Never the end - Kari Kuivalainen

Kari Kuivalainen was primarily a composer rather than a singer, and in 1986 he submitted his song 'Päivä kahden ihmisen', which was originally intended for singer Kaija Koo. However, she declined the chance to participate, so Kuivalainen decided to perform the song himself at the Finnish national final, where he was the choice of the jury (by a margin of only one point over former Eurovision participant Kirka) to go forward to represent Finland at the 31st Eurovision Song Contest.

Prior to the contest, Kuivalainen changed some of the lyrics to the song, and although it was sung in Finnish, the title was changed to 'Never The End', which appeared on screen on the night of the contest and is the name by which the song is commonly known. The song finished in 15th place in a field of 20 competitors. This single features the English version of the song rather than the Finnish one, hence the title... 'Never the end'. Kuivalainen subsequently became a member of band Menneisyyden Vangit, alongside another Eurovision veteran, Vicky Rosti.

My collection: 7" single no. 6561
Found: Ebay, received 3 December 2021
Tracks: 'Never the end' / 'Sailing away with my dreams'

Schon wieder macht mein Herz bump bump - Fredi & Friends

Earlier this year, on 23 April, Matti Kalevi Siitonen passed away. He was known professionally as Fredi and he represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest on two occasions. His second and last appearance happened as part of the group Fredi & Friends with the song 'Pump Pump' in 1976. 

When I bought that single, I didn't know there was also a German version of the song. I was only made aware of this a few weeks ago. And as luck would have it, I found this copy a few weeks after that. Admittedly the sleeve is a bit damaged (with a stamp on the front) but it doesn't detract from the vinyl itself. And so I am quite satisfied with this little addition.

My collection: 7" single no. 6560
Found: Ebay, received 3 December 2021
Tracks: 'Schon wieder macht mein Herz bump bump' / 'Zeig mir bei Nacht die Sterne'

Brasil - Baby Doll

These days we've grown accustomed to people looking like Christmas trees, all dolled up and with bells and baubles on, but back in 1991 it was quite a shock to see a certain Baby Doll performing 'Brasil' on the Eurovision stage. 

She represented Yugoslavia, just before the country de facto ceased to exist later that year. The song only gained one point (awarded to the song by the Maltese jury), which saved her from last place and got her to the 21st position in a field of 22 competitors. Baby Doll (real name: Dragana Šarić) continued her career in music and certain reality television shows in Serbia. In 2015, she married American-born Serbian professor of philology and Russian language Aleks Todorović and has allegedly changed her name to Danica Todorović.

My collection: 7" single no. 6559
Found: Ebay, received 3 December 2021
Tracks: 'Brasil' / 'Control'

 

Could it be - Georgina & Paul Giordimaina

Exactly twenty years after Joe Grech, who was responsible for Malta's debut at the Eurovision Song Contest with a jazzy, swinging song, Georgina & Paul Giordimaina were responsible for the return of Malta on the Eurovision stage after an absence of 16 years. And they came with a song that was the absolute opposite of 'Marija L-Maltija': a syrupy, sticky, almost nauseating ballad. At least, that's how I qualified this song back in 1991. 

Listening to it now, it is a bit of a middle of the road affair, but the nauseating effect has worn off a bit. Still, it wasn't the best of what that year had to offer - although I wasn't exactly thrilled by the winning song either ('Captured by a lovestorm' by Carola, that was). The duo recorded their song both in English and in Maltese, and both versions appear on this 7" single, which is a bit of a rarity too: after 1991, no Maltese songs would ever be released on 7" vinyl again.

My collection: 7" single no. 6557
Found: Ebay, received 3 December 2021
Tracks: 'Could it be' / 'Sejjah u ssbni'

Marija L-Maltija - Joe Grech

Although I would have preferred to get a copy with the picture sleeve, this is impossible, and so I settled for this one in a generic white sleeve. And 'this one' is a single of Malta's first ever entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. 

Joe Grech was responsible for this debut performance, sung entirely in Maltese and ending up in last place. 'Marija L-Maltija' was composed by Joe Grech himself, and the lyrics were written by Charles Mifsud.Listen to it now and you're transported back to a time when chansons were popular and this jazzy, slightly noisy track probably fell out of place a bit. But it's not a bad track, I quite enjoyed listening to this one.

My collection: 7" single no. 6558
Found: Ebay, received 3 December 2021
Tracks: 'Marija L-Maltija' / 'In-Nassab'

C'est la chanson de mon amour - Veronique Muller

Veronique Muller was born in Morat (Switzerland) on 9 February 1948. Before starting her own musical career, she worked as Petula Clark's secretary. She also spent time in England where she was a pupil of Freddie Winrose, who was the producer of Shirley Bassey. 

She represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972 with the song 'C'est la chanson de mon amour' ('This the song of my love'), where she finished in 8th place. She later co-wrote Switzerland's entry in the 1980 contest, 'Cinéma', performed by Paola. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6556
Found: Ebay, received 3 December 2021
Tracks: 'C'est la chanson de mon amour' / 'Quand le printemps revient'

Wherever I lay my hat (That's my home) - Paul Young

In 1991, the compilation album 'From Time to Time' was released, featuring all the hits by Paul Young from the preceding decade.A few singles were released to promote this album, and 'Wherever I lay my hat (That's my home)' was one of them. 

Quite why the record company thought it was a good idea to release this single, I don't know, because it had already sold many copies in 1983 and not a lot of people would consider buying it again since loads of those singles were widely available in second hand shops. And so the single flopped mercilessly and copies of it are pretty hard to come by, since there weren't a lot of them made I guess. Still, it has a nice cover and the live version on the B-side is worth a spin - although there's no information on the date and venue of this live recording. A bit of a careless release, I would say.

My collection: 7" single no. 6530
Found: Chelsea Records, Antwerpen, 25 November 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Wherever I lay my hat (That's my home)' / 'Wherever I lay my hat (That's my home) (live)'