VII: Year Of The Puppet - Reggy van der Burgt

It's Eurovision Week, 40 years ago that is, and today Year Of The Puppet features a Dutch version of Puppet On A String. Speelbal in de wind (Toy-ball in the wind).

Reggy van der Burgt is a fairly unknown Dutch singer who, like so many, could have been a star if only….
She won a talent show when she was in her 20s and scored her only hit Teddybeer in 1966/1967. Follow up singles (incl. Speelbal…) fail to chart and her well received debut album fails to score commercially. I guess it's the sad old story 'Record company has other plans than artist' that probably killed off Reggy's career. But Teddybeer, a tale about exchanging your faithfull cuddly toy for a live one that hugs back, remains a treasured classic in Dutch pop history.

Reggy van der Burgt also recorded De tijd staat niet stil (Time doesn't stand still) a wonderful coverversion of the German 1966 song Die Zeiger der Uhr (Hands of the clock) which can be found on the b-side of Teddybeer. (single CNR UH 9833)

Speelbal in de wind / Maar morgen is hij mij vergeten (single CNR UH 9930)

Speelbal in de wind was also recorded by Dutch Eurovision singer Anneke Grönloh.

ZingZing has a lovely Reggy van der Burgt discography.

Stay tuned for some more great Puppets in the coming days.

Please Note: Several wonky links in older posts have been restored.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Siw Malmkvists Sprattelgummas

Sprattelgumma is the Swedish version of Puppet On A String. The Year Of The Puppet continues with none other than Siw Malmkvist.
Siw Malmkvists first appearance on the Eurovison stage was in 1960 when she sang Alla andra får varann to a 10th place in London. But her first Eurovision related venture was when she won the Swedish preselection in 1959 with Augustin. Thát song was sung at the contest by another singer: Brita Borg. But Siw Malmkvist recorded it in Swedish, German, Danish, Norwegian and maybe even Italian, although the Eurocovers detectives are still out on that last version.
In 1961 she won the Swedish selection again, this time with April April but she was replaced for eurovision by Lill Babs*.
In 1969 Siw performed Primaballerina at the contest in Madrid, but now representing Germany.

* Thanks Frank!

(All details and links on the German Colour TV LP with a rare version of the song have been removed, but here is a Youtube, as long as it's there)
Sprattelgumma single (Metronome J45-743)

A superb Siw Malmkvist Discography is at http://jazzbacillen.com/


Not only has Siw Malmkvist appeared in several national selections, she also has been active on the international Eurocovers front.
U.K. 1967 - Puppet on a string - Sprattelgumma (Swedish)
Luxembourg 1967 - L'amour est bleu - Blå, blå är Kärleken (Swedish)
Luxembourg 1971 - Pomme Pomme Pomme - Ett rött äpple (Swedish)
Monaco 1971 - Un banc, un arbre, une rue - På en gammel bank
Yugoslavia 1992 - Ljubim te pesmama - Ein Hauch von Florenz (German)
Yugoslavia 1992 - Ljubim te pesmama - Ge mej en doft ifrån Rom (Swedish)
Croatia 1995 - Nostalgia - Musik ist wie ein Freund (German, with Lidija Horvát Dujnko)
Croatia 1995 - Nostalgia - Musik är ingenting för mig (Swedish with Siw Wennerberg)





Related Eurocovers Posts. Three Swedish coverversions from 1959 by Marie Dieke, including a version of Augustin.

Eurovision covers by Swedish MF regular Anne-Lie Rydé


Swedish Winner Waterloo in Feathers and in Spandex

The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.
Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore (Mandarin-Chinese), Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal, Basque country Organland, Tirol, Denmark, CzechoSlovakia, Hungary, Russia, Yugoslavia (Slovenia), Chile/Argentina/Mexico

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Chile, Argentina, Mexico

The Year Of The Puppet takes us to all corners of the globe. Here's three versions of the song made by South American stars of the 60's.

Chile - Gloria Benavides - Marionetas en la cuerdaSinger and comedienne Gloria Benavides, born in 1952, was a child star rising in the early 60's, mainly with Spanish versions of worldwide hits like Norman (Sue Thompson) and Amor por teléfono (Telephone lover, Connie Francis). She was a part of La Nueva Ola Chilena, the generation of young rock'n'roll and pop stars of Chile in the 50's and 60's.

