao, bambina (Piove)' remains the only Eurovision cover the group recorded. My copy was previously owned by Elisabeth Johannessen, who lived in Børkop. I wonder if she's still alive.

My collection: 7" single no. 6956
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Ciao, ciao, bambina (Piove)' / 'Drømmen om dig'

Spørg ikke, hvorfor... - Poul Bundgaard

Another Danish singer who recorded several covers of Eurovision songs was Poul Bundgaard. I bought one of his singles, 'Sig dejlige ting til mig', a year ago. At the same record fair and from the same seller I bought this one last Saturday. It's another disc with two Eurovision covers of the year 1964: 'Warum, nur warum' and 'Où sont-elles passées', songs from Austria and Monaco respectively. 

Quite why Poul decided to cover these two songs remains unknown: you would think that the numbers 6 and 3 from the scoreboard were less popular than the winning song. But perhaps these two songs better suited his voice.

My collection: 7" single no. 6955
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 22 April 2023
Tracks: 'Spørg ikke, hvorfor...' / 'Den forbudne frugt'