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Uploaded on Oct 30, 2011 Eurovision Song Contest 1988 - Winner - Switzerland - Céline Dion - Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi Category Céline Dion - Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Switzerland 1988) | Eurovision Song Contest Céline Dion Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi Music by 21st with - points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Belgium 18th with 5 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Denmark 3rd with 92 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Finland 20th with 3 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 France 10th with 64 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Germany 14th with 48 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Greece 17th with 10 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Iceland 16th with 20 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Ireland 8th with 79 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Israel 7th with

 85 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Italy 12th with 52 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Luxembourg 4th with 90 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Norway 5th with 88 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Portugal 18th with 5 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Spain 11th with 58 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Sweden 12th with 52 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Switzerland 1st with 137 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 The Netherlands 9th with 70 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Turkey 15th with 37 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 United Kingdom 2nd with 136 points in Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Yugoslavia Celine Dion | Eurovision Song Contest Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Final Points 137 Celine Dion is a French-Canadian singer who has sold millions of records around the world and is best

 known for the smash hit "My Heart Will Go On" from the 1997 movie Titanic.

The youngest of 14 children, she began her singing career at the age of 12 and became a big star in the French speaking parts of Europe. In 1990, she released her first English-language album, Unison. She was chosen to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 in Dublin with the song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi after sweeping away the competition in the Swiss national final. In what is perceived to be one of the most exciting voting races in Eurovision history, she won the contest by 1 point over the United Kingdom's Scott Fitzgerald 137-136 thanks to top marks from Portugal and 6 points from Yugoslavia (those two juries combined only gave 3 points to the UK). Since then, she has become one of the most successful female artists in the world. She married her longtime manager René Angélil in 1994 in a grand ceremony in Montreal and together they have 3 sons. Celine returned to her residency in Las Vegas in August 2015 after taking time off for health reasons and to take care of her husband, who died in January 2016.

It has often been noted that Celine started having romantic feelings for René during her time in Dublin preparing for her Eurovision appearance. 23 years ago today - Céline Dion wins for Switzerland | News | Eurovision Song Contest 23 years ago today - Céline Dion wins for Switzerland Céline Dion in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she won with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi Published 30 Apr 2011 at 14:01 Written by Tweet It was 23 years ago today that world famous superstar Céline Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest, singing Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi for Switzerland. It was only Switzerland's second victory, after they won the very first contest in 1956. Johnny Logan won the 1987 contest with Hold Me Now, which meant that Dublin had the honour of staging Europe's Favourite TV Show in 1988. Pat Kenny & Michelle Rocca hosted the show from the Simmonscourt Pavillion, in the Royal Dublin Society. 21 countries participated in 1988.

Irish band the Hothouse Flowers performed in the interval act and went on to score a hit with Don't Go afterwards. 1988 Facts & Figures The result in 1988 was only decided on the very last vote, Scott Fitzgerald of the United Kingdom had 136 points to Céline Dion's 131 before the Yugoslav jury voted. They awarded Switzerland 6 points and the United Kingdom zero, meaning Céline won by a solitary point. Cyprus had selected an entry, but had to pull out of the contest when it was established that the song had already been released, thus breaking entry regulations. Lara Fabian represented Luxembourg in 1988, finishing in 4th place with Croire, Lara went on to enjoy a big career in French speaking nations across the world. Hot Eyes made it a hat trick of appearances for Denmark after taking part in 1984 and 1985, and scored their best result to date, 3rd place with Ka' Du Se Hva' Jeg Sa' Austria scored the dreaded nul points, not a single country voted for Wilfried's Lisa Mona Lisa.

After being part of Chocolat Menta Mastik in 1976, and presenting the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem, Yardena Arazi was the Israeli representative in 1988. She finished 7th with Ben Adam. The wolrd witnesses a megastar in the making Aside from Abba, Céline Dion is arguably the biggest household name worldwide to have competed in Europe's Favourite TV Show. For Céline Dion, winning the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest was the starting point of her worldwide career. She had only been known in Canada and France before 1988, Europe's Favourite TV Show gave her the opportunity to record songs which would sell millions of copies all around the world. During the early 1990's she broke through in the major charts around the globe and scored multiple number one hits. In 1999, at the height of her success, she announced a hiatus from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer.

