Saturday, 4 December 2021

Notre amour de vacances (Dansevise) - Patricia Robert

I consider 'Dansevise' to be one of the most beautiful songs to ever win the Eurovision Song Contest, so every cover version of that song is bound to be almost equally beautiful. This version by Patricia Robert is performed in French, and also features a cover version of 'T'en va pas', the song performed by Esther Ofarim during the same edition in 1963.

Alas, Patricia Robert herself remains unknown. She only released two singles: this one, and a song called 'Souvenir de ma jeunesse' in 1962. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6546
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Notre amour de vacances (Dansevise)' / 'T'en va pas'

Küsse von dir - Rex Gildo

The Brotherhood of Man's 'Save your kisses for me' was covered by various artists, Peter Silver's version appeared on this blog just recently. Together with that single I bought this one: a version by German singer Rex Gildo.

He was born in Straubing (Germany) on 2 July 1936 and started a career in television and film in his twenties, as well as performing as a singer, most famously duetting with Danish singer Gitte Haenning as Gitte & Rex. During the Eighties and Nineties, Gildo's popularity decreased.[4] His appearances were mainly at folk festivals, shopping centres and other similar venues; he was also reported to have problems with alcoholism. His final performance, on the day of his suicide attempt, was in front of more than 3000 people at a furniture shop outside Frankfurt. Gildo died on 26 October 1999, aged 63, having spent three days in an artificially-induced coma after attempting suicide by jumping from the window of his apartment building. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6545
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Küsse von dir' / 'Hab' ich dich nur geträumt?'

Friday, 3 December 2021

Boom bang-a-bang - Heidi Brühl

After covering the song 'La la la' in 1968, Heidi Brühl continued the next year with another winning Eurovision song: her version of 'Boom bang-a-bang'. The song was given a German lyric by Elisabeth Bertram née Merkels, also known as Lilibert.Heidi Brühl, of course, appeared in Eurovision herself in 1963 with the song 'Marcel'. 

In 1970, Brühl moved to the United States where she appeared in Las Vegas and in episodes of such television series as Columbo. She returned to Germany to play in two further Immenhof sequels in 1973–1974, The Twins from Immenhof and Spring in Immenhof. Brühl and Halsey divorced in 1976, and she returned to live in Germany the following year. She did dubbing work on films such as 'The NeverEnding Story' and 'Look Who's Talking Too', and her last roles were in television serials such as Ein Fall für zwei and Praxis Bülowbogen. She died of breast cancer in Starnberg on 8 June 1991, aged 49.

My collection: 7" single no. 6544
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Boom bang-a-bang' / 'Der Himmel weint Freudentranen'

Veronica vrij - Ben Cramer

This single is an interesting one. I think I saw it many times without realizing that the B-side, 'Aan het mooie Noordzeestrand', is actually a version of 'De oude muzikant', the song with which Ben Cramer represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973.

Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that this single was released in the same year. The single actually appeared in the Dutch Top 40 while 'De oude muzikant' was still descending the same chart. The song was based on the 'Song of Olympia', written by Hans Blum, who incidentally took part as a songwriter and conductor in the Eurovision Song Contest on four occasions between 1965 and 1986.

Veronica, of course, was a pirate radio station, broadcasting from the North Sea and being rather successful with it among young listeners. The station was led by Rob Out and Bull Verweij, who appear on this sleeve alongside Ben Cramer. 'Veronica vrij' was released in time for a rally in The Hague, which was due to take place on 18 April 1973. The Dutch government was drawing up anti-pirate legislation, which would make Radio Veronica illegal and would force them off air. Cramer was perfect for the single: his emotion-laden, slightly bombastic performance, perfectly appealed to the sentiments of young people that Veronica should always exist. The benefit of hindsight tells us that the broadcast of 31 August 1974 should perhaps really have been the last, but the broadcaster re-emerged before the end of 1975 and made great programmes for about 15 years or so. After this, the name was used and misused by various owners. These days, Veronica still exists in name but it can't compare to the free-spirited broadcaster it once was.

My collection: 7" single no. 6543
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Veronica vrij' / 'Aan het mooie Noordzeestrand'


Spaar al jou kusjes - Peter Silver

Peter Silver may have been a minor player in the Dutch music scene, since he never had any hits, but he still managed to release a dozen singles between 1982 and 1992. One of them was a cover version of a Eurovision song: 'Spaar al jou kusjes' was a Dutch-language version of 'Save your kisses for me', made famous by Brotherhood of Man.

I can't help thinking this might have been successful in certain circles in the Netherlands if it had been released in 1976 instead of 1987. And one more thing I noticed was the spelling error in the title: in Dutch it should be 'jouw kusjes' instead of 'jou kusjes'. But I doubt the fans of Peter Silver would know the difference.

My collection: 7" single no. 6542
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'Spaar al jou kusjes' / 'Met een beetje liefde om jou heen'

La la la - Claire Lepage

Claire Lepage is a popular singer of the late Sixties. She was born in Lachute (Canada) on 9 November 1945.

This single by her presents two versions of the song 'La la la', the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968. This single does not have a picture sleeve, and unfortunately the record company also went missing. The good news is: there was no picture sleeve for this release, and this is actually the Canadian pressing.

My collection: 7" single no. 6541
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €1
Tracks: 'La la la (He gives me love)' / 'La la la (Version Française)

Uno per tutte - Marino Marini e il suo quartetto

Here's another version of 'Uno per tutte', the song that was performed by Emilio Pericoli at the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest when he represented Italy. This version is performed by Marino Marini, an Italian musician who achieved international success in the 1950s and 1960s. 

 Marini's recordings in the late 1950s and early 1960s included covers of Domenico Modugno's 'Volare' and 'Ciao ciao bambina' and Rocco Granata's 'Marina'. He retired from performing in 1966 but continued to compose. He died in March 1997.

My collection: 7" single no. 6540
Found: Marktplaats.nl, received 30 November 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Uno per tutte' / 'Non costa niente'

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