Nous aurons demain - Franca di Rienzo

Franca di Rienzo got the honour to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961. Her song was 'Nous aurons demain', written by Géo Voumard and Émile Gardaz, the same team that created 'Refrain', the winning song of the first edition of the Contest.

This EP presents first and foremost Franca's version of the year's winning song 'Nous les amoureux'. Not that Franca did so bad: her own song finished in third place. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7641
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Nous les amoureux', 'Depuis qu'tu m'aimes' / 'Nous aurons demain', 'Lettre a Pinocchio'

Greif' nicht nach den Sternen - Family Four

With 'Vita vidder' Family Four represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971. They were reasonably successful, reaching sixth place on the scoreboard.

And so, they decided to record a German version of their song as well. 'Greif' nicht nach den Sternen' was written by Catrin Toisy. The song was released with a colourful sleeve and another German song on the B-side. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7639
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Greif' nicht nach den Sternen' / 'Liebeslied'

Kun kello käy - Kristina Hautala

'Kun kello käy' was the Finnish entry for the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest in London, performed by Kristina Hautala. It was composed by Esko Linnavalli and written by Juha Vainio. The song finished in joint last place with one point.

The 1968 Eurovision Song Contest was the first to be recorded in colour and was broadcast in colour in those countries where colour television had already been introduced. A completely new kind of attention was now paid to the performance outfits of each contestant, and Kristina Hautala's lime green mini dress already received a lot of attention in the Finnish press in advance. Unfortunately the bad placing for the song meant that the typical Finns' "from great hopes to great disappointment" attitude towards Eurovision began that year.

In 1970 Hautala left her longtime label Scandia and debuted on EMI-Columbia with 'Kop kop, ken lie?', a Finnish cover of 'Knock, Knock Who's There?', which proved to be her last evident release as a career recording artist. In 1972 she returned to her native Stockholm to attend university, subsequently working as a psychologist and art therapist. She making a one-off return to singing in 2003 with the album Hetki tää, a collaboration with the Matti Viita-aho Group. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7638
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Kun kello käy' / 'Kielletyt käskyt'

Intet er nytt under solen - Åse Kleveland

Åse Kleveland was born on 18 March 1949 in Stockholm (Sweden). She began playing classical guitar at eight; at 10 she debuted in a radio show. In 1965 she released her debut album. With her second album in 1966 she was one of the pioneers ushering in the new vispop genre, a blend of traditional folk song and pop.

That same year she represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Intet er nytt under solen', a short, jazzy folksong that finished in third place. She broke a tradition expected of female performers at the time in that she was the first woman to not wear a dress, choosing a pantsuit instead. Twenty years later she hosted the event, when it was held in Bergen (Norway). 

My collection: 7" single no. 7637
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Intet er nytt under solen' / 'Gi meg fri'

Im Wartesaal zum grossen Glück - Walter Andreas Schwarz

Back in 1956, the first ever Eurovision Song Contest was organized. The Germans had two singers representing the country, the first of them was Walter Andreas Schwarz, who performed the fourth song of the evening: 'Im Wartesaal zum grossen Glück'. 

Something I never knew what that Schwarz, who wrote the song himself, survived a concentration camp during World War II during his twenties. Both of his parents perished, but he managed to stay alive. The lyrics of his song contain autobiographical allusions, for example the reference to the enforced suppression of the Nazi era in Germany: 'Und man baute am Kai der Vergangenheit / Einen Saal mit Blick auf das Meer / Und mit Wänden aus Träumen gegen die Wirklichkeit / Denn die liebte man nicht sehr' ('And they built on the quay of the past / A room with a view of the sea / And with walls made of dreams to combat reality / Because they didn't like it much.'). The key message of his song was the advice not to cling to the past or hope for a better future, but to live better in the here and now and accept things as they are. And they say that Eurovision songs are always superficial!

This single is a re-release from 1979. Quite why this song was re-released 23 years after its original release is a mystery to me. But this is a lovely copy.

My collection: 7" single no. 7636
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Im Wartesaal zum grossen Glück' / 'Für 300 Francs'

Sol och vår - Inger Berggren

Another EP I bought this weekend was Inger Berggren's 'Sol och vår'. I bought 'Sol och vår' just over three years ago, but that was the regular single with a black and white sleeve. 

This EP features two extra tracks and a colourful picture sleeve. The song was Sweden's 1962 entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, which means that this EP was released 63 years ago. Hard to believe when you see the state of this item. 

My collection: 7" single no. 7633
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Sol och vår', 'Mamma, vad det är kul med twist' / 'Och flickan spann...', 'Du svek mej!'

Oui oui oui oui - Jean Philippe

Back in 2017 I bought this unsightly 7" single without a picture sleeve of Jean Philippe's 'Oui oui oui oui', assuming that it wouldn't be easy to get a better copy. But patience pays off, as this blog has proven so many times: this weekend I found a better copy, and not only that: it features four tracks instead of two. 

'Oui oui oui oui' was, of course, France's 1959 Eurovision entry. The song was covered many times by other artists, including a very successful version by Sacha Distel.

My collection: 7" single no. 7631
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Oui oui oui oui', 'Dis-lui que je l'aime' / 'Ce serait dommage', 'J'ai mis notre amour au monde'