She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. For full details of the competing artists and songs, together with the full scoreboard check out our 1988 history page. Do you remember the 1988 contest? The Scot who came second to Celine Dion - BBC News BBC News The Scot who came second to Celine Dion By Steven Brocklehurst BBC Scotland news website 9 May 2014 Close share panel Image caption Scott Fitzgerald represented the UK in Eurovision in 1988 The last Scot to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest was Scott Fitzgerald, who came within a point of beating Celine Dion to the title in 1988. In the six decades since the Eurovision song contest began there have only been a handful of Scots representing the UK and by a strange coincidence two of them played together as children in the east end of Glasgow.

On of them, Marie Lawrie grew up to be Lulu, one of Scotland's most famous singers, who won Eurovision in 1969 with Boom Bang-a-Bang. Almost 20 years later wee Billy McPhail, who says he used to play with Lulu in a tenement back court, represented the UK under his stage name Scott Fitzgerald . In a rare interview, 66-year-old Fitzgerald told the BBC Scotland news website: "Her uncle, I think it was, used to live next door so she was there all the time with her mother. We used to play shops round the back by the middens. "I was in love with her when I was wee boy but she never showed me any attention." Image caption Glaswegian singer Lulu won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 Fitzgerald says he had a "wonderful east end" childhood before hitting the Glasgow music scene of the mid-1960s, playing gigs along with the likes of Frankie Miller and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.

After touring the UK in the musical Hair at the beginning of the 70s he almost made it as a glam rock star when he appeared in the film Never Too Young To Rock with bands such as Mud, the Glitter Band and Slik, which featured fellow Scot Midge Ure. In 1977 Fitzgerald and Dutch singer Yvonne Keeley had a massive international hit with If I Had Words. The song sent Fitzgerald around the world to perform in places such as a Zambia and South Africa, as well as appearing in the high-end big-theatre restaurants of London's west end. A decade later when he represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in Ireland, he had just turned 40. His song Go was written by Julie Forsyth, daughter of veteran entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth. She had been in the 1970s pop group Guys and Dolls with Fitzgerald's best friend Dominic. Image caption Scott recently decided to embrace his Eurovision past and start performing again It was Forsyth's idea to enter the song for Eurovision and it was one of eight tunes which battled it out in the Song for Europe contest to choose the UK entry.

For the first time since 1975, the public voted on the songs, although this time it was by telephone voting instead of postcards. Fitzgerald won comfortably and he was off to Dublin. "For me it was a dream place to be," he says. "The stage was incredible. I had a beautiful big 70-piece symphony orchestra and a really good song. For an artist I thought I was in heaven." With just two of the 21 countries to vote, Fitzgerald was 14 points ahead of Switzerland's entry, sung by a certain Miss Dion. "I was so close I could taste it," he says. Scots at Eurovision 1987 Rikki Peebles 1988 Scott Fitzgerald "The stage manager at Eurovision came to me and said 'when you win it, it is going to be mayhem, so watch out for me because I've got to take you back stage so you can collect the award and you can sing the song again'. "That was just as the voting started on the last two votes. "I said to him 'you'd better hold on there's another couple of votes'." He was right.

Fitzgerald lost by a single point in one of the closest contests ever. Image copyright AFP Image caption Celine Dion became a huge international star after her Eurovision win in 1988 "I can laugh about it now," he says. "I have no animosity or anything like that. I never did. "I'm a professional singer. You just get on with it. "After Celine Dion won I went over to her and gave her a big hug and kiss and said 'congratulations, darling'." Straight after the contest, Fitzgerald went to perform pre-booked dates in Scandinavia and the hype around Eurovision quickly faded away. For many years it was his big hit record which sustained his career, it certainly made him a lot more money. "It made me comfortable and looked after my children," he says. One of his children - Ki McPhail - has carried on the family tradition. He was one of the original members of boy band Busted and now works in music management. Born-again Fitzgerald's Eurovision experience was all but forgotten until he recently decided to embrace his past and performed at a number of party nights to celebrate the contest.

