Departure Lounge

Dublin, Ireland.

Begins with a perfectly romantic well-heeled couple taking a horse and carriage through the cobbled streets of Dublin. Where do they arrive but at the Eurovision Song Contest but of course. Bravo!

The host kicks it all off with Gaelic (at least I hope it is) and is of course, ginger and to set it off, a huge green dress, with chiffon bell sleeves. Then French and lastly, English. She tell us it’s coming to us in colour, hurrah for colour, I say. The seventies was just too good to come to us in black and white.

Austria is up first. Montage is the now expected of home country postcard. In a cute white minidress and blunt side-fringe Marrianne Mendt rocks out with her gutsy vocals. Joe Grech is up next, also in bright white, with a cheeky blue spotted bow-tie and matching hanky tucked jauntily into his front jacket pocket. Jaunty is a good description of his performance.

Monaco is third performance of the evening. Their montage is backed by cheesy lounge synth. Love it.
Severine gives the epic song full diva treatment, complete with hands, power fists and a cheeky side-smile to the camera. Her back-up boys are all in tuxedos, matching her formal black look. Switzerland steps up with a folksy trio with the entire first verse being “la la la’s”. The entire effect is a bit Sunday school teachers “getting with it”.

Germany’s entry is the returning for a second Eurovision, Katja Ebstein. She is a fashion highlight again in a white rhinestone encrusted jumpsuit. The song is big, with a little soul running through it. Karina is Spain’s entry, again as is very popular for this contest, clad all in white. She throws herself into it, kitten heels and all, visibly shuddering with emotion as she belts out her song. There is a “ba ba ba ba-ba” refrain, so they may be in with a shot.

France has the tres serious, then suddenly uplifting, “Un Jardin Sur Le Terre” sung gallanty and Gallic-ly by Serge Lama. This is followed by fellow French speaking Luxembourg, with “Pomme, Pomme, Pomme” Monique Melsen. The song is as equally flippant as the title. Monique has ditched the big frock, for over-the-knee red socks, a tight red jumper tucked into tiny demin shorts with denim braces. She does rock the look, and the audience agrees, with huge applause.

The UK has a hard act to follow, “Jack in The Box” is sung by Clodagh Rodgers, who is also getting into the tiny short look. Acid pinks shirt and spangly hotpants. The song is a little too similar to “Puppet on A String” which they previously won with and were obviously hoping to re-work the magic.

Belgium’s entry, singing “Goeie Morgen, Morgen” is Lily Castel and Jacques Raymond. The contest was without cheesy, slightly wooden, no-chemistry duet, so at least that has been put to rights. Phew.

Italy chooses a very traditional sounding song, belted out by a young, innocent looking Massimo Ranieri. His act is complete with lots of hand gestures and wide-spread arms for the chorus. Sweden follows this up by “Vita Vidder” sung by ‘The Family Four’, which is a scary folksy pre-cursor to Abba. The two blokes flanking the ladies (blonde and brunette, no less) have guitars, yellow bandanas around their necks and beards. They don’t look related, and I’m not sure about the Family aspect.

The host country, Ireland, now gets their turn, “One Day Love” sung by Angela Farrell, in sparkly hot pink. The Netherlands then take things down a notch with “Tijd” sung by long-haired Saskia and moustachioed Serge. The song has a quaint middle-ages theme, complete with recorders as accompaniment.

To Portugal, with “Menina” sung by Tonicha. She is psychadelia made into a pretty blonde in a maxidress, and her traditional Portuguese back-up band is quite a juxtaposition. They are all black suits, white shirts and red carnations, and the girls look a little ‘Fado’.

Krunoslav Slabinac is representing, who else with his name, Yugoslavia. He is a shining example of 1970s male virility, with a plastic helmet of perfect brown hair, decked out in a cream jacket with red print. The song sounds Slav traditional spliced with some ’70s funk. Finland brings us Markk Aro and the Koivisto Sisters. If Barbie released a Miss Finland doll, you would be getting close to what the Koivisto Sisters look like. Markk has a bit of a party mullet, and their dance routine is pure brown magic-in-motion.

