40 years since ABBA won with Waterloo

ABBA onstage in Brighton in 1974

Published5 days ago

Brighton, United Kingdom - It was 40 years ago today, on the 6th April, 1974 that the Swedish group ABBA won the Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Contest with their memorable song Waterloo. ABBA went onto become one of the biggest selling groups in the world, selling millions and millions of records, and Waterloo topped the list of songs in the Congratulations show that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the contest in 2005.

Although Luxembourg had won the 1973 edition of Europe's Favourite Tv show, the Luxembourg broadcaster CLT, declined to host the contest for a second successive year, and once again the British broadcaster, the BBC took the opportunity to once again stage the event, this time in Brighton on the south coast of England.

The Way Old Friends Do

The contest was presented, for the fourth time, by Katie Boyle, who had previously taken the role in 1960, 1963 and 1968.

Arrival

Eighteen countries registered to take part in the 19th edition of the contest, including for the very first time, Greece, who sent one of their biggest starts, Marinella.

I Wonder (Departure)

However in the week of the contest, the French President, Georges Pompidou died on the 2nd of April, and as a mark of respect the French withdrew from the contest; their entry was due to be sung by Dani and called La Vie A Vingt-cinq Ans.

Thank You For The Music

The seventeen entries performed in the following order.

1. Finland - Keep Me Warm sung by Carita
2. United Kingdom - Long Live Love sung by Olivia Newton John
3. Spain - Canta Y Se Feliz sung by Peret
4. Norway - The First Day Of Love sung by Anne-Karine Strøm and the Bendik Singers
5. Greece - Krassi, Thalassa Ke T'Agori Mou sung by Marinella
6. Israel - Natati La Khaiai sung by Poogy
7. Yugoslavia - Moja Generacija 42 sung by Korni
8. Sweden - Waterloo sung by ABBA
9. Luxembourg - Bye, Bye I Love You sung by Ireen Sheer
10. Monaco - Celui Qui Reste Et Celui Qui S'en Va sung by Romuald
11. Belgium - Fleur De Liberté sung by Jacques Hustin
12. Netherlands - I See A Star sung by Mouth and MacNeal
13. Ireland - Cross Your Heart sung by Tina
14. Germany - Die Sommermelodie sung by Cindy and Bert
15. Switzerland - Mein Ruf Nach Dir sung by Piera Martell
16. Portugal - E Depois Do Adeus sung by Paulo de Carvalho
17. Italy - Si sung by Gigliola Cinquetti

Knowing Me, Knowing You

Norway's entrant Anne-Karine Ström had been part of the Bendik Singers in the 1973. Romuald had represented Monaco in 1964, and Luxembourg in 1969, whilst Gigliola Cinquetti had won the contest for Italy in the 1964 contest.

The Winner Takes It All

There was a return to the voting system that had been last used in the 1970 contest. 10 jury members in every country each awarded one point to their favourite song. For the first time, a draw of lots was used to decide the order in which countries would give the results of their juries. However, it was the last time this method was used to cast the votes. You can see a full breakdown of the voting in our 1974 history page.
Sweden's ABBA led from the very first round of voting and never lost the lead, although briefly threatened by both Italy and Belgium in the early rounds of voting.

Money, Money, Money

Waterloo topped the charts all over Europe and the world.
Their success did not stop there by any means. They continued to top the charts with singles including Mamma Mia, S.O.S, Dancing Queen, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, One Of Us, Gimme Gimme Gimme and many many many more. Their albums also charted high and went gold and platinum in a number of countries.
In 1983 the group split up after more than a decade of phenomenal success but their careers continued. Agnetha and Frida continued to perform and released music although Agnetha did shy away from the spotlight for a long whilst after ABBA split up but has recently released new material. Benny & Björn continued their careers as writers and have worked closely together on new music, have performed in bands and precided over musicals including the world famous and very successful Mamma Mia, which also became a box-off superhit when it was turned into a film.
ABBA's revival still continues and their songs are iconic. One of the Eurovision Song Contest's biggest treasures. Congratulations to ABBA on the 40th anniversary of their victory.

What is your favourite ABBA song?

Seeking out more about the 1972 contest?

1972 winner Vicky Leandros

 

Edinburgh, Scotland - On today's date in 1972, the Eurovision Song Contest took place for the first and only time in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. With the help of some unique behind the scenes photos we recall the contest that produced some of the biggest international hits.

