So to close out our joyful week of Eurovision excitement we have Sandie Shaw, who was actually born Sandra Ann Goodrich in Dagenham in February 1947.
Her claim to Eurovision fame was being the first winner for the United Kingdom, in 1967, with Puppet on a String. This is possibly why in many pictures, like our one, you will see her posing with a doll, in rather a case of mistaken hearing, as "Poupee" is French for doll, not puppet; the French for puppet actually being "Fantoche", which comes from yet another language, the Italian "Fantoccio"
As often happens, and seems to result in more success, Sandie Shaw was a known star before she signed up to the Eurovision Song Contest, and her first number one had been in 1964, with a song that is usually called "Always Something There to Remind Me", though in actuality it was called "There`s Always - Something There to Remind Me", and it had already been a hit, too, for Dionne Warwick, and for Lou Johnson. It also had impeccable breeding, as it was created by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
This card is often cited as being by Monty Gum, but thanks to reader Andrew Walters we now know that this was not issued by them - but instead by Maple Leaf Gum, or Maple Leaf Chewing Gum, also of the Netherlands. We also learned from another reader that in fact Maple Leaf opened the earliest chewing gum factory in Holland, founded in 1948 in Amsterdam.
I was also told that Maple Leaf issued another set of very interesting car related items, these being miniature number plates from across the World. I did not know of these when I mentioned number plates before but I will add the information in. These were also made out of metal, just like a number plate, but they were really tiny, just under three inches by one inch.
Looking under Maple Leaf in our reference books still draws a blank for our set of stars and cars, but this is another trail to chase. Strangely, it often appears in internet auctions, as "Cars", ignoring the fact that there are pop stars on the back, or maybe on the front, since surely the colour side is the "A" side as it were. However we think this may be because they recognise the car but do not believe the star will be as interesting to buyers. And the date comes from the cars date, all of which seem to be from 1966.
Now we have started a list, so if anyone can fill in the blanks please do.
- Sacha Distel - Mercedes Benz 230 SL. 1966
- Donovan - Sunbean Alpine 1966
- Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders - Buick Skylark Hardtop 1966
- Moody Blues - Ford Mustang Coupe 1966
- Tom Jones - Chrysler Imperial Crown 1966
- Sandie Shaw - Alfa Romeo 1966
- Brenda Lee - Volkswagen 1600 1966
- Gitte - Triumph Sport 1966
- The Rolling Stones - Chevrolet "Mako Shark" II 1966
- Dave Clark Five - Plymouth Barracuda 1966
- Roy Orbison - Opel Diplomat coupe 1966
- Claude Francois - Cadillac coupe de ville 1966
- The Supremes - Oldsmobile Cutlass Berline 1966
- P.J. Proby - Pontiac Tempest Cabriolet 1966
- Rita Pavone - Opel Coupe 1966
- Millie - M.G. Midget Mark II 1966
- Shirley McLaine - Alfa Romeo Giulia SS 1966
- Siw Malmkvist - Daf Variomatic 1966
- Connie Francis en Peter Kraus - Austin Healey Sprite 1966
- Helen Shapiro - Ford Mustang Cabriolet 1966
- The Beatles - Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ 1966
- Will Tura - Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 1966
- Hermans Hermits - Mercedes Benz 300 SE, coupe 1966
- Geschwister Jacob - Fiat Spider 1966
- Roger Moore - B.M.W. 2000 C.S. 1966
- The Peanuts - Honda 12 cylinder in v.1496 cc 220 H.P. by 12,00 rotations a minute; 4 valves per cylinder; 12 carburettors; 6 accelerations
- The Animals - Chevrolet Caprice Custom Sedan 1966
- Dave Berry - Princess Mk II 1966
- Elvis Presley - Jaguar Grand sport Coupe 1966
- Paul Anka - Marlin, Fastback Hardtop 1966
- Liesbeth List - Volvo P1800 1966
- Trio Hellenique - Buick Riviera 1966
- Peter and Gordon - Ford Mustang Fastback 1966
- Sonny and Cher - Ford V 8 "Lotus" 1966
- Lucille Star - Ferrari 330 - GT Coupe 1966
- Sylvie Vartan - B.M.C. Berlinette 1966
- Ronnie Tober - Peugeot 404 Cabriolet 1966
- Enrico Massias `t hele orkest - Lancia Sport coupe 1966
- Adamo - Daimler Majestic Major 1966
- Cliff Richard - Ford G.T. 1966
- Gene Pitney - "Dino" Berlinetta speciale 1966