Lastly, to Norway and “Lykken Er” (Happiness is) sung by Hanne Krogh. It’s all very ‘My Fair Lady’, big white frock, puffed sleeves and white parasol, and the song is a happy-go-lucky ditty. So with the last happy boom-boom, the last act is over.

Our flame-haired host introduces the ‘half-time’ act, but then the tape goes to black. Not to worry, it then starts up again, phew, crisis averted. It starts mid-way through the voting, with a German voice-over. The voting process is completely different to previous years. The clunky phone-in has gone, but they’ve managed to find something even clunkier. We now move through groups of countries sitting behind desks, who go through each of the 18 entries and then show their scores out of five. Each country seems to be represented by a square man in a suit, and a hip, pretty lady. This really was an even slower way to do the voting, I did not think that was possible.

Oh, I think I’ve nodded off. I’m back for the final scoring. Monaco streaked ahead with 128 points, followed by Spain and then Germany. Off to Monaco next year then!

Dana hands over flowers to a weeping Severine, then some kind of rolled-up poster looking prizes to Spain and Germany. Then, as is tradition, our winner Severine gives us a reprise of her song, the recording fades out to black before before she’s even finished.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

The background is uber-modern, silver orbs and ramps. Up first is the host’s entry - three big haired ladies doing it for the Netherlands.

Another Eurovision first, we are treated to a short vignette of each performer, before the song begins. Henri Des, for Switzerland, has a very Eurovision chorus of “Ba ba ba”. Then, Gianni Morrandi, whose song is completely forgettable, but he is notable as a film star, who married his leading lady. Heavens, that is rare.

Yuogslavia is represented by Eva Srsen, with a song which seems alternately too high or low for her voice. She is introduced to us in her short film, where she throws snowballs at the camera, looking oh-so-carefree. In her performance, she looks like she is wearing yellow plastic. Hmmm. For Belgium, we have Jean Vallee. Jean, bonjour? Sounds more like the French national anthem than a Eurovision contender.

Speaking of France, onto Guy Bonnet, singing “Marie Blanche”. He also wrote France’s 1968 entry. He accompanies himself on the piano, with a beautiful, sad, love song - even sadder and more beautiful for being in French, non? It is good to see a grand piano on the Eurovision stage.

Mary Hopkin brings us the UK’s song “Knock, knock, who’s there?”. A poppy little tune with back up singing boys rather than girls, perhaps another Eurovision first?

David Alexandre Winter sings “Je Suis Tombe Ciel”. He is ice cool, complete with Elvis sunnies in his introduction film. Julio Iglesias fronts up for Spain, singing “Gwendolyn”. He is in electric blue, his back-up ladies in shocking pink. This from a man who used to play for Real Madrid. An interesting turn of events. As the cliche goes, during his performance he really does ‘make love to the camera’. Ew.

Dominique Dussant, Monaco, is next with one of the more surreal Eurovision songs, “Marlene”, a tribute to Marlene Dietrich. It’s inventive, complete with Berlin Weimar caberet…frankly just odd, even for Eurovision. Katja Ebstein, Germany, rocks it with a very hip outfit; a fur-trimmed maxi coat, over a mini-skirt and silver platform boots. Yeah baby!

Last, but as it turns out, certainly not least, is Dana, representing Ireland, with “All Kinds of Everything”. Butter wouldn’t melt, white frock, sitting demurely on a box. For 1970, that was exactly what the judges were looking out for.

The transfer drops out throughout Dana’s bit, and I am just left with the audio, but picture does resume for the voting. The host has even bigger and blonder hair than Katie Boyle. Ireland runs away with a big win. The whole thing is finished from go to whoah in just an hour and five minutes. This is the way it should be. The end shot is a wide of the stage, and slighly unsettling, as a tiny, still-at-school Dana is surrounded by a big all-male press scrum.

Ladies and Gentleman, to London, and we have COLOUR!

