United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976

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Eurovision Song Contest 1976
Participating broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
National selection
Selection process A Song for Europe 1976
Selection date(s)25 February 1976
Selected artist(s) Brotherhood of Man
Selected song"Save Your Kisses For Me"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result1st, 164 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1975 •1976• 1977►

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses For Me", written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden, and Martin Lee, and performed by Brotherhood of Man. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final titled A Song for Europe 1976. The entry eventually won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Contents

Before Eurovision

A Song for Europe 1976

Following the lowest published figure known for the public vote in the British national finals that used either voting by mail or telephone in 1975 and the BBC's choice of The Shadows singing all the shortlisted songs, calls from the Music Publishers Association for the songwriters and composers to be allowed to select the artist of their choice to perform the songs in future British selections for Eurovision led to an 'all-comers' final being reinstated in 1976. It was a reversion to the format used for the national finals from 1961 to 1963. Twelve songs were chosen by the Music Publisher's Association, with the songwriters choosing their own artist.

Final

The show took place on 25 February 1976 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Michael Aspel (who had hosted the 1969 UK final) acted as presenter for the event. [1] Fourteen regional juries voted on the songs: Bristol, Bangor, Leeds, Norwich, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff, Plymouth, Glasgow, Southampton and London. Each jury ranked the songs 1-12, awarding 12 points for their favourite down to 1 point for their least preferred. The songs were backed by the Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra. A Song for Europe was watched in 6.3 million homes (giving it a general viewing figure of 12.6 million viewers), and finishing as the 18th-most watched programme of the week. [1] "Save Your Kisses for Me" won the national final and ultimately went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest itself. Host Michael Aspel did not name any of the jury spokespersons from the UK regions and none of them identified themselves by name, only naming the region they represented.

Frank Ifield had taken part in the A Song for Europe 1962 contest in the UK, where he'd placed second. Polly Brown became the only artist to perform two songs in a multi-artist UK national final. Apart from her solo entry, Brown was also one half of the duo 'Sweet Dreams'. With a change in line-up, 'Co-Co' would return in the A Song for Europe 1978 contest, which they would win and go on to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978. The band featured Cheryl Baker who ultimately won Eurovision for the United Kingdom in 1981 with Bucks Fizz. 'Sunshine' also returned two years later, also with a different line-up. Hazell Dean would return in the A Song for Europe 1984 contest.

A Song for Europe 1976 –25 February 1976 [2]
DrawArtistSongSongwriter(s)PointsPlace
1 Co-Co "Wake Up"David Hayes & Phil Dennys [lower-alpha 1] 1382
2 Polly Brown "Do You Believe in Love at First Sight?" Ron Roker, Gerry Shury, Chris Rae & Frank McDonald7110
3 Brotherhood of Man "Save Your Kisses for Me" Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden & Martin Lee 1401
4 Hazell Dean "Couldn't Live Without You" Paul Curtis 778
5Champagne"A Love for All Seasons" Wayne Bickerton & Tony Waddington 778
6 Frank Ifield "Ain't Gonna Take No for an Answer"Tony Craig & Eddie Adamberry2112
7Sunshine"Maria"Rod McQueen & Eva McQueen807
8 Tammy Jones "Love's a Carousel" Harold Spiro 986
9Joey Valentine"Going to the Movies" Daniel Boone 5211
10 Sweet Dreams "Love, Kiss and Run" Barry Blue & Stephen Worth1094
11 Louisa Jane White "Take the Money and Run"Roger Saunders & Scott English 1005
12 Tony Christie "Queen of the Mardi Gras" Geoff Stephens & Tony Macaulay 1293
Detailed Jury Votes [2]
DrawSong
Bristol
Bangor
Leeds
Norwich
Newcastle
Aberdeen
Birmingham
Manchester
Belfast
Cardiff
Plymouth
Glasgow
Southampton
London
Total
1"Wake Up"11111112991110910127511138
2"Do You Believe in Love at First Sight?"23893212844632571
3"Save Your Kisses for Me"99128121251111111012810140
4"Couldn't Live Without You"34462810687457377
5"A Love for All Seasons"85251136575524977
6"Ain't Gonna Take No for an Answer"4111111321211121
7"Maria"665451141631186480
8"Love's a Carousel"11210771024109749698
9"Going to the Movies"51032463232163252
10"Love, Kiss and Run"12271184875889128109
11"Take the Money and Run"78631059916910107100
12"Queen of the Mardi Gras"1079106771212123111112129
Jury Spokespersons [2]
JurySpokesperson
Bristol Chris Denham
Bangor Elfyn Thomas
Leeds Brian Baines
Norwich John Crowest
Newcastle Mike Neville
Aberdeen Gerry Davis
Birmingham Tom Coyne
Manchester Mike Riddoch
Belfast Michael Baguley
Cardiff Iwan Thomas
Plymouth Donald Heighway
Glasgow David Findlay
Southampton Peter Macann
London Ray Moore