He says: "I have only recently come out of the closet as a born-again Eurovision artist." A few weeks ago he performed at London's Cafe de Paris to a crowd of Eurovision nuts. "It was fantastic. I felt like a superstar," he says. "When I walked out the roof nearly came down. I thought it was amazing. "All these years I've been trying to achieve this and I walk in and sing one song and there it is." Fitzgerald, who lives in the south of England, says he has never really talked to anybody about Eurovision for years. "I don't think they even know I exist in Scotland. I have not done a show in Scotland since 1971." He says he would love to perform in his home country, particularly if it were related to a cancer charity, as both his wife and himself have been affected by it. "My wife got breast cancer and I stopped working for five years and looked after her, because she's the most important thing in my life," he says. "The funny thing is, after she got the all-clear, the week after that, I was diagnosed with cancer. "But I'm recovering. I'm fine." So fine, in fact, that he has one last ambition.

He says: "It was wonderful to be representing the United Kingdom but I'm looking forward to representing my country one day. Alex Salmond, give me a call." Eurovision 1988 Results: Voting & Points Eurovision 1988 Results: Voting & Points Eurovision Song Contest 1988 Eurovision Song Contest 1988 result: Switzerland won with the song "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" by Céline Dion with 137 points Date: Saturday 30 April 1988 Location: Simmonscourt Pavillion, Royal Dublin Society, Dublin, Ireland Broadcaster: RTÉ Hosts: Pat Kenny & Michelle Rocca Voting: Each country's jury awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs Opening act: Johnny Logan performing "Hold Me Now" Interval act: Hothouse Flowers performing "Don't Go" Eurovision Switzerland: Céline Dion’s victory 25 years on Countries News Past Participants Switzerland by Alex Noone May 1, 2013 5:51 pm 357 views 0 30 April 1988.

Twenty-five years ago yesterday…and an upbeat love song called Ne partez pas sans moi won the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland. The singer was one Céline Dion. Back then, few had heard of the young star outside France and her native Canada. But after a nail-bitingly close contest that saw Céline beat the UK’s Scott Fitzgerald by only one point, it seemed the rest of Europe was ready to sit up and listen. Two years on, her single Where does my heart beat now, had hit the number 4 spot in the US charts and more success would follow, including her first US, UK and Australian number-one single in 1993, her cover of Jennifer Rush’s ballad, The power of love. In the years since then, Céline Dion has gone on to win 5 Grammy Awards, 12 World Music Awards, 7 American Music Awards, 7 Billboard Music Awards, 21 Juno Awards, 39 Félix Awards and is one of the best-selling female recording artists of all time, with more than 200 million album sales under her belt.

But for a long time, it seemed that winning the Eurovision Song Contest was one achievement Céline Dion was not so proud of. For many years, she refused to talk about her participation in the contest, seeming to want to distance herself from it. Her 2001 autobiography, My story, my dream, made only slight reference to the contest, referring to it only as the night she got together with her manager and now-husband, René Angélil. Finally, in 2007, Céline Dion, spoke publicly about winning the Eurovision Song Contest. In front of an audience that included 1970 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Dana, and 1998 host, Ulrika Johnson, Céline recorded An audience with Céline Dion for UK television channel, ITV. During the performance, she said – First of all they came to me and asked me to represent a country that’s not even mine. ‘Would you represent us at the Eurovision Song Contest? No pressure!’ I was very young but the song was amazing. I didn’t look at it that I was representing everyone, just doing my best.

