Tobson takes on 1979

Being a eurovision host could be demanding back in the day. Israeli television had not yet switched to colour - and was reluctant to do so for political reasons - but were now required to produce a state-of-the-art tv event in full colour.

Which they did quite splendidly. The stage set was minimalist yet very impressive and the postcards between the songs - where actors carried out mime performances to evoke something typical about the upcoming country - were seen as very ingenious.

The big question mark for me is of course how the Turkish entry would have scored had TRT not decided to pull out of the competition at a late date. My guess is it would have stayed in the lower regions of the result, but you can never be too sure about anything.

The general standard of songs is high, which makes this ranking hard. Many songs I like will still end up lower than expected in this list, often marred by substandard performances.

19. Monaco - Laurent Vaguener / Notre vie c'est la musique
A very easy last place to spot. If this was the best thing Monaco could find, I'm not surprised to see them drop out of the contest for the following 25 years. A really weak rocker paired with an out-of-breath performance from a singer that can't sing. Vaguener later said the entire entry was a disaster and I can only nod my head and agree. One of the worst ever.
Grade: 0/5

18. United Kingdom - Black Lace / Mary-Ann
AllMusic called Black Lace the band with the least street credibility in the world and I won't argue with that description. Five years before inflicting "Agadoo" on the world, they did their worst to look and sound like Smokie, in particular like their hit single "Oh Carol". Not much by any standard.
Grade: 1/5

17. Ireland - Cathal Dunne / Happy Man
Very much your typical Irish entry - a soft and harmless male ballad. Pleasant. Won't disturb you. Doesn't hurt. But doesn't contribute a whole lot to the world either.
Grade: 1/5

16. Switzerland - Peter, Sue & Marc with Pfuri, Gorps & Kniri / Trödler und co
Possibly the longest group name in the history of the contest. This is a cheerful and upbeat little song with a silly but likeable performance. Nice but not enough to stand a chance in this lineup.
Grade: 2/5

15. Luxembourg - Jeane Manson / J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux
An almost perfect attempt at a glamorous, expensive and luxurious soul ballad - the only problem is that it never fully takes off. Later it transpired the song had been released on record already back in 1967 with different lyrics and would most probably have been disqualified had it won.
Grade: 2/5

14. Israel - Milk & Honey / Hallelujah
The ultimate proof that some songs just won't stand the test of time. Very happy, very likeable. But I never feel the need to listen to this one. Alongside "Ein bisschen Frieden" one of the winners I care the least for while still acknowledging them to be good songs.
Grade: 2/5

13. Denmark - Tommy Seebach / Disco Tango
A good song suffering from an almost painfully miscalculated performance. A dance song with nobody dancing, with the possible exception of Debbie Cameron doing her thing among the backing singers. Could have been fantastic with a different staging.
Grade: 2/5

12. Belgium - Micha Marah / Hey Nanah
A very bouncy song that the performer herself famously hated and tried her best to avoid singing. I disagree both with her and the juries placing this one last - it always gets me in a good mood and has me singing along in bad Dutch.
Grade: 3/5

11. Netherlands - Xandra / Colorado
When there was no free choice of language, titles like this one were pretty common and people sang about anything that sounded "international" and "understandable". This is another song that is close to perfect in its studio version only to fall apart in a slightly chaotic live performance.
Grade: 3/5

10. Austria - Christina Simon / Heute in Jerusalem
ORF used to have a thing about selecting entries that would stand out and bring something musically different to the contest. I never paid off but some of those entries are really classy and lovely little songs. This one was too slow and too pretentious and was never anything but shark feed but if you take your time to fully listen it is quite a gem.
Grade: 3/5

9. Greece - Elpida / Socrates
A good song but I can't really put my finger on where it goes wrong in the live version. The orchestral arrangement feels clumsy and the singers seem to have problems to keep up with the rhythm.
Grade: 3/5

8. Italy - Matia Bazar / Raggio di luna
Quirky and personable, performed by an established act, and yet totally overlooked by the jury for no apparent reason. Maybe too low-key to stand out from the rest, but had the jury set out to reward original entries this one should have done a lot better.
Grade: 3/5

7. Norway - Anita Skorgan / Oliver
The studio version has a very polished, contemporary sound that the orchestra completely fails to reproduce and the backing singers may seem louder than what is called for, but this is still a good song - and who wouldn't love Anita Skorgan?
Grade: 3/5

