United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

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Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Participating broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
National selection
Selection process A Song for Europe 1981
Selection date(s)11 March 1981
Selected artist(s) Bucks Fizz
Selected song"Making Your Mind Up"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result1st, 136 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄198019811982►

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up", composed by John Danter, with lyrics by Andy Hill, and performed by Bucks Fizz. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final titled A Song for Europe 1981. The entry eventually won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Contents

Before Eurovision

A Song for Europe 1981

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reduced the number of finalists from twelve to eight in 1981. Terry Wogan hosted the national final on 11 March at the BBC Television Theatre in London. 581 songs were submitted to the Music Publisher's Association to pick eight songs. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Coleman as conductor accompanied all the songs, but all the music was pre-recorded. The show was the 16th most watched programme of the week with a rating of 12.4 million viewers, the highest for three years. [1] Johnny Logan was scheduled to appear as a guest on the programme, but had to cancel shortly before the air date.

Seven regional juries voted on the songs. The regional juries voted internally and awarded 15 points to their favourite song, 12 points to the second, 10 points to the third and then 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points in order of preference for the songs from 4th to 8th. Before the reprise, Terry Wogan incorrectly read the title of the winning song as "Where Are You Now." The prizes were presented by Wogan to John Danter, one of the songwriters, and to Mike Nolan, one of the performers.

A Song for Europe 1981 11 March 1981 [2]
DrawArtistSongSongwriter(s)PointsPlace
01Headache"Not Without Your Ticket (Don't Go)" Luís Jardim, Jean Gilbert507th
02 Gary Benson "All Cried Out"Gary Benson634th
03Unity"For Only a Day" John Dawson Read, Christopher Gunning 388th
04Beyond"Wish"Steve Elson, Don Gould673rd
05 Bucks Fizz "Making Your Mind Up" Andy Hill, John Danter971st
06Gem"Have You Ever Been in Love?"Andy Hill, Peter Sinfield, John Danter634th
07Lezlee Carling"Where Are You Now"Lindsey Moore566th
08 Liquid Gold "Don't Panic" Adrian Baker 702nd
Detailed Jury Votes [2]
DrawSong
Birmingham
Cardiff
Manchester
Belfast
Edinburgh
London
Bristol
Total
1"Not Without Your Ticket"75101065750
2"All Cried Out"12888810963
3"For Only a Day"565656538
4"Wish"15969128867
5"Making Your Mind Up"1015151515151297
6"Have You Ever Been in Love"810712791063
7"Where Are You Now"6129797656
8"Don't Panic"9712510121570
Jury Spokespersons [2]
JurySpokesperson
Birmingham David Stevens
Cardiff Iwan Thomas
Manchester John Mundy
Belfast Peter Dickson
Edinburgh Jim O'Hara
London Ray Moore
Bristol Andy Batten-Foster

UK Discography

Unusually for the UK competition, three of the finalists reached the UK Singles Chart. "Making Your Mind Up" spent three weeks at number one, whilst the runner-up, "Don't Panic!" reached number 42 at more-or-less the same time. "Have You Ever Been in Love?" was a UK no.10 hit for Leo Sayer in 1982, also reaching no.4 in Australia. The track was covered by many other artists, including Peter Cetera and Westlife. "For Only A Day" was later used as the theme song for Miss World 1983, performed live by all the contestants during the broadcast.

At Eurovision

"Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision Song Contest 1981. It received 136 points from the 19 juries, beating Germany's "Johnny Blue" by Lena Valaitis. [3]

Members of the British jury included Norman Harper, S. Andrew, David Bratt, P. Green, A. Harmann, J.P. Robinson, D. Ruteledge, S. Tapper, I. Tyler, G. Wallbank, and Conor E. Young. [2]

Voting

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References

  1. Television's Greatest Hits, Network Books, Paul Gambaccini and Rod Taylor, 1993. ISBN   0 563 36247 2
  2. 1 2 3 4 Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 56–83. ISBN   978-1-84583-118-9.
  3. "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.