Johnny Logan: What's Another 30 Years.

Johnny Logan, you either love him or adore him, King of Eurovision, Three times Eurovision winner, you will probably know all the accolades.

30 Years ago he won the contest for Ireland with What's Another Year, Irelands second victory of many, 10 years after Dana.

What's Another Year became a huge European hit, Going # 1 in U.K., Sweden and Ireland and top 10 in most European countries.

Johnny Logan recorded the song in English, German and Spanish (see below) and also released a few re-recordings, including a spanking new 2010 version.

I don't know if it's rough being percieved as a one trick pony, always being associated with Eurovision, but it surely keeps Johnny Logan in a job.

It still results in many guest appearances as singer and jury in the Eurovision pre-season and also resulted in a fantastic tour with the Eurovision In Concert show with the Dutch Airforce orchestra.

Nature Of Love

Of course Johnny Logan has released many other records, and his latest albums The Irish Connection and Irishman In America (2008) was quite successful chartwise in Scandinavia.

He has now recorded a new album titled Nature Of Love. The album is a bit country rock tinged and for the Eurovision fans: There's new versions of his three Eurovision winners What's Another Year, Hold Me Now and Why Me?.

The first single from Nature Of Love is Last Days Of Beautiful. You can listen to the song at Tajmer, Johnny Logans management.

The album is out in Germany May 7 (Indalo/DA Music). Excepts from all tracks can be heard at Rebeat.
Nature Of Love is now available at Bearecords, as well as many other Johnny Logan releases.
update In Scandinavia the album is out on the Black Pelican label (SME-8869771-2602). It charts in the Swedish Danish and Norwegian album charts. 

Eurocovers

Most What's Another Year coverversions are from the Nordic countries and many are recorded in English but it was also a popular tune for orchestra's, Hammond players and other instrumental music magicians.

Eurovision stars that have recorded the song are Brotherhood Of Man, Geraldine Branagan, Noelle Cordier, Lars Berghagen, Ivo Linna and Jørgen Ingmann.

The most famous artists to record What's Another Year are Shane McGowan & The Popes (ex Pogues) and US country singer Charley Pride .

A personal favorite is by Australian singer Karen Knowles, one time (later) Seekers member. She recorded Logan's winner for her 2nd album Loves Us All in 1982. 

Que Es Un Año Mas
Now here's a glimpse in the weird & wonderful world that is Eurovision collecting.

Recording your Eurovision tune in a host of languages is a time honoured Eurovision tradition and Johhny Logan is no exception. His german version Was Ist Schon Ein Jahr is well known and was released on a single in Germany in 1980. But there has always been this elusive Spanish version Por Un Año Mas that seemed impossible to find. Many collectors came home from holidays in Spain to find out that the mega rare 7"inch single found in a grubby backstreet thrift shop contained the English version of the song.

For a few years it was known that the Spanish version had to be released on a Mexican compilation LP, but no one had ever heard the song. Johnny Logans discography makes no mention of it either.
Discussions about its existence were the order of the month and some even dared to doubt the Eurovision Collectors Guide, oh ye faithless. But no more!

Now it has finally surfaced, in fact, someone YouTubed it already a year ago, but I, and many collectors with me, just failed to notice.
The title turns out to be Que Es Un Año Mas and the LP in question is Europa Canta En Español, a collection of European hits performed in Spanish by the original artists like Rafaella Carra, Umberto Tozzi, Joe Dassin and Vicky Leandros. (Released on Epic, Mexico)

We, the anoraks, are without purpose now. But people in Mexico, does any of you have the Katja Ebstein promo single Teatro (Spanish version of course) lying about. Just drop me a line.
Special thanks to André Vermeulen

Andrew Carrington

Andrew Carrington, not the son of Blake, has recorded a coverversion of Was Ist Schon Ein Jahr, the German version of What's Another Year.

It can be found on his new album Ich Leb Für Dich.

Australian born Carrington was a lead singer in the Ten Tenors.

His German language CD also includes coverversions of Rücksicht (German entry 1983) and Wer Liebe Lebt (Germany 2001)
Ich Leb Für Dich is out May 7 on Warner Music Germany.