6. Portugal - Manuela Bravo / Sobe, sobe, balão sobe
As a composition, this is pretty odd in its construction with it's long verse and then an ever-repeating chorus. But what does it matter when Manuela sells it this well? Catchy and energetic as well as a really good opener.
Grade: 3/5

5. Sweden - Ted Gärdestad / Satellit
Like several others I have mentioned, the Swedish entry would have needed a more solid stage performance and what is a very powerful studio version is reduced to something considerably smaller live. But why this one flunked so mercilessly in the voting, I'll never fully understand. Catchy and altogether pretty adorable.
Grade: 3/5

4. Finland - Katri Helena / Katson sineen taivaan
Finland's finest Katri Helena brought along dramatic strings, a suggestive verse and gave a really convincing vocal performance.
Grade: 4/5

3. Spain - Betty Missiego / Sú canción
So perhaps I'm just a sentimental fool. In theory, I find this too polite, too calculated, too sugary sweet and then there is the old trick with the kids doing the backing vocals. And yet it gets me every time. Most convincing and very easy to find yourself humming along to.
Grade: 4/5

2. Germany - Dschinghis Khan / Dschinghis Khan
This is the one time when Ralph Siegel really worked his magic and got every piece to fall into place. A crazily effective hook, perfect visuals, perfect staging and a song most people will have ringing in their heads for a long time after hearing it. A real classic.
Grade: 4/5

1. France - Anne-Marie David / Je suis l'enfant soleil
Again my favourite is the dramatic French ballad. It has a haunting melody, it tells a dramatic story and it has Anne-Marie David. What is there not to love? How could this not be my number one? Not the strongest big ballad of all time but my personal winner of 1979.
Grade: 4/5



Anne-Marie David - Je suis l'enfant soleil (France 1979)

Runner-up: Spain 1979

There will always be rumours going around. Rumours of all sorts. Some with a grain of truth in them, some plain ridiculous, some obviously fabricated by people with too much time on their hands.

My favourite brand has always been rumours that are a little bit outrageous, yet potentially true.

One of these rumours is the doubt whether there was ever a jury on duty in Italy in 1990 or if the confused spokesperson just made the numbers up by himself.

Another one is whether the Maltese jury in 1993 deliberately stayed offline in order to get to vote last and - in case of a tight finish - possibly alter their points to change the outcome.

Then there is always the claim that Spain lost the 1979 contest on purpose.

As Spain was to vote - as the 19th and last country - they were also in the lead one point ahead of host country Israel. Many people have suggested that TVE officials panicked at the thought of having to organise next year's contest and therefore tampered with the points given by the jury, making sure their own entry would lose.

I wouldn't be surprised if TVE didn't want to host under their current circumstance, as the country was going through enormous change on its transition to democracy, but the idea of a television executive physically running into the room to alter the points... Doesn't that strike you as a bit melodramatic?

And if you'd go out of your way in order to sabotage your own chances of winning, why not enter a weaker entry in the first place? This rumour is intriguing but hardly more than just a rumour.

A deserved 2nd place?
Yes. Catchy and cleverly staged with a backing group consisting of children that actually come across as genuinely charming. Perhaps the song in itself didn't age all that gracefully, but that is another story.



Betty Missiego - Su canción (Spain 1979)

Nobody's favourite but mine, part 2

It seems you good people didn't quite agree with me being the only one to like either of the songs in the first part of this series. Well, I guess I wouldn't be myself if I didn't push my luck and tried to challenge you with five more songs that I sometimes think I'm the only one in the world to care for. Am I?



Gemini - Dai li dou (Portugal 1978)

After a couple of years with serious songs with political undertones, Portugal suddenly decided to send in a wonderfully (annoyingly, according to some) bouncy little song about a kite flying high in the sky. Simple and catchy (or possibly repetitive), performed by another one of these groups of four people, clearly modelled on Abba.

The verses may be a bit clumsy but the chorus is so happy in all its simplicity and the choreography is probably so easy not even I could make a mess of it. Cute.



Cocktail Chic - Européennes (France 1986)

Things weren't exactly running smoothly in France at this point. There had been almost ten years since their last victory and the contest changing hands from TF1 to Antenne2 had resulted in a national final nobody wanted to be part of or associated with. So the best thing they could come up with this year were a bunch of popular backing vocalists who would finally have their big chance of performing as a group.

