Nicki French 2015: The Eurovision EP

Digital release image

Nicki French, much loved British Eurovision chanteuse, releases a new remix EP including new mixes of her 2000 entry Don't Play That Song Again and a few Eurovision covers.

Don't Play That Song Again ended 16th in the 45th Eurovision Song Contest (in Stockholm).
Hold Me Now is the winner of the Brussels contest of 1987. It was Johnny Logans 2nd victory for Ireland.
One Step Further, originally by Bardo, ended 7th in Harrogate (1982)
And then there's Ding A Dong, the winner of 40 years ago. The Dutch entry by Teach In won the contest in Stockholm en became a European hit.

Update 2019: Nicki French released another Eurovision EP, more info here.

Nicki French shot to fame with her dance coverversion of Bonnie Tylers Total Eclipse Of The Heart. 
It was already the third time Nicki released the song but the 1995 version became a worldwide hit.
It was a No. 5 in the U.K. and a No. 2 in the USA. It went to No. 1 in Canada, Japan and Brasil.

Eurovision EP Tracks:

1. Don't Play That Song Again 2015 (Andy Haldane Remix)

2. Hold Me Now (Andy Haldane Remix)

3. One Step Further (Matt Pop Mix)

4. Ding A Dong (John Springate Mix)

5. Don't Play That Song Again 2015 (Matt Pop's Golden Anniversary 12inch)

6. Hold Me Now (Matt Pop Mix)

7. Don't Play That Song Again 2015 (Andy's Karaoke Mix)

8. Hold Me Now (Andy's Karaoke Mix)
A CD single is released on May 15, still available at the Energise Records shop.
The digital release is out May 23. (but discontined now)

Earlier this year the album One Step Further was released including Matt Pop remix versions of the four Eurovision songs mentioned above.
Another recent release is the album Nicki French: The Singles 1997-2015.
Energise Records also offer a 4-disc (though CD-r) release with the albums One Step Further, The Singles 1997-2015, a Megamix CD and a 4th album Total Eclipse Of The Heart including two previously unreleased demo's.

Energise Records website
More Eurocovers Ding A Dong posts are here, and various versions of Hold Me Now are here.

Original cdsingle

Also check out 2015: The Vienna Collection
Quick links to all countries:
Albania - Armenia - Austria - Australia - Azerbaijan - Belarus - Belgium - Cyprus - CzechRepublic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - FYR Macedonia -   Georgia - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Israel - Italy - Latvia - Lithuania - Malta - Moldova - Montenegro - The Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Russia - San Marino - Serbia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - United Kingdom

Tony Carreira - L'oiseau et l'enfant (avec Lisa Angell)

France 2 has chosen Lisa Angell to represent France in Vienna with the song N'oubliez Pas (Don't forget), a song is written by Robert Goldman.

Find out more here at the Vienna Collection

In 2014 Lisa Angell recorded a version of the French 1977 winner L'oiseau Et L'enfant (Marie Myriam) with Portuguese singer Tony Carreira. This version in Portuguese and French can be found on Carreira's album  Nos Fiançailles, France / Portugal which was a No. 4 in the French album charts.
Other Eurovision singers to duet with Carreira on this album are Natasha St. Pier, Serge Lama, Gérad Lenorman and Anggun

Eurovision entry N'oubliez Pas will be included in Lisa Angells forthcoming album Lisa Angell which will be out on May 11.
On the new album, her 4th,  Lisa worked with Robert Goldman, Patrick Fiori (Eurovision 1993), Jacques Veneruso and Serge Lama (Eurovision 1971)

More sur L'oiseau....:
L'oiseau style Zouk, Aurore Kimberley

Simone de Oliveira, Rainha do festivais

A living legend, Simone De Oliveira, returns to the Festival RTP da Canção, the Portuguese  national selection for Eurovision. À Espera das Canções is the song she will try to return to the contest with, 45 years after her last visit to the Eurovision stage.

As far as festivals go, Simone de Oliveira is royalty.

The Portuguese final of 2015 is on March 7.
Update: So Simone didn't make it to Vienna, which is a shame of course. But here at Eurocovers we're happy she's still out there and we hope to see her again in some Festival or another.

Promo EP 1969

Simone De Oliveira made her first appearances at the Festival da Canção Portuguesa* in the late 50’s and early sixties, winning a few of them along the way.

Other festivals she attended are Festival da Canção da Figueira da Foz. (winning in 1962), Festival Internacional da Canção do Rio de Janeiro, Festival da Nova Canção de Lisboa (winner in 1979) and the 1980 OTI festival (Songcontest of Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries)

* Not to be confused with the Eurovision selection Festival RTP da Canção.

