Il doit faire beau la-bas - Noëlle Cordier

Noëlle Cordier was born on 7 April 1944 in Paris. She started her musical career around 1965, but she was still virtually unknown when she was selected to represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967. The song ´Il doit faire beau la-bas' was written by Pierre Delanoë and composed by Hubert Giraud. The song finished in third place in a field of 17 competitors. 

After the release of some singles and an album in 1970, she participated in the rock opera La Révolution Française by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil in 1973 in which she played one of the main roles with Jean-Pierre Savelli, Gérard Blanc and Alain Bashung. As a performer, she achieved enormous success by singing the song 'Tu t'en vas' in 1974 with Alain Barrière. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6601
Found: Discogs.com, received 17 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Il doit faire beau la-bas', 'Cheese' / 'Ce garçon', 'La petite geisha'

Lui - Gigliola Cinquetti

Gigliola Cinquetti's song 'Si' has been translated into many other languages besides the original Italian. On this blog, we've already had 'Ja' (German) and 'Go' (English); today I am adding the French version, 'Lui'. It's a pity this title breaks the two-letter rule, but then that would be hard in French anyway. 

Of all the versions, this one sounds probably the most natural. By that I mean it could easily have been an original French chanson, performed by a French lady. In other words: Gigliola does a beautiful job on this single, and I really like this version a lot. The fact that I could buy it for almost nothing makes this a great acquisition. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6599
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 January 2022
Cost: €0,99
Tracks: 'Lui' / 'Le tandem'

Un premier amour - Frida Boccara

Frida Boccara represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, and she actually became one of the four winners that year with her moving ballad 'Un jour, un enfant'. However, as I found out, she had a link to the Contest many years before that.

In 1962, Isabelle Aubret won the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Un premier amour'. Boccara was quick to record a cover version of this song, which appears on this EP. There's three more songs on this disc, all with that unique voice of Frida, who tragically died on 1 August 1996.

My collection: 7" single no. 6598
Found: Discogs.com, received 15 January 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Cherbourg avait raison', 'Donna' / 'Un premier amour', 'Le ciel du port'

Halleluja - Jan Malmsjö

Those who love the Eurovision Song Contest would have been very pleased with this single, featuring three cover versions of the 1979 edition. Jan Malmsjö took it upon himself to perform that year's top three and stick them on this 7" single.

Jan Wilhelm Malmsjö was born on 29 May 1932 and trained at the prestigious Royal Dramatic Training Academy. He became a highly acclaimed stage actor and musical star, but also recorded many albums and singles, especially during the Sixties and Seventies. This EP features Swedish versions of 'Hallelujah', 'Su canción' and 'Mary Ann'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6595
Found: Discogs.com, received 14 January 2022
Cost: €3.50
Tracks: 'Halleluja' / 'Hela världen behöver ha en sång', 'Mary-Ann'

Unge dag - Gitte Haenning

Gitte Haenning represented Germany at the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Junger Tag'. I bought the single twelve years ago from a German online shop, and I thought that would be all. But in fact, Gitte also recorded a version in Danish, and I am glad to say that I bought this version recently - appropriately enough, from a Danish online seller!

There's still some versions to go, I discovered recently, as 'Junger Tag' was also recorded in French, Spanish and English. Unfortunately, those singles are very expensive or even not available. We wait and hope.

My collection: 7" single no. 6594
Found: Discogs.com, received 14 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'Unge dag' / 'Hallo, hvord'n går det anker'

It's so nice to be rich - Agnetha Fältskog

'It's so nice to be rich' is a song by Swedish singer Agnetha Fältskog from the soundtrack to the 1983 Swedish movie P & B, starring Stellan Skarsgård, Allan Edwall and Lill Lindfors among others. Since the song was not included on Fältskog's 1985 album 'Eyes of a Woman', the first time the song appeared on an album was the 1996 compilation album 'My Love, My Life'. The song was only released as a single in Sweden in December 1983 and it reached number 8 on the Swedish singles chart in February 1984. 

I actually knew this song because it was played on certain radio stations in 1984. However its availability has always been limited and even now I could only order it as part of a bigger order - from Denmark. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6593
Found: Discogs.com, received 14 January 2022
Cost: €4
Tracks: 'It's so nice to be rich' / 'P&B'

Bonne nuit ma chérie - Wyn Hoop

Again we return to the very beginnings of the Eurovision Song Contest, this time with the misleading title 'Bonne nuit, ma chérie'. Misleading, because one might think this is a song from any of the French-speaking countries, but it was actually Germany's Wyn Hoop singing this song. Besides the title, repeated in the song a few times, the rest of the lyrics were in German. The song is effectively a lullaby, with Hoop promising his lover that "my love will accompany you everywhere" and that "I'll never forget you" as she goes to sleep. 

Wyn Hoop (real name: Winfried Lüssenhop, born on 29 May 1936) finished in fourth place in a field of 14 competitors. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6592
Found: Ebay, received 6 January 2022
Cost: €3
Tracks: 'Bonne nuit ma chérie' / 'Ich wusste gar nicht, dass das so schön sein kann'