Eurovision: Your Decision

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"A Song for Europe" redirects here. For other uses, see A Song for Europe (disambiguation).
Eurovision: Your Decision
Format Entertainment
Created by BBC
Presented by Sir Terry Wogan
Claudia Winkleman
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Phil Parsons
Producer(s) Andrew Cartmell
Location(s) BBC TV Centre
Running time 60 minutes + 30 minutes results show
Broadcast
Original channel BBC One
Original run 1957 – present
Chronology
Preceded by Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up

Eurovision: Your Decision is a BBC TV show broadcast annually to select Britain's entry into the Eurovision Song Contest. The show has previously gone under several other names, including Festival of British Popular Song, Eurovision Song Contest British Heats, A Song for Europe, Great British Song Contest and Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early days

The format of the show, and the manner in which the winner is chosen, has gone through many mutations. In its early days, there was a round of semi-finals, with the winner chosen by regional juries situated across the country. This format was used until 1960. In 1961 the winner was chosen by a jury of 140 people, but from 1962-63, the regional juries returned. Typically, singers would be invited by the BBC to choose and perform a song that they liked from the shortlist available. Household names such as Petula Clark, Lita Roza, Anne Shelton, Frank Ifield, Ronnie Hilton, Jane Morgan and David Hughes were amongst the contenders for the UK competition, none of whom were able to secure the ticket to the Eurovision final. In the early 1960s, record companies became involved in the selection process for the first time and submitted songs by their artists. This produced hits for Craig Douglas, Karl Denver, Jackie Lee, Kenny Lynch, Vince Hill and Ricky Valance, but again, none of them were to go forward to Eurovision.

A Song For Europe Logo used for the first show in 1957

From 1964 up until 1975, an artist would be chosen by the BBC, and that artist would sing all six songs (five in 1966 and 1967) in the selection, and the public (bar 1964 and 1971) would choose by postcard which song they would like to represent them in the contest. A postal strike in 1971 prevented the ballot from taking place, so regional juries were once again constructed to pick the winner. In 1972, national power cuts meant that the broadcast of the show was blacked out in many areas, leading to a very low postal vote. In its early days of this format, only "light entertainment" singers were used, such as Kenneth McKellar and Kathy Kirby. However, the poor showing of McKellar in Luxembourg (he placed 9th of 18 entries with scores from only 2 countries) prompted the BBC to use more mainstream popstars, which led to a run of successful results for the UK. This idea was dropped due to the low number of postal votes cast in the contest of 1975, in which all six songs were performed by The Shadows, and after objections from songwriters who felt The Shadows, and the BBC's selections in general, were not the sort of artists they wanted to represent their music.

During this period, the "Song For Europe" selection process was incorporated into other BBC light entertainment shows. Typically, the performer would sing one song a week as a guest on a regular, Saturday night BBC TV show. This culminated with the performer singing all the songs one after another in a special edition of the given show. From 1968 - 1975, these performances were then immediately repeated before viewers were asked to cast their votes. The following week, the winning song would be announced and performed once more. The various shows chosen for the "Song For Europe" performances were The Rolf Harris Show (1967), Cilla (1968 & 1973), Happening For Lulu (1969), It's Cliff Richard! (1970 - 1972), Clunk, Click (1974) - when in a break with the format, Olivia Newton-John performed three songs a week for two weeks rather than one a week for six weeks - and It's Lulu (1975).

This period was highly successful for the UK in Eurovision. Author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor notes in his book The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, that every UK entry to Eurovision from 1967 to 1977 finished in the top four, with only three songs not being first or second.[1] Indeed, the UK were only 7 points short of four consecutive victories from 1967-1970.

