United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986

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Eurovision Song Contest 1986
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
National selection
Selection process A Song for Europe 1986
Selection date(s)2 April 1986
Selected entrant Ryder
Selected song"Runner in the Night"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result7th, 72 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1985 •1986• 1987►

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.

Contents

Before Eurovision

A Song for Europe

The British national final to select their entry, A Song for Europe 1986, was held on 2 April 1986 at the BBC Television Centre, London in Studio 1, and was hosted by Terry Wogan. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of Ronnie Hazlehurst as conductor accompanied all but the winning song, but despite performing live, the orchestra were off-screen, behind the set. The rule introduced for 1984 prohibiting groups or 'made for Eurovision' acts from participating was rescinded. In total, 335 entries where received, and reduced tot the final eight by a variety of music industry experts.

Lead singer of the group 'Palace' was Michael Palace, previously known as Dan Duskey. Duskey had represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 as one of 'The Duskeys' and thus became the first Eurovision artist to have taken part in the contest for another country, before attempting to represent the UK. The group 'Jump' were led by Peter Beckett and David Ian. Beckett had taken part in the previous A Song for Europe 1985 and Ian had been a member of the group 'First Division' in 1984, as David Lane. 'Jump's' song was written by perennial UK songwriter Paul Curtis, his 19th UK finalist.

The show was opened by 1985's Eurovision winners, Bobbysocks, who sang "Let It Swing", the English-language version of their winning song "La det swinge". They were joined onstage by a large number of backing dancers, choreographed by Anthony van Laast. The duo were also going to sing their brand new single "Waiting for the Morning", but the producers finally decided to cancel that part of the plan and instead, the two members of the group were interviewed by Terry Wogan during the interval.

The result was determined by 11 regional juries located in Leeds, Newcastle, Plymouth, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Belfast, Glasgow, London, Norwich and Bristol. Each jury region awarded 15, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5 points to the songs. The scoreboard, due to a technical issue, was incorrectly adjusted during the broadcast and the final tallies shown on screen did not correspond with the scores announced on air.

The winning entry was "Runner in the Night", performed by the sextet Ryder, composed by Brian Wade, with lyrics written by Maureen Darbyshire.

A Song for Europe 1986 –2 April 1986 [1]
DrawArtistSongSongwriter(s)PointsPlace
1 Vanity Fare "Dreamer" Valerie Murtagh Avon 993
2Palace"Dancing with You Again"Peter Mason914
3 Colin Heywood "No Easy Way to Love" Tony Hiller, Stewart James, Bradley James806
4Chad Brown"I'm Sorry" Paul Griggs 787
5Kenny Charles"Tongue-Tied"Jimmy Scott865
6 Ryder "Runner in the Night"Brian Wade, Maureen Darbyshire 1451
7Jump"Don't Hang Up on Love" Paul Curtis, Graham Sacher1372
8Future"War of the Roses" Gary Osborne, Johnny Warman 768
Detailed Jury Votes [1]
DrawSong
Birmingham
Manchester
Bristol
Norwich
Newcastle
Cardiff
London
Leeds
Glasgow
Plymouth
Belfast
Total score
1"Dreamer"612561012791510799
2"Dancing with You Again"5767671510991091
3"No Easy Way to Love"7679985776980
4"I'm Sorry"8988856657878
5"Tongue-Tied"981010768868686
6"Runner in the Night"1515151512101212121512145
7"Don't Hang Up on Love"121012121515915101215137
8"War of the Roses"105955910585576
Jury Spokespersons [1]
JurySpokesperson
Birmingham Paul Coia
Manchester John Mundy
Bristol Angela Rippon
Norwich David Clayton
Newcastle Mike Neville
Cardiff Maureen Staffer
London Colin Berry
Leeds Linda Dryburgh-Smith
Glasgow Dougie Donnelly
Plymouth Christopher Slade
Belfast Rose Neill

UK Discography

  • Vanity Fare - Dreamer: Polydor POSP789.
  • Palace - Dancing with You Again: Roxy! TEASE1.
  • Colin Heywood - No Easy Way to Love: Spartan SP135.
  • Chad Brown - I'm Sorry: Arista/Bonaire BON2.
  • Kenny Charles - Tongue-Tied: MCA MCA1044 (7" Single)/MCAT1044 (12" Single).
  • Ryder - Runner in the Night: Virgin/10 TEN1.
  • Jump - Don't Hang Up On Love: Magnet MAG293.
  • Future - War Of The Roses: Virgin/10 TEN119.

At Eurovision

Ryder performed fifth on the night of the Contest, following Norway and preceding Iceland. At the close of the voting the song had received 72 points, placing 7th in a field of 20 competing countries. [2]

Terry Wogan once again provided the television commentary on BBC 1. BBC Radio 2 also returned broadcasting the contest, with commentary provided by Ray Moore. Colin Berry served as spokesperson for the UK Jury.

The members of the UK jury included Mr. T Abraham, Mr. A Brown, Miss M Chapman, David Elder, Mrs. M Heathcote, Mr. P Jenkinson, Sue Lloyd, Mrs. T O'Shea, Quentin Smith, Gary Speirs and Miss C White. [3]

Voting

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<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).

References

  1. 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. 240–262. ISBN   978-1-84583-118-9.
  2. ↑ "Final of Bergen 1986". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2017). Songs For Europe - The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Three: The 1980s. UK: Telos Publishing. pp. 265–276. ISBN   978-1-84583-118-9.
  4. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Bergen 1986". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
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