"Rock Bottom" | |
---|---|
Eurovision Song Contest 1977 entry | |
Country | |
Artist(s) | |
With | |
Language | English |
Composer(s) | Lynsey de Paul / Mike Moran |
Lyricist(s) | Lynsey de Paul / Mike Moran |
Conductor | |
Finals performance | |
Final result | 2nd |
Final points | 121 |
Entry chronology | |
◄ "Save Your Kisses for Me" (1976) | |
"Bad Old Days" (1978) ► |
"Rock Bottom" was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in English by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran. It was also written and produced by de Paul and Moran and released on the Polydor record label. Originally it was written for the group Blue Mink; [1] and submitted unbeknown to de Paul and Moran as an entry for A Song For Europe by the publishers; when it was selected, de Paul agreed to perform the song if Moran would join her. [2] On 9 March 1977, "Rock Bottom" was selected to represent the UK at the A Song for Europe 1977 event held at the New London Theatre, presented by Terry Wogan.
The song says that when people are in a bad situation they should work to solve problems and not be pessimistic about tragedies.
Eurovision 1977 was almost cancelled due to budget restrictions and it was delayed by five weeks due to a strike by cameramen and technicians. [3] The BBC, who had to host the contest that year, did not give the song its whole-hearted support because it was the favourite to win the contest and, if it had won, then they would have to finance and host the 1978 contest, [4] inspiring the plot used in the movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga . [5] Eurovision: Secrets & Scandals, a one hour long Channel 5 documentary, shown on 13 May 2022, also confirmed that the BBC was secretly relieved that "Rock Bottom" did not win because they definitely did not want to host the 1978 contest. [6] [7]
The song contest was planned to take place on 2 April due to the cameramen and technicians being on strike, but it was rescheduled and finally took place on 7 May. [8] [9] The song was performed ninth on the night, following Portugal's Os Amigos with "Portugal no coração" and preceding Greece's Pascalis, Marianna, Robert & Bessy with "Mathima solfege". At the close of voting, it had received 121 points, placing second in a field of 18 entries. Lionel Blair choreographed de Paul and Moran's piano seated performance, as he had done for the programme deciding the UK's entry that year. [10] In an interview with Gala magazine, Marie Myriam, the contest winner stated that she loved "Rock Bottom". [11]
It was preceded by "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man as the British representative at the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest and succeeded by Co-Co with "Bad Old Days" in 1978. De Paul was the last established and well-known international artist to enter the contest for the UK, until Scott Fitzgerald in 1988.
"Rock Bottom" charted in several European countries, topping the charts in Switzerland, number 2 in Austria, number 4 in Germany, number 4 in Portugal, [12] number 6 in Sweden (number 4 on the Poporama chart), [13] number 7 in Ireland and Norway, number 8 in Belgium, [14] number 21 in Finland [15] and number 10 in France and Israel. In the UK Singles Chart, it reached number. 19 [16] but on the UK Juke Box Top 20 it reached number 8. [17] It also made number 7 on the Europarade chart, [18] number 13 on the Radio Luxembourg Top 30. [19] On the basis of sales from the record-buying public of Europe, it was the winning entry, outperforming the contest's winner, [20] [21] a quarter of a million copies being sold in Germany alone, [22] where it was the 38th best selling single of 1977. [23] It was the 61st best selling single in the French 1977 year end chart. [24] The single was also released on the Polydor label in Japan in July 1977. [25]
In a ranking by The Daily Telegraph of all of the UK's Eurovision Song Contest entries over the last 59 years, "Rock Bottom" came in at number 9 [26] and a year later they wrote "Not just a fun, honky-tonk tune, but also a rather memorable performance. Moran and de Paul were dressed in fetching Edwardian morning-suits, sat back-to-back playing a pair of duelling grand pianos." [27] In an analysis of all Eurovision Song Contest songs that entered the German singles chart, it was ranked number 20, based on number of weeks on the chart and chart positions achieved. [28]
The duo also recorded a German version of "Rock Bottom" called "Für Immer" with German lyrics by Marianne Rebesky, [29] which also had healthy sales figures in German speaking countries, [21] and this version was covered by the band Wir. [30] De Paul and Moran's version of "Für Immer" appeared on the CD Greatest Hits - Lynsey de Paul [31] as well as on a number of compilation albums. [32] [33] [34] After the Eurovision Song Contest, it was released as one of the tracks on an EP in Portugal entitled "Conjunto Pentagrama" ("Pentogram Set"), together with the French entry "L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant", the Irish entry "It's Nice To Be In Love Again" and the Monaco entry "Une petite française". [35] Instrumental versions of the song also appeared on James Last's album Auf Last Geht's Los. Other versions have been recorded by the Studio Group, Armi & Danny (in Finnish as Päin Seinää), Jörgen Petersenin Orkesteri, Ted Weber, Brothers Of The World, Leni, Günter Noris, Inger Lise & Stein (in Norwegian as Norsktoppen), Daniel Janin, Annette Klingenberg & Johnny Reimar, Bingos, and The Hiltonaires and, most recently by jazz guitarist Denny Wright. [36]