The BBC slate is vibrant blue and acid yellow. Katie Boyle presents from the Royal Albert Hall, with ’60s colour being a real treat after so many Euro hours spent in black and white. This viewing copy, well this version, again has Swedish voice over. Bless the Swedes for keeping it is all I can say!

It begings all swinging ’60s with Portugal’s Carlos Mendes, but quickly turns to heart rending ballad and strings with Belgium’s Claude Lombard and then Austria’s very toothy Karel Gott. Luxembourg has apparently entered a couple they found at the nearest karaoke bar, in a total fashion mish-mash. Switzerland’s Italian entry Gianni Mascolo was a Big Power Ballad, in capitals, but looked like a post-op Nana Mouskouri as a man.

Back to duets again with Monaco. She wears a fuschia mac and white heels. He wears a blue velvet suit with a baby pink skivvy. Bless this colour TV. The song? No idea - too busy looking at the threads. Sweden’s entry was very cool. A groovy song baby, sung by Claes-Goeran Hederstroem, a cross between Elvis in style, and Mark Hamil, aka Luke Skywalker in looks. Then we are treated to two acid bright ladies in a row; Finland and then France.

Italy’s entry proves that Nicolas Sarkozy - or his suave brother- was actually a crooner, and Italian, back in 1968. The song has lovely strings and is a wistful, heartfelt plea to “Marianne”.

Next up, is Cliff. UK fans will need no second name. He is in his suit which Austin Powers’ is an exact replica in “The Spy Who Shagged Me”. I love Cliff’s dolly birds; a blonde, a brunette, and of course, a redhead, in matching pink (what else) baby-doll dresses. The squeals from the crowd are a nice change from polite applause - steady on, this is Eurovision!

Spain’s “La la la” (yes, that is the song title) is performed by Massiel in pink with her turquoise back-up chorus…for extra “La la’s” of course. Wencke Myr, Norwegian via Stockholm, wears her acid bright, this time in a shade of yellow, in a ruffled frock that wouldn’t look out of place in the 1980s.

The ‘half-time’ show is fabulous and a first for the now ubiquitous, film montage of all the sights of the host country. In this case, a swinging snapshot of 1960s London, with the live orchestra playing along.

A riotous moment of comedy in the (very close, Spain, UK & France) voting was for London calling in and saying “London ici”, oh how Katie Boyle laughed.

Sandie Shaw returnes wearing a dress made out of Kermit the Frog, to award toothy Spain the winning gong.

1969 Eurovision Song Contest

Oh no - I go to put the tape in the VCR but it’s broken. Whoever loaned it last must have returned it busted. Le grrrr.

This year we are in Vienna, Austria.

This VHS did not have the complete contest, only the winning entry from UK Sandie Shaw, and some of the very problematic voting process. Scoreboard error after scoreboard error; only for the lovely bee-hived hostess Erika Vaal to go to announce the winner - before stopping mid-sentence - realising they had left Ireland out of voting! Then we were treated to the as-ever awkward prize giving, giving Sandie Shaw a bouquet, only to rip it away seconds later, so she could treat us to “Puppet on A String” again. The finishing touch was the lovely Erika saying ‘good night’ in eveery competing countries language, before finally wishing us “Guten Auben”.

As Luxembourg won last year, that is of course where we are for 1966.

The film transfer just cuts right into the winning act, no preamble, which is unusual. It was with Swedish voice over for some reason. This would suggest that this recording is from Swedish TV. Up first is Austria with a crooner singing the French and German bilingual tune “Merci cheri” and tinkling the Ivory. Sweden then brings out the cool cats with an unusual male/female, he said / she said act. Though she is very Eurovision, he looks like a geography teacher in a suit, oh and there’s even some jazz flute. A most unlikely pairing.

Then the tape goes to black, and suddenly, in COLOUR, we get more Swedish voice over (I should mention here that I can speak Swedish so it is comprehensible to me) and a scoreboard in Swedish, where it seems local Swedish judges are calling in from all parts of Sweden to vote on ten different songs, one of which is a tune called “Waterloo”. This is getting many more votes than any other. We hear the voting from Oerebro, Norkoeping, Malmoe, Sunnsval, and finally Stockholm.

