Runner-up: United Kingdom 1972

I mentioned it so many times already during this series of the runners-up of Eurovision but here goes again. Isn't it fascinating how the Home Country of european entertainment so often managed to send their starlets off to Eurovision with songs they dislike and normally would never want to associate themselves with?

Perhaps there was a clash between the pop status of the chosen performers and the family friendly air the BBC wanted their national final to have, what do I know?

What I do know is that few performers fared as well with the songs selected for their national final as did The New Seekers. They were a highly popular act whose usual output would fit right into the BBC's idea of a dream entry and they gladly sang their little hearts out in Edinburgh, offering a song they genuinely seemed to like and felt they could embrace.

Mary Hopkin did not feel the same way. Neither did Clodagh Rodgers. Nor Lulu. Nor Olivia Newton-John. And the list goes on.

A deserved 2nd place?
Yes. A given hit at the time and a timeless classic today, but nowhere near as massive as Vicky Leandros' winning song. Giving your performer a song they enjoy singing isn't such a daft idea after all, it seems.



The New Seekers - Beg, Steal or Borrow (United Kingdom 1972) 

Nobody's favourite but mine, part 5

While making this series it seems one country pops up more often than most and that is Austria. I would perhaps not go as far as naming them my favourite country in Eurovision but few others have done so much for the diversity of the contest and few others have been so constantly ignored or misunderstood as the Austrians.

I often find myself liking Austrian entries more than most people do - at least judging from the not always too impressive scores they gather during the voting sequences - so because of that and in honour of their magnificent Conchita Wurst, who takes to the stage tonight, this is a special edition focusing fully on Austrian entries. And I had to make them ten instead of five…



The Milestones - Falter im Wind (Austria 1972)

So let's start from the top with my all time favourite Austrian entry. The Milestones were the second pop group ever to enter the eurovision stage and added an interesting touch to a contest formerly reserved for solo singers or love duets. The song is also highly personable with a long melodic build-up - and a hook that is played on a flute rather than sung - and when the chorus finally kicks in it is short and snappy and a surprisingly fulfilling climax. Douze points at any given time.



Karel Gott - Tausend Fenster (Austria 1968)

Austria was never afraid to speak their minds or make statements in this apolitical song contest and already in early 1968 they decided to lend their spotlight to neighbour country Czechoslovakia and the slowly nascent Prague spring. Winner Udo Jürgens composed an urban lament, about the loneliness of modern man, for Czechoslovakia's own Sinatra Karel Gott. For some reason, he only scored two points and Udo Jürgens famously stormed out of the green room mid-voting.



The Rounder Girls - All For You (Austria 2000)

ORF in Vienna were never afraid to make statements about Austrian matters either. At least that must have been one of the contributing factors that they chose - at the height of the controversies surrounding Jörg Haider, giving Austria a bad name around Europe - these soul babes to represent them in Stockholm. Unfortunately they didn't quite nail the live performance in the end but this is such a lively, happy and bouncy number all the same.



Westend - Hurricane (Austria 1983)

Austrians can't just yodel, they can also dress in red and yellow and dance in a group. Most of the Westend members - with the notable exception of Gary Lux - aren't really all that impressive singers but do parts nicely and with the aid of that dancing girl they manage to work up quite a storm before the song is over. This one was always one of my big favourites from 1983. Catchy and fun.



Marianne Mendt - Musik (Austria 1971)

If the host broadcaster went through all that trouble to assemble an orchestra for the occasion you could just as well use it to the fullest. I doubt there is a single instrument that isn't put to use in this massive arrangement and Marianne can't be accused of holding back her vocal abilities either. Extra plus for singing in dialect, that always goes down well at Eurovision. Well, it doesn't but it should.



Schmetterlinge - Boom Boom Boomerang (Austria 1977)

There just is no way around this one. Deeply political and deeply engaged and still devilishly entertaining. I doubt no protest song was ever as fun as this one, virtually mocking the record industry in general and the Eurovision Song Contest in particular. The group also scared the living daylights out of the BBC producers as they had interrupted a live show on Austrian television the week before the London final and made a political statement instead of singing. Being part of both this as well as The Milestones also qualifies Beatrix Neundlinger as a Eurovision Goddess in my book.