Background

Originally RMC (Radio Monte-Carlo) winners of the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest wanted to host the 1972 event, and proposed an outdoor event to be held in June 1972. There was also a suitable hall being built, which RMC was also trying to get accelerated in time, however by July 1971 RMC finally declared that they were unable to organise the 1972 contest.
It was known that TVE (Spain) and ARD (Germany) as the second and third placed prize winners from 1971 would turn down the opportunity to stage the 1972 contest, and that the EBU was ‘calling loudly’ for volunteers. and once again the BBC decided to accept the challenge to organise the contest. Having narrowed the choice down to two possible venues, they opted to stage the contest for the first time in Edinburgh, in the Usher Hall.
The draw for the running order was made in London on Wednesday the 1st of December, 1971.
An experienced light entertainment director, Terry Hughes was appointed as Director for the contest, having previously worked on several high prestige British television programmes. As he explained in the forthcoming book "Songs For Europe - The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest - Volume Two - The 1970s"
"I’m sure the venue had already been decided on before I became involved, though I think it was my idea to have the jury in Edinburgh Castle, which I thought would be suitably different. They were always going to be in a different venue, as we simply didn’t have the room in the Usher Hall. I was instrumental in choosing Moira Shearer as the presenter; we had a short list and I pushed for her. I remember going to see her, and she was kind of reluctant at first, as she had never done anything like it before, but she was a lovely lady and brought an elegance and class to it, and she could speak enough French.
I really enjoyed the whole experience. It was so wonderful being up in Scotland. It was the only time that I had spent a great deal of time there, and I really liked it. I was surrounded by musicians, a great team, people from other countries who have stayed good friends and contacts, and it was great to be part of such an event."
Rehearsals commenced with the artists on Wednesday 22nd of March, with each country having an initial 50 minute rehearsal with the 44 piece orchestra.

Have a look at our 1972 behind-the-scenes gallery

Eurovision 1972 behind-the-scenes

Check out the Full gallery

The Participants

1. Germany: Nur Die Liebe Läßt Uns Leben sung by Mary Roos
2. France: Comé-Comédie sung by Betty Mars
3. Ireland: Ceol An Ghrá sung by Sandie Jones
4. Spain: Amanece sung by Jaime Morey
5. United Kingdom: Beg, Steal Or Borrow sung by The New Seekers
6. Norway: Småting sung by Grethe Kausland & Benny Borg
7. Portugal: A Festa Da Vida sung by Carlos Mendes
8. Switzerland: C'est La Chanson De Mon Amour sung by Véronique Müller
9. Malta: L-Imħabba sung by Helen & Joseph
10. Finland: Muistathan sung by Päivi Paunu & Kim Floor
11. Austria: Falter Im Wind sung by Milestones
12. Italy: I Giorni Dell'arcobaleno sung by Nicola di Bari
13. Yugoslavia: Muzika I Ti sung by Tereza Kesovija
14. Sweden: Härliga Sommardag sung by Family Four
15. Monaco: Comme On S'aime sung by Anne-Marie Godart & Peter MacLane
16. Belgium: À La Folie Ou Pas Du Tout sung by Serge & Christine Ghisoland
17. Luxembourg: Après Toi sung by Vicky Leandros
18. Netherlands: Als Het Om De Liefde Gaat sung by Sandra & Andres

Several artists had participated in the contest before, apart from the eventual winner, Vicky Leandros (see below), there was Tereza Kesovija who had sung for Monaco in1966, Carlos Mendes for Portugal Portugal in 1968 and Sweden's Family Four were representing their country for the second year in succession.

The Voting

Each country had two jury members, one aged between 16 and 25 and one aged between 26 and 55. They each awarded 1 to 5 points for each song, other than the song of their own country. They cast their votes immediately after each song was performed and the votes were then collected and counted. They voted in blocks of three countries at a time in each round of voting, therefore making six rounds of voting in total. For full details of the scoreboard see our History page for 1972.
Luxembourg took the lead in the very first round of and retained it throughout the voting, with only the Netherlands coming close to challenging them after the second round of voting when they came within a point of the leaders.
The winning score of 128 points was identical to that achieved by Monaco in the 1971 contest, with the United Kingdom once again finishing in its customary second place, with The New Seekers and Beg, Steal Or Borrow, which became a huge hit for the group, reaching number two in the UK charts.