She made her actual radio debut at the age of three in the popular Uncle Alex Club (Club del Tio Alejandro).
Her teenager career was mainly musical, but she finally focussed more on acting and comedy, resulting in the mid 80's show 'La show de Gloria', a regular TV show with comedy and music. Benavides is still regarded as one of the biggest comedy stars of Chile.

Gloria Benavides also recorded No Tengo Edad Par Amar Te (Non Ho l'Eta, Italy's 1964 winner) and Primo O Poi from the 1965 San Remo contest (10th)


Violeta Rivas is a hugely popular singer in Argentina in the from the 60's to today.
You can read all about Violeta Rivas at her homepage (in Spanish)

Here is her Eurocovers Discography (all songs in Spanish)

Dios como te amo (Italy 1966, Dio come ti amo by Domenico Modugno)
- b-side to Ninguno me puede juzgar (RCA Victor 31A-084)
- EP Canciones del Festival de San Remo 1966 (RCA Victor)
with 4 San Remo 1966 songs
- also on LP with the same title with 12 San Remo 1966 songs (RCA Víctor AVL 3650)

Merci Cherie (Austria 1966 winner, original by Udo Jürgens)
- 7" single (RCA Victor 31A-0963)
- EP Sin Final (RCA Victor 3AE-3536)

Titere (U.K. 1967 Puppet On A String - Sandie Shaw)
- 7" single (RCA Victor 31A-1100)
- EP Kilimandjaro - (RCA Victor 3AE-3607)

Dios como te amo & Titere can be found 2004 compilation CD 20 Secretos de amor (BMG Argentina)


Mexico - Los Rockin Devil's - Muñeco de cuerdaLos Rockin Devil's were a rock band from Tijuana, Mexico, part of a huge wave of rock'n'roll bands that emerged in the 60's.
At the height of their fame they produced 2 LP's each year (1964-1969) on which they covered all the Rock 'n' roll classics in Spanish but also turned some Eurovision songs into fresh pop hits.

Los Devil's Eurocovers, all in Spanish

No tengo edad para amarte (Italy 1964 winner Non ho l'eta by Gigliola Cingquetti)
- on LP Los Rockin Devils (Orfeon 1964)
Muñeco de cuerda (Puppet on a string)
- on LP Nuevos Hit's de Los Rockin Devil's (Orfeon 1967)
Bum Bang A Bang - (Lulu's co-winner, UK 1969)
- on LP Los Nuevos hits de Los Rockin Devil's (Orfeon 1969)

Bio and Discography can be found on the Los Rockin Devil's website







The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.
Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore (Mandarin-Chinese), Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal, Basque country Organland, Tirol, Denmark, CzechoSlovakia, Hungary, Russia, Yugoslavia (Slovenia) more to come....

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Majda Sepe - Marioneta

The Year Of The Puppet continues with a Slovenian version of Puppet On A String by Majda Sepe.
The song Marioneta was recorded way back when in the old Yugoslavia days, 1967 in this case.

Majda Sepe (born Majda Bernard) was a successful singer and also worked as an actress in a few movies and in a popular 60's tv series Mija sou.
She was married to composer and conductor Mojmir Sepe, who wrote two Slovenian entries for Yugoslavia. In 1966 (Brez besed) and in 1970 (Pridi, dala ti bom svet).
For both he also conducted the orchestra. He returned to a changed Eurovision in 1997 and 1998 to wave the baton for the entries of Slovenia.

Majda Sepe almost replaced Eva Sršen as the singer for the 1970 entry, but in the end it was decided that the song suited a young girl better than a married woman. But Pridi, dala ti bom svet was recorded by Majda and released on a cassette in 1973. Needless to say, I'm still looking for that version.
Majda Sepe died in 2006 at the age of 68.

A 1996 Best Of CD Med iskrenimi ljudmi features most of her hits, but not Marioneta, which hasn't appeared on any CD yet (as far as I know)

Majda Sepe - Marioneta (Jugoton EPY3857)





Another version of Puppet On A String from Yugoslavia, Lutka na koncu by Sanjalice is here
I'm still looking for these two versions:
Biserka Spevec - Lutka na koncu - (from Jugoton EPY3836)
Olivera Vuco (Katarina Olivera) - Bosonoga (= barefoot) from 7".
If you can help me with these or any others please drop a comment or e-mail me. Thanks.

