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.

Polle & Myrthe - Calm after the storm

The Kids Are Alright!. Here's Polle and Myrthe doing a younger version of the Common Linnets' Eurovision hit Calm After The Storm.

Junior fans may know Polle from his 2011 participation in the Dutch preselection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. His Music In My Heart stranded in the first semi.

It was an unexpected pleasure to see the Netherlands end the runner up at the Copenhagen contest, but the commercial success of Calm After The Storm is even more surprising. The song went top 10 in many countries' charts and is still in the top 10 in Germany and Austria (August 2014).
It was also the first ever #1 hit for a Dutch entry in the Belgian (Flemish) charts.

Find out more about Calm After The Storm, the chart history, the cdsingles, versions and the acclaimed hit album The Common Linnets here at the Copenhagen Collection

More Calm After The Storm coverversions

Zuwer Scheerwol - Pien In Mien Haart (Pain In My Heart, sung in Gronings,Dutch regional language)

- on CD Doalders (2015, Amlow records 0150028)

Lisa del Bo and Eli  - Stilte na de storm (Flemish)

- on CD Voor Een Moeder, Door Een Moeder (APR Works 217)

Howard Carpendale (English, live)
- on CD Das ist unsere Zeit - Live aus Berlin

Sonja Maria (English)
- on CD Last Chance Texaco 
Uwe Müller (English)
- on CD Ein Weihnachtstraum von Uwe Müller 2017 Live!

Josh Oudendijk (English)

- on CD Nylon

Peter Simon Company (English)
- on CD Harvest
Urban Beach (English)

- on CD Urban Vibes-Live in Hamburg

Gab Veläzques (English)

- on CD The Remixes (Ethernal works)

Asher Quinn (English)

- on CD Sun, Sorrow, Flowers, Moon

Ben Ransom (English)
- on digital album Ben Ransom Live
Erica from Drifters and Andreas from Sannex  - Lugn Efter En Storm (Swedish)

- on CD Blå blå Känslor (Drifters)   (Neptun Records)

Tommi Soidinmäki ja Saija Tuupanen - Myrskyn Jälkeen Kirkastuu (Finnish)

- digital release (Magnum music)
Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir (Sylvia Night) & Magni Ásgeirs - Þegar storminn hefur lægt (Icelandic)

- digital release (Magnaðir ehf, 2018)
Frankie Zhyrnov a Lenka Ambrožová (Violin + Saxophone instrumental)

- on CD Memory

Cheap xerox versions under different names like The Campfires, Mix factor, MC Flipside, New Tribute Kings, Clara Oaks, Cream Cuts etc. also exist but are crap.

Polle FB, at KidsTop20 and Youtube channel.

Eisenhauer - One For Me

cdsingle

Above video is a coverversion of the Hungarian 2013 entry Kedvesem by ByeAlex

It's sung in English by Eisenhauer and is titled One For Me.

The track wass released in May 2014 in Germany. The cdsingle includes four versions of the song.

One For Me - single version

One For Me - Thomas Lizzara mix

One For Me - "One Love" remix

One For Me - Karaoke

Out on Rhingtön (Universal Music), also available at your usual digital outlets.

Kedvesem ended 10th in the final in Malmö.
Read all about the original song and its versions here at the Malmö Collection.
For a coverversion by Swedish Eurovision singer Jan Johansen go here at Eurocovers.

Special thanks to Ivor Lyttle.

2014 My Słowianie - Metal And Muscles

Polish 2014 Eurovision stars Donatan Cleo and their Slavic Girls brought you Boobs, and the viewing rates for the contest went up by 15.000.000. But what do real men love even more than Boobs? Yes, Metal, Full Growl Metal to be more specific.

My Słowianie, this years 'The Song That Keeps On Giving' is covered in this amazing version by Sławek Wyłup and Mateusz Trojak in the clip above. 
And if the growling vocals are too much for you, you can also listen to the Metal version mixed with Cleo's vocals. (Here at Youtube)

There's more Slavic fun to be had, V-Unit, Polish hip-hop rappers, have recorded a 'parody' (Youtube here also has a free download link). It deals with a whole other set of prejudices than the Donatan Cleo version, involving testosteron and stealing wallets. And instead of boobs there's muscles, very big muscles.

The V-Unit track was also remixed as My Słowianie (Odpowiedź mężczyzn) and that one is released on their CD Bękarty Internetuon (also on Spotify).

V-Unit facebook

A rock'n'roll version of My Słowianie was recorded by Late Again. I don't know if it has been released officially, but here's a Youtube of the studioversion. Nice.

Late Again facebook

There are many more parodies of My Słowianie. Here's one with some Polish firefighters already clocking over 2.000.000 views.

Donatan (and) Cleo have recorded quite a few fab versions and remixes in Polish and English themselves. You can find out all about these here at the Copenhagen Collection.

And if anyone has a copy of the Donatan Cleo cd single to spare / sell, think of me, My life is not complete without it.