Wilfried - Lisa Mona Lisa (Austria 1988)

People I know, good friends of mine, would argue this is the archetype of a nul-pointer, that it has every ingredient of a perfect recipe for disaster. I see what they mean but I must disagree. Perhaps this one would have been better off performed by someone else, but I find a depth and an emotion here. Something the juries apparently didn't. Blaming the defeat on politics was not a brilliant move either, but Wilfried is hardly the only zero-scorer to mess up like that.



Bettina Soriat - One Step (Austria 1997)

At first I must admit to finding this pretty hopeless and doomed but at some point I took a long hard look at the live performance and realised what a professional that Soriat woman is. The amount of punch and energy she manages to squeeze into these three minutes is truly impressive.



Blue Danube - Du bist Musik (Austria 1980)

Austrian television was never afraid to be deadly serious and send in poignant entries that actually mean something. But then they could get really tired of that and go for something like this instead: a big fluffy piece of nonsense with five people randomly namedropping famous composers and musical terminology all over the place just to make sure that somebody somewhere understands something. It is perfectly ridiculous but also really rather catchy. Group member Marty Brem would be back again already the next year with the sweet but confusingly staged Wenn Du da bist, featured already in Part 3 of this series.



Anita - Einfach weg (Austria 1984)

This could be a crash course in how to take a perfectly good song, rip it to shreds and crush every single chance it might have had of impressing anyone. If you just listen to it with your eyes closed you'll hear what a good song it is. Then you open your eyes to find that the woman who sings about being strong and independent and gone before you know it is a polite little flower in a pink dress, a sweet hairdo and not a drop of attitude anywhere. Add the dance orchestra background musicians and the stiff backing vocalists - again Gary Lux, not at his finest hour - and your song is doomed. Despite a very clear last place - 21 points behind Yugoslavia placed second last - it was a big hit on home ground and is still seen as a bit of a classic. Made for radio, so to speak.

Nobody's favourite but mine, part 4

Are you ready, folks? Here comes a fourth selection of songs I really liked through the years even though I have a nagging feeling I could be the only one. The former three episodes suggest that I am not alone at all, which leads me nicely onto the first song of the bunch.



Patricia Kraus - No estás solo (Spain 1987)

I never understood why anyone wouldn't like this one. It's original, energetic and pretty modern for it's time, and Patricia could be one of the coolest females ever. She is wearing a leather corset and enough rouge to suggest that she fell headlong onto the makeup-table only seconds before she had to enter the stage, still manage to look like that is the most natural thing ever.

It does take forever until she gets to a chorus but that's not the end of the world, is it? Clearly worth more than the ten points it had to content itself with.



Helen & Joseph - L-Imhabba (Malta 1972)

Malta had a tough start in Eurovision - for their first two entries they sang in their native tongue and ended in last place on both occasions. I can sort of see what the juries meant in 1971 but this adorable little gem would have deserved to be showered in points. The line where they sing about freaks, Hell's Angels and hippies is worth a top ten placing alone. Not to mention the more than impressive body language of the conductor during the instrumental break. And extra points for fashion, of course.



Park Café - Monsieur (Luxembourg 1989)

For the last few years that Luxembourg were in the contest they more seldom commissioned potential hit songs from French record labels - or did nobody want to provide them anymore? - and turned to local talent instead, mostly with pretty moderate success. Park Café entered something as unusual as a song inspired by a recent hit movie - "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" - and provided a far more jazz inspired sound than the audience was used to and the juries remained largely unimpressed.



Telex - Eurovision (Belgium 1980)

Belgium is clearly one of those nutty countries that you just don't know what to expect from. When you least expect it they will do something really crazy and unexpected and most of Europe will sit there with their jaws hanging between their legs, not knowing what hit them.

