Our pick of the pops: January 2008

Our pick of the pops

Mieux vaut tard que jamais

As the winner of the Mademoiselle âge tendre magazine crown in 1965, it was only a matter of time before teenager Elsa Leroy was offered a recording contract. This song is taken from her one and only release, from 1966, before she went on to fulfil her dream of becoming an actress when she appeared alongside Chantal Goya in Jean-Luc Godard’s Masculin féminin.

Helen Shapiro

Stop and you will become aware

This is the kind of track that makes you want to crank up the volume and get dancing – which explains why it’s become popular on Britain’s Northern soul dance scene. The song was issued as the B-side to Helen’s single She needs company in 1967. Sadly, by that time, the singer was so unhip that not even this pounding corker could help her back into the charts. Shame, as she’s a great vocalist.

Heidi Franke

Die Sonne scheint nicht mehr ohne dich

German singer Heidi Franke signed to the Polydor label in the mid-1960s. Our choice is the A-side of her 1966 debut release, a pretty faithful cover of the Walker Brothers’ international hit The sun ain’t gonna shine anymore. When it failed, she tried again with Das alles wird wahr later the same year and Es tut mir immer noch weh in 1967, plus two tother, none of which troubled German chart compilers.

Honey Bee

Hey girls

For years it was believed that Honey Bee was the alter ego of popular singer Patricia Paay. But she wasn't. We can confirm that Honey Bee was in fact Amsterdam singer Ans de Bie (we've heard it from the horse's mouth). With the soulful vocals and rather raw production, we can't help loving this fab tune from 1968.

Madeleine Pascal

Dieu n’est pas vieux

Swiss chanteuse Madeleine Pascal released a couple of EPs for Polydor in 1965 before switching to CBS, aged 17, for her 1966 Eurovision song contest entry, the so-so Ne vois-tu pas? Our favourite was found on her follow up, J’ai choisi la liberté, issued later that year. It was included on one of the rare Swinging mademoiselles compilations, which has recently been made available again via the Spiked candy blog (thanks, Christine!).

Adrienne Poster

Shang a doo lang

Britgirl Adrienne is better known for her acting than for her singing. A star of such classic 1960s films as To sir with love and Up the junction, she had previously issued half a dozen singles for the Decca label between 1964 and 1966. Our choice is the Mick Jagger and Keith Richard-penned A-side of the teenager’s second release, a homage to US producer Phil Spector’s Wall of sound.