Ik wil gelukkig zijn - Micha Marah

Micha Marah participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979 with the song 'Hey nana'. She never recorded the song, until last year. Unfortunately it wasn't released on a 7" single.

In 1986 she did record a Eurovision song: a cover version of 'Über die Brücke geh'n' in Dutch. In this version it is called 'Ik wil gelukkig zijn' ('I want to be happy'). 

My collection: 7" single no. 7447
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Ik wil gelukkig zijn' / 'Iedere dans'

Sprattelgumma - Siw Malmkvist

The song 'Puppet on a string' by Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967, and what followed was a tsunami of cover versions in many different languages. It's quite interesting how many versions there are - and some of them have appeared on this blog already.

Siw Malmkvist's version is performed in Swedish, just like the other three tracks on this EP. It also features a version of 'Downtown', which was another big hit in 1967. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7446
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Sprattelgumma', 'Nanting fanigt' / 'Arvid', 'Downtown'

Hou toch van mij - Maurice Hymans with the Westonians

As far as I know, the Belgian Eurovision entry from 1959 was only covered twice: once by Koen Crucke in 1996 (released on CD-single only) and this one by Maurice Hymans with the Westonians. They were considerably quicker to record the song: this single was released in 1959 already.

The group only released a few singles, all of them released in 1959.Not much is known about them. All I know is that it's nice to have a cover version of such an early Eurovision song.

My collection: 7" single no. 7445
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Hou toch van mij' / 'Monisima'

Posle tebe - Lola Novakovic

After Vicky Leandros won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 with 'Après toi', several artists recorded cover versions of that song. None was more remarkable than the Yugoslavian cover, recorded by Lola Novakovic. 

Released on the state-run Radio-Televizija Beograd label, this EP features 'Posle tebe', a Serbian version of the song. I saw this single online quite a few times and even wanted to order it from somewhere, but I'm glad I didn't - I bought a copy for just a few euros at the record fair last week. Saves a lot of shipping costs!

My collection: 7" single no. 7444
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Znam Zašto Živim', 'Posle Tebe (Après Toi)' / 'Malo Tražim', 'Kao Ljubičice (Come Le Viole)'

Ja, ja, ja - Louis Neefs

Louis Neefs recorded a cover version of Jean Philippe's 'Oui, oui, oui, oui', the French Eurovision entry of 1959. He did so incorrectly, because he named his version 'Ja, ja, ja', omitting the last 'oui' from the title. Otherwise it's a great version, sung in that typical style of his.

This single came without a picture sleeve, unfortunately, and it was apparently a promotional copy, as the sticker is still on the label. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7443
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Ja, ja, ja' / 'Zigeunerkind'

Walkin' in Lee Jeans - Claire Torry

In 1975 it was Ann Christy's turn to represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest. She did this with the song 'Gelukkig zijn', written by Mary Bouduin. Ann also recorded the song in English, titled 'Could it be happiness'.

Those exact words also appear in the song 'Walkin' in Lee Jeans', a single that was also released in 1975 and a promotional vehicle for, you guessed it, Lee Jeans. Bouduin explained that she originally wrote the song for this commercial, and then wrote Dutch lyrics for Ann Christy. Since the Eurovision rules stipulate that songs need to be original in order to enter, one has to wonder if this entry was entirely in line with the regulations!

My collection: 7" single no. 7442
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'Walkin' in Lee Jeans' / 'Mean jeans'

Nee, nee laat dat - The Strangers

In 1964 the Antwerp group The Strangers released this 4 track EP featuring a cover version of Gigliola Cinquetti's 'Non ho l'eta', the winning song of that year's Eurovision Song Contest. Titled 'Nee, nee laat dat', it was rewritten by Lex Colman in Antwerp dialect. 

As far as I can gather, this is the oldest Eurovision cover by the Strangers. The group started in 1952. Their first performance took place on 7 January 1953 in Hoboken. By 1965 they had already performed 1000 times. They owed their popularity mainly to the fact that everyone could hum along to the original melodies and their translations were more understandable to most Flemish people than the original languages ​​in which the hits were sung. Yet their songs were never literal translations, but always completely new lyrics about often completely different subjects.

My collection: 7" single no. 7441
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: 'De nieuwe tram', 'Nee, nee laat dat' / 'Reutenkenteut', 'Georgette'