Together forever: Alice & Ellen Kessler

You read the news, Alice and Ellen Kessler (1936-2025) are no longer with us. They departed the way they lived: Together.
Eurovision fans know them from the 1959 Eurovision entry for Germany Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen Geh’n which is one of the earliest examples of choreography on the Eurovision stage. The song finished in 8th place.

But the twins' fame reached far beyond Eurovision, they sang and danced all over the world with great success in France, Italy, the USA and their home Germany.
The Eurovision records are hard to find rarities now as are their international albums.

Here’s their Eurovision Discography

Coverversions:

France 1959 Oui Oui Oui (french)
- on EP (France: Polydor 21517 méd) also includes Hello Boy, the French version of their Eurovision song.
Austria 1964 Warum nur warum (German) as “Warum”
Germany 1971 Wunder gibt es immer wieder (German) as “Wunder”                                
- both on LP Around the world  (Italy: Valiant ZSLV 55022)
Italy 1964 This is my prayer (English version of Non ho l’eta)
- LP Discotheque dance date (USA: Midnight records HSLP 2100).

Pictures borrowed from Discogs.

More

Oui oui oui oui also a very lovely video at our FB

Non ho l'eta

Warum nur warum

Wunder gibt es immer wieder

German Classics - Theater - Karel Gott

Another German Classic, here’s a coverversion of the 1980 song Theater. Fabulous Katja Ebstein scored her third top three result for Germany with the song.

The version here is by popular Czech singer Karel Gott, a Eurovision star in his own right. He participated for Austria in 1968 with the Udo Jürgens penned Tausend Fenster (Thousand windows), a song which Gott recorded in German, Czech, French, English and Italian.

Karel Gott is no stranger in Eurocovers world, he recorded German coverversions of Wunder Gibt Es Immer Wieder (Germany 1970) and Ein Lied Kan Eine Brücke Sein (Germany 1975) plus Czech versions of Se Piangi, Se Ridi (Italy 1965) and Eres Tu (Spain 1973).

Žít Stokrát, the Czech version of Theater wasn’t released at the time of recording but it appeared later on a re-issue of Gotts 1980 LP Dnes (Supraphon).

Building bridges 2023 with Donato Plögert

Germany 12 points is something we don't hear that often. So Eurovision fan Donato Plögert wrote a song about it. Please, Vote For Me (Even if I'm from Germany) is out now through all your favourite digitessen.

I moved up the 2019 Donato Plögert post about his Eurocovers album (see below video). 

Here's the Eurovers post about Donato Plögert's Eurovision covers album.

Originally posted on 11-11-2019

A Song can be a bridge, Eurovision fans know that. Die-hard Eurocovers fans also know Donato Plögert, the German singer, actor, entertainer, multi-talent whose German language versions of Eurovision Cult classics have earned him a loyal following among fans.

Now the hardest working man in German theater has released a digital album with all of his Eurovision coverversions to date and a few we haven't heard before.

From the first ones from his 1996 album Eins Blieb Ungesagt up to his version of the first Portuguese winner Amar Pelos Dois titled Mein Herz Schlägt Für Zwei. This man loves Eurovision.

That last one may have been a winner, but Donato Plögerts selections are mostly lesser known fan favorites including some that didn’t do too well at Eurovision (Willeke says hi).

To be fair,  there is quite a bit of Drama and some are an acquired taste. The album can certainly not be accused of relying on the easy boom bang-a-bangy Eurovision classics. It's great these songs get a second chance in life. 

2003 cdsingle Verliebt wie noch nie

The album is titled Ein Lied Kann Eine Brücke Sein (Vom Grand Prix De La Chanson Zum Song Contest) and is out now through digital sources.

It includes 19 Eurovision songs, five Preselection songs and a bonus track.

This is a digital album, but many songs have appeared on some of his 15+ albums and over 20 singles. Below is the tracklist with  some details on Plögerts first CD releases so if you really don’t like digital music you can try to hunt these down.

But for the rest of us, have a listen at your streamers of buy the songs from your favorite digitessen.

Here are the tracks and some info.

01. Wunder gibt es immer wieder - Germany 1970 (Katja Ebstein)

02. Kleines Kind - Malta 1992 (Little child - Mary Spiteri)
03. Zeit im Traum - Iceland 1987 (Haegt og hljott - Halla Margret)

--- From Plögert’s first CD Eins Blieb Ungesagt (1996, Red Clouds 2501)
04. Rhapsodie - Italy 1992 (Rapsodia - Mia Martini)

--- From 1997 CD Wenn Ich Nur Wüsste
05. Versuch's mal mit mir - Denmark 2005 (Talking to you - Jacob Sveistrup)

--- From a cdsingle from 2006 (Donato Plögert Musik ‎DPM 003)
06. Im Lauf der Zeit - France 2002 (Il faut du temps - Sandrine François)

--- From a 2003 cdsingle also including track 24 below (QED QSV 296)
07. Ich liebe dich - Germany (Preselection 1975, Katja Ebstein)
08. Wo ist das Licht? - The Netherlands 1994 (Waar is de zon - Willeke Alberti)

--- From the CD Sowas Vergisst Man Nicht! (1999, Pool Berlin 65253)