I went and I sang my heart out the best I could and everything went so wonderfully well. I’m really grateful and it helped my career. Twenty-five years on from her win and Céline Dion’s website states proudly: (in 1988) Celine won the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin Ireland, where she performed live before a television audience of 600 million viewers throughout Europe, the USSR, the Middle-East, Japan, and Australia. She continues to record new material, tour the world and she’s still selling out the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, where she took up residency more than five years ago. After all her success, you might think that when she stood on the stage at RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion, Dublin, on 30 April 1988 and sang, Vous, qui cherchez l’étoile, vous, qui vivez un rêve…she might have been singing about herself. Céline in 1988 – ESCToday is growing and always looks for new members to join our team! Feel free to drop us a line if you're interested!

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#Greece #Hellas #eurovisionsongcontest #Kyiv #Ukraine #esc #ellada Follow Us About us ESCToday was founded in 1999 and since then it delivers Eurovision Song Contest news, polls, interviews, charts and exclusivities on a daily basis. Eurovision Song Contest 1988 | Eurovision Song Contest Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Eurovision Song Contest 1988 RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion, Dublin, Ireland Presenter(s) Hothouse Flowers performing "Don't Go" Participating Countries Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs Nul Points 1989 The Eurovision Song Contest 1988 was the 33rd in the series and was held on 30 April 1988 in Dublin, Ireland after Johnny Logan 's second win the previous year with the song Hold Me Now . It was held at the RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion (which previously hosted the 1981 contest) and was presented by Michelle Rocca and Pat Kenny.

All 22 nations from the previous year were set to compete, however, Cyprus had sent a song that had been previously done in their 1984 national selection and was forced to withdraw, leaving 21 nations to vie for the 1988 Grand Prix. This contest is best known for the exciting climax to the voting sequence in which Canadian singer Celine Dion won for Switzerland with the song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi , beating the United Kingdom 's Scott Fitzgerald by one point. Celine would go on to launch an international career that has spanned more than two decades. Lara Fabian , who finished 4th for Luxembourg , also launched a successful career as a result of her participation. Scott Fitzgerald of the United Kingdom The winner, Celine Dion of Switzerland The home entry, Jump The Gun Trivia This was the first contest to feature a computer-generated scoreboard. It was also the first contest to feature the previous year's winner perform a truncated reprise of their winning entry. This was the last contest to use the re-vote tiebreaker rule. At the time, this was the closest finish since the infamous 4-way tie of 1969 .

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the 1988 contest was made for RTE called "And finally... France". The title was taken from the announcement of the 12 points from the Yugoslavian jury, who decided the outcome. 1987 Tour de France champion Stephen Roche made an appearance in the Finnish postcard. Eurovision Winners Videos - 1980s 1980s 1989 - Yugoslavia Riva, "Rock Me, Baby" "Rock Me" was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1989. Performed by Riva, representing Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the first and only time that this country would win the Contest. The song was performed in Serbo-Croatian, however during the winners' encore lead vocalist Emilija Kokic sang the song in English. The song's victory led to international awareness of Yugoslav rock. Riva's frontress Emilija Kokic continued to appear in various shows but had no significant success after the 1989 victory.

1988 - Switzerland Celine Dion , "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" "Ne partez pas sans moi" ("Don't Leave Without Me") is the Swiss winning entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988. Performed by Céline Dion, it was released as a single in Europe on May 6, 1988. Dion performed "Ne partez pas sans moi" for 600 million viewers worldwide on the awards telecast. The song composed by Turkish songwriter named Atilla Sereftug and Swiss composer Nella Martinetti won with 137 points, beating the United Kingdom entry "Go" performed by Scott Fitzgerald by just one point in one of the closest finishes in Eurovision history. The single sold 200,000 copies in Europe in two days and over 300,000 copies in total. It is considered to be one of the most popular Eurovision entries, mainly because Dion used the song's success to launch her international career. "Ne partez pas sans moi" was also included on Dion's 1988 album The Best Of released in Europe (June 1988).