With styling as impeccable as their vocal delivery (some of those notes are really rather wobbly), the French girls didn't stand a chance during the voting and ended in a pale 17th place while the three other countries singing in French - Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg - all made top three.



Gunvor - Lass ihn (Switzerland 1998)

Through the years I have often been better at predicting the last place than picking a winner but this was a nul-pointer I never saw coming. I thought Gunvor had written herself a nice little ditty, perhaps a bit average but still catchy and retainable enough. It even featured Egon Egemann and his white violin, that would surely make an impression?

Despite being up against real non-songs like Spain and Greece, Gunvor somehow managed to cling to her zero points all the way through the voting. Her career, already deeply affected by local scandal newspapers and their shameless publication of pictures and details of some less glamourous aspects of her life, never recovered from this and Gunvor decided to retire from the spotlight. A real shame. And her song wasn't even bad to start with.



Christina Simon - Heute in Jerusalem (Austria 1979)

Eurovision is a circus full of glitter and happiness and more or less obvious attempts at attracting points from all directions. There is nothing wrong with that and I want it to be like that, but it does make it a less suitable arena for people who are actually trying to say something.

Austria thought the final in Jerusalem would be the perfect place to tell the world they would prefer peace instead of war and employed Christina Simon to be their voice in this slow and demanding jazz number. Of course it didn't stand a chance and as Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty right before the final it even felt less relevant also lyrically. Last place was still really unfair and my question remains the same as ever: what's the point of having juries if they can't recognise quality?



Aleksandra & Konstantin - My Galileo (Belarus 2004)

At first I had no idea how to react to this. Was it really in English? Were those real words? Is it supposed to sound like this? I didn't know what to expect from Belarus in the first place but I most certainly did not expect this. Despite being reluctant at first, it started growing on me with it's odd folksy sound and before Eurovision week in Istanbul was over I had sung this song in front of a small crowd at the Belarusian party and my friend had kissed Aleksandra's feet. A regular day at the Eurovision Song Contest, you know.

Eurovision for Americans

One of the great big problems in the world today is the lack of visions, of engagement, of commitment... So how wonderful isn't it to see that it least someone has it in them?

I always wonder how non-european eurofans percieve the magic of the Eurovision Song Contest. It must be exotic with all the flags and all the countries and all the languages, then calling all the capitals up to collect the points...

So, it feels good to see that there is a blog devoted to explaining Eurovision for Americans, trying to make the whole package a little bit more understandable. Go in there, read it and applaud the initiative.

And all you other non-European fans - if you feel like it, I would love to hear what makes the contest special to you. Leave a comment and tell me.

And, to celebrate the American blog, one of the Americans that have taken part at the ESC through the years.



Jeane Manson - J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux (Luxembourg 1979)

Turkey 1979: I love (but I won't go to Jerusalem)

Turkey selected its third eurovision entry in a national final held on February 24th in Istanbul. Seventeen juries voted and gave a very close victory (by one point only) to Maria Rita Epik & 21. Peron performing "Seviyorum" (I love).

This is what we know for sure before things begin to get a bit fuzzy. Sometime from this time until the distribution of the preview clips, Turkish television decided to withdraw from the contest.

Swedish and Finnish press at this time appear a bit confused as to why Turkey has decided to stay at home. Speculation then, and now, suggests that Turkey, as a muslim nation, was put under pressure from the Arab world not to take part in a contest hosted in Israel.

Turkey would have performed as eleventh in Jerusalem, sandwiched between the Israeli winner and French Anne-Marie David, ending in third place.

It is an educated guess that "Seviyorum" wouldn't have made a huge difference to the final result. Jaunty and upbeat, but possibly a tiny bit bland, it would probably have ended up where Turkey used to end up back in the day.

Far far back.



Maria Rita Epik & 21. Peron - Seviyorum (Turkey 1979, never took part) 

PS. Twenty years later, the ESC was again held in Jerusalem. This time Turkey proudly took part in the competition, ending in 16th place with Tuba Önal.

Would Paola have done the trick for Germany?

Swiss star Paola Felix-del Medico did better at Eurovision than most of her compatriots: both times she represented her mountainous homeland she landed top five placings.






Paola - Bonjour, bonjour (Switzerland 1969)






Paola - Cinéma (Switzerland 1980)


She was also a notable figure in German showbiz, both as entertainer and television presenter, and twice she tried to represent Germany at Eurovision.


