The Dutch Meet The Danish - Dansevise by Streetorgan De Turk

Dansevise is the Danish Eurovision winner from 1963 that became an evergreen even outside the Danish borders.
The song by Grethe and Jörgen Ingmann has survived over 40 years and I hope there will be a place for it in the 2014 Copenhagen contest. Here's Dutch organ De Turk playing the song in the streets.

List of Dansevises
Listfans: The Dansevise Document is here. It includes details on the versions of the song recorded by the Ingmanns and also a list of 85 coverversions of the song with release details. It's a word doc and uploaded with 4shared. If you can't use 4shared, just send an e-mail.

Big thanks to the filmer / YT uploader of the wonderful 'draaiorgel' clip.
More Dansevise at Eurocovers
Check out The Copenhagen Collection for all the releases, CDs, versions, charts and other goings on of the 2014 Eurovision hopefuls. ---

Happy ABBA Day!

Waterloo picture sleeve from Austria

It was 40 years ago today, ABBA won the Brighton Eurovision with Waterloo.
Four decades on ABBA's music is as relevant as ever.

1983 picture disc
 with French and German versions

ABBA - Waterloo 40 - releases.

We all have the songs, bought them several times on singles, LP's and CDs, but still the host of festive releases celebrating the 40 years of Waterloo are making me greedy.

Sadly there is no unreleased material included and of course the ABBAs have enough money, but I might just buy one or two items to celebrate.

Here's a few that might tickle your fancy.

Picture Disc

- A 7" inch picture disc with Waterloo in Swedish and English will be released on April 6 in Sweden. A similar issue will be released in other countries to celebrate Record Store Day (April 19)

Update: My Shiny Waterloo Picture Disc has arrived # 0701/7000

Netherlands sleeve

Waterloo: The Album
- April 6 is also the release date of the special edition of the Waterloo album. It will include 8 bonus tracks including all the versions of Waterloo that were ever released. Also the US and UK remixes of Ring Ring are included.

The set comes with a DVD featuring several TV performances including the two Eurovision versions, two MF versions, the preview version and two TOTP performances of Waterloo.

The infamous Finnish caviar sleeve

40 singles box
- If you really want to splash out there is a box with 40 vinyl 7 inch singles out on the 5th of May.

Next to the 31 singles that were originally released in Sweden there are 9 international singles including the German and French Waterloo’s, Spanish language Chiquitita and I Have A Dream, When All Is Said And Done (as released in Australia) and Lay All Your Love On Me, originally released on 12 inch maxi.

Yugoslavia

The sleeve and label of each single in the box set are exact replicas of the original issues. 
Only the 9 singles not originally released by Polar Music have been given new Polar labels, corresponding to the design used by Polar during the era when each single was released.

It's a severely limited edition, although no numbers are specified.

Retails at a mere € 220,- to 300, -. 
See full track list below.

ABBA Gold Superdeluxe
- April 6 also sees a 3 disc edition of ABBA Gold, featuring the original ABBA Gold and More Gold CDs plus a third disc with tracks that have appeared as b-sides to the various single releases. 59 tracks in all, but maybe the least interesting release of the bunch.

ABBA 40/40 Japan

ABBA's career in Japan, like many western popstars' was at least patchy. Some of the big international hits didn't do very well, while some others, some Japan only singles were more successful.
Björn and Benny also has some success in Japan before the girls were ven mentioned. She's My Kind Of Girl and Love Has It's Ways were hits in various Japanese charts in 1972. It resulted in the release of some very early ABBA singles like I Am Just A Girl and Another Town Another Train.
In Japan the Anniversary Of The Year is celebrated with a 2CD ABBA 40/40 with 40 songs selected by Japanese fans in a survey held last year. Out since March 26. Some surprising choices there, Tiger, Our Last Summer, Hey Hey Helen, Move On, but the pre-Ring Ring oldies are not included.