Chart success

International singing stars Dionne Warwick [3] and Jean Terrell (former lead singer of The Supremes) [4] both recorded and released versions of the song "Do You Believe In Love At First Sight?" despite the song's poor placing in the contest. Only the winning song reached the UK singles chart: "Save Your Kisses for Me" became a UK No.1 single, the group had a 2 further UK No.1 singles over the next 18 months. The track was the biggest selling single of 1976 in the UK and the sixth biggest selling for the 1970s in Britain, with sales well in excess of 1 million copies. Globally, the track attained sales of over 6 million, making it the biggest selling winning single in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. [5]

UK Discography

  • Co-Co - Wake Up: PYE 7N45567.
  • Polly Brown - Do You Believe In Love At First Sight?: GTO GT54.
  • Dionne Warwick - Do You Believe In Love At First Sight?: Warner Bros. WBS8419.
  • Brotherhood of Man - Save Your Kisses For Me: PYE 7N45569.
  • Hazell Dean - I Couldn't Live Without You For A Day: Decca F13622.
  • Champagne - A Love For All Seasons: Thunderbird THE105.
  • Frank Ifield - Ain't Gonna Take No For An Answer: Spark SRL1136.
  • Sunshine - Maria: State STAT17.
  • Tammy Jones - Love's A Carousel: Epic SEPC3980.
  • Joey Valentine - Going To The Movies: Penny Farthing/Bellaphon BF18418.
  • Sweet Dreams - Love, Kiss And Run: Bradley's BRAD7604.
  • Louisa Jane White - Take The Money And Run: PYE 7N45568.
  • Tony Christie - Queen Of The Mardi Gras: MCA MCA231.

At Eurovision

By scoring 164 points out of a possible maximum of 204, the UK achieved the highest relative score ever reached under the "Douze Points" voting system inaugurated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 and used ever since, with 80.4% of the possible score attained. No song has ever achieved this since, although previously in 1973, Luxembourg's winning entry scored 80.6% under a different voting system. [6] [5]

Michael Aspel provided the television commentary for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest for BBC 1, Terry Wogan once again provided the radio commentary for BBC Radio 2 listeners and Andrew Pastouna provided commentary for British Forces Radio. The BBC appointed Ray Moore as its spokesperson to announce the British Jury results. [7]

Voting

Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest

"Save Your Kisses for Me" was one of fourteen Eurovision songs selected by fans to compete in the Congratulations 50th anniversary special in 2005. In spite of it and another British entry ("Congratulations") being among the participating songs, as well as the presence of Katrina Leskanich (of the UK's victorious 1997 act Katrina and the Waves) as co-host, the United Kingdom did not broadcast Congratulations as they felt it wouldn't attract enough of an audience. They opted to create their own special, Boom Bang-a-Bang: 50 Years of Eurovision, hosted by 1998 host and longtime British commentator Sir Terry Wogan.

