Seven years ago I got my hands on the original single by 4M, 'Dobar Dan'. Last year, I added an EP featuring four songs from the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, on which that song was presented by the Yugoslavian quartet in Spanish. And now, here's the actual single, released in Spain, with the Spanish version of 'Dobar Dan', entitled 'Saludos al mundo'.
What's interesting about this single, is that the B-side, 'Don Pasquale', was actually recorded in 1964 and released as a title track of an EP in Yugoslavia at the time. The sleeve of this single is in the style of other singles released in Spain at the time of the Eurovision Song Contest 1969, since the event took place in Spain that year.
My collection: 7" single no. 6749 Found: Discogs.com, received 13 July 2022 Cost: €3 Tracks: 'Saludos al mundo' / 'Don Pasquale'
In 1969, the Eurovision Song Contest was organized in Spain, after Massiel's controversial win in 1968. The Spanish record company Belter did a lot to promote the event: various entries were released in attractive themed sleeves (See this one, for instance) and this EP is further evidence.
A few things are interesting about this EP: all four songs are in Spanish. Ivan & M's (a.k.a. M4) and Frida Boccara recorded these Spanish versions themselves - and they were also released on separate singles - but since there was no Spanish version of 'Desfolhada Portguesa' by Simone, it was recorded by a certain Madalena Iglesias, a Portuguese actress and singer who actually represented her country in 1966 with the song 'Ele e ela'.
Two weeks ago, as I was on Ebay bidding on a series of Eurovision singles (and won seven out of ten, as you can read here), I noticed that most of the action happened in the last two minutes. Suddenly there were bidders (or it was only one, I couldn't tell) coming up and offering more than my maximum - which, admittedly, wasn't exactly high. By quickly throwing in one more bid - which, again, wasn't very high - I was able to steal back the singles in the last few seconds. There was just one exception: this 1969 Yugoslavian entry by 4M. And that's remarkable, since it's such an old record from a country that doesn't even exist anymore.
'Pozdrav svijetu' is a ballad, in which the 4M's salute all people of the
world, wishing them a "good day" in several languages: Spanish, German,
French, English, Dutch, Italian, Russian and Finnish. At the close of voting, it had received just 5 points, placing 13th in a field of 16 competitors.
My collection: 7" single no. 5613 Found: eBay.com, received February 12, 2015 Cost: 0,7 euro Tracks: 'Pozdrav svijetu (Dobar dan)' / 'David i Ruth'