25th anniversary CD-EP

The 40 Singles Box includes

1. People Need Love / Merry-Go-Round

2. He Is Your Brother / Santa Rosa

3. Ring Ring Swedish Version / Åh, vilka tider

4. Ring Ring English Version / She's My Kind of Girl

5. Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Isn't Hard Enough) / I Am Just A Girl

6. Ring Ring German Version / Wer Im Wartesaal der Liebe steht

7. Waterloo Swedish Version / Honey, Honey Swedish Version

8. Waterloo English Version / Watch Out

9. Waterloo German Version / Watch Out

10. Waterloo French Version / Gonna Sing You My Lovesong

Australia EP

11. Honey, Honey / King Kong Song

12. Honey, Honey German Version / Ring Ring (remix)

13. So Long / I've Been Waiting For You

14. I Do, I Do, I Do / Rock me

15. S.O.S / Man In The Middle

16. Mamma Mia / Intermezzo No.1

17. Fernando / Hey, hey Helen

18. Dancing Queen / That's Me

19. Money, Money, Money / Crazy World

20. Knowing Me, Knowing You / Happy Hawaii

21. The Name Of The Game / I Wonder (Departure)

U.K. promo EP

22. Take A Chance On Me / I'm A Marionette

23. Eagle / Thank You For The Music

24. Summer Night City / Medley: Pick A Bale of Cotton-On Top of.

25. Chiquitita / Lovelight

26. Chiquitita Spanish Version / Lovelight

27. Does Your Mother Know / Kisses of Fire

28. Voulez-Vous / Angel eyes

29. Estoy Sonando / Does Your Mother Know

30. Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) / The King Has Lost His Crown

South Africa

31. I Have A Dream / Take A Chance On Me (live)

32. The Winner Takes It All / Elaine

33. Super Trouper / The Piper

34. Happy New Year / Andante, Andante

35. Lay All Your Love On Me / On And On And On

36. One Of Us / Should I Laugh Or Cry

37. Head Over Heels / The Visitors

38. When All Is Said And Done / Soldiers

39. The Day Before You Came / Cassandra

40. Under Attack / You Owe Me One

Thanks to Jean-François and to Fernando. 
Parts of this article have been featured previously on our facebook page

Japan Anniversary 2CD

Freaky Fortune Ft.Riskykidd - Eurovision Medley

CPH 2014, Freaky Fortune and Riskykidd are ready to go and up for it. They're in Eurovision mood with this well produced medley of (most) Eurovision winners of the modern era, from 2004 and on.
That's the spirit!

The guys represent Greece this year with their upbeat dance tune Rise Up!, one of my faves.
Find out all about that one here at The Copenhagen Collection.

Kiken Kuntojumppa: Finnish Fitness with Kike Elomaa

Picture from Discogs

Eurocovers don't come much stranger than this. Kike Elomaa is a world champion bodybuilder who won many body building contests in the early 80's. For 20 years she was the only non American woman to win MS. Olympia, so there!

On this 1984 cassette Kiken Kuntojumppa (Kike's Fitness Gym) Kike instructs us to get fit in Finnish to the tune of Diggi Loo Diggi Ley (clip below) and Lady Lady, the Swedish and Spanish Eurovision entries of the same year.

The recordings of the songs are the anonymous coverversions that were released on Eurovision cover albums. under several names like Honolulu Dance Band and Eddy Starr Orchestra.

Later on Kike went on to sing instead of instruct and in 1995 she recorded a Finnish coverversion of Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue (Penkki, Puu Ja Puistotie in Finnish) on her CD Kike Elomaa.

She released a few albums and singles, but she never came close to the success she had as a bodybuilder.

In 2012 her 1985 album Hymykuopat was re-issued on CD with the recordings from above work-out cassette as bonus tracks. (Rocket Records)Currently she's in the Finnish parliament for some tradional values right wing political party, the less said the better, funny how things can turn from fab to drab.

I nicked some details about Kike Elomaa at her Wiki page and her Discogs. 

Even Horses Love ABBA

ABBA cover albums come in all tastes and flavors. Until now the daftest one was Babies Go ABBA, music to make your little one sleep. But now we have ABBA re-recorded for your equestrian friends. 