LA LA LA - NALVA AGUIAR

Brazil singer Nalva Aguiar sings the Spanish 1968 winner, to cheer up the Spanish side.
Originally from a 1968 Carnaval LP Carnaval de Picaretagem. (Various artists)
Picture from / find out more on the LP at Sintonia Musikal

Sintonia Musikal are also showcasing some cool World Cup LP's (like LP's with WC goals on them!) and other history bits.
Also several albums with Eurocovers like
Claudia Barroso, Pop-5, Cauby Peixoto

A website that'll keep you busy until the next game.
Also check out the commentarios.

Some Eurocovers posts featuring stars from Brazil.
Bossavision, Perla, Fabulosa Leny Eversong, Year Of The Puppet: Brasil

Releases: Eurovisjonen EP, Aldri I Livet and Country Is The New Eurovision

Eurovisjonen EP is an EP with three coverversions of Norwegian Eurovision entries and a song from an ancient Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix.
It's chirpy fun rock, but not really loud.

Tracks:
1. Aldri I Livet
- Finn Kalviks 1981 entry that got zero poing. Agnetha and Frida sing on the original studio version you know, and Benny tinkles the ivories.
2. Voi Voi 
- Noways first ever Eurovision entry / classic from 1960. Originally by Nora Brockstedt.
3. Du Ber Meg Om Evighet
- 5th in the 1983 Norwegian national selection for Nyssa Nyberget.
4. Do Re Mi
- Norwegians Prince Of Eurovision Jahn Teigen managed to make it to #9 with third and last Eurovision entry.

The Eurovisjonen EP is part of a project involving students of the Nordic Institute of Stage and Sound and EP's. I can pretend I know all about it, but I don't.
Norwegians (and others??) can buy the digital EP at Klicktrack
The EP is on also Spotify, so you can have a listen for yourself.
You can find Nora Brocksteds full Eurovision and Eurocovers Discography here at Eurocovers

Aldri I Livet Again
Another new version of the ill fated Finn Kalvik song was recorded by Kjell Inge Torgersen.
It's the first single of a various artist project  Kom Ut Kom Fram, covering Finn Kalvik songs.
The digital single is out now through DaWorks.

Kjell Inge Torgersen website



Haba Haba
Here's one that's a little bit older, but worth mentioning. Another Norwegian entry that enjoys an interesting cover is Stella Mwangi's Haba Haba. It crashed in Eurovision but that didn't stop South Africa's Country boys Die Campbells recording the song.
Haba Haba found its way to their Greatest Hits double CD Grootste Platinum Treffers (Biggest Platinum Hits) as one of four new tracks. The album was released in 2011. Listen here to Haba Haba.
Oh, and Country is the new Eurovision, with hats'n'all.

The album is available through iTunes, as are most of their 15 or so albums. The CD's are available at Kalahari.
Die Campbells Website

I Didn't Know That: Please Speak To Me Of Love

Pic nicked from the Bay

Please Speak To Me Of Love is the English version of Hablemos Del Amor, the 1967 Eurovision entry for Spain by Raphael.
The lyrics to the English version were written by Tony Hiller (I didn't know that), the man who gave us Save Your Kisses For Me (U.K. 1976) and a couple of hundred other Brotherhood Of Man songs.

The clip above is an audio of the coverversion by Earl Wilson Jr., there's also Raphaels own English version on Tony Hillers Youtube.
Earl Wilson Jr.'s version was released in 1968 on the LP This Is. Earl Wilson Jr. (Mercury SR 61147)

Another version of Please Speak To Me Of Love was recorded by the Dutch band Sparklings fronted by 1973's Dutch Eurovision singer Ben Cramer. (on LP ...... And The Sparklings (Kritos 130046, 1967) See discogs entry here)

Tony Hiller Website
New Yorker Earl Wilson Jr. from works as a composer / lyricist of musicals.
There's a good bio here at Don Cornell (it's a PDF file).
Earl Wilson Jr. Website
Raphael Website

Austria wins Eurovision 2014! Conchita Wurst Rises.

But I guess you already know that. Congratulations to Austria for their second Eurovision victory (after almost 50 years). And Congratulations to Unstoppable Conchita Wurst.

Will There Be A CDsingle of Rise Like A Phoenix?
What about the Common Linnets Album?
Beard Yes, Moustache No? Why?

The fully updated pages on the 2014 artists and songs can be found at the Copenhagen Collection.
We'll keep on following new releases, charts success, upcoming albums and more on all the satrs that made Copenhagen Eurovision.

Mona Ersare - Blundar Nu

Here's a new Swedish coverversion of Kedvesem, last years Hungarian entry by ByeAlex.

The singer is Mona Ersare. The track will be out on your digital stores and streamers soon.



Hungary in Copenhagen

CPH 2014: Another coverversion of that fab Danish Ditty

I posted this 5 years ago (here), but since it's Copenhagen week it won't hurt to give this wonderful coverversion some webtime again. Something special about it, the spaced out tribal rhythms, the eery vocals, I don't know, just love it. Jazzbox is Per Ebdrup and he named this track Dancing Ditty.

The Jazzbox EP, Pigeon At The Disco, with two versions of Dancing Ditty, is still available at here iTunes.
He also has his Face on the book.