The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.

Blog tip: Asian Mission To Eurovision -UPDATED-

Eurovision is everywhere.
Just found this great Eurovision blog: Asian Mission To Eurovision
You must check out their funny Eurovision Phrase Book In Chinese.

related posts: Asian Eurovision coverversions
A Ba Ni Bi from Thailand
Le Dernier qui a parlé - Cantonese version
Puppet On A String from Singapore
Dschinghis Khan - Korean offspring
Indonesian version of Al Di La (Italian Eurovision 1961)

Another recommended site:
The website of composer Jean Paul Cara, the man who brought us L'oiseau et l'enfant (Marie Myriam) features a new coverversion of the French 1977 winner sung in Corsican, by Alain Abad. (l'accelu e u zitellu)

If you click Quelques mp3 and scroll down on the mp3 page there's a link to L'oiseau et l'enfant autour du monde which features several versions of the song, either by the original artist or coverversions.
Interesting is the French-Arabic version by Leila and the USA version which is a modern rnb- light version (No idea who sings it, do you?). You can also find a demo and various videos of the song

The version Chinois is actually not Chinese, but I think it's the Vietnamese version by Khanh Ha and  Thanh Lan - Chan chim tuoi tho.
The site also features versions of Cara's other songs including Humanahum by Tahitian singer Teva Tetuani.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Emil Gorovets - Эмиль Горовец

Here's a Russian version of Puppet On A String by Emil Gorovets (or: Gorovec)
In the near future I hope to feature a story at Eurocovers about this Russian- Jewish singer who was born in Ukraine in 1927, moved to the US in 1970 and died in 2001 in New York.

For now here's his Eurovision covers discography, most songs are in Russian but also one from his rare Yiddish LP 'Emil Gorovets sings the worlds songs in Yiddish'

- Austria 1966 - Merci Cherie
Мерси, Шери (Russian) - on Russian Flexi (00019601-2)
A Dank (in Yiddish) - LP (LPG 1003)

- Luxembourg 1967 - L'amour est bleu
Тень и свет (Ten I svet) - on LP Poet
- U.K. 1967 - Puppet On A String
Я не кукла (Ya ne kukla) - on flexi EP Melodija 0001183-4

- U.K. 1968 - Congratulations
Сто поздравлений (Sto Pozdravleniy) - on flexi EP Melodija Д 00025771-2

- Israel 1979 - HallelujahHallelujah (English/Russian) - on CD Luchshie Pesni (1996)

The Russian compilation 2CD Emil Gorovets - Zolotaya kollektsiya retro 2004 features all 60's tracks in Russian.

You can find discographies of Eurovision songs covered by Russian artists at this page from ESCkaz. and at this page from Eurosong.net.ru

A good discography of Gorovets' Russian work is here.Details and tracklist on the Yiddish LP are here







The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.
Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore (Mandarin-Chinese), Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal, Basque country Organland, Tirol, Denmark, CzechoSlovakia, Hungary

Related Eurocovers post: Find a Russian version of If I Had Your Love (Iceland 2005) here

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Hungarian Paprikajancsi

On the Year Of The Puppet calender, this week (March 16) Puppet On A String entered the U.K. charts at number 28. It may not seems seem very spectacular, but 40 years ago things were quite different in chart world. No downloads, no # 1 entries, no fancy limited editions to boost sales. It eventually took Sandie 6 weeks to get to the # 1. spot in the U.K..

- Looking for a link to Paprika's -
Sandie Shaw lists as number 383 on the list Vegetarian and Vegan Elite of the World. I didn't know there was such a thing and if you check Morrissey's picture (at 121) there's some fine tuning to be done. Anyway, from Veggie to Veggy is a small step and I take the opportunity here to make a somewhat lame bridge to the Paprika.
Or Paprikajancsi, the Hungarian language version of Puppet On A String.
Paprikajancsi is an early hit for Zsúzsa Koncz, one of the popular singers in Hungary in the 60's and 70s.
From 1970 she also released several albums and 11 singles in German. The singles that were released in the DDR (East Germany) were under her own name, but the West German releases on the United Artists appeared under the name Jana Koncz.

http://www.konczzsuzsa.hu/ is an excellent website about the singer and you should really watch some of the old videoclips there.

