Bits And Pieces

THE VOICE
Back in the 90's Ireland won Eurovision 4 times in a 5 year span but somehow these winners haven't inspired many coverversions. The Voice, the last Irish winner to date (1996, by Eimear Quinn) only has two released coverversions I know of. A local one by Andy Cooney and one by Celtic Woman, a multi artists project often dubbed the Riverdance Without The Noisy Stamping Bits.

The Norwegian madmen of Døsty Cåwshit (Dusty Cowshit) probably thought that the song deserved a new coat and they recorded The Voice in their inimitable party style and put it on their website for you to enjoy. Also featured is their take on the 2007 Norwegian entry Ven A Bailar Conmigo and the Swedish 1984 winner Diggi Loo, Diggi Ley.

Their website is here, and the songs are here. In this Eurocovers post there's more Døsty Cåwshit family entertainment.

MIODIO
MiOdio, San Marino's Eurovision debut hopefuls didn't do very well. Unfortunately for the boys their song Complice ended last in the first semi final of this years contest. Which is a shame as it's a decent tune with the interesting voice of Nicola Della Valle as a bonus. Next week sees the band performing at the Cerbul De Aur festival in Braşov, Romania. For the occasion Miodio have recorded a coverversion of the 1994 Romanian entry Dincolo De Nori (by Dan Bittman of Holograf fame, 14th place). It's in Italian, it's titled Oltre Le Nuvole and you can download it for free at Miodio's MySpace. Thank You MiOdio!. You can also listen to two versions of Complice and another song.

FRÄMLING
Carola, back-up Queen Of Sweden. Främling, back-up National Anthem Of Sweden. Below is an Estonian version of the Swedish 1983 entry that finished third in the Münich contest and even became a hit in several European countries.
The Estonian version, Rändur, was originally recorded by Jüri-Peeters band with vocals by Linda Pannas on a 1983 LP Laulusild 3 which was released in Sweden on the Estonian Voice label. Still looking for that one, me.

Fashionally challenged Sirje & Rein Kurg recorded a cheerful version of the song for their 2002 album Veidi Õnne. The title track being a version of Ein Bisschen Frieden, yep, Germany 1982. Sirje & Rein also recorded Congratulations (as Õnnesoovid, CD Tropicana).



ORTAL
Chacun Pense A Soi wasn't one of the French greats in Eurovision. The song by Ortal finished 23rd with 11 point in the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. In 2003 she recorded the album Bar Mitsvah where she interprètes Hallelouyah, a.k.a. as Hallelujah, the Israel 1979 winner by Milk and Honey. You can listen to the song and the other tracks of the album here at Deezer. And even buy them!

BABY DOLLS
And one more. Waterloo. Mamma Mia, Musical, Movie, Meryl, ABBA revival, UK #1 album / US # 1 album, unless you have been under a rock you read the news and know it all.
But a year before the first ABBA revival (so in 1991) there were a few Italian producers who thought it was a clever idea to make a club version of the 1974 Eurovision winner. (and I use the term Club lightly) They recruited some girls, baptised them the Baby Dolls and didn't put them on the record sleeve. (Still Novo Records SNR 001791)

Melodifestivalen 2008 - Carola Not So Invincible?

I missed yesterday's Melodifestivalen heat to wake up with the shocking news that three time Eurovision entrant Carola didn't make it to the final straight away. Well, tough luck, she, with her singing partner Andreas 'Glorious' Johnson, will get another chance to sing their One Love in the Second Chance round.

Carola's Eurovision history is one of success and glamour. Her first appearance at a national final in 1983 resulted in a maximum vote from all 11 regions' judges, something that hadn't happened before.
The song, Främling (Stranger) went on to Eurovision in Münich and ended third.
Carola recorded the song in Swedish, English, German and even in Dutch. The latter, Je Ogen Hebben Geen Geheimen (Your eyes have no secrets) scored a top 10 hit in the Dutch charts. Främling was only a # 5 hit in the Swedish charts but has become a classic over the years and is the third most covered Swedish Eurovision entry behind winners Waterloo (1974) and Diggi Loo Diggi Ley (1984).

