Playboy - Ann Christine

'Playboy' was Finland's song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966. The candidates for the Finnish qualifier were selected from an open competition, to which about 200 compositions were received. Playboy's composer Ossi Runne had just been chosen to succeed George De Godzinsky as the conductor of Yleisradio, but in the Finnish qualifier on 22 January 1966, Godzinsky was still conducting the orchestra. The qualifying vote was in two stages and the top three from the first round advanced to the second round. The 12-member jury scored Playboy by far the best and 21-year-old Ann-Christine Nyström was able to go to the international competition. 

Shortly before going on stage, Ann-Christine became worried and asked Ossi: "What if I forget the lyrics?", to which Ossi replied comfortingly: "Don't worry, no one understands them". Finland's seven points were enough for tenth place.

I was actually holding out for a copy with a picture sleeve, until the friendly seller told me that the Finnish version of the song was never released in a picture sleeve at all! This copy remains the only Finnish recording of the single and even though the center has been dinked, I am very happy to have this one.

My collection: 7" single no. 7645
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Playboy' (Ann Christine) / 'Peini sana' (Danny)

Auf Wiederseh'n in Monaco - Caline & Olivier Toussaint

'Les jardins de Monaco' was the Eurovision entry for Monaco in 1978. The song was performed by Caline and Olivier Toussaint, and their song was quite successful: it finished in fourth place.

There was enough reason to think that other countries would be interested in the song, and so the duo also recorded it in German. The lyrics were translated by Wolfgang Mürmann, a successful German composer, writer and producer who worked with many German and foreign artists during his lifetime.

My collection: 7" single no. 7644
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Auf Wiederseh'n in Monaco' / 'Alle die verliebt sind'

Hallo - Hallo - Lonnie Devantier

Lonnie Devantier was born on 28 November 1972. When she was just 17 years old, she represented Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Hallo - Hallo'. The imaginative title was written by John Hatting, Torben Lendager and Keld Heick. Fortunately the music was catchy and uplifting, almost making up for that inane simplicity. The song finished in eighth place in a field of 22 competitors.

The single is a rare one: it wasn't released commercially and it didn't even come with a picture sleeve. Online you can find a copy of the single for almost 200 euro - fortunately I found my copy for a lot less.
Lonnie continued her music career with one album (Nu' det min tur) in 1991, and then turned her attention to other things. She came back in 2008 as Lonnie Kjer.

My collection: 7" single no. 7643
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Hallo - Hallo' / 'Hallo - Hallo'

Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne - Seyyal Taner & Grup Lokomotif

In 1987 Turkey participated in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne', written by Olcayto Ahmet Tuğsuz. The song was performed by Seyyal Taner & Grup Lokomotif. During their performance the conductor seemed to be in a hurry, because the orchestra played the song a lot quicker than it had to be. As a result, the performers had to jump around and try to keep up.

At the close of voting Turkey had received no points (or, as Eurovision fans refer to the phenomenon, nul points) placing Turkey last out of 22 entries. At the time this was the worst last placing for a country as it was the largest contest. This was also the third time Turkey came last in the contest and the second time they had received zero points. This is the final contest to date in which Turkey finished last. 

The single is a rare item and very hard to get these days. The disc is housed in a sort of envelope, because the back folds out in three ways.

My collection: 7" single no. 7642
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 12 April 2025
Tracks: 'Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne' / 'Une mélodie'

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'