Finally we are presented with that year’s Swedish Eurovision entry. After a few prize draws and ceremonies it is none other than ABBA. Performing “Waterloo”. In Swedish. Television gold.

I am glued, I have never seen this gem of Swedish TV archive. It finishes as abruptly as it began, and there is nothing else on the tape.

So…it is post Eurovision 2010, my marathon simply couldn’t finish before the TX date. I will soldier on watching though, and hope to conclude by Eurovision 2011. Is that moving the goalposts or what?

Anyway, enough preamble, let me discuss the matter at hand. Eurovisions past.

Unfortunately 1964 is not held in the archive. Such are the pitfalls of TV in that era, it was seen as live, as immediate, but not something to be archived with care, or kept for further use. The limited technology of recording TX does certainly contribute to this.

1965! Brought to you by RAI, from Naples (Napoli), Italy.

In the main opening pan of the audience, there’s a woman who already looks tired; taking off her glasses and wiping them, with a sigh…maybe it’s just me, but I think I know how she feels. Eurovision is wonderful, but long. Very long. I’ve been out of practice for weeks, and haven’t watched a Eurovision for weeks. This lot of DVD’s and VHS are getting me overdue notices, I’ve had to extend the loan. Maybe I just don’t have the attention span I should - but they are so long and require several sittings.

The UK draws the ‘dreaded second spot’ after the Netherlands. Kathy Kirby belts out “I Belong”, it’s a cracking tune, much more pure Eurovision than Irelands drippy “I’m Walking the Streets in The Rain”. After Butch Moore ( I love that name for a Drag King act!) finishes I spot her again, bored woman in the audience with the glasses. She’s there, hardly holding her applause. She looks so bored yet she’s the centre of the audience crane shot. How unfortunate.

Austria is minting a Eurovision first, the croony Udo Jurgens has a grand piano up on the stage and tinkles his way through “Sag Ihr, Ich Lass Sie Grussen”. Lize Marke, Belgium’s entry with ” Als Het Weer Lente Is” blows the camera a kiss - to me it’s a bit wrong, and the jury must have agreed as it came second last.

What? Sweden. What were you thinking sending a bald, slightly fat man to sing operatically in over-enunciated English? Ingvar Wixell certainly broke the mould.

Luxembourg’s winning entry is boppy enough and a little bit 17-year-old Bardot, but no wonder the following act ended up with ‘null points. How could an Abe Lincoln look-i-likey compare, especially with a Eurovision audience. I think “Aurinko Laskee Laenteen” by Viktor Klimenko was tops. Next, Switzerland rounds off the performances with a Piaf inspired “Non A Jamais Sans Toi” by Yovanna.

Sound problems with the hostess Renata Mauro’s mic when going into scoring doesn’t help proceedings. The scoreboard is great, no numerals for them, it’s all about the dots. It is impossible to read the board, and the shot stays on a wide of the whole board, but the commentator stills lets us know “It’s very hard to read from here, you can probably see it better from there”. Umm, actually not. Also he tell us “Isn’t that absolutely incredible, every single year we seem to come second!”.

The awards ceremony is fantastically awkward, with the ‘interval’ after performances, before scoring, opera singer giving France and Serge Gainsbourg their Eurovision silver plates.

Whoa. So this was a little tougher than anticipated…there is no chance I can catch up on the last 45 or so Eurovisions before Eurovision 2010, that’s just not going to happen. It’s been quite difficult really, even now I am typing my entries in, off paper I scrawl on while watching…this entry was one I watched weeks ago.

It’s difficult to monopolise the TV for a good three hours at a time also, especially when the other half is just not as enamoured with Eurovision.

Down to business. Eurovision 1963 was held in:
London!

Begins with a wide shout of BBC Television Centre, some lovely aerials and what is colloquially known as the Stage door.
Then to an aluminium looking set, and Katie Boyle’s big front teeth and awkward auto-cue reading. We are treated with the very high-tech map, with flashing light to show us where the entry is from. The UK is up first with the previous year’s Ronnie Carroll, he is back with much more of a Bluegrass twang this year, and, too exciting, back-up singers in frocks…and lip synching, which at the time was a total scandal.

