United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1985

Last updated

Eurovision Song Contest 1985
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
National selection
Selection process A Song for Europe 1985
Selection date(s)9 April 1985
Selected entrant Vikki
Selected song"Love Is..."
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result4th, 100 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄198419851986►

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 (as it has been in previous years) 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.

Contents

Before Eurovision

A Song for Europe

In all, 333 songs were originally submitted to the Music Publisher's Association, with 8 songs chosen. Songwriters could only submit a maximum of two songs to the MPA, but the identity of the writers was not disclosed to the MPA judges. Due to the poor reception of the UK entry in the previous year's Eurovision Song Contest, the BBC wanted to revert to the method used to select the UK entry used from 1964-1975 and approached both Bonnie Tyler and when she was unavailable, Lena Zavaroni to represent the UK and perform all the shortlisted songs in the UK heat. The MPA rebuffed the BBC's concept, wanting the composers and authors the option of choosing their own performers. A compromise rule was introduced, stating that no groups (more than 2 performers) were allowed to take part and writers would be limited to two entries each, however this rule was only in place for this one year. The songs were selected by around 90 people, DJs, producers and publishers.

Notable songwriters and performers included Paul Curtis who had had entries in the Eurovision final as well as a large number of previous entries in various UK heats, including writing the winning song in 1975 . Despite the rule limiting song-writers to two entries, both his songs written with Graham Sacher reached the final eight. Together, Curtis and Sacher had won the A Song for Europe 1984 contest. 1970s glam rock singer Alvin Stardust (who had recently enjoyed a comeback in the charts) appeared as a performer as did Fiona Kennedy who was at the time a presenter of TV's Record Breakers . [1] Annabel was Annabel Layton who competed at A Song for Europe 1981 contest as part of Unity. [2] Des Dyer had been the lead singer of the group 'Casablanca' who'd placed 3rd in the A Song for Europe 1983 contest. He would later be one of the UK's backing singers at the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 .

Final

The show opened with a group of dancers, dancing to old Eurovision songs: "Making Your Mind Up", "Waterloo", "Puppet on a String", "Save Your Kisses for Me", "Boom Bang-a-Bang" and "Congratulations". The artists were introduced on stage with captions on screen, followed by presenter Terry Wogan. The songs had been first previewed in the previous week on the Wogan TV show.

Nine regional juries located in Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Belfast, Glasgow, London, Norwich, Plymouth and Bristol voted for the songs. Each jury region awarded 15, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points to the songs.

A Song for Europe 1985 9 April 1985 [3]
DrawArtistSongSongwriter(s)PointsPlace
1 Vikki "Love Is..."Jimmy Kaleth, Vikki Watson 1241
2Peter Beckett"I'm Crying"Jonathan Cregg597
3 Alvin Stardust "The Clock on the Wall"Peter Vale, Mick Leeson903
4James Oliver"What We Say With Our Eyes"James Oliver666
5Des Dyer"Energy" Clive Scott, Des Dyer774
6Annabel"Let Me Love You One More Time" Paul Curtis, Graham Sacher725
7Kerri Wells"Dancing in the Night" Paul Curtis, Graham Sacher1012
8 Mike Redway and Fiona Kennedy "So Do I" Mike Redway 597
Detailed Jury Votes [3]
DrawSong
Belfast
Birmingham
Cardiff
Glasgow
London
Norwich
Bristol
Manchester
Plymouth
Total score
1"Love Is..."151510151512151215124
2"I'm Crying"105695856559
3"The Clock on the Wall"781581291091290
4"What We Say With Our Eyes"697128567666
5"Energy"9101277698977
6"Let Me Love You One More Time"57810610810872
7"Dancing in the Night"1212961015121510101
8"So Do I"86559775759
Jury Spokespersons [3]
JurySpokesperson
Belfast Jim Neilly
Birmingham Paul Coia
Cardiff Iwan Thomas
Glasgow Viv Lumsden
London Colin Berry
Norwich Stewart White
Bristol Vivien Creegor
Manchester John Mundy
Plymouth Christopher Slade

UK Discography

  • Vikki - Love Is...: PRT 7P326 (7" Single)/12P326 (12" Single).
  • Peter Beckett - I'm Crying: MCA MCA959.
  • Alvin Stardust - (The) Clock On The Wall: Chrysalis ALVIN1 (Single withdrawn)/ALV3 (EP Release).
  • James Oliver - What We Say With Our Eyes: Ritz RITZ100.
  • Des Dyer - Voice Of America^: Splash CPS1005.
  • Annabell - Let Me Love You One More Time: Magnet MAG278.
  • Kerri Wells - Dancing In The Night: Magnet MAG279.
  • Redway & Kennedy - So Do I: MCA MCA960.

