Angelica And Ramone - Rannalla

Frequently finnpicked Taiska didn't release so many singles. but most of them have become Finnish pop classics. Like this "Rannalla" (On the beach) that was on the B-side of her 1980 single. And I consider it to be better than the original, thanks to lyrics by Raul Reiman, arrangement by Jori Sivonen and - of course - the sincere vocals by Taiska herself. The original was called "Angelica And Ramone" and was a minor hit for the Swedish pop group Secret Service, which has been finnpicked before (see here). The song was written by Claes Af Geijerstam, famous Swedish musician, radio personality and DJ.

Updated on 13.11.2009: Added Björn Skif's original version.

Here's the pair:

10 O'Clock Postman - Kesällä kaikki on toisin

The sixth entry in our Finnpicks Disco Week series is one from the singer that was more of a rocker. Kirka (see previous entry) released "Kesällä kaikki on toisin" (In the summer everything is different) on B-side of a single in 1980. It fared a little better than the A-side but wasn't a big hit. The original this time originated fron Sweden. The song "10 O'Clock Postman" was performed by Secret Service in 1979. The Swedish group was led by Ola Håkansson (the 'Ola' from Ola and the Janglers) and Tim Norell. The song was groups second smash hit, the first being "Oh Susie". For some reason Norell, who penned along with Håkansson most songs of the band, however, did not appear with them on stage or on the album covers.

Here's the pair: