Isabel Varell - Veträumt/Lüg mich an (1982/1983/1984)

LINK: Isabel Varell - Verträumt

1982 Isabel Varell participated at the German preselection. But it was not her song that brought some fame, the nude pictures in the German Playboy helped a bit more.

The career of Isabal Varell (born 1961 in Kempen) started in 1980, when she joined a talent show of RTL Radio. German producer Jack White, who producded maybe 1000 or maybe 1 million Schlager songs, supported her first steps in music business. In this early stage her participation at the German preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest took place. Lüg mich an was performed in the first semifinal. Do I need to tell that Ein bißchen Frieden by Nicole was the winner that year?

1983 her debut album Baby, Rock'n'Roll included Lüg mich an. 1984 she had a little hit with a 7" single titled Verträumt. This one had Lüg mich an on the B-side. I actually don't know, if she ever recorded a three minutes ESC version. But now you know why three years are mentioned above: Lüg mich an was at the pre-show 1982, recorded on the album 1983 (as mentioned on the 7") and the A-side is from 1984.

In the later eighties Isabel Varell made less music, but acted in several TV shows. 1989 until 1991 she was married with Drafi Deutscher (Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht). He also composed the song Melodie d'amour, which came 6th in the 1990 German preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest in Zagreb.

In the nineties she combined her acting and singing talents: Hamburg saw Isabel Varell on stage of several musicals. In the later nineties she started a new career as host of TV shows like Aktuelle Schaubude, Varell & Decker and she particiapted in the hidden camera show Verstehen Sie Spaß. In the second season of the show Ich bin ein Star - holt mich hier raus (known as I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here! internationally) she came second. At the moment she plays a main role in the German telenovela Rote Rosen. In 2009 her latest album Alles Ansichtsache has been released.

Side A

Verträumt (Marti Sharron - Albert Hammond - Peter Rafelson - Dhana Morey)

Side B

Lüg mich an (Uve Schikora - Andrea Andergast)

Claude Robin - Tom Pillibi/Ce soir-là (1960)

Claude Robin - Tom Pillibi/Ce soir-là

Don't ask me, who Claude Robin was. Or is. There are two french football players with this name, and one actor with the name Claude Robin had little roles in movies in the mid-seventies like A nous quatre, Cardinal! and Les quatre Charlots mousquetaires. The same person? I really don't know.

But Monsieur Robin did sing two Eurovision entries. Tom Pillibi, french winner from 1960, can be found on the A-side, 3rd placed monégasque entry Ce soir-là on the B-side.

Side A

Tom Pillibi (Popp-Cour)

Side B

Ce soir-là (Giraud - Dorsay)

PS: Sorry, I tagged the song mistakenly with the year 2009. Of course they are from 1960.

Chéri - Italijanski restoran (1984)

LINK: Chéri - Italijanski restoran

Italijanski restoran by the group Chéri (later written as Šeri) ended at 6th place at Evrovizija 1984, the Yugoslav preselection. The group consists of three members: Rade Radivojević, Zlatko Frlić and Nesa Pavlović (later replaced by Rade Pajić).

Rade Radivojević still runs a website (here), where you can see videos and listen to songs of his later compositions, including Nama treba ljubav by Maja Mitrović from the Serbian-Montenegrine preselection 2005, Ritam ljubavi by Zorana Pavić from the Yugoslav preselection 1991 and Ne idi, zlato moje by Mira Beširević from 1986.

In 1991 Šeri (this time not Chéri) tried again to enter the Eurovision stage with Da li već spavaš. But the song came only 14th in the preselection.

Rade managed to participate at the Eurovision Song Contest once: His song Ljubim te pesmama by Extra Nena came 13th at the ESC 1992 in Malmö. It was the last entry from a country called Yugoslavia. In 1992 Yugoslavia remained by Serbia and Montenegro. Two coverversions of the entry were released by Siw Malmkvist in German and Paula Koivuniemi in Finnish, which you can hear on his website as well.