^Released in 1986 with alternative lyrics. Original track released only in Germany (TELDEC 6.14369).
(Tracks listed by their label details which in some cases didn't correspond with the contest entrants.)

At Eurovision

The UK entered Vikki and "Love Is..." in the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in fourth place, gaining 100 points overall. [4] Although the song did not receive any country's twelve points, it still managed to score with every jury but one (Cyprus). The British jury awarded their twelve points to the eventual winners, Norway's Bobbysocks! with "La det swinge".

The final was broadcast on BBC 1 with Terry Wogan providing the commentary, Wogan actually commentated from BBC TV Centre in London as he was suffering from flu and was unable to fly to Gothenburg. BBC Radio 2 again decided not to broadcast the contest, but the contest was broadcast on British Forces Radio with commentary provided by Richard Nankivell. Colin Berry served as spokesperson for the UK jury.

Voting

Related Research Articles

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 1977, which was held in Wembley, London following the United Kingdom's victory in the previous year's contest.

The United Kingdom and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) held a national final titled "A Song for Europe 1981" to choose who would represent them in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981. "A Song for Europe 1981" was held on 11 March 1981 where Bucks Fizz was chosen with "Making Your Mind Up" as the entrant. At Eurovision, they placed first winning the competition with 136 points.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Cry Baby" written by Martin Isherwood. The song was performed by the duo Jemini. The British entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2003, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a regional televote.

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.

The United Kingdom was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 by Belle and the Devotions with the song "Love Games". It was chosen as the British entry through the A Song for Europe national selection process and placed seventh at Eurovision, receiving 63 points.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with its entry "Runner in the Night" performed by the group Ryder. The song was chosen through the A Song for Europe national final which consisted of eight songs in 1986. At the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 held in Bergen, Norway, Ryder and the song placed seventh with 72 points.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with its entry "Only the Light" performed by Rikki and written by Richard Peebles. The song was chosen through the A Song for Europe national final which consisted of ten songs in 1987. At the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, Rikki and his song was placed thirteenth with 47 points.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 with its entry "Go" performed by Scott Fitzgerald and written by Julie Forsyth. The song was chosen through the "A Song for Europe" national final which consisted of eight songs in 1988. At the Eurovision Song Contest 1988, Fitzgerald and his song was placed second with 136 points.

The United Kingdom selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo, Norway with a new show, The Great British Song Contest. The winning entry was Gina G with "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit".

The United Kingdom was represented by Emma in the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 with the song "Give a Little Love Back to the World".

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "No Dream Impossible" written by Russ Ballard and Chris Winter. The song was performed by Lindsay Dracass. The British entry for the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2001, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.

<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.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Touch My Fire" written by Javine Hylton, John Themis and Jonathan Shalit. The song was performed by Javine. The British entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected via the national final Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2005, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Five acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected entirely through a public vote.

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

Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since making its debut at the 1965 contest in Naples, missing only two contests since, in 1983 and 2002. The contest's final is broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One. Ireland shares a joint record total of seven wins with Sweden, and is the only country to have won three times consecutively. Ireland has finished second four times, while Sweden has done that just once. However, all of Ireland's victories were decided by juries only, in the era before public voting became the norm in 1998.

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 65 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 nine times, four times in London and once each in Edinburgh (1972), Brighton (1974), Harrogate (1982), Birmingham (1998), and Liverpool (2023).

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "It's My Time" written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren. The song was performed by Jade Ewen. The British entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected via the national final Eurovision: Your Country Needs You, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final which consisted of two heats, a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.

References

  1. Official Charts Company - Alvin Stardust(Link redirected to OCC website)
  2. Songs 4 Europe - 1985 Song for Europe
  3. 1 2 3 Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 212–225. ISBN   978-1-84583-118-9.
  4. "Final of Gothenburg 1985". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Gothenburg 1985". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.