United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981
- Andy Hill
- John Danter
◄1980 • | 1981 | • 1982► |
The United Kingdom and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) held a national final titled "A Song for Europe 1981" to choose who would represent them in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981. "A Song for Europe 1981" was held on 11 March 1981 where Bucks Fizz was chosen with "Making Your Mind Up" as the entrant. At Eurovision, they placed first winning the competition with 136 points.
Before Eurovision
A Song for Europe 1981
The BBC reduced the number of finalists from twelve to eight in 1981. Terry Wogan hosted the contest on 11 March. It was held at the Television Theatre. 581 songs were submitted to the Music Publisher's Association to pick eight songs. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Coleman as conductor accompanied all the songs, but all the music was pre-recorded. The show was the 16th most watched programme of the week with a rating of 12.4 million viewers, the highest for three years.[1] Johnny Logan was scheduled to appear as a guest on the programme, but had to cancel shortly before the air date.
Seven regional juries voted on the songs. The regional juries voted internally and awarded 15 points to their favourite song, 12 points to the second, 10 points to the third and then 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points in order of preference for the songs from 4th to 8th. Before the reprise, Terry Wogan incorrectly read the title of the winning song as "Where Are You Now." The prizes were presented by Wogan to John Danter, one of the songwriters, and to Mike Nolan, one of the performers.
Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Points | Place |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 | Headache | "Not Without Your Ticket (Don't Go)" | Luís Jardim, Jean Gilbert | 50 | 7th |
02 | Gary Benson | "All Cried Out" | Gary Benson | 63 | 4th |
03 | Unity | "For Only a Day" | John Dawson Read, Christopher Gunning | 38 | 8th |
04 | Beyond | "Wish" | Steve Elson, Don Gould | 67 | 3rd |
05 | Bucks Fizz | "Making Your Mind Up" | Andy Hill, John Danter | 97 | 1st |
06 | Gem | "Have You Ever Been in Love?" | Andy Hill, Peter Sinfield, John Danter | 63 | 4th |
07 | Lezlee Carling | "Where Are You Now" | Lindsey Moore | 56 | 6th |
08 | Liquid Gold | "Don't Panic" | Adrian Baker | 70 | 2nd |
Detailed Jury Votes[2] | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Draw | Song | Birmingham | Cardiff | Manchester | Belfast | Edinburgh | London | Bristol | Total score |
1 | "Not Without Your Ticket" | 7 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 50 |
2 | "All Cried Out" | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 63 |
3 | "For Only a Day" | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 38 |
4 | "Wish" | 15 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 67 |
5 | "Making Your Mind Up" | 10 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 97 |
6 | "Have You Ever Been in Love" | 8 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 63 |
7 | "Where Are You Now" | 6 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 56 |
8 | "Don't Panic" | 9 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 70 |
Jury Spokespersons[2] | |
---|---|
Jury | Spokesperson |
Birmingham | David Stevens |
Cardiff | Iwan Thomas |
Manchester | John Mundy |
Belfast | Peter Dickson |
Edinburgh | Jim O'Hara |
London | Ray Moore |
Bristol | Andy Batten-Foster |
UK Discography
Unusually for the UK competition, three of the finalists reached the UK Singles Chart. Making Your Mind Up spent three weeks at number one, whilst the runner-up, Don't Panic! reached number 42 at more-or-less the same time. Have You Ever Been in Love? was a UK no.10 hit for Leo Sayer in 1982, also reaching no.4 in Australia. The track was covered by many other artists, including Peter Cetera and Westlife. For Only A Day was later used as the theme song for the 1983 Miss World contest, performed live by all the contestants during the broadcast.
- Gary Benson – All Cried Out: Warner Bros./WEA K17773.
- Unity – For Only A Day: Epic A1066.
- Beyond – Wish: Radioactive RAD102.
- Bucks Fizz – Making Your Mind Up: RCA PB5339.
- Paris – Have You Ever Been in Love?: RCA PB5475.
- Leo Sayer – Have You Ever Been in Love?: Chrysalis CHS2596 (1982).
- Liquid Gold – Don't Panic: Polo POLO12-8.
