Runner-up: France 1990

After winning in 1965 and placing 5th in 1967, French music legend Serge Gainsbourg entered Eurovision a third time, less than a year before his death. True to his own style, and very much like during his previous attempts, he was determined to again push the limits for what you could get away with in this competition.

What he achieved was nothing less than a revolution. In the past, ethnic and exotic entries had been praised for being "genuine" and "real" before getting completely ignored by the juries who left them to crash and burn and the end of the results.

Joëlle Ursull deemed the original title "Black Lolita" unnecessarily provocative, thinking the set-up in itself being rather risky. Never before had a non-white performer been trusted to represent France at Eurovision and Gainsbourg agreed to alter the lyrics.

"White And Black Blues" entered the contest the way a tropical storm would. Not only was it very different but it also felt modern and hit-friendly and the juries almost bought it.

A deserved 2nd place?
Yes. In retrospect it's a bit of a shame that Joëlle Ursull didn't win but at that time, a good placing for a breakaway entry like this was as good as a victory. Also it would broaden people's idea of what kind of song could work at Eurovision, paving the way for a lot of modern, inspiring and successful etno-songs in the years to come.

The video can not be embedded but you can watch it here.

Runner-up: Germany 1980

The year before, Ralph Siegel had finally managed to produce his first eurovision mega smash hit in the form of Dschinghis Khan. Now the witch doctor of modern schlager wished to show the world  he was able to win the whole contest.

In The Hague he had composed not only one but two entries: a youthful ditty about penguins, aimed at a younger audience, representing Luxembourg as well as an updated take on German cabaret tradition competing for his own country.

"Theater" showcases a whole lot of ideas that Siegel would later stretch far beyond reason but here they felt new, fresh and exciting.

There is the theme or idea that the whole song and performance is built around instead of just writing a straightforward song. There is the cheerful backing group. And also you'll note the presence of clowns - something Siegel would develop an almost unhealthy relationship to throughout the years.

It is a catchy little number but what really makes this whole package work is of course the almost electric presence of the magnificent Katja Ebstein, now representing Germany for the third time after ending in third place in both 1970 and 1971. Without her, this could easily have been reduced to a big pile of cheerful rubbish.

A deserved 2nd place?
Yes, thanks to Katja Ebstein. There were several better songs in the running this year, but few people know how to work the stage like she does.



Katja Ebstein - Theater (Germany 1980)

Runner-up: United Kingdom 1970

It looked like the Eurovision Song Contest was about to die as only twelve countries signed up for the 1970 edition in Amsterdam. Perhaps no wonder as the ESC had lost a lot of credibility after allowing four countries to win the previous year.

If the main goal was to restore credibility, then the BBC scored big time when convincing Mary Hopkin to represent the UK. Not only had she had a big international hit with "Those Were The Days", she was also the first eurovision participant signed to the Beatles' own record label Apple.

As the contest took place in March, the Beatles hadn't yet officially disbanded and having a Beatles-related act in the ESC was a big thing.

However, the top act was to be beaten by an Irish schoolgirl with an icky-sweet love song that would go on to be a eurovision evergreen as well as a huge hit all over the continent. Mary Hopkin didn't mind as she - like many other UK entrants at the time - profoundly disliked the song she had been set up to compete with.

A deserved 2nd place?
Absolutely. This is a lightweight but very likeable little number that still feels fresh. Much more so than the Irish winner. Unlike Mary Hopkin I say this should have been the winner with Germany in second place and Ireland third.



Mary Hopkin - Knock Knock Who's There? (United Kingdom 1970)

Runner-up: United Kingdom 1988

This was a great return to form for the UK after a string of lacklustre placings. Following the victory of Bucks Fizz, the contest had taken a real nosedive and recent UK acts had failed both in the ESC and in the local charts.

Not that Scott Fitzgerald stormed the pop charts either but for a while near the end of the voting it looked like he would return home from Dublin with a trophy in his luggage.

