United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957
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The United Kingdom took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 1957. The country was represented by Patricia Bredin with the song “All” written by Reynell Wreford and Alan Stranks. The entry was chosen during a national final called A song for Europe. The United Kingdom actually wanted to take part in the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, but was disqualified because the entries were submitted too late.
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[edit] A song for Europe 1957
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| The national final | |
|---|---|
| Title: | A song for Europe |
| Broadcaster: | BBC |
| Venue: | BBC studios, London |
| Date: | February 12, 1957 |
| Number of contestants: | 7 (1st semi final) 7 (2nd semi final) 5 (3rd semi final) 11 (final) |
| Number of songs: | 7 (1st semi final) 7 (2nd semi final) 5 (3rd semi final) 6 (final) |
| Heats: | Three semi finals were held before the final. |
| Dates of the heats: | January 22, 1957 January 29, 1957 February 12, 1957 |
| Voting: | A jury selected the winning song. The performer was chosen internally. |
| Host(s): | |
| David Jacobs | |
The national final was held over four stages - three semi finals and a grand final. All shows were presented by David Jacobs, who would host many other British national finals the following years. Seven singers presented one song each in the first two semi finals, in the third semi final, five songs took part. Most of the song titles in the heats got lost and so did the results. The tables below contain the information that is still known. Two songs in each heat went forward to the national final, where every song was presented twice by two different artists and with a different arrangement. Except of the song “Once”, the first performance was by the singer who performed it in the semi final, the second performance was with one exception by artists who had not taken part in the heats. At the end of the show, a jury voted for the best song, whih was “All”. After the show, the BBC has internally chosen Patricia Bredin to perform the song in Frankfurt.
[edit] Participants
[edit] First semi final
| # | Singer | Song | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lita Roza | The Way It Goes | Q |
| 2 | Denis Lotis | Seven | Q |
| 3 | Marian Ryan | ? | - |
| 4 | John Hanson | ? | - |
| 5 | Janie Marden | ? | - |
| 6 | The Keynotes | ? | - |
| 7 | Bill McGuffie Quartet | ? | - |
[edit] Second semi final
| # | Singer | Song | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jill Day | ? | - |
| 2 | Ronnie Hilton | For Your Love | Q |
| 3 | Edna Savage | ? | - |
| 4 | Bryan Johnson | ? | - |
| 5 | Lorrae Desmond | ? | - |
| 6 | Frank Horrox | ? | - |
| 7 | Frank Weir Quartet | Once | Q |
[edit] Third semi final
| # | Singer | Song (Music/Lyrics) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carole Carr | ? | - |
| 2 | Shirley Eaton | ? | - |
| 3 | Bill Maynard | ? | - |
| 4 | The Keynotes | Don't Cry Little Doll | Q |
| 5 | Malcolm Lockyer Quartet | All (Reynell Wreford/Alan Stranks) |
Q |
[edit] Final
| # | First singer | Second singer | Song (Music/Lyrics) |
Pts | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Keynotes | Bill Maynard | Don't Cry Little Doll | 14 | 4th |
| 2 | Pauline Shepherd | Carole Carr | Once | 23 | 2nd |
| 3 | Denis Lotis | The Keynotes | Seven | 13 | 5th |
| 4 | Malcolm Lockyer Quartet | Patricia Bredin | All (Reynell Wreford/Alan Stranks) |
39 | 1st |
| 5 | Ronnie Hilton | Alan Bristow | For Your Love | 13 | 5th |
| 6 | Lita Roza | Stan Roderick | The Way It Goes | 18 | 3rd |
[edit] Commercial success
Patricia Bredin has never recorded the song[1] and it was therefore also never released as a single. Neither reached any of the songs the UK single charts despite the popularity of some of the contestants.
[edit] At Eurovision
At the Eurovision Song Contest, Patricia Bredin delivered an operatic performance of “All”, which is still the shortest entry ever in the Eurovision Song Contest having lasted about two minutes. The song was performed third that night following Luxembourg with “Amours mortes (tant de peine)” and preceding Italy with “Corde della mia chitarra”. At the close of voting, the United Kingdom had received six points and finished seventh among the ten countries. However, the United Kingdom had received points from five of the nine other countries, which means more than half of them. It would take the United Kingdom until 1978 not to finish in the first half of the scoreboard again.
[edit] Voting
Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.
[edit] Points given
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[edit] Points received
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[edit] References
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