[edit] 1970s and 1980s

In 1976, a new system was put into force. Twelve songs would be performed by artists chosen by the songwriters themselves and the winner would be chosen by regional juries across the country during a stand alone show called "A Song For Europe". This system produced an immediate success by choosing the song which went on to be the Eurovision winner that year, "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. The first few years of the revamped format also saw a plethora of well-known names take part in the competition. Frank Ifield, Tammy Jones, Sweet Sensation, Lyn Paul, Tony Monopoly, Carl Wayne, Hazell Dean, Tony Christie, The Foundations, Labi Siffre, Guys n' Dolls, The Nolan Sisters, Polly Browne and Sweet Dreams all took part in the competition, but none were successful. Likewise, the first two winners of the contest, Brotherhood of Man and Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran had many hits under their belts before attempting Eurovision.

In 1977, a strike by BBC cameramen led to the contest being blacked out on TV, although the show went ahead and the audio portion was later broadcast on BBC Radio 2. The programme has never been shown and is not listed in the BBC archives, yet it was transmitted to the various regional juries in BBC studios around the country, in order for them to cast their votes. The 1979 "A Song For Europe" final was never held at all, due to a strike by BBC sound engineers. The juries had to judge using cassette recordings of the rehearsals. The songs were presented to the public on Terry Wogan's radio show the following day, after the result was known, followed later in the day with a spot on the TV magazine show Nationwide, where the top 5 were revealed and the winners, Black Lace were interviewed as guests on the show. As a result of this industrial action, all future contests were staged at BBC studios and not as outside broadcasts from venues. The 1980 result led to a tie break between Prima Donna's "Love Enough For Two" and Maggie Moone's "Happy Everything". To resolve this, in an unrehearsed panic, host Terry Wogan, called back the juries to announce their favourite of the two songs. This led to extreme confusion when the scoreboard failed to keep up and some juries contradicted the results they had given earlier. Prima Donna won, with eight juries to Maggie Moone's six. A detailed check of the votes after the show did confirm that Prima Donna were the correct winners. Prima Donna were the first winners of the competition specifically formed to take part in Eurovision. This became the norm in the 1980s and the artists taking part in the contest became more and more obscure and amateurish. However, a few notable acts did enter the contest in the 1980s, with scant success. Liquid Gold, Alvin Stardust, Sinitta and Hazell Dean all failing to come through the heats.

By 1981, the number of songs had dropped to eight, and interest had started to wane. Four out of eight songs in both the 1982 and 1984 events were written by Paul Curtis, who was unsurprisingly responsible for the 1984 winner; "Love Games". Following Belle & The Devotions 7th placing at the 1984 Eurovision contest, where the audience audibly booed them from the stage in an orchestrated demonstration against the song's supposed plaigiarism, the BBC wanted to revert to having one singer of their choice perform all the short listed songs and approached Lena Zavaroni. However, the Music Publisher's Association blocked the move, wanting their members the choice of their own singers to represent their music. A compromise was reached and only solo artists or duets - no "made for Eurovision" acts - were permitted to take part in the 1985 UK selection process and limited two entries per songwriter. They reverted to allowing all-comers for 1986. Starting in 1985, the songs were also 'previewed' on Terry Wogan's prime time chat show on BBC1 ahead of the final. When the series ended in 1992, the songs were presented in 1993 & 1994 in stand alone programmes, hosted by Terry.

The number of entries briefly increased to ten in 1987 when record companies were invited to submit songs, but after a poor result from Rikki in Eurovision 1987, the regional juries were disbanded, and the final decision given to the public through telephone voting, with a celebrity panel offering comments on the entries intended to guide viewers. This proved to be a relative success, accruing two second places and a sixth place (Zagreb, 1990). However, a disappointing 10th place in Rome obtained by Samantha Janus led the BBC to rethink the standard of performers in the competition.

As a result, the system that was used between 1964-1975 was resurrected, with the BBC's head of light entertainment, Jim Moir choosing one artist to perform all the songs in the UK final. Michael Ball was the first in 1992, and went on to win second place. Sonia was also second the year after. However, after a suggestion by Don Black to the BBC's new head of light entertainment David Liddiment in 1994, stage star Frances Ruffelle was offered the job of representing the UK. A virtually unknown singer, interest was not surprisingly low, and her final position in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin was a disappointing tenth, the same achieved by Samantha Janus in 1991.

[edit] 1990s

A dramatic modernisation was introduced in 1995 in an attempt to boost the profile of the contest. Pop supremo Jonathan King was drafted in to make the event more modern. The 1995 event had a diverse range of songs and some relatively well-known acts performing, such as Londonbeat who had a hit with I've Been Thinking About You, pop-combo Deuce and Sox, who featured singer and former Page 3 icon Samantha Fox. All songs were presented on a special edition of Top Of The Pops prior to the live final. On the night, the well known artists were all beaten by rap act Love City Groove, whose eponymous song could only manage a disappointing tenth in Dublin that year. On a positive note, the songs by Love City Groove and Deuce made the top 10 of the UK singles charts, while the entries from Dear John, Londonbeat and Sox reached the lower reaches of the charts.

The following year, a semi-final was introduced. All eight songs were performed on Top of the Pops on 1 March, and the public voted to decide the four finalists. The results were announced the following day, but there was no information given on who finished where. On 8 March the final was held, with Gina G winning very easily with her dance number Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit. The song became an instant hit in the charts, reaching number 1, but not in the Eurovision Contest itself. In Oslo, Gina could only manage 8th place, but was perhaps consoled by her Europe-wide hit with the song, which also became one of the few Eurovision songs (and one of the relatively few dance songs) to be a major hit in the United States.

This format was retained again, but with an added twist. All eight contestants would be heard on Ken Bruce's radio show on BBC Radio 2, with a public vote to decide the four finalists. The four would perform on The National Lottery Show until 1998, and then on Top of the Pops in 1999. The final itself would just consist of repeats of the performances made in the above shows, in a special programme on a Sunday afternoon. This produced a win for Katrina and the Waves in 1997, and a second place for Imaani in 1998, but disappointment in 1999 for Precious.

[edit] 2000s

In 2000, the same format continued, but the final four songs were performed live in A Song For Europe, still shunted to a graveyard Sunday afternoon slot. The result proved disappointing. Nicki French gave what author John Kennedy O'Connor describes in his book The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History as a far from strong performance, despite her previous chart success and attained the UK's worst ever placing at the time, a mere 16th in Stockholm with "Don't Play That Song Again".[2] This format continued the following year, and another poor showing for the UK. Lindsay D only got one place higher than Nicki French in Copenhagen. The entries from Six Chix in 2000 and Luke Galliana, the latter of which didn't make the 2001 final, became minor hits, with Galliana just failing to make the Top 40, but becoming a popular hit on cable request line music channel The Box.

The 2002 A Song For Europe generated a lot of publicity, because three of the four acts that made the final were relatively well-known to TV viewers, albeit not necessarily for their singing ability. Surf 'n' Turf included Jonathan Maitland who is a TV presenter of consumer advice shows such as Watchdog and House of Horrors. Tricia Penrose is an actress who plays Gina in the 60's retro drama Heartbeat on ITV1, and Jessica Garlick had made the final stages of another ITV1 show Pop Idol. The standard of songs was stronger than previous years, and Jessica Garlick had a runaway victory of nearly 70,000 votes with her ballad "Come Back". The song was also a success in Eurovision with it finishing joint third with hosts Estonia.

2003 saw disappointment, although a new voting format. The new voting system of regional televoting, where 9, 10 and 12 points were awarded to the top three songs, led to an unsuccessful winner. Jemini's "Cry Baby" won by two points over "Help Me" by Emily Reed. Confidence in the UK entry was low for both fans and the public, and in the actual contest held in Riga, Jemini picked up the UK's worst-ever showing, scoring "nul points" and finishing last, due to a very poor performance, although some reports attempted to blame European disapproval of the US-UK invasion of Iraq for the failure of any nation to give the UK even one point. As noted by author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor, with 26 entries in the Eurovision field, this made "Cry Baby" the least successful song in the history of the contest.[3] No song in the Eurovision final has scored "nul points" since.