For some reason, synthesiser pioneers Telex - Belgium's own Kraftwerk but with a sense of humour - decide to throw themselves into competition with a song about the contest in question and a pronounced desire not to be understood and go through the voting without a single point. The stunt failed, the Belgians managed to collect a minor number of points and even avoided the last place, and the trio managed to thoroughly confuse their own fans in the process. What remains is a cute little masterpiece that is sure to make you smile. And when you're done smiling, check out their cover versions of Ça plane pour moi, Twist à Saint-Tropez or Rock Around The Clock. Genius!



Mrs Einstein - Niemand heeft nog tijd (Netherlands 1997)

When Dutch tv selected these feisty females internally they were presented like a group that were sure to rock the boat in a big way in Dublin. They sort of did. Not only were they nicknamed "Old Spice" - which I think was pretty witty - but most people wouldn't believe their ears. A full-tempo rip-off of Paul McCartney's Bond theme Live And Let Die that would leave people out of breath as well as in serious doubt of what the Dutch were thinking.

Only I really, really like it. I think it is fun and energetic and far superior to most entries the Dutch sent in during those eight long years they constantly failed to qualify. Old Spice for the win!

Fingers crossed for Malta tonight!

While Sweden is kick-starting their season with the first of six weeks of Melodifestivalen mania, Malta is about to select their 25th entry for Eurovision.

It has to be said: for a country their size, Malta has been mindblowingly successful at the ESC. Twice runner-up, twice heartbreakingly close to winning the whole shebang.

Lately, perhaps, the Maltese have not been quite up to standard. Since Chiara's second place in Kyiv 2005, the island nation has only twice been present in the final, on both occasions ending among the last.

There is a reason to this, however. Maltese composers have not been really careful about their craft and often settled for unpolished and under-developed song constructions, relying on simple hooks or gimmicks.

In the 90's, when Malta often belonged to the group of favourites, they often entered strong songs with insufficient performances. Lately it has been the reverse: good performers have been sent to the European stage with dismal songs and weak choruses.

So far, I am yet to hear a single entry in this year's Maltese line-up, but I hope they will run with a quality song rather than a cheerful performance or a fun gimmick.

We'd all love to spend a week in the sun in May 2013, so gives us your best shot. Fingers crossed.



Helen & Joseph - L-Imhabba (Malta 1972)

Tobson's winners: 1971 - 1975

After the fiasco in Madrid, where four countries shared the top spot, the EBU spent the following five years trying to figure out a system that would make such a situation easier to avoid in the future.

The introduction of expert jurors, two from each participating country, was maybe not the smartest of ideas in retrospect, for a multitude of reasons, but at least they managed to select the right winner, at least in my opinion, every year they were in function.

And since these three winners were also to be found in my favourite winners ever blog post , you won't be in for many surprises in this section.

1971 - Monaco



Séverine - Un banc, un arbre, une rue (Monaco 1971)

Also 1971 sees a fair share of good songs, but none that can compete with this epic bittersweet classic. Séverine gives the performance of a lifetime and got a pretty successful career in Germany in return.

This was a commercially successful entry all over the continent that everyone could be happy with. Everyone but the people at monegasque television, who (probably after some serious panicking) turned down the offer to host next year's competition.

Real winner:
Séverine - Un banc, un arbre, une rue (Monaco)


1972 - Luxembourg



Vicky Leandros - Après toi (Luxembourg 1972)

Another almost mythical Eurovision winner, who managed to beat the "unbeatable" New Seekers by rather a margin in the end.

Also 1972 has a couple of real gems (Germany's Mary Roos, Portugal's Carlos Mendes and Austria's Milestones - all fantastic songs), but there is no way around an entry like "Après toi".

Rumour had it at the time that German television had rejected it from its national final and only then was it translated into French and selected by Luxembourg, a rumour strongly denied by Vicky herself.

Germany would have looked a bit silly rejecting a song like this and - let's face it - it would never have won in its German version. It somehow needs the darkness in the French version for the drama to blossom like it should.

And blossom it does.

Real winner:
Vicky Leandros - Après toi (Luxembourg)


1973 - Luxembourg



Anne-Marie David - Tu te reconnaîtras (Luxembourg 1973)

For the third year running, I agree with the expert juries. Does that mean I am a snob, liking the same thing experts like? Perhaps.