Watch The New Seekers

About the winner

Vicky Leandros was born in 1949 on the island of Corfu in Greece, into a musical family. Her father Leo Leandros was already an established artist and composer. Vicky grew up in Germany and started singing at a young age, releasing her first single in 1965.
In 1967, Vicky represented Luxembourg in Vienna with the song, L'amour Est Bleu, which came 4th. It was a however, a huge hit all over world and has been covered by many artists.
Vicky continued to release singles and appeared on a number of TV shows, including hosting a show on the BBC in the UK called Music My Way, before once again representing Luxembourg in 1972 with the song Après Toi which was a huge hit for Vicky and in total she recorded seven different language versions for the worldwide market, and the song sold six million copies and it helped pave the way for a long career, which saw her have success in Europe, Canada, the USA and Japan in particular.
Throughout the 80s and 90s Vicky's success continued, and she notably recorded the German version of the Titanic sound track, My Heart Will Go On in the late 90s.
Most recently, Vicky was elected councillor in the town of Piraeus in Greece and subsequently became the deputy mayor. She resigned from this position in 2008. Her career as a singer has also continued, releasing her own material and taking part in the 2006 German final with the song, Don't Break My Heart. She continues to record and perform all over Europe.

Did you know?

• The interval act wasn't specially filmed for the contest. It was stock footage taken from the Edinburgh Military Tattoo shot in 1968.
• 1971 winner Séverine is infamously seen glancing down at her watch before the entry of Monaco. However it was in the camera script that they would cut to her at this point.
• Claude Lombard who represented Belgium in the 1968 contest is listed as one of the backing vocalists for the Belgian entry À La Folie Ou Pas Du Tout.
• Luxembourg and Germany shared the same five backing vocalists.
• The contest was broadcast in 28 countries.
• The BBC spent £81,000 on the contest.

Many thanks to The Scotsman Publications Ltd for their assistance and allowing us to include the behind-the-scenes photos from the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest in this article.

Who was your favourite in the 1972 contest?

Recalling the Copenhagen contest of 50 years ago

Gigliola Cinquetti: Winner of the 1964 contest

Published1 week ago

Copenhagen, Denmark - Many visitors to this site will recall the last time Copenhagen staged the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 in the huge Parken Stadium. However fewer will recall the first time that Denmark hosted the contest, way back on the 21st of March, 1964. Today we call the 50th anniversary of that contest.

Background

As winners of the 1963 event, with the song Dansevise sung by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, Danish broadcaster DR had the task of organising the 1964 contest.
They chose the Concert Hall in the Tivoli Gardens in the centre of Copenhagen as the venue, which could seat an audience of around 1600.
There were some changes to the line-up. from the previous year, Portugal made their debut, though Sweden were obliged to withdraw, due to a strike by their Musicians Union. This left the the total number of entrants at 16. The total audience was expected to be around 100 million viewers.
Rehearsals commenced on Wednesday the 18th of March, with the artists being accompanied by the 42 piece Grand Prix Orchestra, with Kai Mortensen as the Musical Director.
The programme was presented by Lotte Wæver, and was around 96 minutes in duration.

The Participants

1. Luxembourg: Dès Que Le Printemps Revient sung by Hugues Aufray
2. Netherlands:Jij Bent Mijn Leven sung by Anneke Grönloh
3. Norway: Spiral sung by Arne Bendiksen
4. Denmark: Sangen Om Dig sung by Bjørn Tidmand
5. Finland: Laiskotellen sung by Lasse Mårtenson
6. Austria: Warum, Nur, Warum sung by Udo Jürgens
7. France: Le Chant De Mallory sung by Rachel
8. United Kingdom: I Love The Little Things sung by Matt Monro
9. Germany: Man Gewöhnt Sich So Schnell An Das Schöne sung by Nora Nova
10. Monaco: Où Sont-elles Passées? sung by Romuald
11. Portugal: Oração sung by António Calvário
12. Italy: Non Ho L'étà sung by Gigliola Cinquetti
13. Yugoslavia: Zivot, Je Sklopio Krug sung by Sabahudin Kurt
14. Switzerland: I Miei Pensieri sung by Anita Traversi
15. Belgium: Près De Ma Rivière sung by Robert Cogoi
16. Spain: Caracola sung by Nelly, Tim and Tony

For two of the artists, this was the first of their three appearances in the contest. Udo Jürgens for Austria would represent his country again in 1965, and most notably in 1966 when he won the contest with the song Merci Chérie. Romuald would return to represent Luxembourg in 1969, and in 1974 he once again represented Monaco, where he gained a respectable fourth place with Celui Qui Reste Et Celui Qui S'en Va.