Simone De Oliveira entered Eurovision twice. In 1965 with Sol De Inverno and in 1969 with Desfolhada Portuguesa. She only finished 13th and 15th but both songs now rank top five of Great Portuguese Classics that happened to be Eurovision entries. 
I think Desfolhada Portuguesa only has to leave the 1974 entry E Depois Do Adeus (Paulo De Carvalho) before it in the Portuguese evergeen immortality stakes.
Both of Simones songs have been recorded by many artists and are still covered and performed today.

Simone also recorded a few interesting Eurocovers. There's Volare and Puppet On A String (but who hasn't covered these?) but also the 1968 entries of Germany and Monaco.
Eurocovers loves lists, so below you can find the discography of Simone's own entries and her Eurocovers. Finally there's a list of Festival RTP da Canção entries.

Simones Eurovision songs and versions

Portugal 1965 - Sol De Inverno (13th place)

- Sol De Inverno (Portuguese) - on EP (Continental Rec. P-QB 192)

- Sol De Invierno (Spanish) on EP Nàpoles 1965 (with three other ESC entries) (ES: Belter 51.520)

Note: Spanish EP Sol De Invierno has the Portuguese version (Belter 51.509, Spain)
Thanks for the correction Jean François!
- Sol De Inverno (in Medley Português) on LP Algumas Canções Do Meu Caminho (Live) (Ariola 1106844, 1992)

- Sol De Inverno (live acoustic 2004) on CD Intimidades (Vidisco, also on DVD)

Note: French EP Soleil d'Hiver (Decca PEP 1088) is sung in Portuguese, French version unconfirmed.

Portugal 1969 - Desfolhada Portuguesa (15^th place)

- Desfolhada Portguesa (Portuguese) on EP (Decca PEP 1276)

- Deshojada (Spanish) on 7” inch single  (Decca MO 648, Spain)

- Terre guitarre (French) on 7”  (Decca PN 110, France, also has Spanish version)

- Promo EP (Decca VC4) has Portuguese, Spanish, French & Instrumental by Thilo’s Combo. The Instrumental is actually track 1 on side A.

- Desfolhada (live 1992) on LP Algumas Canções Do Meu Caminho (Live)

- Desfolhada (live acoustic 2004) on CD Intimidades (Vidisco, also on DVD)
- Desfolhada Portuguesa (2018) - Namorados Da Cidade ft. Simone De Oliveira on CD Namorades Da Cidade. All info on this 2018 release is here at Eurocovers.

Simone De Oliveira Eurocovers

Italy 1958 - Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) - Domenico Modugno

- Nos Teus Olhos Vejo O Céu - EP   (Alvorada mep 60136, 1959)

Spain 1966 - Yo Soy Aquel - Raphael

- Tu És Aquele - EP Música No Coração 

  (Decca PEP 1131) see video above

U.K. 1967 - Puppet On A String - Sandie Shaw

- Marionette - EP (Decca PEP 1204)

Germany 1968 - Ein Hoch Der Liebe - Wenche Myhre

- Viva O Amor - EP (Decca PEP 1250)

Monaco 1968 - A Chacun Son Chanson - Line et Willy

-  Para cada um sua canção - EP (Decca PEP 1250)

The 1968 songs can be found on the same EP

Germany 1967 - Anoushka 

                               - Simone and Marco Paulo

- Duet on EP Tu Só Tu (Decca Pep 1211)

I’m not sure about this one, track could be by Marco Paulo only. If you know more, e-mail me or leave a comment, thanks. 
Update: It is indeed a song by Marco Paulo solo. Many thanks for the info Klaus! The EP features one duet, two tracks by Simone and one by Marco Paulo.

Simone de Oliveira at the Festival RTP da Canção

1964 Olhos nós olhos - 3rd

1964 Amar é ressurgir - 8th

1965 Sol de inverno - 1st

1965 Silhuetas ao luar - 4th

1968 Dentro do outro mundo - 8th

1968 Canção ao meu piano velho - 6th

1969 Desfolhada Portuguesa - 1st

1973 Apenas o meu povo  - 8th

2015 À espera das canções - finalist

Some links and sources

Simone De Oliveira FB

Festivais da Canção History pages

Eurovision Collectors Guide 1956-2005

The 10.000 coverversions project.

EP discography at Os Reis Do Vinyl
4x40 - Eurovision 1969 at Eurocovers

Amazing Estonian Voices

Acapella coverversion of last years Estonian Eurovision entry by Tanja, recorded for this years National final show.