The song was drawn to appear thirteenth in the running order, following "Hold Me Now" by Johnny Logan and preceding "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. At the end of the first round, "Save Your Kisses for Me" was announced as one of the five songs advancing to the final round. It was later revealed that the song finished fifth, scoring 154 points. [9]

"Save Your Kisses for Me" ultimately finished fifth in the final round, scoring 230 points (including, as in 1976, a maximum 12 from Israel). [10]

Voting

Notes

  1. ↑ Although credited in the contest to Hayes and Dennys, it was later revealed the song was written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and originally recorded by the Arrows.

Related Research Articles

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "Congratulations", written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, and performed by Cliff Richard. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally. In addition, the BBC was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Royal Albert Hall in London, after winning the previous edition with the song "Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw.

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 with the song "Long Live Love", written by Valerie Avon and Harold Spiro, and performed by Olivia Newton-John. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally. In addition, the BBC was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Dome in Brighton, after the winner of the previous edition, the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT) from Luxembourg, opted not to host the event.

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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 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 1983 by Sweet Dreams with the song "I'm Never Giving Up". It was chosen as the British entry through the A Song for Europe national selection process and placed sixth at Eurovision, receiving 79 points.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest</span> BBC TV show

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Save Your Kisses for Me</span> 1976 song by Brotherhood of Man

"Save Your Kisses for Me" is a song recorded by British group Brotherhood of Man, written by Tony Hiller with band members Lee Sheriden and Martin Lee. It represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 held in The Hague, winning the contest.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Even If" written by Andy Abraham, Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. The song was performed by Andy Abraham. The British entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia was selected via the national final Eurovision: Your Decision, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through three rounds of voting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest</span>

The United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 66 times. Its first participation was at the second contest, in 1957, and it has entered every year since 1959. The British participant broadcaster in the contest is the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The country has won the contest five times: in 1967, with "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw; in 1969, with "Boom Bang-a-Bang" by Lulu ; in 1976, with "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man; in 1981, with "Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz; and in 1997, with "Love Shine a Light" by Katrina and the Waves. The UK has also achieved a record sixteen second-place finishes, the first in 1959 and the most recent in 2022.

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The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "That Sounds Good to Me" written by Pete Waterman, Mike Stock and Steve Crosby. The song was performed by Josh Dubovie. The British entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway was selected via the national final Eurovision: Your Country Needs You 2010, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through two rounds of voting.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "I Can" written by Duncan James, Lee Ryan, Ciaron Bell, Ben Collier, Ian Hope, Liam Keenan and StarSign. The song was performed by the group Blue, which was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Blue was announced as the British entrant on 29 January 2011, while the song "I Can" was presented to the public on 11 March 2011.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Love Will Set You Free" written by Martin Terefe and Sacha Skarbek. The song was performed by Engelbert Humperdinck, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Humperdinck was announced as the British entrant on 1 March 2012, while the song "Love Will Set You Free" was presented to the public on 19 March 2012.

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.

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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.

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References

  1. 1 2 Television's Greatest Hits, Network Books, Paul Gambaccini and Rod Taylor, 1993. ISBN   0 563 36247 2
  2. 1 2 3 Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 195–226. ISBN   978-1-84583-093-9.
  3. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Do You Believe In Love at First Sight". YouTube .
  4. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Do You Believe In Love At First Sight". YouTube .
  5. 1 2 O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official Celebration. Carlton Books Ltd (9 April 2015). ISBN   978-1780976389
  6. ↑ "Final of The Hague 1976". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs For Europe - The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest Volume Two: The 1970's. UK: Telos Publishing. p. 231. ISBN   978-1-84583-065-6.
  8. 1 2 "Results of the Final of The Hague 1976". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Congratulations: Results from the voting (Round 1)" (PDF). Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Congratulations: Results from the voting (Round 2)" (PDF). Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
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