| Eurovision Song Contest 1970 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  United Kingdom | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Artist: Internal selection Song: A Song for Europe 1970 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 7 March 1970 | |||
| Selected entrant | Mary Hopkin | |||
| Selected song | "Knock, Knock Who's There?" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 2nd, 26 points | |||
| United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1970.
The show was held on 7 March 1970 and presented by Cliff Richard as part of the BBC1 series It's Cliff Richard!. Hopkin performed one of the six shortlisted songs each week, before performing all six in succession in the final. These performances were then immediately repeated. The votes were open to the public by post, with the results announced on 14 March, just a week before the Eurovision final itself. [1] Welsh singer Mary Hopkin had been chosen as the UK representative back in August 1969, having made her name with his such as "Those Were the Days" and "Goodbye". At the final, Hopkin was backed by singers John Evans and Brian Bennett, with the orchestra conducted alternately by John Cameron and Johnny Arthey, who directed the orchestra in Amsterdam. Hopkin was allowed to select one song for the contest, this being "You've Everything You Need", while the other five were selected from over 200 songs put forward by songwriters. "You've Everything You Need" caused a minor scandal on the day of the UK final when the Daily Mirror reported that the publishers of that song had told all their staff to send in multiple votes. Whether votes had to be then adjusted by the BBC to avoid a scandal is unknown, but the song ended up being placed second-last. [1] "Knock, Knock Who's There?" ultimately became the easy victor with 120,290 votes. The song was written by Geoff Stephens and John Carter. The votes presented below were only announced rounded up.
| Draw | Song | Songwriter(s) | Votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Three Ships" | Doug Flett, Guy Fletcher | 60,330 | 3 |
| 2 | "Early in the Morning of Your Life" | Alan Hawkshaw, Ray Cameron | 15,090 | 6 |
| 3 | "I'm Gonna Fall in Love Again" | Cyril Ornadel, Hal Shaper | 74,670 | 2 |
| 4 | "You've Everything You Need" | Roger Reynolds, Anthony Dyball | 39,360 | 5 |
| 5 | "Can I Believe" | Valerie Avon, Harold Spiro | 42,160 | 4 |
| 6 | "Knock, Knock Who's There?" | Geoff Stephens, John Carter | 120,290 | 1 |
Hopkin recorded all six entries, with the top two placed being released as a single. Of the others, only a bootleg version of "You've Everything You Need" was ever available commercially. [1] "Knock, Knock Who's There?" was released as a single and became a hit across Europe, peaking at No.2 in the UK, with the runner up "I'm Gonna Fall in Love Again" on the B-Side. [2] Belatedly, it also became a minor US hit for her in 1972. [3]
At the Eurovision final, BBC 1 broadcast the Contest with David Gell providing the television commentary, Tony Brandon provided the radio commentary on BBC Radio 1. The contest was also broadcast on British Forces Radio with commentary provided by John Russell. [1]
Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song. [4]
The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the contest was held at the RAI Congrescentrum on 21 March 1970, and was hosted by Dutch television presenter Willy Dobbe.
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1968.
The United Kingdom held a national pre-selection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1974.
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1976.
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. It was held on Friday 31 March 1978 at the Royal Albert Hall and presented by Terry Wogan. The songs were backed by the Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra.
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1979. A Song for Europe 1979 was planned to take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 8 March.
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 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.
Eurovision: You Decide is the most recent name of a BBC television programme that was broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry for 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.
"All Kinds of Everything" is a song written by Derry Lindsay and Jackie Smith; as performed by Dana, it won the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 representing Ireland. "All Kinds of Everything" marked a return to the ballad form from the more energetic performances which had dominated Eurovision the previous years. Dana sings about all the things which remind her of her sweetheart with the admission at the end of every verse that "all kinds of everything remind me of you". The recording by Dana became an international hit.
The United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times. It first took part in the second contest in 1957 and has entered every year since 1959. Along with Sweden and the Netherlands, the UK is one of only three countries with Eurovision victories in four different decades. It is one of the "Big Five" countries, along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain, that are automatically prequalified for the final each year as they are the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The British national broadcaster, the BBC, broadcasts the event and has, on multiple occasions, organised different national selection processes to choose the British entry. The United Kingdom has won the Eurovision Song Contest five times, and has finished as runner-up on a record sixteen occasions. The UK has hosted the contest a record eight times, four times in London and once each in Edinburgh (1972), Brighton (1974), Harrogate (1982) and Birmingham (1998), and will host the contest for a ninth time in 2023 in Liverpool.
"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.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Believe in Me" written by Desmond Child, Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. The song was performed by Bonnie Tyler, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. Tyler and the song "Believe in Me" were announced as the British entry on 7 March 2013.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Children of the Universe" written by Molly Smitten-Downes and Anders Hansson. The song was performed by Molly, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Molly and "Children of the Universe" was announced as the British entry in a special presentation show titled The UK Launch broadcast on the BBC Red Button service in March 2014.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Still in Love with You" written by David Mindel and Adrian Bax White. The song was performed by the duo Electro Velvet, which was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Electro Velvet and "Still in Love with You" was announced as the British entry in a special presentation show titled Our Song for Eurovision 2015 broadcast on the BBC Red Button service in March 2015.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "You're Not Alone" written by Matt Schwartz, Justin J. Benson and S. Kanes. The song was performed by Joe and Jake. The British entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected via the national final Eurovision: You Decide, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected entirely through a public vote.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Never Give Up on You" written by Daniel Salcedo, Emmelie de Forest and Lawrie Martin. The song was performed by Lucie Jones. Songwriter Emmelie de Forest represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" where she won the competition. The British entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected via the national final Eurovision: You Decide, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through the combination of a public vote and the votes of an eight-member professional jury.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Storm" written by Nicole Blair, Gil Lewis and Sean Hargreaves. The song was performed by SuRie. The British entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal was selected via the national final Eurovision: You Decide, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through the combination of a public vote and the votes of an eight-member professional jury.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Bigger than Us" written by Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander. The song was performed by Michael Rice. Songwriter John Lundvik represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest the same year with the song "Too Late for Love". The British entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel was selected via the national final Eurovision: You Decide, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through two rounds of voting.
