For me, the 1979 entry from Belgium is a real little gem, but the juries didn't agree with me. Neither did the performer of the song, who actually hated it.
Micha Marah - Hey Nanah! (Belgium 1979)
When Micha Marah was selected to perform all songs in the Belgian final, she was also given quite a lot of influence over the songs selected. A bit too much, thought members on the jury, who on purpose dressed her up with the song she liked the least.
That's not the way to play the game if you want to win, but that is what happened. Micha was furious and threatened to withdraw, then BRT in turn threatened to bring her to court for breach of contract.
So she went to Jerusalm, put on her bravest smile, belted out the song, landed in shared place with Austria and was happier with this than most people in last place. She never recorded the song and probably focused on leaving the whole matter as far behind her as she possibly could.
Which is a shame. To me, this is a very cheerful little number: upbeat, energetic, somewhat silly but in a good way. I think the last place was really undeserved and would have placed it somewhere around the middle instead. At least it should have scored better than the likes of Monaco and Ireland.
Do you agree? I'm waiting for your comments.
I'm with you, again. I loved this song then and I still do. The dutch language and great arrangement (which was nowehere to be heard in the recorded version by the composer) crowns this performance.
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