Back in 1984 Rade and his group Chéri loved the eighties sound, as you can hear on this 12" EP with four tracks. From electronic new wave sound to reggae.

Chéri - Italijanski restoran

Side A

1. Italijanski restoran (N. Pavlović - R. Radivojević - Z. Skerl - M. Tucaković)

2. Izvan kontrole (N. Pavlović - P. Radivojević - M. Tucaković)

Side B

3. Na plaži (N. Pavlović - P. Radivojević - M. Tucaković)

4. Suzi (Hob - R. Radivojević - N. Pavlović)

Johannes & Christin - Sing die Melodie (1978)

LINK: Johannes & Christin - Sing die Melodie

Austrian duo Johannes & Christin covered the dutch entry from 1978. 't is OK was performed by Harmony at the Eurovision Song Contest in Paris and ended on 13th place.

I can't tell you a lot about the duo. They released at least one album and some singles in the seventies. Johannes Prömmers last release I could find in the internet comes from the early nineties. I don't know what happened to Christin and Johannes. But let's listen to their cover version...

Side A

Sing die Melodie ('t is O.K.) (Ouwens - Bos - Kooyman - E. Morel - R. Österreicher)

Side B

Komm mit mir (J. Prömmer - F. Hager)

Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova (2009)

LINK: Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova

Moldovan singer Nelly Ciobanu was already very experienced with music festivals before she entered the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow this year. She performed at numerous events between the Ukraine and Korea since 1998. The begin of her music career started in 1993, when she formed the duo Master Dinamit with her brother.

2005 was her first attempt to represent her country at the Eurovision Song Contest, when Moldova participated for the first time. Her song One More Time was the runner-up. Zdob şi Zdub won that year (see this post).

The 2009 entry is a turbo folk song as it's best (or worst for those, who hate this kind of music). The promo CD features six versions of the song, but only two are mentioned on the sleeve. So the Moldovan broadcaster TRM left a little piece of paper in a black-white copy hidden in the sleeve. There is mentioned that two additional remixes can be found on the album as bonus tracks, simply named Remix 1 and Remix 2.

Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova (Veaceslav Daniliuc - Andrei Hadjiu - Nelly Ciobanu - Aristotelis Kalimeris)

1. Hora din Moldova (Original version)

2. Hora din Moldova (ESC version)

3. Hora din Moldova (Club Mix)

4. Hora din Moldova (Extended Club Mix)

5. Hora din Moldova (Remix 1)

6. Hora din Moldova (Remix 2)

Dan Ar Braz et l'Héritage des Celtes - Collector Platine (1996)

LINK: Dan Ar Braz et l'Héritage des Celtes - Collector Platine

Daniel Le Bras was born 1949 in Quimper, Bretagne, France. In his early years he played guitar and his idols were Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones. His father thought his son will make a career in hotel business - and so did he: In the 1967 he worked as a waiter in a bar in Bénodet. There he met Breton musician Alan Stivell, which should change his life.

Daniel Le Bras joined the band of Alan Stivell and he played for the first time in his life Breton, Irish and Scotish music along with Stivell and Gabriel Yacoub, who started his own band Malicorne later. They recorded seven albums between 1971 and 1977. Daniel started to understand the melodies of folk music. In this period he also became more aware of his own Breton roots and changed his name to Dan Ar Bras. In 1971 toured across France, Europe, North America and Australia. Folk music from the Bretagne became popular around the world.

In 1973 Dan tried a new carriere with a band named Mor, but thesy only recorded one album. 1976 he moved to England and joined the group Fairport Convention. He never recorded an album with the popular british band, but toured with Fairport Convention one year. He changed again his name to Dan Ar Braz.

His cooperations with Alan Stivell and Fairport Convention led to his own projects back in the Bretagne. He recorded three Celtic influenced albums and one album with acoustic instrumental music. In the mid-eighties he surprised with an album with english sung songs. There were more and more people who enjoyed his music. In 1992 he even recorded three albums, including the soundtrack for the movie Rêves de Siam.

