Crowded House are an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later band members included Neil Finn's brother, Tim Finn, and Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod, with Finn and Seymour being the sole constant members of the group since its formation.
Danielle Jane Minogue is an Australian singer, actress and television personality. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show Young Talent Time (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on the soap opera Home and Away (1989–1990). Minogue began her music career in the early 1990s, achieving early success with her debut studio album, Love and Kisses (1991), which was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and included the hit singles "Love and Kisses", "Baby Love", "Jump to the Beat" and "Success". Following the release of her second studio album, Get into You (1993), Minogue's popularity as a singer had declined, only producing one successful single "This Is It". This led her to make a name for herself with television presenting and award-winning performances in theatre productions.
The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following Johnny Logan's win at the 1980 contest in The Hague, Netherlands with the song "What's Another Year". The contest was held at the RDS Simmonscourt on 4 April 1981, and was hosted by Irish television journalist Doireann Ní Bhriain.
World Party were a British musical group, which was essentially the solo project of its sole member, Karl Wallinger. He started the band in 1986 in London after leaving The Waterboys.
Stephanie De Sykes is an English singer and actress.
The 1980 "A Song For Europe" contest was held on 26 March 1980, at the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush and was hosted by a dinner-suited Terry Wogan. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Coleman as conductor accompanied all the songs, but all the music was pre-recorded. The theme music was "Te deum" the Eurovision theme.
The United Kingdom was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 by Belle and the Devotions with the song "Love Games". It was chosen as the British entry through the A Song for Europe national selection process and placed seventh at Eurovision, receiving 63 points.
The 1985 edition of A Song for Europe was held at the BBC Television Centre in Studio 1 on 9 April, hosted by a suited Terry Wogan. The theme music was Te Deum. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Coleman as conductor accompanied all the songs, but despite performing live, the orchestra was off-screen, behind the set.
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which reached number two in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist. In 1986, she had a UK number two hit with a reworked version of the Supremes' song "You Keep Me Hangin' On", which also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK singles chart. Her other hits include "Chequered Love" (1981), "You Came" (1988) and "Never Trust a Stranger" (1988). In 2003, she collaborated with Nena on the song "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime", which topped the Dutch charts.
Sandra Ann Lauer, commonly known under her stage name Sandra and Sandra Cretu, is a Franco-German pop singer who enjoyed mainstream popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s with a string of European hit singles, produced by her then-husband and musical partner, Michael Cretu, most notably "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" (1985), "In the Heat of the Night" (1985), "Everlasting Love" (1987), "Secret Land" (1988), "Hiroshima" (1990) and "Don't Be Aggressive" (1992). Her albums Into a Secret Land (1988) and Close to Seven (1992) have won Sandra high critical acclaim.
Gina G is an Australian singer who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, with the song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. As of 2021, the song remains the last UK Eurovision entry to top the UK charts. The song also reached the US top 20 in 1997 and earned her a 1998 Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. Her other UK Top 30 hits are "I Belong to You" #6 (1996), "Fresh" #6 (1997), "Ti Amo" #11 (1997) and "Gimme Some Love" #25 (1997).
Alma Angela Cohen Cogan was an English singer of traditional pop in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era.
Eurovision: You Decide is the most recent name of a BBC television programme that was broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry into the Eurovision Song Contest. The show had previously gone under several other names, including Festival of British Popular Songs (1957), Eurovision Song Contest British Final (1959–1960), The Great British Song Contest (1996–1999), Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up (2004–2007), Eurovision: Your Decision (2008), and Eurovision: Your Country Needs You (2009–2010), but was known, for most of its history, as A Song for Europe.
"Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, originally a 1967 hit for Robert Knight and since remade numerous times, most successfully by Love Affair, as well as Town Criers, Carl Carlton, Sandra Cretu, and Gloria Estefan. The original version of "Everlasting Love" was recorded by Knight in Nashville, with Cason and Gayden aiming to produce it in a Motown style reminiscent of the Four Tops and the Temptations. When released as a single, the song reached No. 13 on the US chart in 1967. Subsequently, the song has reached the US Top 40 three times, most successfully as performed by Carl Carlton, peaking at No. 6 in 1974, with more moderate success by the duo Rex Smith and Rachel Sweet and Gloria Estefan.
"Après toi" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1972 performed in French by Greek singer Vicky Leandros, representing Luxembourg. The song was co-written by Leandros' father Leandros Papathanasiou, also known as Leo Leandros, under his pseudonym Mario Panas. This was Vicky Leandros' second entry in the Contest. In 1967 she had finished fourth with "L'amour est bleu" which subsequently went on to become a worldwide hit when covered by French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat.
Prima Donna were the United Kingdom representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980. The group comprised sisters Kate Robbins and Jane Robbins, Sally Ann Triplett, Danny Finn, Alan Coates and Lance Aston. Finn was a former member of The New Seekers and was married to fellow ex-New Seeker Eve Graham. Robbins later embarked on a successful career as a comedian, impressionist and actress.
"Jack in the Box", written by David Myers and composed by John Worsley, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1971, performed by the Northern Irish singer Clodagh Rodgers.
"Knock, Knock Who's There?" is a song written and composed by John Carter and Geoff Stephens, released on Apple Records. It was originally sung and recorded by the Welsh singer Mary Hopkin and was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1970, where it came second. The single version was produced by Mickie Most and reached No. 2 on the UK charts.
Sandra Nurmsalu is an Estonian singer, songwriter, and violinist. Recognized within Estonia for her genre-bending style, Nurmsalu has garnered success as both the lead singer of Urban Symphony and as a solo artist.
Lucie Bethan Jones is a Welsh singer, actress, and model. Jones first came to prominence while competing on series 6 of The X Factor UK in 2009, where she finished eighth. She represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Never Give Up on You", finishing with 111 points in 15th place.
