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The Eurovision Song Contest is one of those television spectaculars that you either love, or hate. And even if the importance of the song itself has been downplayed in the last forty years in favour of just the performance, the local heats (and indeed occasionally even the final itself), can still offer the unknown songwriter a taste of international success.
Alhthough the years from 1974 onwards when Abba won the Eurovision, have been well documented, accurate information on the early years is hard to come by, due mainly to the death or retirement of many of the important participants. However, by delving through our hundreds of interviews, Jim Liddane was able to examine the true history of the Eurovision Song Contests. If you would like to look at the earlier Eurovision Song Contests, click
HERE for Eurovisions between 1956 and 1973.
The Contests: 1974 Onwards
Abba 1974
19th Eurovision Song Contest 1974
Venue The Dome, Brighton, United Kingdom
Date Of Grand Final 6 April 1974
Number Of Countries Participating 17
Winning Song "Waterloo"
Writers Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson, Bjφrn Ulvaeus
Performed By ABBA, representing Sweden
The 19th Eurovision Song Contest was held in the United Kingdom even though the country had not won the previous year. UK assumed the hosting responsibility after Luxembourg, having won in both 1972 and 1973 declined to host again due to insufficient funds.
In a move away from London, the BBC decided to host the Eurovision at the Dome, in Brighton, a seaside town 65 miles from the capital. The Dome was originally built in 1805 as the Prince Regent's stables and riding house, and was later converted into a concert venue in the early 20th century hosting a wide variety of acts. The building's striking dome-shaped roof is a landmark of the Brighton skyline, and is visible from miles around.
17 countries entered in 1974 - Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
All of the parricipating countries broadcast the event, along with Algeria, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Japan, Jordan, Iceland, Morocco, Poland, South Korea, the Soviet Union and Tunisia.
The host of the 1974 contest was Katie Boyle, who had also hosted the contest in 1960 and 1963. It was the first to feature a voting system in which the results were announced in reverse order, with the lowest-scoring countries announced first and the winner announced last.
The interval act for the 1974 contest was a performance by the Wombles, a popular children's television show in the UK at the time.
Following the death of French President, Georges Pompidou just four days before the final, the French delegation to the Eurovision withdrew their participation. The country's entry would have been "La Vie ΰ Vingt-Cinq Ans" - to be performed by Dani.
1973's winner for Luxembourg, the French singer Anne-Marie David, did not attend at Brighton either, for the same reason.
Greece made it's debut performance at the Eurovision. Marinella performed "Krasν, thαlassa ke t' agσri mu" ("Wine, Sea, and My Boyfriend"), and finished 11th.
Three artists returned to Eurovision that year: 1964's winner, Gigliola Cinquetti, once again represented Italy; Romuald Figuier also returned for Monaco; and the Bendik Singers sang once more for Norway.
The contest was notable for featuring several political messages in the songs. Portugal's entry, for example, was a protest song about the country's fascist government, while the Finnish entry was a song about the oppression of the Sami people.
Portugal's entry, "E Depois do Adeus" was used several weeks later as the signal for Portuguese military officers to commence the Carnation Revolution against the Estado Novo regime, when it was at broadcast at 11pm on 24 April 1974 by Emissores Associados de Lisboa.
Ireland's entry "Cross Your Heart" was performed by Tina Reynolds. The song which was upbeat and incorporated childhood rhymes such as "sticks and stones will break my bones" was written by the Irish songwriter and record producer Tommy Swarbrigg, who also wrote Ireland's entry for the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest. "Cross Your Heart" received a total of 11 points in the contest, placing it 7th out of 17 entries.
The United Kingdom's entry was "Long Live Love", performed by Olivia Newton-John. The song was written by Valerie Avon, Harold Spiro, and John Kongos, and it finished in fourth place with a total of 14 points.
Third place went to Netherlands with "I See a Star", written by Hans van Hemert. The song was performed by Mouth and McNeal and received 15 points.
Italy's Gigliola Cinquetti finished in second place with 18 points performing "Si", written by Mario Panzeri, Daniele Pace, Lorenzo Pilat and Corrado Conti. The ensuing single went on to top several charts across Europe.
Beating all the other contenders that night with 24 points was Sweden represented by ABBA. Their song "Waterloo", penned by Benny Andersson, Bjφrn Ulvaeus and Stig AndersonIt, would go on to sell more than six million copies worldwide and is still considered the most successful Eurovision song of all time.
ABBA's performance on the evening was memorable for several reasons. First, they were dressed in colorful, flamboyant costumes that captured the attention of the audience. Second, their song "Waterloo" was a catchy, upbeat tune that had a unique blend of pop and rock influences. Third, their performance was full of energy and enthusiasm, which helped to connect with the audience and capture the spirit of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Indeed, according to Dr. Harry Witchel from the University of Bristol, "Waterloo" is Eurovision's most quintessential song, an opinion reinforced by the fact that at the 50th celebration of the Eurovision Contest, "Waterloo" was voted as the best song ever performed in the competition.
For a details of all Eurovision Song Contests perior to 1974, please click HERE
For a complete listing of all the Eurovision Winners since 1956, please click HERE
Copyright Songwriter Magazine, International Songwriters & Jim Liddane: All Rights Reserved
Postscript 1
Bill Martin, who penned the United Kingdom's Eurovision winning song "Puppet On A String" is one of that rare breed - a songwriter who won the Eurovision, scored a worldwide hit with that song, and became one of the most succressful songwriters of all time. "Songwriter Magazine" talked to him about his career.
Click
HERE for an interview with Bill Martin
Postscript 2
Of course the Eurovision Song Contest took its inspiration from the San Remo Festival of Song, which had been founded in 1951. Over seventy years later - it is still in operation, and even more popular than ever!
Click
HERE for an for an overview of the Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo!
Postscript 3
While important, the Eurovision is not the only contest in town. in fact there are up to forty songs contests worldwide open to sonwriters.
Click
HERE for details of these contests, plus a list of their websites, and closing dates,
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