United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959

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Eurovision Song Contest 1959
Participating broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
National selection
Selection process Eurovision Song Contest British Final
Selection date(s)Semi-finals
2 February 1959
5 February 1959
Final
7 February 1959
Selected artist(s) Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson
Selected song"Sing, Little Birdie"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Stan Butcher
  • Syd Cordell
Finals performance
Final result2nd, 16 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄195719591960►

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song "Sing, Little Birdie", composed by Stan Butcher, with lyrics by Syd Cordell, and performed by Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a national final to select its entry for the contest. The song placed second, at the time the United Kingdom's best result in the competition, and remained so until their first victory in 1967.

Contents

Before Eurovision

Prior to the 1959 contest, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the United Kingdom once, in 1957, represented with the song "All" by Patricia Bredin. The song placed 7th in a field of 10 entries. [1] The BBC declined to take part in the inaugural contest in 1956, as it had created its own contest, the Festival of British Popular Songs , aspects of which influenced the 1957 contest. The BBC initially intended to participate in 1958 but ultimately withdrew. [2]

Eurovision Song Contest British Final

Eurovision Song Contest British Final 1959
Host
Venue BBC Television Theatre
Presenter(s) Pete Murray
Host broadcaster BBC
Participants
Number of entries12
Vote
Winning song"Sing Little Birdie" by Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson
Eurovision Song Contest British Final

The Eurovision Song Contest British Final was a national final organised by the BBC to select its entry for the contest. The selection consisted of two semi-finals held on 2 February and 5 February 1959, and a final held on 7 February 1959, broadcast on BBC Television and presented by Pete Murray. [3]

The songs were scored by seven 14-member regional juries representing the South of England, the Midlands, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the West of England.

Competing entries

Twelve entries were shortlisted by the BBC for the contest. "I'll Be With You" was originally scheduled to be performed by Alma Cogan, but was replaced by Marion Keene.

ArtistSongSongwriter(s)
Alma Cogan"I'll Be With You"Lee Lennox
Don Rennie"How Could I Know"Tommy Sampson, Barbara Nelson
Glen Mason "Suddenly"Michael Pratt
John Hanson "Success"Ralph Ruvin, Harold Irving, Dick James
Lester Ferguson"This I Will Tell My Son"Terry and Irene Roper
Lita Roza "This Is My Town"John S Rossiter, Harold Cornelius, Dominic John, Bob Halfin
Marion Keene "I'll Be With You"Lee Lennox
Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson "Sing Little Birdie"Stan Butcher, Syd Cordell
Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson "That's It, That's Love"Sam Johnson
Rosemary Squires"Cha Cha Chocola"Max Francis, Bill Craig
Sheila Buxton"Love Me, Love Me"Norman Percival
Steve Martin"One Lonely Heart"Peter Callander, Dick James
Valerie Shane"Oh, Oh, Reckon I Must Be In Love"Michael Pratt

Shows

Semi-final 1

Semi-final 1 was held on 2 February 1959. The highlighted songs qualified for the final. [3]

Semi-final 1 – 2 February 1959
DrawArtistSongResult
1Sheila Buxton"Love Me, Love Me"Eliminated
2Steve Martin"One Lonely Heart"Advanced
3 Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson "Sing, Little Birdie"Advanced
4Don Rennie"How Could I Know"Eliminated
5 Glen Mason "Suddenly"Advanced
6Marion Keene"I'll Be With You"Eliminated
Semi-final 2

Semi-final 2 was held on 5 February 1959. The highlighted songs qualified for the final. [3]

Semi-final 2 – 5 February 1959
DrawArtistSongResult
1 Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson "That's It, That's Love"Eliminated
2John Hanson"Success"Advanced
3Rosemary Squires"Cha Cha Chocola"Eliminated
4Lester Ferguson"This I Will Tell My Son"Eliminated
5Valerie Shane"Oh, Oh, Reckon I Must Be In Love"Advanced
6Lita Roza"This Is My Town"Advanced
Final

The final was held on 7 February 1959 at 19:30 GMT. [3]

Final – 7 February 1959
DrawArtistSongPlace
1Valerie Shane"Oh, Oh, Reckon I Must Be In Love"5
2Steve Martin"One Lonely Heart"4
3 Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson "Sing Little Birdie"1
4John Hanson"Success"6
5 Glen Mason "Suddenly"3
6Lita Roza"This Is My Town"2

At Eurovision

In the final, Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson performed tenth in the running order, following Austria and preceding Belgium. At the close of the voting "Sing Little Birdie" had received 16 points, placing United Kingdom 2nd in a field of 11 entries. The British jury awarded 5 of its 10 points to Switzerland. [4]

Voting

Related Research Articles

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The United Kingdom was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 with the song "All", composed by Reynell Wreford, with lyrics by Alan Stranks, and performed by Patricia Bredin. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final, the second edition of Festival of British Popular Songs and, subsequently, the performer internally once the national final was over. This was the first-ever entry from the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the first-ever entry performed in English in the contest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson</span> English husband-and-wife team of entertainers

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">'n Beetje</span> 1959 song by Teddy Scholten

"'n Beetje", spelled in full as "Een beetje", is a song recorded by Dutch singer Teddy Scholten with music composed by Dick Schallies and Dutch lyrics written by Willy van Hemert. It represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 held in Cannes, winning the contest. It was the second victory for the country in the first four years of the contest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sing, Little Birdie</span> 1959 song by Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson

"Sing, Little Birdie" is a song recorded by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson with music composed by Stan Butcher and English lyrics written by Syd Cordell. It represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 held in Cannes, placing second. It was the first British Eurovision entrant to be recorded, reaching number 12 in the UK singles chart.

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The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song "Een beetje", composed by Dick Schallies, with lyrics by Willy van Hemert, and performed by Teddy Scholten. The Dutch participating Broadcaster, Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS), selected its entry through a national final. The entry eventually won the Eurovision Song Contest, making the Netherlands the first country to achieve two victories in the contest.

The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Never Alone" written by Jan Dulles, Jaap Kwakman and Jaap de Witte. The song was performed by the band 3JS, which was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. 3JS' appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 15 July 2010, while the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2011 was organised in order to select the song. Five songs competed in the national final on 30 January 2011 where "Je vecht nooit alleen" was selected as the winning song following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote. The song was later translated from Dutch to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Never Alone".

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References

  1. "Final of Frankfurt 1957 - Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  2. "Shining a light on the United Kingdom: 60 Years at Eurovision". eurovision.tv. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Eurovision Song Contest of 1959: British Final". songs4europe.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  4. ESC History - Eurovision - United Kingdom 1959
  5. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Cannes 1959". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.