09. Was wird aus mir? - Slovenia 1995 (Prisluhni mi - Darja Svajger)

--- From his first CD Eins Blieb Ungesagt (1996, Red Clouds 2501) also including the Italian version (track 22 below).
10. Frauen regier'n die Welt - Germany 2007 (Roger Cicero)
11. Als ob du bei mir bist - Netherlands (Preselection 1998, Alsof je bij me bent - Nurlaila)
12. Liebe, sie bleibt - Sweden 1998 (Kärleken är - Jill Johnson)

--- From digital single Liebe lässt sich nie verbieten (2016)
13. Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein - Germany 1975 (Joy Fleming)
14. Ewiges Licht - (Preselection 1996, Eternal love - Alfred Rapa)

--- From Plögerts first CD Eins Blieb Ungesagt (1996, Red Clouds 2501)
15. Mein Herz liebt für zwei - Portugal 2017 (Amar pelos dois - Salvador Sobral)

--- from the CD Banane (2017)
16. Und wenn der Tag beginnt - Spain 1989 (Nacida para amar - Nina)

--- from the CD Sowass Vergisst Man Nicht! (1999, Pool Berlin 65253)

17. Verliebt wie noch nie - Norway 2003 (I’m not afraid to move on - Jostein Hasselgård)

--- Two versions of this song can be found on a cdsingle from 2003 (QED QSV 326)
18. Ich bin Mensch wie du - Cyprus 1994 (Ime anthropos ki egos - Evridiki)

--- from the 2000 cdsingle Die Frau In Ihm (Town DTM 01485)
19. Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück - Germany 1956 (Walter Andreas Schwarz)

--- from the CD Sowass Vergisst Man Nicht! (1999, Pool Berlin 65253)

20. Und das nennst du leben - Malta (Preselection 1999, The right time - Lawrence Gray)

--- From the album Ich Bin Geboren Um Zu Leben, 2015, digital)
21. Zwei kleine Italiener - Germany 1962 (Conny Froboess)
22. Sempre cosi - Slovenia 1995 - Italian Version

--- From his first CD Eins Blieb Ungesagt (1996, Red Clouds 2501)
23. Mich jibt's nur in Berlin - Italy 1991 (Comme e’ddoce’o mare - Peppino di Capri)

--- CD Mittenmang (Berlin für Anfänger und Unersättliche) (2004, Rampenlicht 220026)

24. Fuego de amor - Malta (Preselection 1996, Eternal love - Alfred Rapa, Spanish)

25. Sing ein Lied (für Europa)! - Bonustrack

The Liverpool Collection 2023

Links and sources

Thanks to Frank! Thanks to Rick!

Amar PelosDois Eurocovers

Donato Plögert website, discography/shop, Facebook

The 10.000 coverversions project

Tom Kruse - Wunder gibt es immer wieder ( Der WM Song 2010 )

Another World Cup classic in the making

VII: Year Of The Puppet - Tatjana Hubinská

I'm off for a long weekend at the coast, but I have just enough time to present another promised puppet.
In Puppet History this was the week that Sandie Shaw reached the #1 spot in many European charts. Ireland was the first (22-04) with the U.K. following 5 days later. It took Sandie six weeks to get to the top spot.
Anyway, today's Puppet is from Czechoslovakia, but this time it's a version in Slovak. (read your history books).

Eurovision 2007 has a record number of countries participating this year. 42 to be precise, more countries than there even were in Europe 20 years ago.
Some countries haven't been tempted to re-join the Eurovision battlefield, even with the recent surge of new and returning countries. Italy and Luxembourg of course, but also Slovakia. Slovakia entered a few times in the 90's but never with a great result, 4 attempts, 3 times in the final and an measly 18th place in 1998 as the best result.
But now neighbour and friend, the Czech Republic, makes it's Eurovision debut, Slovakia TV may re-consider and join again for 2008.

The Slovak version of Puppet On A String is titled Ako malý psík. It's one of three Eurovision songs covered by singer and actress Tatjana Hubinská. It's my poor knowledge of Slovak and Czech that prevents me from telling you more about her.
There's a website about her here, where I got most of the details below. Unfortunately it's not in English, but it has an excellent discography.

UPDATE : Biography (Thanks to Lou Kash of Funky Czech-In)
As for Hubinská's web site:
She was born 1944 in Paris and returned to Slovakia with her parents in 1946. She studied piano at the Bratislava Conservatory. 1963-1967 she was singing with the Gustáv Offermann Combo. In the late 60s she often participated on the Czechoslovak song contest Bratislavská Lyra. 1968-1969 she sang with the famous Gustav Brom Orchestra with whom she recorded her only album. In the early 70 she began to fade into (C&W) obscurity, by the end of that decade she gave up singing completely. She passed away in 1999.

Tatjana Hubinská's Eurovision Covers
Puppet on a string - UK 1967 - Sandie Shaw
- Ako malý psík (Supraphon 130166)
Boom Bang A Bang - UK 1969 - Lulu
- Hľadám si cieľ (Supraphon 0430795)
Wunder gibt es immer wieder - Germany 1970 - Katja Ebstein
- Zázraky sa dejú stále (Supraphon 0431056)

Ako malý psík was also recorded by Jana Procházková
Many thanks to Rick!

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 (Czech), Hungary, Russia, Yugoslavia (Slovenia), Chile/Argentina/Mexico, Sweden, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Finland, Scotland, Poland
A list of all coverversions of Puppet On A String is in this word document.
Tip: Here you can watch a Y-tube performance of Lele by Violeta Riaubiskyte from the Lithuanian Puppet On A String post