In a parallel universe, had everything gone according to plan, Germany would have won the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest with its very contemporary disco sound, effective chorus and flawless performance. Then the BBC technicians went on strike and ruined the whole thing.
It had never happened before and it has not happened again that the ESC was postponed, but the initially scheduled London final had to be pushed back five weeks from April 2 to May 7.
In the world of disco, five weeks equalled half a dozen light years. Silver Convention's hit was timed perfectly to co-incide with the final and to sound as fresh and exciting as only possibly, but was already growing off people when the juries finally sat down to vote.
The world had moved on to other disco songs (and there were plenty of them around at this time) so the glitzy trio had to content themselves with a pale and disappointing eight place.
Unlike most of the disco songs of the era, however, "Telegram" was not going to vanish. It has eaten its way into the eurovision history books as possibly the best disco track ever ignored by the juries, complete with a choreography that anyone can have a stab at on any old dance floor.
Silver Convention - Telegram (Germany 1977)
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