Stage Protest

Following the performance by the Swiss entrant, a protestor rushed on stage holding a banner that said 'Boycott Franco and Salazar' (the dictators who were in power in Spain and Portugal). He was quickly removed, as cameras cut to a shot of the scoreboard.

The Voting

For the third year in a row a new voting system was introduced, this one would last slightly longer than the previous systems and remained in force until 1966.
Each country had 10 jury members who distributed three points among their one, two, or three favourite songs. The points were added and the first, second, and third placed songs were awarded 5, 3, and 1 votes in order. [If only one song got every point within the jury it would get all 9 points. If only two songs were chosen, the songs would get 6 and 3 points in order].
You can see the breakdown of the voting in the History page for 1964 on our site. The countries voted in that of performance order.
It was somewhat of a runaway victory for Italy, taking the lead in the very first round and never looked in doubt, gaining almost three times the number of votes as the runner up from the United Kingdom.

Watch the 1964 winner

About the winner

Gigliola Cinquetti was born on the 20th December, 1947 in Verona. Aged just sixteen, she won the San Remo Festival in 1964 with Non Ho L'età which provided her the opportunity to present the song to a wider audience in Europe's Favourite TV show. The song went onto become a big international hit.
She went onto win the San Remo Festival again in 1966 with Dio Come Ti Amo, although this time it was the composer Domenico Modugno who took the song onto the Eurovision Song Contest, with a less successful outcome, when he finished in joint last place.
Gigliola Cinquetti returned to the contest in 1974, when she finished second with the song Si, which also went onto become a big international hit. Her last association to date with the contest was in 1991 when she co-presented the contest, along with Toto Cutugno, when it was staged in Rome.
She became a professional journalist, and works in presenting current affair programmes.

Did you know?

• The winning song reached the top 20 in the charts of Italy, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Norway.
• Cinquetti also recorded the song in English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese.
• The 1964 contest is one of two contests that is no longer known to exist in any television archive (the other being the inaugural event in 1956).
• Some newsreel footage exists of the winning performance by Gigliola Cinquetti, along with a few brief broadcast clips, including some from the opening minutes.

What was your favourite song from the 1964 contest?

Looking back to just like it was in 1957

Corry Brokken winner of the 1957 contest.

 

Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany - While fans today have still about two months to wait for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest - back in 1957 on Sunday the 3rd of March, tonight was the big night for audiences across western Europe to tune into their black and white television sets and watch the second ever edition of the contest. Incidentally the earliest it has taken place in the calendar year. Let's have a look back to see what they saw that evening.

Background

Just over nine months had elapsed since the inaugral edition of the contest had taken place in May, 1956; but in that time there were several changes made to the format of the programme.
The first was that each country would participate with just one song each; with Denmark, Austria and the United Kingdom joining the seven countries who had participated in the first event.
In the early years it was decided that each year a different broadcaster would take on the task of organising the contest, and it was the German broadcaster HR (Hessicher Rundfunk), who were selected to host it on behalf of ARD.
The other major change was the introduction of the scoreboard, so that viewers could follow the voting process. This had come about after the EBU had viewed a telerecording of the fifth heat of the Festival of British Popular Songs, that has been broadcast in the UK on the 27th August, 1956. Impressed by the format of contacting regional juries and showing their points on a scoreboard, the format was adapted for the Eurovision contest. Though in these early editions of the contest it was the song title that would appear on the board, rather than the name of the country.
The British heat had also included the London spokesperson delivering the results of their jury in vision, and with the exception of the 1971-1973 period when the juries were present in the host city, it took until 1994 before the jury spokespersons were seen on screen in the Eurovision Song Contest!

The Contest

The venue was the Großer Sendesaal des Hessichen Rundfunks in Frankfurt-on-Main that was used to stage the contest. There was an audience of just around 400 in the hall. The programme was introduced by Anaïd Iplicjian, who has the distinction of being the first female presenter to take on the role. The entire show lasted little more than an hour.