The 2004 selection was totally different. Gone was the Song For Europe name, replaced with Making Your Mind Up. The radio semi-final was also gone, and the six songs were performed live in a Saturday night show. This raised the profile of the competition, although there was criticism of the fact that four of the six acts were from reality TV shows. The winner, chosen by 70% regional televoting (regions awarding 0,2,4,6,8 and 12 points) and 30% SMS and Interactive voting, was James Fox, who had finished fifth in the second series of Fame Academy, with a gentle ballad "Hold On To Our Love", written by Gary Miller and Tim Woodcock. The song finished 16th at the contest in Istanbul.

For 2005, six songs dropped to five, and the show was relegated to an early Saturday evening slot on 5 March, to avoid a clash with Comic Relief Does Fame Academy. The press focused on two performers. Javine Hylton who is a relatively well-known urban singer, and Katie Price, aka Jordan, a famous glamour model. The other contestants included former 3SL bandmember Andy Scott-Lee, the 1996 British Eurovision entry Gina G and unknown band Tricolore. The voting itself was the same format as the previous year, but this time an online jury was added to decide between the contestants. Javine came out on top with her ethno-urban song "Touch My Fire", although she also caused some controversy when she briefly fell out of her top during an energetic dance routine. At the 50th Eurovision Song Contest held in Kyiv, Javine finished 22nd out of 24 participants in the final, the UK's second poorest finish ever.

In February 2006 it was announced that artists competing in the 2006 contest would include Kym Marsh and Anthony Costa, both relatively well-known in the UK for their past involvement with music bands (the former appearing in Hear'say, and the latter in boy band Blue). Following the format of the previous year (and with six songs this time), Making Your Mind Up returned in 2006 in a prime-time Saturday evening slot, and was broadcast on March 4 on BBC One. Terry Wogan and Natasha Kaplinsky once again presented and were accompanied by a 'Celebrity Jury' that included chat-show host Jonathan Ross, popstar Kelly Osbourne and Top of the Pops presenter Fearne Cotton. The eventual winner of the 2006 contest (after the 7 tele-juries from around the UK and mobile and web votes) was Daz Sampson and his song 'Teenage Life'. Yet another low result was produced for the United Kingdom, as Daz finished 19th in the contest out of 24 competing countries.

During a press conference on 28 February, 2007, the BBC confirmed that the artists taking part in Making Your Mind Up would include Big Brovaz, an RnB group who had 4 UK Top 10 singles in 2002-2003, Brian Harvey, a former member of the boy band East 17; Cyndi; Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, performing a duet with Beverlei Brown; Liz McClarnon, formerly of girl group Atomic Kitten; and Scooch, the eventual winners with Flying the Flag (for You). Scooch sang their entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 on 12 May 2007 in Helsinki, Finland and finished in second to last place with 19 points, ahead of Ireland placed last.

For the first time, the show was filmed at The Maidstone Studios in Kent. The hour long final was broadcast at 7:30pm on 17 March 2007 on BBC One, with the half hour results show showing at 9:30pm on the same date. Although this was past the 12 March cut-off set by the EBU, the BBC were given a special extension owing to the fact that the EBU were made aware of this over a year in advance.[4]

The show ended in disarray when Fearne Cotton shouted out that the winner was Scooch, while co-host Terry Wogan simultaneously announced the winner to be Cyndi. After some confusion from both performers, each thinking the other had won, it was revealed that the true winner was Scooch.