Championed by Isabell Werth (who is someone very important in the dressage world), an album full of ABBA covers (instrumentals) was released in Januari to use for horse ballet. You've seen it at the Olympics.

The performing artist is Richard Rossbach who has released many dressage albums.

There are some clips at Amazon

Recently André Rieu and his orchestra released an album full of hits by the Swedish foursome. More ABBA related Eurocovers posts are here.

Eurosong 2014: Petra - All Kinds Of Everything (Dana)

Lovely Petra has a go at All Kinds Of Everything, Dana's 1970 winner for Ireland. This clip is a longer version than the one in the Eurosong castings, which Petra sailed through.

Now go get her a perfect song and all is in the bag.

2014 Eurovision
Meanwhile, the 2014 Eurovision releases will be followed rigorously at the Copenhagen Collection.
Every year since 2009, all releases, versions, chart successes and other important trivia is presented to you by yours truly and all the people who have contributed via the medium of blog.
So you just need one stop to find out if your favorite entry was also recorded in Russian or French, was a #1 hit in Sweden or got some fierce remix makeovers.
And of course you'll find details on the odd coverversion too.
Here are the links to your unmissable archives:
2014 The Copenhagen Collection
2013 The Malmö Collection
2012 The Baku Collection
2011 The Düsseldorf Collection
2010 The Oslo Collection
2009 The Moscow Collection

Happy New Year!

So who isn't giving this one a listen this night?
Best wishes to all Eurocovers readers. May at least one of your dreams come true in 2014!

Jan

Goodbye, Farewell, Colin 'Bob Allison' Day

Colin Day, known as Bob Allison from the Allisons has passed away aged 72.
The Allisons scored an international hit with their U.K. Eurovision entry Are You Sure (2nd place in 1961)

Golden Oldie Are You Sure is one of the songs I knew by heart (although in my own invented variation on English) long before I found out it actually was a Eurovision tune.
The Allisons Brian 'John Allison' Alford and Colin 'Bob Allison' Day were childhood friends, not really brothers contrary to popular belief. They were more or less the U.K.'s answer to the Everly Brothers. They scored a European hit with their Eurovision runner up, the third U.K. entry in a row to finish 2nd.
The song sold over a million copies in the U.K. alone.

Despite their European hit, world domination didn't really happen for the Allisons. They managed to get two more top 40 hits and called it a day in 1963.
'Goodbye, Farewell.... Are You Sure?' they asked themselves. I guess they weren't, as the Allisons reunited on several occasions and in the 70's recruited some new brothers like Mike Allison and Tony Allison.
John White, earlier member who left in 1959 is the real composer of their Eurovision Song. (it's credited to The Allisons).

Colin Day also recorded a coverversion of Angelique, the Danish 1961 entry by Dario Campeotto. It was released as a b-side to his single Brasil (Parlophone R 4803).

Source: BBC entertainment
Parts of the above have been published the 2008 Eurocovers article Team GB 1961: Are You Sure?
List of versions of Are You Sure . This has release details on the Allisons versions and info on 42 coverversions of the song. (Word document, email me if you want it)
Discography: Colin Day and the Allisons at 45Cat,com

Another post: Jody Wayne (South Africa) - Are You Sure

Happy Birthday The Doctor

Doctor Who is 50 today! Not as old as Eurovision (or is he?), but a remarkable achievement.

Bang Bang A Boom is and Audio only (sadly) episode around the Intergalactic Song Contest.

It takes the micky, (of course, it's British), and not even Terry Wogan (Logan in this episode) is spared.

Le-Chelle - Ek Hou Van Jou

Picture from Le-Chelle's Soundcloud

A wonderful coverversion of Ik Hou Van Jou, the Dutch 1984 entry by Maribelle. This one is sung in Afrikaans.
It's so lovely that I'll forgive her for thinking it's a Dana Winner cover.

More music at Le-Chelle's soundcloud. And she has a Facebook too.