A recommended compilation CD is:
Koncz Zsúzsa,: Válogatott kislemezek 1966 - 1984, which includes Paprikajanci and also her biggest hit Mama, kérlek (Hongaroton / Gong)


Here are the lyrics to Paprikajancsi, now sing along

Ó, csak annyit mondj, hogy szeretsz és boldog vagyok
Akkor örömömben máris csak úgy táncolok, mint egy báb, kit tart a húr

Körhinta nálad a szerelem, érzem, hogy milyen szép
De félek, rámtör a veszedelem, s akkor lezuhannék
Ha tudnám, kalandot vársz, másnap messze is jársz

Ó, csak annyit mondj, hogy szeretsz és boldog vagyok
Akkor örömömben máris csak úgy táncolok, mint egy báb, kit tart a húr

Körhintánkon így közel az ég, mi szállunk azon is túl
Ám egy bábunak az is elég, ha bárki zsinórhoz nyúl
Merre visz ez az út, bút vagy örömet nyújt

Ó, csak annyit mondj, hogy szeretsz és boldog vagyok
Akkor örömömben máris csak úgy táncolok, mint egy báb, kit tart a húr

Mint egy paprikajancsi!
Hungarian lyrics by Tardos Péter - Péter Tardos

Koncz Zsúzsa - Paprikajancsi - 7" single Qualiton SP 387
Another version is by Henrietta Dér, a modern version I have no details about.


Hungarian names have the family name first.

Related Eurocovers Post: For some great Hungarian Eurovision covers by Késmárky Marika a.k.a. Dschinghis Khan's Edina Pop, go to this Eurocovers post.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Loutka - Yvonne Přenosilová.

As promised here's the Czech version of Puppet On A String: Loutka. It's by Yvonne Přenosilová.
The recording is from the 60's but I have no details on the original release. It can be found on a CD titled Superhity století 1960-1969 2 (CZ Universal 0134372), a compilation with Czech 60's hits.

There is also a compilation CD by Yvonne Přenosilová, Roň slzy (Sony), but it does not feature Loutka. It has songs mainly in Czech and some in English, German and Italian, including cover versions of These boots are made for walking (Boty proti lásce), My Colouring Book, I'm sorry (Roň slzy) and A Lovers Concerto (Nikdo netusi).





 

At 60, Přenosilová is still active in the music business as a country singer.






Yesterday the Czech Republic chose it's first ever Eurovision entry. The song Mála damá by Kabat. It may be a slight shock for the average TV viewer as it's 'serious Lordi without the masks'. http://www.kabati.cz/

Also see this Eurocovers post for Eurovision covers by Helena Vondráčková , the singer who withdrew from the Czech Eurosong national final this year.

The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.
Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore (Mandarin-Chinese), Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal Basque country, Organia, Tirol, Denmark

L'amour a la Française

Forget about a new president, the French people had far more important voting to do last night. And there was a superbe lot to chose from so and I'm pleased they gave the vote to Les Fatals Picards to represent them in the Helsinki contest in May.
The jumpy rocking pop tune with the great accent is a big departure from the traditional grumpy French chansons of recent years which really only work about once every three times.

The Jean Luc Picard link is not the first intergalactic connection for a French entry.
A memorable choice from France was back in 1999 when they picked that spaced out woman Nayah who had ties with the Raelian cult and caused a bit of a stir. Spaceships would come for her (remember it was 1999) and make her the queen of the Universe, or at least win the Galactivision Song Contest.
Je veux donner ma voix was the song, and the greatest thing it did back then was score a # 100 hit (one week) in the French charts. And it scared away the aliens.

Still Nayah's Voix was heard as far as Tahiti and Canada where coverversions of the song were made.

