United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959

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Eurovision Song Contest 1959
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 entrant 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 participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) organised a national final to select the United Kingdom's entry for the contest. The song selected was "Sing, Little Birdie", performed by Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson. The song placed second in the contest, 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 United Kingdom had participated in the contest once, in 1957, represented by Patricia Bredin with the song "All". The song placed 7th in a field of 10 entries. [1] The country declined to take part in the inaugural contest in 1956, as the BBC had created their 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 the United Kingdom's 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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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson</span> English husband-and-wife team of entertainers

Pearl Lavinia Carr and Edward Victor "Teddy" Johnson were English husband-and-wife entertainers who were best-known during the 1950s and early 1960s. They were the UK's Eurovision entrants at the 1959 contest with "Sing, Little Birdie", which came second.

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

"Sing, Little Birdie" is the UK entrant song that took second place at the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. Performed by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson, "Sing, Little Birdie" was the first UK Eurovision entrant to be recorded, reaching number 12 in the UK singles chart.

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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.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Embers" written by James Newman, Conor Blake, Danny Shah, Tom Hollings and Samuel Brennan. The song was performed by James Newman, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands after he was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "My Last Breath" before the event's cancellation. Newman was announced as the British entrant on 19 February 2021, while the song "Embers" was presented to the public on 11 March 2021.

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.