Sources: Muziekfreaks weblog, thanks to Marion Minten
http://www.johnnylogan.net/

2010: The Oslo Collection
The place to go for all the latest release news of the 2010 Eurovision stars.

Denmark: cdsingle, album info *** Azerbaijan: Safura advance release info *** Israel: Harel Skaat Versions update ***  Moldova: Lounge, Pop Rock versions*** France: Jessy matador new release info *** Estonia: Siren cdsingle*** Slovenia: CD info *** Spain: Daniel Diges CD out now, Swing Jazz version *** Bosnia-Hercegovina: cdsingle out now *** Georgia: Sofia Nizharadze new website, promo update *** Iceland: Hera Björk in French *** Eurosong News Handbook out now

Brita Borg - 1926 - 2010

Swedish Eurovision singer Brita Borg has died yesterday. She represented Sweden in 1959 with the tango Augustin and reached 9th place. (YouTube)
Augustin, written by Bo Harry Sandin and Åke Gerhard, only got four points. One came from Denmark and three from the Netherlands, but it was a completely different voting era with each country awarding ten points in total.
Brita Borg also recorded four 1959 Eurocovers, all from the EP Festival I Cannes below.

The EP Festival I Cannes (Knäppupp KNEP 83) includes four Swedish coverversions of 1959 Eurovision songs.
Om Våren ('n Beetje - Teddy Scholten, Netherlands, 1st)
Oui Oui Oui Oui (Jean Philippe, France, 3rd)
Piove (Domenico Modugno, Italy, 6th)
Åh, Ifall Jag Vore Du Ändå (Uh ! Jeg Ville Ønske Jeg Var Dig, Birthe Eilke, Denmark, 5th)

Brita Borg Wiki has more information on her career from the early 40's to the late 70's.
News at  SVT and Aftonbladet ( both in Swedish).
For more on Teddy Scholten (1926 - 2010), the original singer of 'n Beetje, check this Eurocovers tribute.

The Olsen Brothers Fly Again, On The Wings Of Love.

Eurovision winners The Olsen Brothers (Denmark 2000) will release a new album in may, Eurovision week.

The album Wings Of Eurovision will include 12 Eurovision covers and a new version of their own entry Fly On The Wings Of Love.

Not many suprises there, even the most avid Eurovision dodger will know the songs.

Most entries tackled by the Brødrene were international hits, and there are eight winners present. Maybe Non So Che Darei is the odd one out that even some Eurovision fans may have forgotten about.

Full tracklist:
1 - Fly on the Wings of Love (New Version) - Denmark 2000
2 - Congratulations - UK 1968, Cliff Richard
3 - Waterloo - Sweden 1974, Abba
4 - Ein Bisschen Frieden - Germany 1982, Nicole
5 - Främling - Sweden 1983, Carola
6 - Save All Your Kisses for Me - U.K. 1976, Brotherhood Of Man
7 - Halleluja - Israel 1979, Milk and Honey
8 - Non So Che Darei - Italy 1980, Alan Sorrenti
9 - Bang-A-Boomerang - Swedish national final 1975
10 - Volare - Italy 1958, Domenico Modugno
11 - La Det Swinge - Norway 1985, Bobbysocks!
12 - Love Shine A Light - U.K. 1997, Katrina andThe Waves
13 - Rock'n'Roll Kids - Ireland 1994, Paul Harrinton and Charlie McGettigan

Please read the updated tracklist and more info at this new Eurocovers post.
Shop for The Olsen Brothers CDs at BeaRecords

Those Kids Of Today: Nútímabörn

In Februari 2008 I did a Eurocovers post about some seemingly non traceable Icelandic Eurocovers including one from an LP with this fantastic sleeve.

Good things come to those who wait, so I'm happy to be able to present one of the songs here. 

The ultra cool looking band called Nútímabörn (Modern kids) recorded a version of the Eurovision winner La La La for their LP Nútímabörn. As given away by the sleeve, the song is a bit more mellow, slightly flower power typical late 60's pop. And of course it's utterly lovely.

