Voulez-vous - Abba

With sales of over 5 million copies, 'Abba Gold' is the second highest selling album of all time in the UK, after Queen's 'Greatest Hits'. As of July 2021, "Gold" became the first album to reach 1000 weeks on the Official Charts in United Kingdom with pure sales of 5.61 million copies sold in United Kingdom.

When the album was first released, back in 1992, it was supported by a series of single releases. 'Dancing queen' was the first single, and this one was the second: 'Voulez-vous' backed with another single which didn't appear on Abba Gold: 'Summer night city'. This single didn't chart, but it still attracted some attention. These days it's very hard to get hold of a copy, and the third single is even more difficult. But it will appear here someday, I'm sure. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6486
Found: Discogs.com, received 19 October 2021
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Voulez-vous' / 'Summer night city'

Humanaho (Alle Menschen sind Brüder) - Roberto Blanco

Roberto Zerquera Blanco was born on 7 June 1937 in Tunis (Tunisia). He grew up in Beirut and Madrid, before coming to Germany in 1956. He forged a career for himself singing schlagers in German at the end of the 1960's. 

This single, 'Humanaho' is a cover version of Jean Gabilou's French Eurovision entry from 1981, 'Humanahum'. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6497
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 November 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Humanaho (Alle Menschen sind Brüder)' / 'Sing ein Lied'

Tausend Fenster - Karel Gott

This single has been on my wantlist for a long time and I just couldn't find a decent copy for a reasonable price. But I never give up, and so I have finally got a good copy now. 'Tausend Fenster' was produced by Udo Jürgens - who also recorded the song himself around the same time - and performed by Karel Gott. 

Karel Gott (14 July 1939 – 1 October 2019) was a Czech singer and amateur painter, considered the most successful male singer in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. He was voted the country's best male singer in the annual Český slavík (Czech Nightingale) national music award 42 times, most recently in 2017. After appearing at the Midem music fair in Cannes in 1967 he was offered a recording contract with Polydor, and he stayed with the company until 2000. In 1968, he represented Austria with 'Tausend Fenster', which earned him just 2 points. He finished in 13th place in a field of 17 competitors.

My collection: 7" single no. 6496
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 November 2021
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Tausend Fenster' / 'Aber du glaubst an mich'

Bye bye I love you (English version) - Ireen Sheer

Ireen Sheer's 1974 Eurovision entry 'Bye bye I love you' was originally performed in French (even if the title of the song would have you believe otherwise). However, she also recorded the song in German and English, and it is the English version that I can present here.

Ireen would not be a stranger to Eurovision: she would return in 1978 with the song 'Feuer' and in 1985 as part of a bigger group of artists with the song 'Children, Kinder, enfants'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6495
Found: Discogs.com, received 10 November 2021
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Bye bye I love you (Englische originalversion)' / 'Rosebery Avenue'

She's my kind of girl - Bjorn & Benny

Before Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson became famous with Abba, they had careers themselves. They had success with the Hootenanny Singers and the Hep Stars respectively. 'She's my kind of girl' represents their first single together. It was recorded for the Swedish movie 'Inga II: The seduction of Inga'. Originally released in 1970, the single became a huge hit in Japan two years later, selling half a million copies.

The song was subsequently put on the B-side of the Swedish issue of ABBA's 'Ring Ring' (English Version) single, and on the album of the same name in some other countries (in spite of it having been recorded before ABBA was formed and featuring no contribution from ABBA's other members, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad). The song is also unusual in that it is the only track in the entire catalogue that appears in fake stereo. To date, there is no known mono-only version. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6482
Found: Discogs.com, received 6 October 2021
Cost: $3
Tracks: 'She's my kind of girl' / 'Inga's theme'

Shine On - Kim Wilde & Boy George

As a lifelong collector of Kim Wilde records, a limited edition 7" single of her latest single 'Shine On' was a musthave of course. The single was released back in August, and right now the item has sold out, although you can still find some copies on Discogs.com and Ebay. And it's worth owning, not only for the two excellent tracks on this disc, but also for the fact that it is pressed on blue vinyl. Oddly, to my knowledge this is the first coloured vinyl 7" single ever by Kim Wilde.

'Shine On' is performed as a duet with Boy George. The two have crossed paths several times during the last four decades, but never collaborated on a song. The other side featured 'You're My Karma', another duet but this time with up and coming British talent Tom Aspaul. Everything is produced, as usual, by brother Ricky Wilde, who turns 60 today. Gosh, how time flies! 

My collection: 7" single no. 6424
Found: Cherry Red records, received 5 August 2021
Cost: £7.99
Tracks: 'Shine On' (with Boy George) / 'You're my karma' (with Tom Aspaul)

Il Padrino - Orchestra Mario Battaini

Mario Battaini (Milan, 6 October 1931 - 26 April 2000) was a multi-instrumentalist, arranger and italian conductor. He was very concerned with his privacy. For this reason he used various stage names during his career. One of them was Duke of Burlington. The hit 'Flash' was one of his biggest successes.

The A-side features an instrumental version of the theme from the movie 'The Godfather', entitled 'Il Padrino' in Italian. However, it is of course the B-side that interested me more: a version of Gershon Kingsley's immortal 'Popcorn'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6494
Found: Discogs.com, received 4 November 2021
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Il Padrino' / 'Popcorn'