Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Germany in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Germany in the; Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Participating broadcaster	ARD – Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)
Country	Germany
Selection process	Ein Lied für Dublin
Selection date	28 February 1981
Competing entry
Song	"Johnny Blue"
Artist	Lena Valaitis
Songwriters	Ralph Siegel ; Bernd Meinunger ;
Placement
Final result	2nd, 132 points
Participation chronology

Last updated March 07, 2026

Germany was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Johnny Blue", composed by Ralph Siegel, with lyrics by Bernd Meinunger, and performed by Lena Valaitis. The German participating broadcaster on behalf of ARD, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), selected their entry through a national final. Valaitis had previously taken part in the German final in 1976.

Before Eurovision

Ein Lied für Dublin

Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) held the national final at its television studios in Munich, hosted by Katja Ebstein who represented Germany in 1980. 12 songs took part and the winner was chosen by a panel of approximately 500 people who had been selected as providing a representative cross-section of the German public.

R/O	Artist	Song	Songwriters	Votes	Place
1	Janz	"Steine"	Paul Janz Michael Kunze	2,355	10
2	Nina Martin	"Männer"	Nina Martinique	2,292	11
3	Taco	"Träume brauchen Zeit"	Janine Terlohian Kathrin Brigl	2,269	12
4	Lenz Hauser	"Moment"	Harald Stümpfl Lenz Hauser	2,856	8
5	Thomas Fuchsberger	"Josephine"	Thomas Fuchsberger Joachim Fuchsberger	2,956	7
6	Rudolf Rock and Die Schocker	"Mein Transistorradio"	Michael Cretu Michael Kunze	2,735	9
7	Lena Valaitis	"Johnny Blue"	Ralph Siegel Bernd Meinunger	5,023	1
8	Martin Mann	"Boogie Woogie"	Rudi Bauer Gerd Thumser	4,039	3
9	Jürgen Renfordt	"Barfuß durch ein Feuer"	Walter Gerke Mick Hannes	3,963	4
10	Leinemann	"Das Ungeheuer von Loch Ness"	Ulf Krüger Jörn-Christoph Seelenmeyer	3,921	5
11	The Hornettes	"Mannequin"	Ralph Siegel Bernd Meinunger	4,304	2
12	Peter Cornelius	"Träumer, Tramps und Clowns"	Michael Cretu Michael Kunze	3,769	6

At Eurovision

On the evening of the final Valaitis performed 3rd in the running order, following Turkey and preceding Luxembourg. Germany finished runners-up for the second year in succession with 132 points.^[1] The German jury awarded its 12 points to France.^[2]

The show was watched by 10.14 million viewers in Germany.^[3]

Voting

Points awarded to Germany^[2]
Score	Country
12 points	Portugal Spain Sweden Turkey
10 points	Belgium
8 points	Cyprus Denmark France Israel
7 points	Finland United Kingdom
6 points	Ireland
5 points	Austria Greece
4 points	Norway
3 points	Luxembourg Netherlands
2 points	Yugoslavia
1 point

Points awarded by Germany^[2]
Score	Country
12 points	France
10 points	Sweden
8 points	Portugal
7 points	Switzerland
6 points	Ireland
5 points	Luxembourg
4 points	United Kingdom
3 points	Netherlands
2 points	Greece
1 point	Denmark

Notes

↑ Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

References

↑ "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
1 2 3 "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
↑ Quotenmeter; AGF; GfK. "TV-Reichweite des Eurovision Song Contests in den Jahren 1976 bis 2023 nach der Anzahl der Zuschauer" . Statista. Retrieved 18 August 2023.

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[1] Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

[2] "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.

[1981detailed-3] 1 2 3 "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.

[4] Quotenmeter; AGF; GfK. "TV-Reichweite des Eurovision Song Contests in den Jahren 1976 bis 2023 nach der Anzahl der Zuschauer" . Statista. Retrieved 18 August 2023.