But also, these three years have winners that are easy to identify. Because they are fantastic songs.

Israel's Ilanit is almost as good as this one. Almost, almost. But for me, this is the one winning song that blows all the others off the tree.

Anne-Marie David for president!

Real winner:
Anne-Marie David - Tu te reconnaîtras (Luxembourg)


1974 - Italy



Gigliola Cinquetti - Si (Italy 1974)

In all fairness, Non ho l'età is quite a good little song, but this is Gigliola's real moment in the sun. This is where she gets to shine and show just how good a performer she is.

This was also quite a risky choice for Eurovision as it really is too sophisticated, too soft, too slow. For Brighton, they had to shorten the first verse and they also performed the song at a slightly higher pace than on record.

This is an almost hypnotic little song, very classy and very engaging. Lucky break it didn't win, as that could have put Abba's career at risk, but this is clearly the moral winner of the year.

Real winner:
Abba - Waterloo (Sweden)


1975 - Italy



Wess & Dori Ghezzi - Era (Italy 1975)

It is a surprising fact that Italian television, who doesn't give a toss about the ESC, have come up with so many brilliant entries through the years.

It could even be that it is because of this fact, not in spite of it. Since ESC was never a big deal in Italy, their stars could go there without fear of wrecking their careers, and they never felt the pressure to fit in with typical eurosongs.

This is also a surprisingly juicy number, soulful and passionate, and not at all as well-mannered as most eurovision entries were at the time. Wess & Dori complement each other very well.

And even if the pace is - again - slightly faster compared to the record version, making the live version lack a bit in dynamic, the orchestra is up to scratch and carries this song nicely.

Real winner:
Teach-In - Ding A Dong (Netherlands)

The five best winners ever... according to Tobson

For the people who know me, it will come as no surprise that I am hopelessly down with old, bombastic and dramatic eurosongs in French. And when I compile my all-time top five of winners, that the French dominate completely.

The most surprising and unpredictable thing about my list is that it includes six songs, not five. Silly, I know. But these six songs are so clearly above the rest of the winners in my list, it would be blasphemous not to include them all.

Sixth place:



Corinne Hermès - Si la vie est cadeau (Luxembourg 1983)

Wonderfully breezy, airy big ballad - the last winner representing this genre - in a great vocal delivery by Corinne Hermès. It wasn't a huge commercial success at the time and is a bit forgotten among winners these days. Which is ridiculous. Fantastic stuff!

Fifth place:



Séverine - Un banc, un arbre, une rue (Monaco 1971)

This is such a fantastic evergreen - a mega hit at the time, translated into most languages. In Finland, for instance, I'm sure more people think of this as a Finnish song rather than an ESC winner because the domestic version was so popular. Classic but not dated.

Fourth place:



Marie Myriam - L'oiseau et l'enfant (France 1977)

This could be a bit old-fashioned in the sense that it keeps growing on me and the older we both get, the more I love it. In my eyes, it keep unfolding and growing intro something bigger, better and more beautiful every time. Also this one made it big in various versions around the continent, and maybe nothing can be better praise than people thinking your song is their own.

Third place:



France Gall - Poupée de cire, poupée de son (Luxembourg 1965)

It is beyond me how a song written in 1965 can still sound so modern and up-to-date as this one. Shockingly modern at its time and the first song with a pop sound ever to win the ESC. Do not think we are not grateful! France herself has had a bit of a problem accepting this older part of her career, but I hope she also recognises what a fantastic song this is. The ever-growing number of cover versions of it just underlines how indestructible this masterpiece is. If you want to see the performance from Naples (impossible to imbed for some reason) it can be found here .

Second place:



Vicky Leandros - Après toi (Luxembourg 1972)

When the sun sets in Euroland, it is never to rise again. When the heart is broken, no glue can put the pieces back together. The emotion of this song is strong enough to knock down an elephant, and the performance by Vicky is almost frighteningly spot on. Surprisingly, and disappointingly, it works very badly in its English and German versions, where some silly lyricist made happy, cheerful lyrics for it. How do you ever come up with such a bad idea, when it is so clearly a song about heartbreak?