In 2008 the show's name was changed to Eurovision: Your Decision. It was screened in two parts in March 2008, and was hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Sir Terry Wogan. The six competing acts were paired as girl groups (LoveShy and The Revelations), soloists (Michelle Gayle and Andy Abraham), and "Joseph and Maria" contestants (Rob McVeigh and Simona Armstrong) from the BBC talent shows Any Dream Will Do and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?. A panel of three judges (John Barrowman, Carrie Grant, and Terry Wogan) decided which artists to put through to a semi-final after each pair had performed. Terry Wogan then allowed one of the rejected acts through as a "wild card" before viewers were invited to vote by phone to decide which two would perform again in the final. The two finalists chosen by the viewers were Michelle Gayle singing "Woo (You Make Me)", and Andy Abraham singing "Even If". Despite having been originally eliminated at the first stage, Terry Wogan's "wild card" pick turned out to be the winner when the viewers voted Andy Abraham the victor with "Even If". This received a total of 14 points in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 on 24 May 2008 in Belgrade, sharing last place with Poland and Germany.

[edit] Winners

[edit] A Song For Europe (1957 - 1995)

  • 1957 - All - Patricia Bredin (Patricia did not record the song)
  • 1958 - Did not enter Eurovision.
  • 1959 - Sing Little Birdie - Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson (Britain's first 2nd placing) (UK Singles Chart # 12)
  • 1960 - Looking high, high, high - Bryan Johnson (Teddy Johnson's brother) (UK Singles Chart # 20)
  • 1961 - Are You Sure? - The Allisons (UK Singles Chart # 2)
  • 1962 - Ring-a-Ding Girl - Ronnie Carroll (UK Singles Chart # 46)
  • 1963 - Say Wonderful Things - Ronnie Carroll (The first performer to represent the UK twice, also the only UK entrant to represent the UK in consecutive years) (UK Singles Chart # 6)
  • 1964 - I Love the Little Things - Matt Monro (Failed to reach UK singles chart, #16 on EP chart)
  • 1965 - I Belong - Kathy Kirby (UK Singles Chart # 36/ EP Chart # 9)
  • 1966 - A Man Without Love - Kenneth McKellar (The UK's worst placing until 1978 - 9th) (UK Singles Chart # 30)
  • 1967 (The Rolf Harris Show) - Puppet on a String - Sandie Shaw (The UK's first ever winner) (UK Singles Chart # 1)
  • 1968 (Cilla) - Congratulations - Cliff Richard (UK Singles Chart # 1)
  • 1969 (Happening For Lulu) - Boom Bang-a-Bang - Lulu (Joint winner with France, the Netherlands and Spain) (UK Singles Chart # 2)
  • 1970 (It's Cliff Richard!) - Knock, Knock, Who's There? - Mary Hopkin (UK Singles Chart # 2)
  • 1971 (It's Cliff Richard!) - Jack In The Box - Clodagh Rodgers (UK Singles Chart # 4)
  • 1972 (It's Cliff Richard!) - Beg, Steal or Borrow - The New Seekers (UK Singles Chart # 2)
  • 1973 (Cilla) - Power to All Our Friends - Cliff Richard (The last solo artist to represent the UK twice) (UK Singles Chart # 4)
  • 1974 (Clunk Click) - Long Live Love - Olivia Newton-John (UK Singles Chart # 11)
  • 1975 (It's Lulu) - Let Me Be The One - The Shadows (UK Singles Chart # 12)
  • 1976 - Save Your Kisses for Me - Brotherhood of Man (Third winner for the UK in Eurovision Song Contest) (UK Singles Chart # 1)
  • 1977 - Rock Bottom - Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran (UK Singles Chart # 19)
  • 1978 - The Bad Old Days - Co-Co (Then holders of the UK's worst placing - 11th, but with a line up including Cheryl Baker who would go on to win as part of Bucks Fizz three years later) (UK Singles Chart # 13)
  • 1979 - Mary Ann - Black Lace (UK Singles Chart # 42)
  • 1980 - Love Enough for Two - Prima Donna (UK Singles Chart # 48)
  • 1981 - Making Your Mind Up - Bucks Fizz (Fourth UK victory in Eurovision Song Contest. Cheryl Baker had participated in 1978 as a member of "Co-Co") (UK Singles Chart # 1)
  • 1982 - One Step Further - Bardo (Female member of the duo was Sally Ann Triplett who was a member of Prima Donna, two years before. She is the last person to be part of the UK Eurovision entry twice.) (UK Singles Chart # 2)
  • 1983 - I'm Never Giving Up - Sweet Dreams (Included Carrie Grant) (UK Singles Chart # 21)
  • 1984 - Love Games - Belle & The Devotions (UK Singles Chart # 11)
  • 1985 - Love Is - Vikki (Watson) (UK Singles Chart # 49)
  • 1986 - Runner In The Night - Ryder (Failed to reach UK Singles Chart. Peaked at # 98 on 'bubbling under' chart)
  • 1987 - Only The Light - Rikki (Peebles) (Then holder of the UK's worst placing - 13th) (Failed to reach UK Singles Chart. Peaked at # 96 on 'bubbling under' chart)
  • 1988 - Go - Scott Fitzgerald (UK Singles Chart # 52)
  • 1989 - Why Do I Always Get it Wrong? - Live Report (UK Singles Chart # 73)
  • 1990 - Give a Little Love Back to The World - Emma (Booth) (UK Singles Chart # 33)
  • 1991 - A message To Your Heart - Samantha Janus (UK Singles Chart # 30)
  • 1992 - One Step Out of Time - Michael Ball (UK Singles Chart # 20)
  • 1993 - Better the Devil You Know - Sonia (UK Singles Chart # 15)
  • 1994 - We Will Be Free (Lonely Symphony) - Frances Ruffelle (UK Singles Chart # 25)
  • 1995 - Love City Groove - Love City Groove (UK Singles Chart # 7)