Tanja's original Eurovision performance may have been a bit of a hit 'n' miss (and missed out on the final), but the original studio track remains my favorite song of the 2014 contest. All details and trivia on Amazing and its releases and versions can be found here at the Copenhagen Collection.

Estonia don't disappoint in 2015 either. Check out all about the totally wonderful Goodbye To Yesterday by Stig Rästa and Elina Born here at the Vienna Collection.

Goodbye to Lesley Gore (1946 - 2015)

American singer Lesley Gore has passed away. She's probably most known for her hits It's My Party and You Don't Own Me but she also recorded an English version of the 1968 Eurovision winner La La La by Massiel.

Lesley Gore had 19 US top 100 hits and will have her place in music history forever, at least for those two songs.
In 2009 the singer was featured in a Eurocovers post, which you can read again below.

1968: La La La And I'll Cry If I Want To

La La La, the Spanish Eurovision winner by Massiel from 1968 is a well covered song.
Last year or so 'news' came out that it had won because the Generalo, Franco, bribed some juries because he wanted Spain to win.
All Allegedly of course, and I have a hard time believing the story. Cliff Richard didn't win, get over it.

La La La was a song of controversy all along. First the original singer Joan Manuel Serrat was sent packing because he insisted on singing the song in Catalan, later Massiel was critisized over her way too short dress which disgraced the Spanish people in Europe. Today the song is still ridiculed for the amount of La's that are in it, but somewhere deep inside there's a message, of freedom even...

Eurovision singer Massiel recorded the song in Spanish, French, German and English. Original singer Serrat recorded Spanish, English, French, Italian and Portuguese. Serrat's Catalan version was recorded for a radio show many years later, but it has never been released on record.

La La La is written by Ramón Arcusa and Manuel De La Calva, also known as Dúo Dinámico. Coverversions were recorded in at least 20 languages and the list includes version by Eurovision stars Gitte, Kirsti Sparboe with Arne Bendiksen and Oddvar, Edina Pop and Heidi Brühl.
With over 140 coverversions the song sits neatly inside the top 20 of most covered Eurovision songs. Youtube Eurovision Version.

It's My Party
Lesley Gore shot to fame with her first single It's My Party. A classic and a #1 hit in the US and a top 10 hit in many European countries. She followed it up with three more top 10 hits of which the feminist You Don't Own Me is probably the best known. Lesley Gore also recorded You Don't Own Me in French, German and Italian and Eurocovers loves that.
You Don't Own Me features heavily in the Bette Midler / Diane Keaton / Goldie Hawn movie The First Wives Club.

The song was the last Lesley Gore single to reach the US top 10 but she continued to score 16 more top 100 hits.

In 1968 she recorded the Eurovision winner as He Gives Me Love (La La La) and after two singles that failed to chart in the Billboard top 100, He Gives Me Love went to #91. It was her last top 100 hit. (Mercury 78219)

Lesley Gore continued recording in the 70's but after her 1982 cover album The Canvas Can Do Miracles it took over 20 years for her to get back in the studio.
In 2005 she recorded the album Ever Since which includes a stunning new version of You Don't Own Me and several new songs from Lesley Gore's own pen. Ever Since is available at Amazon and iTunes

Several Lesley Gore compilations are also available including a splendid 5CD box It's My Party! (Bear family) with all her 60's recordings, including several foreign language versions of her early hits.


links and sources
Lesley Gore Homepage - Fanclub.(since 1965, remarkable!)
Youtubes: It's My Party - You Don't Own Me
Lesley Gore - La La La Discogs page

Il Volo book a flight to Vienna and honor the Italian classics

Il Volo have won the 2015 edition of the Sanremo contest with the song Grande Amore. The trio have stated they will be the Italian representatives in Vienna, but it is not confirmed Grande Amore will be the Eurovision song. (well, now it is..ed.)

A 7 track CD Sanremo Grande Amore will is released on februari 17. It includes the winning Sanremo song and also coverversions of two ancient Italian Eurovision songs. See full tracklist below.

Young operatic trio Il Volo are Piero Barone (Tenor), Ignazio Boschetto (Tenor) and Gianluca Ginoble (Baritone).
They met in 2009 when they were individual participants at Ti Lascio Una Canzone, a singing competition on RAI TV.

Il Volo have released four official albums and several digital singles.
Their 2010 (2011 in most countries) debut album Il Volo (produced by Tony Renis) was a worldwide success.
It was a #1 album in Austria and #2 in New Zealand. It reached the album top 10 in Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Plus a #18 in Australia and 43 in the U.K..
The trio also recorded the album in Spanish, which scored well the charts in Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia and Puerto Rico.