Nútimabörn were Drífu Kristjánsdóttir, Ágústi Atlasyni, Snœbirni Kristjánssyni and Sverri Ólafssyni, and they only released one album, the eponymous Nútímabörn from 1969 (SG - hljómplötur SG 023).

La La La, originally by Massiel is of course the Spanish entry that kept Cliff Richard from the #1 spot in 1968.

Very Special Thanks to Dr. Gunni.
You can watch Dr. Gunni in action here. It's the first of four shows reviewing the 2010 Eurovision entries. Dr, Gunni is on the panel and the show is hosted by Paul Oscar, King Of The Couch.
For another track by Nútímabörn (We Can Work It Out in Icelandic) check out Dr. Gunni's fab webspace at this page and scroll down halfway. It's part of the Bítlarnir á íslensku series. There's also a great version Fool On The Hill by Björk as a 11 y.o. just added.
The picture sleeve is from this wiki page.

More La La La at Eurocovers: Lesley Gore, Merit Hemmingson, Leelo Karp

Teddy Scholten 1926-2010

Another sad goodbye in Eurovisionland. Teddy Scholten, winner of the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest died last week at the age of 83.
She was one of the popular stars of 50's and 60's Dutch radio and television entertainment. In the 70's and 80's she worked for the Red Cross.

Even though she was a frequent face & voice in Dutch entertainment, Teddy Scholten wasn't a top 40 singer, and people remember 'n Beetje, the 1959 winning Eurovision song best.
The reception Teddy Scholten received when she arrived back home was unprecedented with 100's of people at Schiphol Airport with banners and flowers and set the tone for heroes' arrivals in years to come.

'n Beetje (A little bit), written by Dick Schallies and Willy van Hemert, was the 2nd victory for the Netherlands at only the 4th Eurovision (how times have changed). It was a #4 hit on the (then monthly) Dutch charts (4 months on chart).
Teddy Scholten recorded two Dutch versions of the song and also versions in German (Sei ehrlich), French (Un p'tit peu) and Italian (Un poco).
The Italian version was a top 20 chart hit in Italy.
Teddy Scholten sang a Swedish version Om Varen on Swedish radio (1959, details wanted) but it was never recorded by Teddy. An English version, The Moment, was also written but never recorded.
In the preselection (Nationaal Song Festival) 'n Beetje was also sung by John de Mol (sr.) (released on 7" Telefunken UH 9323A). His version was a #3 hit (3 months on chart)

Eurocovers
The only Eurocovers recorded by Teddy Scholten are from 1959, her own Eurovision year.
For the Post Eurovision releases of 'n Beetje she recorded the French entry Oui Oui Oui Oui and the British entry Sing Little Birdie (with husband Henk Scholten).
Sing Little Birdie, the #2 at the contest, originally recorded by Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson, was recorded as the b-side to the 'international' versions.

Teddy Scholten Eurocovers
Oui Oui Oui Oui (in dutch)
- on EP 'n Beetje (Philips 422366 PE)
Sing Little Birdie - Teddy & Henk Scholten
- Zing Kleine Vogel (in Dutch) on EP 'n Beetje
- (Philips 422366 PE) & 7" (Philips 318 227 PF)
- La Chanson De La Grive (French) on 7" (Philips B318254)
- Canta Uccelino (Italian)  on 7" (Philips 318 255)
The German Sei Ehrlich single has an instrumental version of Sing Little Birdie on the b-side by Orchestra Jack Bulterman.


En Smule
I have over 40 coverversions listed of 'n Beetje, most Dutch, many instrumental and a handful of other languages.
Remarkable is the popularity of the song with Danish recording artists from the era.
There are at least seven full Danish versions of the song, all titled En Smule, and there are a few medleys and instrumentals also recorded in Denmark.