One year before, in 1991, the album Borders Of Salt was the begin of l'Héritage des Celtes, which officially started some years later. But the basic idea was there. At the Féstival de Cornouallie in 1993 he gave a concert with 75 musicians! The concept of the l'Héritage was born.

1994 Borders Of Salt was rerecorded at Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Dublin, Ireland. Even U2 took part in the project. More then 100,000 copies of the album were sold. Celtic music was recorded and played in all it's variety with artists like Donal Lunny, The Shotts Pipe Band, Bagad Kemper, Elaine Morgan, Nollaig Casey, Karen Matheson (singer of the band Capercaillie), Yann-Fañch Kemener, Donald Shaw, Gilles Servat, Carlos Nuñez and many more.

In the 90's Celtic music was very popular at the Eurovision Song Contest as well, which led to the victory of Secrets Garden from Norway with the Celtic inspired tune Nocturne in 1995, a more instrumental song and not really of norwegian roots. Maybe that was the reason, why Dan Ar Braz and his l'Héritage de Celtes was chosen to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. Diwanit bugale was performed in Breton. Along with Dan Ar Braz, Scottish singer Karen Matheson (Capercaillie) and Welsh singer Elaine Morgan performed on stage. At the end of the night the song reached only the 19th place. The winning song was another Celtic tune: The Voice from Ireland, performed by Eimear Quinn, won.

1997 the album Finisterres (with a longer version of Diwanit bugale), 1998 Zénit and 1999 Bretagne à Bercy kept the popular project alive. In 2000 Dan Ar Braz stopped l'Héremitage des Celtes. It wasn't easy to organise albums and tours with such a huge amount of musicians, who all have to work in other projects as well.

But Dan Ar Braz is still active. His last album Les Perches du Nil was released in 2007.

Dan Ar Braz et l'Héremitage des Celtes - Collector Platine

1. Diwanit Bugale (Dan Ar Braz)

2. King Of Laois (Vérsion live) (Traditionelle)

3. Jenovefa (Traditionelle)

Wess & Dori Ghezzi - Era (Versión en castellano, 1975)

LINK: Wess & Dori Ghezzi - Era (Versión en castellano)

Wesley Johnson, better known as Wess, died at the age of 64 on september 21st in New York City. Here an older post again in memory of this great american musician who became big in Italy. Rest in peace.

This song should have won back in 1975 in Stockholm, if you ask me. Era, the Italian ESC entry (featured in Spanish here) is a fantastic song. Very groovy and sometimes it sounds like it is in slowmotion what makes the song surprisingly energetic. Really good!

Dori Ghezzi is an Italian singer, born 1946 in Lentate sul Seveso. Her career started in 1967 at the Festival delle Rose in Rome. Her debut at the famous Sanremo Festival took place in 1970. Later she met Wess and formed a duo with him.

Wess Johnson was born in North Carolina and moved to Italy, when he played bass guitar in the band of Rocky Roberts. His debut happened as well in 1967. He released his first solo album that year.

In 1973 Wess & Dori Ghezzi took part at Sanremo together and performed the song Tu nella mia vita. The song didn't reach the top 3 but became commercially the biggest success of that years Sanremo edition. In 1974 they won Canzonissima - the last edition of that popular format in Italy.

In 1975 they represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm. They were no favorites and surprised all. At the end of the night they were 3rd with 115 points, receiving 6 times 10 points and one 12 pointer from Finland. Only the winning song from the Netherlands (Ding-A-Dong by Teach In) and the United Kingdom (Let Me Be The One by The Shadows) did receive more points.

1976 the Italian-American duo took again part in Sanremo and came 2nd. In the 80ies Dori had several releases as a solo artist. Wess was quiet busy the last years. Between 2000 and 2006 he was on tour with the group WessBand.

Side A

Era (Versión en castellano) (A. lo Vecchio - D. Shel Shapiro - Jaime Israel)

Side B

Sempre tu (Lubiak - Malgioglio - Janne)