The production values are just miles better than previous years; multiple camera angles, props and even cut-aways. There is a rather creepy moment when Italy’s Emilio Pericoli strokes one of the oversize photos of his “lady friends”. The stroke is just a bit too earnest. Ew.

Danmark, I’ll just say ooooh, psychadelia…swirly pattern cross faded over the artists. To Yugoslavia and really, what a gorgeous looking man, not textbook good looking but has the look of a proper man-doll.

Interestingly, both Switzerland and Austria have Israeli singers for their entries…some kind of post-WW2 apology through Eurovision? Who can say?

Monaco’s Francoise Hardy is a swinging cat in a black sack-like dress and modern blunt fringe, and slighty mussed hair. A nice change from a Big Up-do and tulle. Oh but up next is Nana.

Yes Greece’s traitor is off singing for Luxembourg, singing in French and not Greek, but of course…I have to say my progress is slow, I’ve had to do Euro 1963 over three sittings, over about 3 weeks.

Okay the “speciality act”, as Miss Katie Boyle so plummily puts it, is quite a bonkers bicycle tricks pair from Sweden.

Then the voting…high drama with Oslo’s “slip up”. Denmark sounds terminally depressed, too many Isben plays perhaps. There are definite ripples of discontent through the audience when Norway has to call back with their vote - which then meant that Denmark (Scandinavian neighbour, obviously) won and Switzerland did not.

After the drama of the vote has subsided, we meet the BBC Controller of TV, Mr. Hood. He gives a serious, stirring speech - quite un-Eurovision really - on science and technology making the Eurovision TX possible.

As for my next programme to view, sadly, 1964 is not held in the archive.

A viewing in 3 parts. The host reads off palm cards, awkwardly greeting each country in that country’s language.
The host otherwise speaks French and this recording is with another language over the top of that. So really all the comments are a bit incomprehensible to this viewer - but who needs chit-chat when one has Eurovision music! Thankfully there are graphics of the country name to help keep up with the entries. Finland kicks off with a dippy ‘Tipi-Tii’ from Marion Rung, then straight onto Belgique with the massive eye-browed Fud Leclerc, then onto the dramatic Spanish entry Victor Balaguer with ‘Llamame’. He was an early pioneer of power ballad clenched fist miming. To Austria, with the stuck in the era of classical opera ; Elenore Schwarz, usch, dear no, too much, and the jury thought so too. She only limped in second last, after the Netherlands entry Katinka. Inger Berggren for Sweden is a force of nature, breaking into “free-style” in the instrumental, and seemingly has more energy than 100 Energizer bunnies…whoah there.

Up next, Germany, who seems a drag after that act. The Netherlands entry look like they may be cousins, also technical problems means they spend half of the performance under-exposed, and looking a bit like the black and white minstrel show. Not a good look.

The winner, from La Belle France, looks like Michelle Pfeiffer. Norway then follows, and scarily has the worst make-up - or tan lines? - around the bottom of her neck. Unfortunately she looks like someone has stuck her tanned head onto another, paler, body. Switzerland’s entry was trying to be pure James bond. He very nearly pulls it off, but not quite.

Royaume Uni’s entry was the upbeat Ronnie Carroll, what an unsung hero of Eurovision. The host country’s entry frankly looked like Count Dracula, even if he could sing. The entry from Italy was the stereotypically overly dramatic, semi-operatic ‘Addio Addio’ by Claudio Villa. So OTT and full of High Emotion, it did look like he was going to cry at one point. The last act is Monaco who sings beautifully, but really, looks like a game show host.

1962 has a comedy act between the songs and the judging…think a taller Manuel from the BBC’s ‘Fawlty Towers’, and also plays lots of different instruments.

Then to judging, this year it’s not only the UK speaking English, Germany joins in too, sounding - of all accents - Australian. Strange indeed.