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v t e Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 ~~1996~~ 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Artists	Abor & Tynna Lale Andersen Nino de Angelo Ann Sophie Atlantis 2000 Inge Brück Heidi Brühl Cascada Alex Christensen Roger Cicero Cindy and Bert ~~Ben Dolic~~ Dschinghis Khan Katja Ebstein Elaiza Sarah Engels Margot Eskens Joy Fleming Conny Froboess Maxi and Chris Garden Gitte Gracia Malik Harris Margot Hielscher Hoffmann and Hoffmann Wyn Hoop Guildo Horn Les Humphries Singers Isaak Jamie-Lee Jendrik Chris Kempers Alice and Ellen Kessler Daniel Kovac Lena ~~Leon~~ Levina Roman Lob Lord of the Lost Lou Oscar Loya Siw Malmkvist Max Corinna May Mekado Michelle Münchener Freiheit Wencke Myhre Nicole No Angels Nora Nova Ingrid Peters Freddy Quinn Stefan Raab Mary Roos Michael Schulte Walter Andreas Schwarz Ireen Sheer Bianca Shomburg Silver Convention Sisters Stone & Stone Sürpriz Texas Lightning Lena Valaitis Ulla Wiesner Wind
Songs	"Always on the Run" "Anouschka" "Aufrecht geh'n" " Baller " "Black Smoke" "Blood & Glitter" "Bonne nuit ma chérie" "Can't Wait Until Tonight" "Diese Welt" "Dieser Traum darf niemals sterben" "Disappear" " Dschinghis Khan " " Ein bißchen Frieden " "Ein Hoch der Liebe" " Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein " "Einmal sehen wir uns wieder" "Feuer" " Fire " "Flieger" "Frauen regier'n die Welt" "Frei zu leben" "Für alle" "Für zwei Groschen Musik" "Ghost" "Glorious" " Guildo hat euch lieb! " "Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n" "I Can't Live Without Music" "I Don't Feel Hate" "Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück" "Is It Right" "Johnny Blue" "Junger Tag" "Lass die Sonne in dein Herz" "Let's Get Happy" "Lied für einen Freund" "Man gewöhnt sich so schnell an das Schöne" "Marcel" "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" "No No Never" "Nur die Liebe läßt uns leben" "Paradies, wo bist du?" "Perfect Life" ~~"Planet of Blue"~~ "Primaballerina" "Reise nach Jerusalem – Kudüs'e Seyahat" "Rockstars" "Rücksicht" "Run & Hide" "Satellite" "Sing Sang Song" "Sister" "So geht das jede Nacht" "Die Sommermelodie" "Standing Still" "Taken by a Stranger" "Telefon, Telefon" "Telegram" "Theater" "Träume sind für alle da" "Über die Brücke geh'n" "Verliebt in Dich" "Viel zu weit" ~~"Violent Thing"~~ " Wadde hadde dudde da? " "Wer Liebe lebt" "Wir geben 'ne Party" "Wunder gibt es immer wieder" "You Let Me Walk Alone" "Die Zeiger der Uhr" "Zeit" "Zwei kleine Italiener"
Note: Entries scored out signify where Germany did not compete. Italics indicate an entry in a future contest.

v t e Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Countries	Austria Belgium Cyprus Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Israel Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom Yugoslavia
Artists	Bacchelli Marty Brem Bucks Fizz Debbie Cameron and Tommy Seebach Yiannis Dimitras Jean Gabilou Habibi Island Finn Kalvik Seid Memić Vajta Modern Folk Trio and Ayşegül Carlos Paião Jean-Claude Pascal Peter, Sue and Marc Sheeba Björn Skifs Riki Sorsa Emly Starr Lena Valaitis Linda Williams
Songs	"Aldri i livet" "C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique" "Dönme Dolap" " Fångad i en dröm " "Feggari kalokerino" "Halayla" "Het is een wonder" "Horoscopes" "Humanahum" "Io senza te" "Johnny Blue" "Krøller eller ej" "Lejla" "Making Your Mind Up" "Monika" "Playback" "Reggae OK" "Samson" "Wenn du da bist" "Y sólo tú"