| Runner in the Night | |
|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1986 entry | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Artist(s) | Maynard Williams, Dudley Phillips, Paul Robertson, Andy Ebsworth, Geoff Leach, and Rob Terry |
| As | Ryder |
| Language | English |
| Composer(s) | Brian Wade |
| Lyricist(s) | Maureen Darbyshire |
| Conductor | none |
| Finals performance | |
| Final result | 7th |
| Final points | 72 |
| Appearance chronology | |
| ◄ Love Is (1985) | |
| Only the Light (1987) ► | |
"Runner in the Night", written by Maureen Darbyshire and composed by Brian Wade, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed by the sextet Ryder, led by Maynard Williams.
Ryder won the right to perform at Bergen by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe, where they were the sixth act to perform. At Bergen, the song was performed fifth on the night, after Norway's Ketil Stokkan with "Romeo", and before Iceland's debut effort, "Gleðibankinn", by ICY. At the end of judging that evening, "Runner in the Night" took the seventh-place slot with 72 points.
The song was a contemporary rock offering, departing from the norm at the time in that the sextet played instruments themselves (including a set of electronic drums and keyboards) and did not use an orchestra. The song itself was about a man "running in the night" to a woman he had previously left, hoping he was not too late and that his former lover would forgive him and take him back.
The song placed at #98, not charting on the UK Singles Chart (the Top 75 songs) but as an addenda on the "Next 25" version of the charts. This was the worst commercial showing for a UK Eurovision entry since 1964, in which the entry that year didn't chart on the Singles Chart at all.
| Preceded by Love Is |
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 |
Succeeded by Only the Light |