The winner gets a medal rather than the previous year’s dinky trophy cup. Last year’s winner does the honours and hands over the prize. As the credits roll, we are treated to fancy rolling graphics superimposed over the CLT medal.

Another DVD, with the entire broadcast from beginning to end, complete with technical hitches along the way. From Cannes, France, we are treated to a slightly wobbly near 360 degree pan of a beach and then the venue, complete with European flags fluttering in the Southern French night. Eurovision is in the air!

We are treated to a petite weather forecast and once the cameras show us inside, we get the full pan of all the commentary boxes. This is a sight we are just no longer treated to anymore. Out comes the host, the belle Jacqueline Joubert, who is back hosting again after her gig as ’59’s host, so she at least knows what she is doing.

The garden themed set appears, and on it is all 16 entries, and each is introduced in turn. The commentator tells us that he’s going to have to speak over our lovely host, as “she is speaking French, naturally.” A prize for the most obvious statement of the evening please…

Spain gains the honour of joining Eurovision for the first time with a very Spanish entry (well, why wouldn’t you?) down to the black lace shawl and castanet miming from Conchita Bautista. The commentary is a bare whisper and then disappears completely at some point, which means - shock horror - the British audience were listening to pure unadulterated French, beamed right into their home TV sets. Austria’s entry wows with an entrant who even in black and white, has an impressive perma-tanned look. The entrant, Jimmy Makulis, is from Greece originally, and having certain charms, he is, I conclude, the Peter Andre of 1961. At least there were no reality shows in those days.

I am distracted by Finland’s Valoa Ikkunassa’s massive bling, her earrings are throwing over-exposed glints everywhere and very distracted by the Netherland’s Greetje Kauffeld, who appears to have a bird make it’s (very neat) nest in her hair.

The next performance crackles with energy from Lil Babs of Sweden, such an impossibly tiny waist, oh and wait, she can whistle too. We have been anchorless and obviously at a loss without an English speaking guide so the large graphic FROM SWEDEN appears, moments before we are re-joined by our lost commentator apologising for the break in the line.

France’s entrant gets by on his eyebrows alone, they rival Jack Nicholson’s. I couldn’t tell you much about Jean-Paul Mauric’s song Printemps(Avril Carillonne), but his eyebrows will stay with me.

Nora from Norway is back again from 1960, not being put off from coming fourth the year before, she sings about being in Palma and only scrapes in seventh this time. At least Ms Brockstedt avoided any ‘native as exotic’ gaffs this time.

The voting is high drama as usual - oh a scoreboard half dissolved with Jacqueline, tres wow - everybody in the competition called through their votes in French, as would be expected, save United Kingdom, no surprises there, and Austria. The exchange between le rost biff UK jury member, stubbornly speaking English in clipped BBC tones, and the host clarifying, asking for him to repeat himself and answering just as stubbornly en francais, is classic.

The end to this TV spectacular was just brilliant, our on-again-off-again commentator simply tells us “seeing as we’re over time and we have a winner (Jean-Claude Pascal, Luxembourg), now it’s back to London” fade to black, despite our lovely host and winner still chatting away (in French, naturally). Certainly wouldn’t have had anything to do with UK and Luxembourg being a dead heat at one point, before Mme Joubert, realising the UK had a few too many points?

I think I may need to start watching more than one a week as I’ve a good fifty years to get through. And they only get longer and more complicated.

It’s started, I’m off the blocks…can I watch every (available) Eurovision Song Contest between now, dreary grey January, and the upcoming 2010 contest in Oslo?

I am lucky enough to have access to an archive which includes Eurovision Song Contests, which is a happy coincidence as I am a Eurovision convert since living in Sweden in the late 1990s. What’s not to like, it’s just so very camp, outlandish, ever-surprising, yet always predictable.

The contest started in 1956, in Lugano, Switzerland, but the first viewing copy held in the archive is from 1958.