First up there's Maruia from Tahiti. Don't know much about her except she has made quite a few CDs with Polynesian pop mixed with coverversions of ABBA et les chansons pop. She also recorded a version of the Swedish 1999 winner Take me to your heaven. (Find that in this Eurocovers post)
Ginette Reno does a great job on the song and makes it actually quite good.
The Canadian singer was one of the most popular artists in Quebec in the 60's and 70's and even had a fling with the BBC after she won the Yamaha Tokyo Song Festival representing England.
Je veux donner ma voix is on the first CD of a series collecting her work mixed with new and unreleased recordings.
She also recorded a version of Udo Jürgens 1964 entry Warum, nur warum better known as Walk away. (Dis-moi pourquoi)
Read more about her at http://www.ginettereno.com/


Je veux donner ma voix - Maruia - CD Te Ora Hau (Vol. 11) (1999)
Take me to your heaven - Maruia - CD Te Ora Hau (Vol. 11) (1999)
Dis-moi pourqoui - Ginette Reno - LP Ginette en amour (Apex, ALF-1580, 1965)
Je veux donner ma voix - Ginette Reno - CD Mademoiselle Reno (Melon-Miel, 2004)

Related posts: French versions of Sandie Shaws Puppet on a string can be found in this Eurocovers post.
Le dernier qui a parlé (France 1991) in Cantonese is here.
A Lithuanian version of the French 1993 song Mama Corsica is here.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Denmark - Lille Marionet

The Danish version of Puppet On A String was recorded by Grethe Sønck.

Singer and actress Grethe Sønck (born Grethe Ingeborg Nielsen Hald) has been in the entertainment business for over 60 years and has released over 50 singles.
She never went to Eurovision but sang in the Danish national final (Dansk Melodi Grand Prix) on several occasions.
1960 - Trækbasun og vaskebræt (3rd place)
1961 - Hjemme hos os (w.Raquel Rastenni, last)
1963 - Verden er en gammal bekendt (7th)
1964 - Ugler i mosen (With Gustav Winckler)

Lille Marionet was released on a 7"single (EMI Columbia) and can also be found on the CD Tak for alle kys.

She also recorded a Danish version of Norways first Eurovision song Voi Voi from 1960 (Sonet EP) and the other famous Puppet Song: Poupée de cire, poupée de son (Luxembourgs winner from 1965 by France Gall / Serge Gainsbourg) titled Lille Dukke. (on LP Favoritter 1.)

www.grethesoenck.dk (in Danish)

-

Related Eurocovers post: Grethe & Jørgen Ingmanns Eurovision coverversions

Eurocovers Blog Tip: Phil Musical's Lounge Corner features a lovely cheesy LP by Alfredo Domenech y su Conjunto: Exitos del 67. It features versions of 1967 hits including Puppet On A String and Hablemos Del Amor. Definitely worth checking out.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Has anybody seen my dachshund?

The Year Of The Puppet continues with this seminal version from Tirol, Austria.
Some versions don't need further explanation. So for this utterly fantastic coverversion by Sepp Viellechner I present you this picture and I will mention another of his unforgettable evergreens: Zum jodeln,da brauch i mein Dackel da. (For jodelling I need to have my dachshund around)


The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.
Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore (Mandarin-Chinese), Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal Basque country, Organia.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Organ Donation - Puppet's got a brand new string

Happy Birthday Sandie Shaw!
Today is the big birthday for Sandie Shaw and next to the Eurocovers Year Of The Puppet series it's also celebrated at her own website with a new version of Puppet On A String, especially recorded for the occasion. She recorded it with Howard Jones, remember him? Made some amazing stuff in the 80's and is still going strong.

Sandie's present: 'Puppet's Got A Brand New String' is available for download for 60 days.
On her site you can also find extensive discographies, biography and regular messages from Sandie herself. Plus the stuff that shapes Sandies world today.


The number 1 shop for Eurovision CDs and vinyls is BeaRecords, check out their Sandie Shaw page here.

To light up Sandie's birthday I rented some ole barrel organ to serenade her under her balcony.

Organ DonationWhen I browse my organs, Puppet On A String is the song that found it's way to the streets, fairs & dancehalls more times than any other Eurovision song.
The ump-pah ump-pah bits translate easily to the cardboard perforated books setting the pipes & cymbals of the ornate antique automatons in motion.

Many of the great classic organs have had their music recorded on LP's EP's, singles and even CDs. My collection (Thanks to Rick for many of them) features Dutch barrel organs, Belgian Decap (Dancehall) organs and there's also the odd British fair organ recording available.