The song has featured on Eurovision compilation albums such as This Is... Eurovision, [37] Ultimate Eurovision Party!, [38] Favoriet Van Follet - 18 Unieke Eurovisiesongs (18 unique Eurovision songs) [39] and Stars Of Eurovision, [40] as well as a number of de Paul's compilation CDs. It was also a track on the CD double album Die Ultimative Chart Show - Die erfolgreichsten Piano-Hits aller Zeiten in 2010, which made number one in the German albums chart [41] as well as making the Swiss and Austrian albums charts. [42] In 2018, the song was one of 16 songs chosen as 1970s Eurovision classics on a specially released vinyl album that also featured ABBA, Brotherhood Of Man, Baccara, The New Seekers, Anne-Marie David and Gigliola Cinquetti. [43] It was also included as a track on the 2021 album, Now That's What I Call Eurovision, which reached number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart. [44]
In 2021, PRS for Music revealed a top 20 of most played UK Eurovision entries and "Rock Bottom" was number 13. [45] BBC Radio 2 conducted a listener vote in 2023 to discover the UK’s favourite Eurovision entry and "Rock Bottom" was voted number 20 Ultimate UK Eurovision Song. [46] [47] It ranks number 47 in a listing of the top 100 Eurovision Song Contest songs by percentage of the maximum vote. [48]
Weekly charts
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The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song "Rock Bottom", written and performed by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final. In addition, the BBC was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, after winning the previous edition with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man.
Lynsey de Paul was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting with UK top 10 single "Sugar Me", and became the first British female artist to achieve a number one with a self-written song. She represented the UK in the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, coming second and scoring another chart-topping hit in Switzerland, and had a successful career as a songwriter, record producer, actress and television celebrity.
Michael Moran is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer.
Ronald Ernest Alfred Roker is an English songwriter, singer and record producer.
"Won't Somebody Dance with Me" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul in 1973, which was awarded an Ivor Novello Award in 1974. Her original version of the ballad made the top 20 of the UK, Irish and Dutch charts, and the song was featured in Michael Winner's remake of the film The Big Sleep, The Muppet Show, and the 1970s version of the New Mickey Mouse Club.
Mary Mason is a British singer. She was a A Song for Europe contestant who entered the competition with "What Do You Say to Love?". She scored a minor hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1977 with a medley of Chip Taylor's "Angel of the Morning" / "Any Way That You Want Me".
"Getting a Drag" was the second single released by Lynsey de Paul. The song was co-written with David Jordan, and featured the de Paul penned b-side "Brandy". Released in November 1972 on MAM Records, the single entered the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 18 and was still in the charts in early 1973. The single also reached number 46 on the German Singles Chart and had a four week run on the Dutch Single Tip chart where it peaked at number 7. It reached number 1 on the Israeli Galei Tzahal chart, No. 2 on the Radio Northsea International chart, and No. 12 in January 1973 on the Turkish singles chart as published in Milliyet.
"Storm in a Teacup" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker, recorded by the British group The Fortunes and released as a single in 1972.
"Let Your Body Go Downtown" is a song co-written by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran, and recorded by the Martyn Ford Orchestra as a single on 18 March 1977 on the Mountain record label. A 12-inch single was also released. It was also released in France, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands on Vertigo Records. It was a BBC Radio 1 "Record of the Week" and playlist by a number of UK regional radio stations. As noted by Record World magazine, it took the single three months to enter the UK Singles Chart. However, the song reached No. 38 on that chart, No. 34 on the NME singles chart, No. 37 on the EveryHit Retrocharts and No. 12 on the UK Disco Chart, published by Record Mirror. It was also released as a track on the album Ronnie Jones Presents Let-Your-Body-Go-With-The-Disco released on the Phillips record label in Italy and it received numerous radio plays there as listed in "Radiocorrier". A live performance of the song featuring Ford, his orchestra and backing singers was shown on the 12 May 1977 edition of Top of the Pops.
"Going to a Disco" is an electro-funk-dance song written by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran, and released as the duo's second penned single for Martyn Ford on Mountain Records, released on the 12 August 1977 in the UK and Europe. This was the first Mountain label single to be distributed by Phonogram and had the characteristic moulded plastic label. The recording was produced by Ford and John Punter, and was the follow-up release to Ford's UK hit single, "Let Your Body Go Downtown". It was also released as a 12 inch single with the catalog number "MOUNT 1". The record received generally good reviews in the music as well as the mainstream press, with the Kent Evening News music correspondent writing "follow-up to the funk single Let Your Body Go Downtown and should provide another hit for the orchestra". It recently received plays at Seven by Seven, an open decks vinyl playing club based in Leeds, U.K.