1958 is transferred from the original film onto vhs and is far from complete. As recording TV output came much later than transmitting TV, the few snippets surviving are great to see. There are a few acts, and no host banter. First on the tape is a song I immediately recognise - Domenico Modugno, complete with huge hand gestures and clunky camera zooms out to get them, singing “Volare”, you know, the football chant, otherwise known as “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu”, which didn’t win the night, but went on to win squillions of records, and is the most recognisable Eurovision tune across the Atlantic. Those across the pond don’t know what they’re missing.

The only other acts on the tape, after Volare (woah oh oh…come on, you all know it) transferred twice, was Alice Babs from Sweden (ja, kom igen Sverige!) with the fuzzy lovey-dovey, “Lilla Staerna”, the French winner with “Dors, Mon Amour” , who was doing his best suave, sophisticated Gallic “love- uer” dreamy looks to camera, and finally the straight-out bonkers “Fur Zwei Groschen Musik” from Germany’s Margot Hielscher. From the vaudeville my-face-is-just-gonna-break-I’m-smiling-so-much grins to the white gloves and ‘Miss Jukebox’ beauty pageant sash, she was definitely the most entertaining of the lot. Oh and props even made an entrance with Margot swirling and twirling records in her immaculately gloved hands. Surreal magic, and my highlight of the limited viewing from Hilversum.

1959 was a disappointment after the taster of a few acts in 1958. It seems only 5 minutes of the host and the scoring survives in the archive - which was read out by the host of Cannes (the host country that year) Hannie Lips. Her arrival is tres dramatic, with a revolving bit of plywood scenery revealing her to us, and then continuing to wobble slightly in the background. The delights of that year’s winner, Teddy Scholten from the Netherlands, song is still a sweet mystery to me.

1960 is a real delight, on DVD and the entire contest and scoring transferred from the original film. At 80 minutes it’s condensed - set-up time between songs cut out (phew!). The winner is France’s Jacqueline Boyer, who makes Bambi eyes and mimes girlie “let me tell you a secret” faces throughout her song ‘ Tom Pillibi’. Ouch, that must have hurt the Brits at home, as it was London’s turn for hosting from the newly built and ultra-modern Royal Festival Hall. And they came a close second. Ouch, ouch. And the British jury gave France their highest score. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Sweden’s Siw Malmkvist was also into the elaborate miming, I guess as her and Team Sverige realised no-one outside their home and neighbouring countries was going to understand the lyrics anyway, so practically signing the song was the way to go. I’m not convinced. She was at least better (though scored worse)than over-the-border’s Norway, who decided to get an indigenous people twist into their act - how exotic - with ‘Voi Voi’ sung by Nora Brockstedt. I am not sure if Nora is of Sami background, if she is I guess I owe her and Norway an apology, but seriously, what a cringe-inducing ‘It’s-A-Small-World-Afterall portrayal of a people the Norwegians treated terribly, pushing them off their land, actively trying to dissolve their unique culture and way of life. To add to the fur-trimmed faux national costume is the fact that the commentator joyfully announces, in perfect plummy BBC standard English that the song “tells the story of a Lapp girl in Lappland” or some such, which makes wince. The Sami folk within Norway and Sweden consider ‘Lapp’ and ‘Lappland’ a derogatory term. I suppose it was 1960, but even still.

A special mention goes to Rudi Carrell of the Netherlands (second last place), who could probably make a tidy living as a Lyle Lovett lookie-likie. Spooky. Most ridiculous costume would have to go to Denmark’s entry, a wide-eyed young Katy Boedtger, who wears a bonnet and Ye Olden Dayes floral dress, and then gets actions and a bit of miming in with her bonnet too. Switzerland’s brunette beauty has a fab frock, big hair (I suspect the big hair will be a staple throughout my marathon, regardless of era) also has an amazing voice, singing a velvety rendition of ‘Cielo E Terra’ in Italian. Bella.

Lastly, the scoring is a giggle, with the very proper Katie Boyle, declaring scores on the board are wrong, telling people to repeat themselves and being generally British and quite bossy. Brilliant.

I am looking forward to 1961 for more full-orchestra, black and white Eurovision glam.