Number one:



Anne-Marie David - Tu te reconnaîtras (Luxembourg 1973)

What can I say? Every time I hear it, I am surprised at just how good it is. The powerful intro, the fantastic verse, the explosive chorus... And then the marvel of the piano bridge between the chorus back to the verse. I am totally blown away. Both by the song and by Anne-Marie. The best winner ever in my book, and very likely to stay at that number one spot for a long time to come.

Out of these six, all but one is produced in France ("Après toi" is a German production), and all of them won before I became an active follower of Eurovision.

Maybe I am a bit hard on the newer songs - there are many brilliant winners after 1983 as well - but they don't have the same magic and shine about them.

What are your favourite winners? Let me know by leaving a comment!

Songs only I like: Belgium 1972

How about a little waltz in French? About how you should fall madly in love before you know what love is at all? No? You don't feel like dancing at all?

Apparently, the jury in Edinburgh 1972 had forgotten their dancing shoes at home, since this little ditty (the word "ditty" is seldom more suitable for a song than it is in this case) had no impact at all on them and ended second last out of eighteen entries.



Serge & Christine Ghisoland - À la folie ou pas du tout (Belgium 1972)

The Ghisoland couple, both born in 1946, were fairly recently married when they entered the stage and I find them a very charming couple. They look like they really enjoy themselves and each other's company. When he starts picking petals of her hand, she gives him the kind of amused look only lovers can give their partner when he/she does something really ridiculous.

There is a certain discrete charm and catchiness about this entire package and it puts me in a very good mood. I hope the Ghisolands stayed happy ever after and kept giving each other amused looks even as their singing career failed to take off.

Again, I will believe I am the only one who likes this until your comments prove me wrong.

Cindy Berger is a winner

Cindy Berger formed the successful schlager duo Cindy & Bert with her then partner, and together they released quite a few albums and singles throughout the 70's. In 1974, they represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton. They only scored a humble three points and shared last place with Switzerland, Norway and Portugal.



Cindy & Bert - Die Sommermelodie (Germany 1974)

If that is all you know about Cindy Berger, then you missed out quite a bit. She had the bad luck of being sent to the ESC with a song that was perhaps not really bad, but also a far cry from having winner potential.

In 1972, however, Cindy & Bert came a very close second in the German national final in Berlin with a masterpiece of a song, that would perhaps have been a bit too raw and soulful for Edinburgh but which has become an evergreen on home ground.



Cindy & Bert - Geh' die Strasse (Germany NF 1972)

Cindy & Bert continued to sing together, they even entered a few more German finals, before splitting up both professionally and privately.

Cindy made a comeback to the German final as a solo singer in 1988 with another intense performance, again ending in second place.



Cindy Berger - Und leben will ich auch (Germany NF 1988)

There is no doubt in my mind that Cindy would have made far more of an impression in Dublin than the mother/daughter-act that pipped her at the post.

A fine performer who would have deserved a real occasion to prove herself at the ESC.

Rise and shine, sleepy head!

These days, every time I hear this song I think it is morning and I have to get out of bed. It has a very vivid, captivating and energetic intro. Perfect to act as alarm call in the morning.



The Milestones - Falter im Wind (Austria 1972)

Not only is this song responsible for waking me properly every morning and make sure I don't oversleep appointments and meetings. It is also, according to me, the best entry Austria ever sent to Eurovision.

It is a very complex and sophisticated composition, very laid back and with a distinct hippie/flower power flavour which was a fresh approach back in the early 70's.

It is also unusual in the sense that its chorus is rather brief and only comes back twice. Instead the hook is included in the arrangement: in the very present acoustic guitars and, above all, in the flute break.

The trick paid off and the juries awarded the Austrians with a fifth place in Edinburgh. ORF didn't care - they had already decided in advance to drop out of the ESC, regardless of the outcome.

It wasn't the first time, and, as you all know, it wasn't the last either.



The Milstones - Falter im Wind (Funky preview clip!)