Then came one of the most exciting finishes in eurovision history as the jury in Ljubljana put Céline Dion back on the throne and left Scott without a single point.

I must admit to fully supporting the Yugoslav jury in this respect. "Go" is a clean-cut but old-fashioned ballad that wouldn't have stood a chance had it represented Greece or Portugal, performed by a singer with a good voice but totally lacking the slightest bit of on-stage charisma.

The UK has often done well with pretty halfhearted efforts through the years and this is clearly one of those occasions.

A deserved 2nd place?
This one placing above Lara Fabian for Luxembourg? You must be joking. My answer is no.



Scott Fitzgerald - Go (United Kingdom 1988)

Runner-up: Belgium 1978

The Belgians didn't have to travel far as the 1978 final was set in Paris. Culturally and style-wise they also kept rather close to the French this year.

Perhaps they let themselves be inspired by last year's contest where a timeless and stylish French ballad beat all the modern disco-sounding hit songs in competition.

Belgium had found themselves an equally classy chanson and on the day of the final at least Swedish newspapers seemed to regard Jean Vallée - who had already represented his country in Amsterdam 1970 - as the big favourite to win.

The eurovision history book on the shelf was not about to repeat itself at Palais de Congrès and the  classy chanson was to be beaten by a jaunty and simple disco number with lyrics in Hebrew pig latin.

The real nail in the coffin was probably that the French had been sneaky enough to enter a similarly old-fashioned - but nowhere near as strong - entry that most probably stole the votes Belgium would have needed to win. However, Belgium had never been this close to victory before and probably celebrated all the way until ending in last place the following year.

A deserved 2nd place?
Absolutely. It would have been a very worthy winner too, but the zeitgeist sort of called for a more modern winner. That winner should have been Luxembourg, though. Or Germany.



Jean Vallée - L'amour ça fait chanter la vie (Belgium 1978)

Runner-up: Germany 1987

I suspect younger readers might think I have gone absolutely crazy when I admit to absolutely loving this song back in the day. Maybe some older readers will think the same.

This reggae light made of pure plastic in the Ralph Siegel factory really pleased Tobson aged 11. It was simple and catchy and slowly ate its way into your conscience. I kept singing it all summer and held it very dear for many years to come.

I'm not even sure exactly when it grew off me. Not every song from the 80's aged gracefully and this one seems to tick every box on the list of things hard to love.

There is also something about the faux cheerfulness in the appearance of Wind themselves that gets to me. And it feels sad knowing what fate had in store for backing singer Rob Pilatus as well.

In short I don't hate it but it does nothing for me anymore and that feels strange given how much I loved it at the time.

A deserved 2nd place?
No. If Johnny Logan absolutely had to win in 1987, then Gente di mare should have been in second place. Wind deserved a top ten but surely not a top two.

An extra bonus here is the lovely postcard - I loved that almost as much as the song.



Wind - Laß die Sonne in dein Herz (Germany 1987)

Runner-up: Switzerland 1969

Switzerland 1969 has the distinction of being the only runner-up in Eurovision history not to end in second place.

Since the jury system collapsed in a most spectacular way during the live broadcast - ending the 1969 contest not only in a tie but in a tie that included 25% of the participants - and the rule book clearly stated that a tied first place meant a shared victory, then all four winners won and the song in fifth place was the official runner-up.

It's not a bad song at all - catchy and cheerful. Almost as cheerful as the performer herself, ever-smiling Paola.

It also has a very positive set of lyrics and feels like a good way of kicking off the new year. If it could always be as happy and carefree as the mood of "Bonjour, bonjour" it would be nothing short of fantastic.

A deserved runner-up?
It depends how you look at it. The 1969 ESC has quite a few really fine songs that were neglected by the juries - Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland, Norway - and would have deserved this position equally well. But everytime Paola starts singing, I melt a little. So my answer is yes.



Paola - Bonjour, bonjour (Switzerland 1969)