The albums Il Volo, We Are Love and live album Il Volo... Takes Flight: Live from
the Detroit Opera House, are re-issued on februari 24 in a boxset titled the Platinum collection.

Links and sources
Il Volo at the Vienna Collection
Il Volo Website and FB
Find some more tenors and baritones here at Eurocovers:
I Quatro - Luciano Pavarotti and G4 - Mouslim Magomaev - Ingvar Wixell

Tracklist CD Sanremo Grande Amore

Grande Amore

- Sanremo 2015 winner

Ancora

- 1981 Sanremo song originally by Eduardo De Crescenzo

Vacanze romane (2015 Version)

- 1983 single by Matia Bazar from (in my opinion) their best and utterly amazing album Tango.

Canzone Per Te (2015 Version)

- Sanremo winner from 1968, originally by Sergio Endrigo who went on to Eurovision the same year, but with another song Marianne.

Piove (2015 Version)

- Domenico Modugno's second Sanremo winner and Eurovision entry from 1959

Romantica

- 1960 Sanremo winning song that was the Eurovision entry by Renato Rascel. 

L'immensità (2015 Version)

- 1967 Sanremo song originally by Don Backy and by Johnny Dorelli

Check out more about the 2015 Eurovision hopefuls at the Vienna Collection.
Quick links to all countries:

Albania - Armenia - Austria - Australia - Azerbaijan - Belarus - Belgium - Cyprus - CzechRepublic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - FYR Macedonia - Georgia - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Israel - Italy - Latvia - Lithuania - Malta - Moldova - Montenegro - The Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Portugal - Romania - Russia - San Marino - Serbia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - United Kingdom

Die Oue Musikant (Afrikaans) - Marnie

Oh well, the video is removed, but I'll leave the rest here anyway...

Someone uploaded this to the Tube and made me very happy.
It's the Afrikaans coverversion of the Dutch 1973 entry De Oude Muzikant by Ben Cramer.
This version was released on a single in 1974 (Philips TOS 1010, South Africa).
I'm quite sure this version uses the original backing track.

Marnie is an early artists name of Manuel Escorcio. Under his own name he (later) recorded coverversions of Volare, Piove, All Kind Of Everything, Halleluja, Ein Bisschen Frieden and Io Senza Te.
See full Eurocovers discography below.

Still looking for the b-side though (well, and the actual vinyl single). The b-track Sylvia Kom Dans Met My is a coverversion of one of Ben Cramers National Final songs that was also the flipside to his own releases.

Marnie / Manuel Escorcio Eurocovers Discography

Italy 1958 Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) - Domenico Modugno

- Volare (Portuguese) on CD Iets Vir Almal (Select SELBCD 154)

Italy 1959 Piove (Ciao Ciao Bambina) - Domenico Modugno

- Italian on CD Iets Vir Almal (Select SELBCD 154)

Ireland 1970 - All Kinds Of Everything - Dana

- Soveel Herinner My (Afrikaans) on LP Hei Monique

Netherlands 1973 - De Oude Muzikant - Ben Cramer

- as Marnie - Die Oue Musikant, single (Philips TOS 1010)

- Single also has Ben Cramer pre-song Kom Sylvia Dans Met My,
Israel 1979 - Halleluja - Milk And Honey
- on LP Manuel Escorcio With The Drakenberg Seunskoor (1984 Transistor CBK 7031)

Switzerland 1981 - Io Senza Te - Peter, Sue and Marc.

- Me Without You (English) on LP Musica (1983,Transistor  CBK 7011)
Germany 1982 - Ein Bisschen Frieden - Nicole

- A Little Peace (English) on LP Romance (Select SEL 106)

Links and Sources:
Manuel Escorcio website and Facebook
If you want to find out more about Eurocovers in Afrikaans, just follow this link and you'll get the posts with South African stars doing your favorite Eurovision tunes
Also check out our Facebook page and the Vienna Collection

Udo Jürgens 1934 - 2014

Rest In Peace.

Some moody Finnish music for the winter.

Lovely new version of the first ever Finnish entry, still a classic at home.
And a new classic in the making: a Finnish version of Dutch 2014 entry Calm After The Storm

R.I.P John Holt

Jamaican singer John Holt passed away October 19, aged 67.
Here's an audio of his coverversion of Warum Nur Warum by Udo Jürgens (Austria's entry of 1964), maybe better known as Walk Away made famous by Matt Monro.

Holt also recorded Sandie's Puppet On A String.

John Holt had several hits with coverversions of other peoples songs, but his biggest claim to fame probably is The Tide Is High which Holt wrote and recorded with his band The Paragons. The song was covered by Blondie and by Atomic Kitten who both took it to the Number 1 spot of the U.K. charts.