Tigers and Fireflies is an album recorded in 1978 and released by Lynsey de Paul in April 1979 on the Polydor record label in the UK, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and South America. It was launched at a special event at the Mayfair Club in London, with de Paul looking similar to the 1940s film star Veronica Lake. The album was recorded at Long View Farm Studios with additional recording at Mediasound Studios, New York and produced by Rupert Holmes. In his 1986 biography, Justin de Villeneuve, de Paul's manager at the time wrote "I gave Rupert Holmes a call in New York. He agreed to see me if I flew to America. Polydor, with the prospect of the involvement with Holmes, agreed to up the budget". The collaboration between de Paul and Holmes on Tigers and Fireflies was mentioned on the Ray Shasho Show, when Shasho interviewed Holmes on his BBS radio show on 7 August 2018. The story behind the recording of the album was also discussed in the book Dervish Dust: The Life and Words of James Coburn. Speaking to Music Week about the album, Jim Cook said "Throw away all of your preconceived ideas about Lynsey de Paul" and the Scottish press reported "Nifty production by Rupert Holmes has the petit blonde back on form Not a weak song on the album".
"Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue, that was recorded by Blue and released as a single in 1973 on Bell Records. Blue's backing band of session musicians were well known in the industry and one year later the drummer, John Richardson, joined the Rubettes.
Surprise is the first album released by Lynsey de Paul on the MAM record label in 1973. In Australia, the album name was changed to Sugar Me, after de Paul's first hit single. All of the songs on the album were written or co-written by de Paul. On the album, de Paul was accompanied by some of the UK's leading session musicians including Terry Cox, Ralph McTell, Ray Cooper, Jeff Daly, John Gustafson, Chris Rae, Danny Thompson, Gary Boyle, Barry de Souza, Dick Katz, Robert Kirby, Francis Monkman, John Richardson and violinist Johnny Van Derrick. The album front cover is a portrait photo of de Paul photographed by Clive Arrowsmith, and a gatefold sleeve with illustrations provided by de Paul, a nod to her previous career of designing album sleeves and song lyrics.
"Sugar Me" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Green. The first version of this song to be released was recorded by de Paul as her first single on MAM Records in 1972. It was produced by Gordon Mills and the B-side was de Paul's version of "Storm in a Teacup", a song she had co-written and had been a hit for the Fortunes earlier that year.
"You Give Me Those Feelings" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul, and produced by de Paul and Jon Kelly. It was released as a non-album single, with the B-side "Beautiful" also composed by de Paul, on Polydor in August 1977, as the follow-up to the European hit single "Rock Bottom". The German and French releases of the single both had picture sleeves. The romantic song makes clever use of vocal overdubbing and has a false ending making the shorter version more radio friendly that the whole song, which clocks in at over four minutes. The song was well received by the press, with the Daily Mirror writing "Lynsey de Paul has written a slow, beautiful song, ideally suited to her voice", and the record was play listed by a number of British radio stations. It also was popular in some European countries, and is listed as one of the songs of 1977 in a German music database "Musik des Jahres 1977".
"House of Cards" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue and is one of their most covered songs. It was first released as a single by Chris Kelly on the CBS label on 7 April 1972, credited as being written by Rubin and Green (Blue). The song was a radio hit in Italy, receiving multiple plays on national radio stations.
Into My Music - Anthology 1975-1979 is a digitally remastered double album, featuring songs written and performed by Lynsey de Paul, that was released on 18 March 2013 on Cherry Red's RPM Retrodisc label. All recordings have been remastered by de Paul and Simon Murphy from original tape sources and co-produced by de Paul and Mark Stratford. The album is packaged with photographs and memorabilia from de Paul's personal archive and text by Michael Robson.
Love Bomb is the fourth album released in 1975 by the British singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul, and her second album released on Jet Records in the UK and Polydor in Germany, Australia and Japan. In the US and Canada, it was released in January 1976 on Mercury Records. The album was recorded at the Marquee Studios, London, England, produced by de Paul and arranged by Tony Hymas, with Terry Cox playing drums, John Dean percussion, Chris Rea guitar and Frank McDonald bass. The striking sleeve cover photo of de Paul in U.S. military style clothing was taken by Brian Aris.
Just a Little Time is an album by Lynsey de Paul. It was originally released on 30 September 1994 on the Music Deluxe label but has since been released on the Tring International PLC label and on Arc Records/The Magic Collection. All of the songs on the album are written or co-written by de Paul.
"All Night" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Ron Roker. De Paul released her version of the song on 27 April 1973 as her third single released on MAM Records, with arrangements by Martyn Ford and John Bell and produced by de Paul. The song is listed in the U.S. Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries and in "The Directory of American 45 R.p.m. Records". It features an uncredited male vocal. A slinky, sexy song, it compares a love relationship to that of the spider and a fly. The single is backed by the more socially aware song "Blind Leading the Blind", composed and produced by de Paul. The song was an unusual release since neither the A-side or the B-side featured as tracks on her debut album. Surprise had been released a little more than a month earlier - presumably it was not included since "All Night" has a very different style than the tracks on Surprise.