Recordings of Dutch street organs (Draaiorgels) like 'De Turk' , 'De Veronica' and 'De Arabier' can be found on many vinyls from the 60's and 70's.

In Belgium Decap - Herentals built organs to entertain the party people in dance halls and party centres from the 1920's on. These organs, similar to the French Gaudin ones, also have their recordings saved for prosterity on many records.

I can go on pretending now to know anything on this subject but I'm a total ignoramus: So let's get to the business.



You can rent 'De Veronica' and other organs for your parties and events here.
Circle of Draaiorgel friends has a site in Dutch English & German with all the links you need.

The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.
Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore, Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal Basque country
Here is a (sketchy) list of Sandie's Organs, additions & corrections are welcome at the usual address
Decap 121 Key (Dance Organ) -----LP The Thursford Assortment (1978)-----(Thursford Museum TE05 2KR100)
??? Fair Organ (UK) ----- 7" Great hits for fair organ -----(Decca DFE 8679)
The Carl Frei (Dutch street organ) -----LP The Golden Age of Mechanical Music Vol 9. Piston Polka -----(Saydisc, 1970)
Gavioli Mammoth 89 Key Fairground Organ -----LP Fairground Fantasia In stereo (1970) -----(Hallmark HMA231)
Gaudin 89 Key -----LP All The Fun Of The Fair Vol 1 (1970) -----(Gaudin Fair JOYS 168)
Hooghuys Organ CH 660 -----MC (EMB 05588)
Draaiorgel De Kempenaer Decap 123 Key 1927 -----LP Draaiorgel de Kempenaar (1969) -----(Gemini Records GMX 5015)
Limonaire 1900 (Dance organ) -----CD Orgue Limonaire 1900 (2003)----- (ILD 642222)
Limonaire 'Pandora' 35 Key -----LP Airs by the Limonaire (1976) -----(CRS1001)
De Marenghi 63 Key -----LP Feest Met De Marenghi"" (1970) ----- (CBS S 52793)
Mortier Organ Grymonprez in medley -----LP Mortier Organ No3 (1969) ----- (Palette PPB S-611)
Mortier Dance Organ 82 Key -----LP Flötte Melodien Aus Knocke's (1980)----- (CM LP 2063)
Decap 'Napoleon' -----LP Decap Orgel Napoleon (1998)----- (Discount Music DCCD 98004)
Taj Mahal Mortier Dance hall organ -----CD Mortier "Taj Mahal" Dance Organ
Mortier 'The Trumpeter' 84 Key -----LP The Trumpeter-----(SSLX 346)
Draaiorgel De Turk (Dutch street organ) -----LP ?
Draaiorgel De Veronica -----LP Greetings From Holland (1987) -----(TCD 10042 Dureco Telstar)

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Txoriburuak sokan

Today it's 40 years ago that Sandie Shaw presented her Eurovision contenders to the British audience in A Song For Europe in Rolf Harris' TV show.
5 songs were in the competition and it was a good old postcard affair, so the results came later.

Eurocovers takes every anniversary to celebrate with another version of Puppet On A String, so here's a rare one you may love (I know I do).

Txoriburuak sokan - Irune ta Andoni Argoitia

Irune & Andoni Argoitia (a.k.a. Argoitia Anai-arrebak) are a brother and sister duo from the Basque town of Ondarroa.

Theirs was a a relatively short career, mainly playing their versions of popular songs at festivals.

They released a handful of singles & EP's and the song they are remembered for most is Maitasun Itzak, a Basque version of Catalan legend Joan Manuel Serrat's Paraules d'amor.

'Txoriburuak sokan', Puppet On A String sung in Basque, is an low key affair, limiting the instruments to acoustic guitars and bass.

It's from a rare 6-track EP but the song can also be found on the 1993 CD Kantu nostalgikoak 2 (on the Elkar label) collecting all the recordings of the Argoitias and a few other artists. This CD version however misses the intro of the song, so I'm very pleased to present the full version here, recorded from the EP.

Irune ta Andoni Argoitia - Txoriburuak sokan (EP Cinsa CIN-140)
tracklist:
Txoriburuak sokan (Puppet on a string)
Gaurko Gazteak
Ames, Ames
Alarguna
Epperraren Kanta
Maitasun Itzak (written by Joan Manuel Serrat)

Super thanks to Armando for the song and picture.