In 1979, she ended in third place with the atmospheric "Vogel der Nacht" and three years later she was the only one to give Nicole a run for her money with Ralph Siegel-penned "Peter Pan".


It is never a bad idea to employ anyone as stylish, glamourous and radiant as Paola to sing for you at Eurovision, but Germany did really well with their choices both these years. 

Could "Vogel der Nacht" have topped the 4th place achieved by Dschingis Khan in Jerusalem? And would "Peter Pan" have given Germany its first victory in Harrogate, like Nicole did?






Paola - Vogel der Nacht (Germany 1979 national final)






Paola - Peter Pan (Germany 1982 national final)

Israel 1979: Shake it like Sherry

In 1978, the Israeli Song Festival was also used to select the national entry for Eurovision, resulting in instant victory and Jerusalem welcoming all Europe to friendly competition.

No wonder that a great deal of zeal and enthusiasm went into organising the 1979 Israeli Song Festival. The enthusiasm would only be topped a couple of weeks later, when it turned out that also this year's winner would go on to win Eurovision.

The Israeli Song Festival has an incredible track record in other words: twice it was used to select the Israeli entry, twice it produced a Eurovision winner. In 1981, the special Kdam Erovizion contest was created to act as national final, and it is yet to produce a single ESC winner.

The festival did more than finding a future world smash winner, it also produced a real sleeper hit. More than fifteen years later, the entry of Sherry hit the domestic charts and became a real evergreen.

I'm more surprised to find it wasn't a real hit back then. This is a fine track with a very convincing chorus as well as a very lively performance. What wouldn't I do to be able to shake it like Sherry's backing group? Those clever moves and those wonderful outfits leave me with a slight sense of regret that we never got to see Sherry on the Eurovision stage.

Could this song have done the same thing that Hallelujah did? Could it have been a second consecutive victory for Israel?



Sherry - Leolam be'ikvot hashemesh (Israel 1979 national final)

Belgium 1979: what if Micha Marah had it her way?

A number of countries have a tendency of getting it wrong at their national finals and end up sending weaker acts off to Eurovision, leaving stronger songs behind. Finland, Slovenia, Latvia and many others do this on a regular basis.

However, few national heats create the kind of chaos that has ensured after a number of Flemish finals.

Like in 1979, when Micha Marah sang all the songs in competition and was sent to Jerusalem with a song she truly hated (ending in shared last place with Austria once all points were cast).



Micha Marah - Hey Nanah! (Belgium 1979)

The song Micha had been backing all the way was a not too different number called "Comment ça va", and I can't help wondering how this song would have fared in the voting.

It is a bit of a loud monster of a song, maybe not quite as catchy and easily accessible as Micha herself seems to think. But just look at the conviction she puts into the performance. She transforms from a somewhat coldish chanteuse into a wild-eyed powerhouse.

Look at those eyes! Look at those hand movements! Look at her complete attack and dedication! And this is just the national final. Imagine how much energy she could have worked up on stage in Jerusalem.

All you people out there who have seen film noir classic "Sunset Boulevard" - don't you also almost expect Micha Marah to end this performance by saying "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up"?



Micha Marah - Comment ça va (Belgium 1979 national final)

Songs only I like: Austria 1979

This one usually provokes a deep sigh from most eurofans. Too slow. Too long. Boring and depressing. Pathetic and pretentious. It's not that I don't see what they mean.



Christina Simon - Heute in Jerusalem (Austria 1979)

It is indeed too slow to be a hit in Eurovision. Had this been a bike, it would fall over before the first verse is over, due to the lack of speed.

And sending a song to Jerusalem, urging for peace, trying to be the voice of reason? Rather a cheap trick, isn't it?

But I can't help being very touched by the whole thing. I think Christina Simon is sincere, I think she means what she is singing. And she sings it beautifully. There is an air of honesty and dignity around the whole thing that the juries ignored completely.

To add insult to injury, it wasn't only shared last with Belgium, it was also beaten by at least one truly awful song. (If that was the best Monaco could cough up in 1979, they did us all a favour by withdrawing.)

But in many ways it is better to be last than 16th out of nineteen. You are more visible in the history books if you end in last place. And time has been kind to Christina and her song. If you like them too, please say so in a comment.

Songs only I like: Belgium 1979

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.