En Smule - Danish versions of n'Beetje
Birgit Falk on 7" single (Heliodor HE 45 0800).
- This one is recorded with the original orchestra backing of Teddy Scholtens own pre-Eurovision version. (Orch. Jan Corduwener)
Raquel Rastenni - on 7"* (HMV 45-X 8391)
- Raquel Rastenni is the Danish Eurovision singer for 1958Birgit Bruel - on EP* 4 Grand Prix Melodier (VA) (427 933 PE Philips DK)
- Birgit Bruel went on to sing for Denmark in 1965
Lisbeth Frandsen - on 7" * (Triola TD 45-35)Rose Lundstrøm - on EP* 4 Grand Prix Sucess'Er (RCA DEP 107)
Rita Storm - on 7" * (Polyphon XM 61912)Inge Strauss - on 7" * (Sonet T 8023)Lone Helmer - on EP* Grand prix cocktail 1959 (Tono ST 41080)
Two medleys with 3 songs each, five Eurovision songs.
* All releases marked * also feature Danish Eurocovers of Sing Little Birdie.

Special thanks to Mikael.

'n Beetje - Document.
I have uploaded a list with all details on Teddy Scholtens 'n Beetje releases and 47 coverversions of the song. It's a word document.
In the Eurocovers 2007 Finweeks a Finnish version was / is featured. A Swedish version can be found in the Marie Dieke Eurocovers post from November 2006. For an Italian version by Carla Boni, check this Eurocovers post.

Spring Is In The Air, Happy Birthday Agnetha

Happy 60th Birthday Agnetha! Seen here in a field* of her own on her 1969 LP Som Jag Är. The LP includes Sov Gott Min Lilla Vän, a coverversion of Un Jour, Un Enfant by Frida Boccara, one of the 4 winners of Eurovision 1969.
* I know, the field looks a bit autumny

Sun is shining. Take your little lamb out for a walk, the girls will love you.

Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son (lux 1965) - Ann Morre and Jean Claudric Ensemble

Alex Chilton 1950 - 2010

I was very sorry to hear that Boxtops / Big Star singer Alex Chilton died yesterday.

There's an article with his coverversion of Volare in this Eurocovers post.

Bits and bobs and wonderful dreams

We're fast approaching the end of the 2010 Eurovision preselection season. In a week all countries should have made their minds up and we'll know all the songs. (see below)
Then the long wait starts....
With all the new stars it's busy busy busy at Eurocovers headquarters and I don't really have the time for in-depth dissections of Eurocovers artists and their discographies right now.
So here's just a few lovely ones I got recently.Wonderful Dream, an English language version of the Luxemburg 1973 winner by Malaysian singer Anita Sarawak.
Гелена Великанова - Лечу я: Letayu, an old Russian version of Volare by Gelena Velikanova

Mary Ann (U.K. 1979). Not covered very much, but Ragnar Kuusk & Agrofon from Estonia did. From a real MC.

成吉思汉 - 张碟. Another fabulous cover of Dschinghis Khan (Germany 1979) by some kid named Joshua. I think it's sung in Cantonese, correct me if I'm wrong.




The Oslo Collection: Latest News
Ukraine: Goodbye Vasyl, Aloysha breaks the rules *** Belgium: Tom charts in 2 countries! *** 2010 Promoconcert *** France: *** Belarus: new song selected *** Russia: Peter Nalitch, listen *** Azerbaijan: It's Drip Drop *** Switzerland: new Video *** Serbia: This is the Balkans *** Sweden: Anna Bergendahl wins MF ***Germany: Satellite - Lena Meyer-Landrut, cdsingle news ***Greece : Opa - Giorgos Alkaios*** United Kingdom: Josh Dubovie gets the Waterman song*** Netherlands: Sieneke to Oslo, cdsingle coverversions galore ***

Aurore Kimberley - L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant

13 year old French singer Aurore Kimberley has recorded a new gipsy tinged version of France's 1977 Eurovision winner l'Oiseau Et l'Enfant (original by Marie Myriam).

The song is included on her album Artistes De l'Ombre which should be out by now.

Listen to the song and read more at Aurores SkyRock blog or check her Youtube channel.

Dutch street organ Anton Pieck - Sha-La-Lie

The much debated Dutch 2010 Eurovision Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-La-Lie) in a street organ version. Now if you don't love this.......