More 'local' versions coming up soon: Catalonia, Scotland, Tirol and Flanders.

The Year Of The Puppet celebrates the 40 year anniversary of Sandie Shaw's Eurovision victory with Puppet On A String. Introduction to the series in this Eurocovers post.

Other versions already featured are from France, Singapore, Jamaica. Yugoslavia, Estonia, U.K. (Comedy), Iceland, Lithuania, USA (Musical), Spain, Brasil, UK punk, Norway (gloom) Norway, Turkey, Portugal

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Florbela Queiros - Boneca Articulada

Florbela Queiros is a Portuguese actress who starred in several movies of the Nouvelle Vague variety. Now you can say a lot about Puppet On A String, but not that it's Nouvelle Vague, so I don't think the song is from any of her movies.

This song is from an EP titled Folclore Americano (Tecla TE 1013)

UPDATED with picture sleeve and release details 01-07-07

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Suna Artun Poyraz from Turkey

The Turkish version of Puppet On A String, Ben Senin Kuklan Değilim, is another one I couldn't find much info on. The song is by Suna Artun Poyraz and can be found on a single (Ezgi Plákk 45-12?) and a Turkish various artists LP 'Yıldızlar geçidi' (Ezgi Plákk).

I don't know who Suna Artun Poyraz is, the only thing I know is that she recorded several coverversions of 60's songs and that she released some singles as Suna Artun (without Poyraz).
If anyone knows some more or has a picture, please let me know.

A recommended site for fans of (any) coverversions is http://www.birzamanlar.net/ which has an extensive lists of versions in Turkish with titles and artists of the originals and the covered versions.

More Turkish Eurocovers in the near future.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Sprellemann by Bente Aaseth

In the week leading up to two important Sandie Shaw anniversaries I'll be presenting some coverversions of Puppet On A String I don't have much details on.
Not even a picture for this one.

Sprellemann is the only Norwegian version I know of and it was on my wanted list until Jan from Norway came along. Thanks Jan!

Bente Aaseth was in the 1967 national selection for Eurovision: the 'Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 1967', with the song Shake (also performed by Laila Granum). The song finished 2nd.
Another thing I know is that Sprellemann was released on a 7" as a b-side to Jeg tror på sommeren.



You can find an introduction to the Year Of The Puppet series in this Eurocovers post
More Norwegian stuff by Døsty Cåwshit a.k.a. Dusty Cowshit is here

UPD 12-04 Blog Freche Früchtchen has an nice item on 'Shake' the Norwegian preselection song mentioned above.

Happy New Year !!

Happy New Year from Eurocovers to our Chinese Visitors .
May the year of the Pig bring you health and posperity.
What better way to celebrate than with a Eurocover.
A great Chinese Eurovision cover is by Hong Kong superstar 关淑怡 - Shirley Kwan , who covers the French 1991 song, Le dernier qui a parlé, in Cantonese.

After her debut hit 難得有情人 Shirley Kwan became famous for her mixture of Cantonese Pop with western music. Next to many originals she covered music by Roxette, the Beegees, Sandra and even Ralph Siegel.
Kwan released about a dozen original albums sung in Cantonese. In the mid 90's she also recorded several in Mandarin (but not the Eurocover) and a few in Japanese in 1989 and 1990.
After a relative period of silence she is back on top in 4704 with the live CD/DVD Being Shirley On Stage.

梵音 - 关淑怡
Shirley Kwan released three versions of Amina's song that almost/also won the Eurovision Song Contest in Rome in 1991.
Studio version from 1991
- CD Love is forever and CD 32 Top Selections
Live version from 1995
- CD Shirley Shirley Kwan live in concert
Live version from 2006
- CD/DVD Being Shirley On Stage

Here's the word document with all the Chinese Eurocovers I know of. (UPDATED version 16-05-07)
http://www.espace.org/ is a great place for all things Shirley (in english)

4705 will also continue as VII: the Year Of The Puppet.You will find a Chinese (Mandarin) version of Sandie Shaw's Puppet On A String in this post.

p.s. Parts of this article were featured last year at the Eurovision Collectors Guide Group. (Yahoo)

VII: Eurovision - Czech this out - Helena Vondráčková.

