United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978
| United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 1978 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) | |||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Selection process | A Song for Europe 1978 | |||
| Selection date | 31 March 1978 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "The Bad Old Days" | |||
| Artist | Co-Co | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Final result | 11th, 61 points | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 with the song "The Bad Old Days", written by Stephanie de Sykes and Stuart Slater, and performed by the band Co-Co. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision
A Song for Europe 1978
The national final was held on Friday 31 March 1978 at the Royal Albert Hall, presented by Terry Wogan. The songs were backed by the Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra.[1]
Fourteen regional juries voted on the songs: Bristol, Bangor, Leeds, Norwich, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff, Plymouth, Glasgow, Southampton, and London. Each jury voted internally and ranked the songs 1–12, awarding 12 points for their highest scoring song, down to 1 point for the lowest scoring entry.
"The Bad Old Days" won the national and came 11th in the contest. Broadcast on the Friday after the Easter weekend in the United Kingdom, A Song for Europe 1978 was watched by 13.7 million viewers and was the 16th-most watched programme of the week – the show's highest ever rating.[1]
| R/O | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian | "Shine It On" | 114 | 3 | |
| 2 | Brown Sugar | "Oh No, Look What You've Done" | 49 | 11 | |
| 3 | Fruit Eating Bears | "Door in My Face" |
|
49 | 11 |
| 4 | Jacquie Sullivan | "Moments" | Jacquie Sullivan | 106 | 6 |
| 5 | Sunshine | "Too Much in Love" |
|
81 | 8 |
| 6 | Ronnie France | "Lonely Nights" | Paul Curtis | 68 | 9 |
| 7 | The Jarvis Brothers | "One Glance" | Paul Curtis | 114 | 3 |
| 8 | Co-Co | "The Bad Old Days" |
|
135 | 1 |
| 9 | Bob James | "We Got It Bad" |
|
66 | 10 |
| 10 | Midnight | "Don't Bother to Knock" |
|
116 | 2 |
| 11 | Babe Rainbow | "Don't Let Me Stand in Your Way" |
|
84 | 7 |
| 12 | Labi Siffre | "Solid Love" | Labi Siffre | 110 | 5 |
Both groups Co-Co and Sunshine had participated in A Song for Europe 1976, albeit with different line-ups. Co-Co would return to A Song for Europe 1980 with another line-up, under the name The Main Event. Co-Co's member Cheryl Baker would eventually win the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the group Bucks Fizz.
| R/O | Song | Aberdeen
|
Norwich
|
Manchester
|
Bangor
|
Southampton
|
Leeds
|
Belfast
|
Bristol
|
Glasgow
|
Birmingham
|
London
|
Cardiff
|
Newcastle
|
Plymouth
|
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Shine It On" | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 114 |
| 2 | "Oh No, Look What You've Done" | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 49 |
| 3 | "Door in My Face" | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 49 |
| 4 | "Moments" | 8 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 106 |
| 5 | "Too Much in Love" | 9 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 81 |
| 6 | "Lonely Nights" | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 68 |
| 7 | "One Glance" | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 114 |
| 8 | "The Bad Old Days" | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 135 |
| 9 | "We Got It Bad" | 3 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 66 |
| 10 | "Don't Bother to Knock" | 4 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 116 |
| 11 | "Don't Let Me Stand in Your Way" | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 84 |
| 12 | "Solid Love" | 10 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 110 |
| Regional jury spokespersons[2] | ||||||||||||||||
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At Eurovision
The contest was broadcast on BBC1, with commentary by Terry Wogan,[3] and on radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, with commentary by Ray Moore.[4][5] The contest was watched by 21 million viewers.[6]
The BBC appointed Colin Berry as its spokesperson to announce the British jury results.[7]
Voting
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References
- ^ a b Television's Greatest Hits, Network Books, Paul Gambaccini and Rod Taylor, 1993. ISBN 0 563 36247 2
- ^ a b c Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 288–311. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1978 – BBC1". Radio Times. 22 April 1978. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via BBC Genome Project.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1978 – BBC Radio 2". Radio Times. 22 April 1978. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via BBC Genome Project.
- ^ "Schedule – BBC Radio 1 – 22 April 1978". Radio Times. 22 April 1978. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via BBC Genome Project.
- ^ "Audience reaction". BBC Handbook 1979. pp. 33–34. Retrieved 4 November 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 312–327. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Paris 1978". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.