The Participants

1. Belgium: Straatdeunje sung by Bobbejann Schoepen
2. Luxembourg: Amours Mortes (Tante De Peine) sung by Danièle Dupré
3. United Kingdom: All sung by Patricia Bredin
4. Italy: Corde Della Mia Chitarra sung by Nunzio Gallo
5. Austria: Wohin Kleines Pony sung by Bob Martin
6. Netherlands: Net Als Toen sung by Corry Brokken (with violinist Sem Nijveen)
7. Germany: Telefon, Telefon sung by Margot Hielscher
8. France: La Belle Amour sung by Paule Desjardins
9. Denmark: Skibet Skal Sejle I Nat sung by Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler
10. Switzerland: L'enfant Que J'etais sung by Lys Assia

The Swiss entrant Lys Assia had won the 1956 contest with Refrain, In 2011 we took the opportunity to interview Lys Assia about those early contests.

 

The Voting

There were ten people on each national jury, who could each award one vote to his or her favourite song. They could not vote for their own country and no abstentions were allowed. You can see the breakdown of the voting in the History page for 1957 on our site. The countries voted in reverse order to that of performance order, ie starting with Switzerland. The Netherlands took the lead in the very first round and never looked seriously challenged for the title. They also managed to pick up votes from every country.

Did you know?

• The Italian entry was 5'09" in duration. This led to the introduction of the three minute maximum duration. (Although many songs over the years have actually gone over this limit, but none have ever been disqualified).
• Something else that went somewhat over the limit was the duration of the kiss at the end of the performance by the two Danish artists - Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler.
• Several of the artists returned to the contest. In 1958 Corry Brokken, Margot Hielscher and Lys Assia all came back for a further attempt, whilst Birthe Wilke once again made a bid for the title in 1959.
• Although the Dutch were the winners of the 1957 contest, they were not the automatic hosts of the 1958 contest. They only became the hosts when another broadcaster declined the opportunity to organise the 1958 event.
• The 1957 contest is the earliest edition that survives in full in the archives.
• That staple ingredient of the contest - a prop - made one of it's earliest appearances - with Margot Hielscher appropriately performing her song Telefon, Telefon with a telephone in her hands. [At least Bob Martin for Austria didn't appear with a pony on stage!]

About the winner

The winning song Net Als Toen, (or Just Like Then translated into English) was also recorded by Corry Brokken in French as Tout Comme Avant and in German as Damals War Alles So Schön.
Corry Brokken went onto release a number of records, and scored a big hit in 1960 with her version of Milord, reaching the top of the Dutch charts. In 1976, Brokken was the presenter of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in The Hague, thus becoming the first former artist and winner to take on the role,
Her musical career ended at this time when she decided to study law and become a judge. However, in 1996 she made a comeback releasing a mixture of old and new material. In 2000 she released a book entitled Wat mij betrefd which was a big success. Most recently she has appeared on various TV shows as a guest and released a second biography in 2009 entitled, Encore.

Which entry was your favourite from 1957?

Eurovision in Concert with the rhythm of Frizzle Sizzle

Frizzle Sizzle - Dutch entrants in the 1986 contest

 

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Dutch girl band Frizzle Sizzle will make a one-off comeback this year at Eurovision in Concert; the annual Eurovision promotional event which takes place this year on April 5th in Amsterdam. The four Dutch girls represented the Netherlands in the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 13th with their entry Alles Heeft Ritme (Everything Has A Rhythm) . The band gained huge popularity in their home country at the time, but the girls decided to split up in 1989. Now, 28 years on from their contest appearance they will hit the stage as this year’s special guests.

Once again, the Dutch capital of Amsterdam will be the host city for Eurovision in Concert. Several 2014 Eurovision hopefuls will take the opportunity to get familiar with the Eurovision spirit, prior to the real thing in May. In a relatively short time, the event has become a landmark in many agendas; of both fans and artists. All previous editions were sell outs.
Last year, no less than 25 countries had their entrants perform at the concert, as well as special guest, 1991 winner, Carola Häggkvist. The artists get to meet their competitors, they can get used to giving interviews and most of all: they get to meet the most dedicated Eurovision fans from all over Europe.

First three acts confirmed

In the meantime, the first three acts have been announced by the organisation: Hersi Matmuja (Albania), Valentina Monetta (San Marino) and Conchita Wurst (Austria) have confirmed their participation. More acts will be announced in the upcoming weeks. This year’s hosts will be the three time Dutch Eurovision representative Sandra Reemer (1972, 1976 and 1979) and Cornald Maas, the Dutch commentator in the Eurovision Song Contest.
For more information and tickets: www.eurovisioninconcert.nl

Who do you want to see at Eurovision In Concert?