Excusez the puns, but I've been brooding on them ever since I heard the Czech Republic would make their debut at this years Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki.
You can find the Czech list of national finalists at the usual places. (see links)
One of the participants is legendary Czech superstar Helena Vondráčková. It's rumoured she's been selected as a tv-crowd puller, but that doesn't matter, Eurocovers just loves the local legends.

Presenter of the Eurosong preselection show will be Jiří Korn and hey presto, a Eurocover is born.
Jiri and Helena recorded a Czech version of the Great British 1976 classic Save your kisses for me back in 1977 titled Já půdju tam a ty tam.

Another Eurocover by Helena was Jak mám spát, Après toi by Vicky Leandros (Luxembourgs 1972 winner).

Jak mám spát

- (7" - Supraphon 043 1399)

Já půdju tam a ty tam. w. Jiří Korn

- (7" - Supraphon 143 2059)

Helena Vondráčková has recorded about a million songs from 1964 to present day and at her excellent multilingual home page you can find very detailed discographies and songlists.
http://www.vondrackova.net/

Soon: The Czech version of Puppet On A String in the Year Of The Puppet

Update: Helena Vondráčková will be participating with the song Samba which is already available on her new album Zastav se (... a poslouchej) - (Universal 170 851-2)

Another Update: Samba has been removed from the participants list and will be replaced by another song by Helena Vondráčková.

Last Update: After presenting another song Ha Ha Ha Helena Vondrackova withdrew from the competition beacuse she couldn't agree on juries not playing a part in the decision for the first Czech Eurovision entry.

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Puppet On A Rope

Puppet On A String? Bondage more like.
Here's a punky 80's version of the Puppet by Big Hair. I don't know anything interesting about this outfit so here's the picture sleeve.

Big Hair's Puppet has appeared on several compilations, but always with a bit missing. Here's the full version from the vinyl single. (Fresh records Fresh 19)

Another obscure punk single comes from Norway and is by Jeg Falt. The only thing I know is that it can be found on the compilation CD Null Problem - NordNorsk Pønkrock.

Those gloomy Nordic winters can be very long so this must be the unhappiest version of the song ever recorded. There's no recognisable melody, but it sticks to the original lyrics. (Any details on original release are welcome)

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Brasil

Brazil may be famous for the rainforests, caipirinha's and futeball magic, but most of all Brazil is the country with the most Eurovision cover versions to its name, without ever setting foot on the Eurovision stage.
Although they lost interest after the 70's, the amount of coverversions from the land of the Carnival far outnumbers any other. The selection is limited though, it mainly includes the songs from Italy, the U.K. and Udo Jürgens.
Domenico Modugno's entries 'Nel blu dipinti di blu' (Volare) and 'Dio come ti amo' seem the most popular of all, but also the late 60's British songs have been Brazilified by the Brazilian greats and less greats.
Puppet on a String is no exception and I know of five versions made in the land of Pelé.

Don't expect any exotic samba rhythms, the Brazilians surely knew Pop back in the 60's.



My favorite version is the one by Ed Carlos, at the time a child star, who's youthfull voice gives the song the innocent identity it never was supposed to have.
Katia Cilene, another Jovem Guarda star sticks closer to Sandie's original in both sound and looks.
Vocal group Os 3 Morais, three siblings of the Espírito Santo family, recorded the song for their first LP as Os 3 Morais. This also includes a version of Tell The Boys, the song that finished 2nd in Sandie Shaw's Song For Europe selection and that was Sandie's own favorite.

Discography of Brazilian Puppets:
All songs are titled Estou Feliz and are sung in Portuguese.
Ed Carlos - 7" (Fermata FB 33320)
- also on LP Ed Carlos (Fermata FB 209, pictured)
UPDATE Ed Carlos rerecorded the song in 1977 for an LP and EP (CBS) with his voice dropped a few octaves.
Katia Cilene - EP (CBS 33500)
Suzy Darlen - EP 'Oh Johnny' (Odeon 7 BD 1134)
João Luiz - EP (Polydor 555 008)
Os 3 Morais - LP 'Os 3 Morais' (Premier PRLP 1087)

I haven't heard the versions by Suzy Darlen or João Luiz and there may be more too.
Discographies of Brazilian young 60's artists - http://www.jovemguarda.com.br/