At Eurovision
1981 was the year that Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with their song "Making Your Mind Up". It received 136 points from the 19 juries, beating Germany's Lena Valaitis with the song "Johnny Blue".[3]
Members of the British jury included Norman Harper, S. Andrew, David Bratt, P. Green, A. Harmann, J.P. Robinson, D. Ruteledge, S. Tapper, I. Tyler, G. Wallbank, and Conor E. Young.[2]
Voting
|
|
References
- ^ Television's Greatest Hits, Network Books, Paul Gambaccini and Rod Taylor, 1993. ISBN 0 563 36247 2
- ^ a b c d Roxburgh, Gordon (2016). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Three: The 1980s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 56–83. ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
- ^ "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
External links
- Bucks Fizz Official Website
- v
- t
- e
- 1957
- 1959
- 1960
- 1961
- 1962
- 1963
- 1964
- 1965
- 1966
- 1967
- 1968
- 1969
- 1970
- 1971
- 1972
- 1973
- 1974
- 1975
- 1976
- 1977
- 1978
- 1979
- 1980
- 1981
- 1982
- 1983
- 1984
- 1985
- 1986
- 1987
- 1988
- 1989
- 1990
- 1991
- 1992
- 1993
- 1994
- 1995
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
- 1999
- 2000
- 2001
- 2002
- 2003
- 2004
- 2005
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- 2009
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
2020- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
- Andy Abraham
- Olly Alexander
- The Allisons
- Michael Ball
- Bardo
- Belle and the Devotions
- Black Lace
- Blue
- Patricia Bredin
- Brotherhood of Man
- Bucks Fizz
- Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson
- Ronnie Carroll
- Co-Co
- Josh Dubovie
- Electro Velvet
- Emma
- Jade Ewen
- Scott Fitzgerald
- James Fox
- Nicki French
- Jessica Garlick
- Gina G
- Mary Hopkin
- Engelbert Humperdinck
- Imaani
- Samantha Janus
- Javine
- Jemini
- Joe and Jake
- Bryan Johnson
- Lucie Jones
- Katrina and the Waves
- Kathy Kirby
- Lindsay
- Live Report
- Love City Groove
- Lulu
- Kenneth McKellar
- Molly
- Matt Monro
- Mike Moran
- Mae Muller
- The New Seekers
- James Newman
- Olivia Newton-John
- Lynsey de Paul
- Precious
- Prima Donna
- Michael Rice
- Cliff Richard
- Rikki
- Clodagh Rodgers
- Frances Ruffelle
- Ryder
- Sam Ryder
- Daz Sampson
- Scooch
- The Shadows
- Sandie Shaw
- Sonia
- SuRie
- Sweet Dreams
- Bonnie Tyler
- Vikki
- "All"
- "Are You Sure?"
- "The Bad Old Days"
- "Beg, Steal or Borrow"
- "Believe in Me"
- "Better the Devil You Know"
- "Bigger than Us"
- "Boom Bang-a-Bang"
- "Children of the Universe"
- "Come Back"
- "Congratulations"
- "Cry Baby"
- "Dizzy"
- "Don't Play That Song Again"
- "Embers"
- "Even If"
- "Flying the Flag (For You)"
- "Give a Little Love Back to the World"
- "Go"
- "Hold On to Our Love"
- "I Belong"
- "I Can"
- "I Love the Little Things"
- "I Wrote a Song"
- "I'm Never Giving Up"
- "It's My Time"
- "Jack in the Box"
- "Knock, Knock Who's There?"
- "Let Me Be the One"
- "Long Live Love"
- "Looking High, High, High"
- "Love City Groove"
- "Love Enough for Two"
- "Love Games"
- "Love Is..."
- "Love Shine a Light"
- "Love Will Set You Free"
- "Making Your Mind Up"
- "A Man Without Love"
- "Mary Ann"
- "A Message to Your Heart"
"My Last Breath"- "Never Give Up on You"
- "No Dream Impossible"
- "One Step Further"
- "One Step Out of Time"
- "Only the Light"
- "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"
- "Power to All Our Friends"
- "Puppet on a String"
- "Ring-A-Ding Girl"
- "Rock Bottom"
- "Runner in the Night"
- "Save Your Kisses for Me"
- "Say It Again"
- "Say Wonderful Things"
- "Sing, Little Birdie"
- "Space Man"
- "Still in Love with You"
- "Storm"
- "Teenage Life"
- "That Sounds Good to Me"
- "Touch My Fire"
- "We Will Be Free (Lonely Symphony)"
- "Where Are You?"
- "Why Do I Always Get It Wrong"
- "You're Not Alone"
- Note: Entries scored out signify where the United Kingdom did not compete