In 1990 Carola tried again and ended 2nd in Melodifestivalen with Mitt I Ett Äventyr. Great pop song and another # 5 hit in the Swedish charts. The winner Som En Vind by reli band Edin Ådahl bombed at Eurovision (16th) and in the charts (only a 15/2 hit)

Carola's revenge came in 1991 when she won Melodifestivalen and the Rome Eurovision with Fångad Av En Stormwind (Caught by a storm) an energetic power pop schlager stunner for which Carola introduced the windmachine to the Eurovision stage.
Runner up with the equal amount of points was Amina's Le Dernier Qui A Parlé for France, but Carola was declared the winner on a high point count.
The song charted in Sweden (3/6) but failed to impress the international record buyers.

Via an almost return in 2003 with När Löven Faller (which she withdrew from the competition) 2006 saw Carola singing Invincible (Evighet at the MF) at the Athens Eurovision Song Contest. Melodifestivalen was a piece of cake, but in the international final she 'only' ended fifth (a result many other countries would start a war for).

Carola is a superstar in Sweden. She had her ups and downs, scandals and celebrations. A tabloid career ranging from religious fundamentalism and anti gay remarks to liberation trough divorce and really really loving her stylists and hairdresser. All s#@t came her way but somehow most Swedes forgave her, bought her Christmasalbums by the truckload and voted Carola as most popular Swede after the royals.
Is Carola not making it straight to the final a sign of a love that's beginning to crack or do we just blame Andreas Johnson?

I made a Carola Document (updated version september 2011) for your entertainment and information. You can find details and some picture sleeves on all Carola's versions and releases as taken from the Eurovision Collectors Guide.
You'll also find lists of coverversions from the 10.000 coverversions project. If you have any addition or correction, please let me know.
It's a Word Document and you can download it here.

Carola's page at BeaRecords offers various releases of her entries including vintage vinyl, cdsingles and several CDalbums.

http://www.carolainternational.com/ is a great site about Carola with biography, discography, news and lots more.

Here's a few coverversions of Carola's three Eurovision songs.
First up there's Främling by Marjana Derzaj, a recording in Slovenian (Tujci) from the CD Za vse poletne noci! (2001, RTVS ZKP DD 0173). The Stormwind is covered by Dutch kids project Ministars as Een Nijlpaard In De Achtbaan which translates as A Hippo In A Rollercoaster. Last is Evighet by South African boyband Hi-5. Their Afrikaans version 'N Ewigheid is from their CD Versoeking (Select musiek) which includes 6 Eurocovers in Afrikaans.


You can find another version of Främling in the last years Eurocovers post about Døsty Cåwshit. You can find a Chinese version of Le Dernier Qui A Parlé, the song that Carola beat in 1991, in this post.

1983-2007: New Dutch version of Carola's Främling

JE OGEN HEBBEN GEEN GEHEIMEN
Young Dutch singer Patrick has released a cdsingle with an new version of Carola's 1983 Eurovision smash Je ogen hebben geen geheimen (Your eyes have no secrets), Swedens entry in 1983.
Carola scored a # 7 hit in 1983 in the Netherlands with her Dutch version of Främling and also a big 'pirate' hit. (Pirate radio stations play Dutch music only).
The song, nicknamed the Mona Lisa song, became a bit of a classic over the years and now there's a new version with the same lyrics. Only the title has changed a bit: it's now Geen Geheimen.
The cdsingle is available from BeaRecords now.

VII: Døsty Cåwshit a.k.a. Dusty Cowshit

They're in the preselection in Norway this year, Dusty Cowshit.
Their song Chicken Rodeo will be performed on januari 27 in the second heat.

Dusty Cowshit are a 10 man band who set every Norwegian barn alight with their party version of Country music.
There's only six places on the Eurovision stage, so if they're chosen to go to Helsinki Odd Evil Custer, Remi Remington, Uncle Tom Tom, Ole Hickock, Kaare Kid, Morten Kane, Petter Gun, Jo Man, Knut Kruttlapp and Stig Sundance will decide in a fistfight who will go and who will stay (or just wait and see who's sober enough)
They're not new to the Eurovision tune, as their drunken country versions (a.k.a. good old cowboy polka feeling) of the classic scandinavian entries below prove.

The Norwegian entries are from the CD 'Østenfor soon, western for råde', and they were also released on a cdsingle with Nocturne as the main track. It was a number 13 hit (5 wks in top 20) in Norway in 1996 which was the first and only time the song charted, as the original version by Secret Garden from 1995 wasn't released as a single in Norway.

Samiid Aednan - Främling - La det Swinge - Nocturne