Sol och vår - Inger Berggren

Inger Berggren was born in Stockholm (Sweden) on 23 February 1934. She began her vocal career with Thore Swanerud's orchestra, and later sang with Thore Ehrling, Simon Brehm, and Göte Wilhelmsson. Berggren represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1962 in Luxembourg with the song 'Sol och vår' which finished in seventh place in a field of 16 competitors.

Some of her singles were Swedish versions of American rock 'n' roll hits. Her most popular period was during the Sixties. In 1979 she released one more album called 'En helt vanlig kvinna', featuring Swedish versions of 'A natural woman' and Janis Ian's 'At Seventeen'. Inger Berggren died on 19 July 2019 at the age of 85.

My collection: 7" single no. 6574
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 December 2021
Cost: €5
Tracks: 'Sol och vår' / 'Och flicka spann...'

Augustin - Brita Borg

Whatever happened to the sleeve of this single, I don't know exactly, but its slightly dismal state has to explain the lower price of this rather rare and very old single. By contrast, the actual single is in a very good state, as you can hear.

'Augustin' was the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest back in 1959. It was actually performed by Siw Malmkvist at the Swedish national final (Melodifestivalen) but it was Brita Borg who took to the international stage. Unfortunately the song only got 4 points and finished in 9th place in a field of 11 competitors. 

The B-side of this single features a monologue by a Swedish comedian (at least, I think that it has to be a comedian of some sort since the audience is laughing) which drags on for six minutes. Perhaps it's funny when you're Swedish but I couldn't understand anything of this.

My collection: 7" single no. 6573
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 December 2021
Cost: €3,5
Tracks: 'Augustin', 'Dags igen att vara kära' (Brita Borg) / 'Ester' (Martin Ljung)

Romancing the stone - Eddy Grant

Although I've had the 12" single of Eddy Grant's 'Romancing the stone' for 27 years, I never actually bought the 7" single. High time to rectify that oversight. I ordered this copy earlier this month and received it rather swiftly, together with a few other singles which you've already read about. And of course, I selected the limited edition red vinyl version. If you've followed this blog you'll know that I've already got quite a few Eddy Grant singles on red vinyl - all from Germany.

This wasn't a very big hit but it does take me back to 1984, the year that gave me a lot of favourite pop songs that have stayed with me for decades.

My collection: 7" single no. 6572
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 December 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Romancing the stone' / 'My turn to love you'

Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu) - Enzo Mondi

Although this version of 'Volare' was released almost 30 years after the original, it stays rather true to the original arrangement, although it does update the soundtrack considerably. Enzo Mondi had his take on the classic sonig released on yellow vinyl - although this is not announced on the sleeve of this single, strangely enough.

Enzo Mondi didn't become a great name in music: the only known recordings he made are included on this single. According to the Discogs website he never released any other tracks and other sources never mention him at all either. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6571
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 December 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)' / 'Guardami'

Volare - Peter Rafael

Peter Rafael (Real name: Hans Peter Bauer) is a German singer, born in Neunkirchen (Germany) on 17 July 1965. He started his professional career in music in the mid-Eighties, with a series of singles. His debut album 'Die Erste' ('The first') was released in 1990. Some of those earlier singles were included on the album, such as 'Sangria im Glas' and 'Tanz Lambada'. The B-side of this single, 'Sonne, Wind und Sterne' was also included, but the A-side, oddly, wasn't, even though this single was also released in 1990.

It is a German cover version of the classic 'Nel blu dipinto di blu', better known as 'Volare'. It is one of many cover versions of this song, and in these days of online shopping it is easy to find them. And if they're not too expensive, I'll always add them to my collection! 

Peter Rafael died on 22 February 2008 in Bad Ems, Germany. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6569
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 December 2021
Cost: €2
Tracks: 'Volare' / 'Sonne, Wind und Sterne'

Bye bye I love you (Deutsche originalaufnahme) - Ireen Sheer

'Bye bye I love you' was originally performed in French. Ireen Sheer represented Luxembourg when she participated with this song in 1974. A month ago I found the English version of this song, and now here's the German version, which, of course, is called 'Deutsche originalaufnahme'. 

This single actually completes the series: although more pressings were made with varying sleeves, Ireen only recorded three versions of the song. Alas, no versions of this song in Spanish, Italian or Hungarian, then.

My collection: 7" single no. 6568
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 December 2021
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Bye bye I love you (Deutsche originalaufnahme)' / 'Rosenbaum Boulevard'

Mata Hari - Anne-Karine

Those who paid attention last May remember that there was a song at this year's Eurovision Song Contest called 'Mata Hari'. It was a nice enough song, but the idea was not new: already 45 years ago someone else performed a song called 'Mata Hari' at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was Norwegian singer Anne-Karine Strøm, representing Norway. 

Anne-Karine was no stranger to the Contest: she'd already performed on the Eurovision stage in 1973 as part of the Bendik Singers, singing 'Å for et spill' and in 1974 singing 'Hvor er du'. 'Mata Hari' placed last of the 18 participating songs in 1976. Prior to the contest the song was expected to do well, but it was suggested afterwards that Strøm's rather odd outfit and performance on the night may have cost votes. In the late 1970s Strøm began performing in musical cabarets with Øystein Sunde and her then husband Ole Paus. She released three albums between 1978 and 1986, which reflected a move towards a more serious style of music.

My collection: 7" single no. 6567
Found: Discogs.com, received 13 December 2021
Cost: €8
Tracks: 'Mata Hari' / 'Please don't go away'