[edit] The Great British Song Contest (1996 - 1999)

  • 1996 - Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit - Gina G (Became a world-wide hit after her Eurovision participation) (UK Singles Chart # 1)
  • 1997 - Love Shine A Light - Katrina and The Waves (The UK's 5th and most recent winner. They won by a huge 70 point margin over the Irish entry) (UK Singles Chart # 3)
  • 1998 - Where Are You? - Imaani (Came 2nd - lost to Israeli Dana International by 7 points) (UK Singles Chart # 15)
  • 1999 - Say It Again - Precious (UK Singles Chart # 6)

[edit] A Song For Europe (2000 - 2003)

  • 2000 - Don't Play That Song Again - Nicki French (At the time, holder of the UK's worst ever placing - 16th) (UK Singles Chart # 34)
  • 2001 - No Dream Impossible - Lindsay Dracass (UK Singles Chart # 32)
  • 2002 - Come Back - Jessica Garlick ("Pop Idol" contestant who is responsible for the UK's best result this decade - joint 3rd in Tallinn) (UK Singles Chart # 13)
  • 2003 - Cry Baby - Jemini (The UK's only "nul points") (UK Singles Chart # 15)

[edit] Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up (2004 - 2007)

  • 2004 - Hold On To Our Love - James Fox (UK Singles Chart # 13)
  • 2005 - Touch My Fire - Javine Hylton (UK Singles Chart # 18)
  • 2006 - Teenage Life - Daz Sampson (UK Singles Chart # 8)
  • 2007 - Flying The Flag (For You) - Scooch (UK Singles Chart # 5)

[edit] Eurovision: Your Decision (2008 - Present)

[edit] Contestants

Main article: List of Eurovision: Your Decision contestants

[edit] Hosts

Both Ken Bruce and Ray Moore have provided BBC Radio 2 commentary on occasion.

[edit] Guest commentators/panellists/judges

Featured 1988-1990, 1994, 1995, 2004-2008

[edit] Venues

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
  2. ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
  3. ^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
  4. ^ Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | News - Exclusive: UK Final on March 17th [UPD]

[edit] External links

v • d • e
National selection events for the Eurovision Song Contest by country