The song appeared in Canada as B-side to "D'abord, c'est quoi l'amour?." It also appeared on the French version of Dion's Incognito album. A music video was released in 1988. Céline Dion also recorded a German version of "Ne partez pas sans moi," called "Hand in Hand". 1987 - Ireland Johnny Logan, "Hold Me Now" "Hold Me Now" is a song composed and performed by Irish singer Johnny Logan. It became the winner of the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest. Logan had previously won with "What's Another Year?" in the 1980 Contest and would go on to write the winner of the 1992 Contest ("Why Me?" for Linda Martin for whom he had previously written "Terminal 3" at the 1984 Contest). The song is usually sung by Bohemians at home matches in Dalymount Park. The song was performed twentieth on the night, following Denmark's Anne-Cathrine Herdorf & Drengene with "En lille melodi" and preceding Yugoslavia's Novi Fosili with "Ja sam za ples".

At the close of voting, it had received 172 points, placing 1st in a field of 22. After Logan had been proclaimed the winner with this song, he was overcome with emotion during the reprise and was unable to reach the high notes in this part of the song. As he had when he won in 1980 with "What's Another Year?", he shouted "I still love you, Ireland". Lyrically, the song is a ballad sung from the point of view of a man whose love interest is leaving him for someone else ("from now on you'll be with someone else instead of me"). The singer pleads with his girlfriend to "touch, touch me the way you used to do" in order to leave him with good memories of their relationship, even as they "fill this memory/for the last time". The chorus then tells the girl "don't say a word", as they prepare to part. Despite the sad nature of the parting, the singer says that "I will know/though we're apart/we'll always be together", which implies some sort of optimism on his part.

The music (also composed by Logan) is that of a typical Eurovision power ballad, with the final chorus being introduced by a chorus of backing singers before they are joined by Logan's voice again. The song was succeeded as winner in 1988 by Celine Dion representing Switzerland with "Ne partez pas sans moi". It was succeeded as Irish representative at the 1988 contest by Jump The Gun with "Take Him Home". "Hold Me Now" is regarded by many fans as one of the high points of Contest history, recently being voted the third-best song in Eurovision history (behind "Waterloo" and "Nel blu dipinto di blu"). 1986 - Belgium Sandra Kim, "J'aime La Vie" "J'aime la vie" (I Love Life) was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1986. The winning song was performed for Belgium by Sandra Kim. Belgium had finished the 1985 Contest in last place, and thus achieved the rare turnaround from last to first in the space of one year. The song also marks the only time to date that Belgium has won the Contest.

The song was also released on Kim's album J'aime la vie in 1986. At Bergen, the song was performed thirteenth on the night (following Ireland's Luv Bug with "You Can Count On Me" and preceding Germany's Ingrid Peters with "Über Die Brücke Geh'n"). Its winning tally was 176 points, finishing first in a field of 20. The entry received points from every jury. In the lyrics, Kim describes herself as being "fifteen", although she was later proven to be only thirteen at the time of her performance. She thus remains the youngest ever Eurovision winner and one of the youngest-ever performers at the Contest. Her record is unlikely to be challenged, as the Contest rules were changed to specify that performers must turn at least 16 in the year that they perform. According to author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor in his book The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, the Swiss (who had placed 2nd) petitioned to have the Belgian win nullified after Kim's age was revealed.

Kim, herself of Italian descent, also recorded her winning entry in Italian (with the same title as the original French, "J'aime la vie") and English ("Crazy of Life"). In a 2006 online interview with 12points.be, Kim was asked if she sings "J'aime la vie" "with pleasure" at concerts and events now, to which she responded, "Not always." She then said, "It's a little girl's song, with little girl's lyrics, with a young adolescent's atmosphere. Nowadays, singing "J'aime la vie"...do you like life every day? Me neither." She does however continue to perform the song, and in 2007 one of the performances was televised live on Norwegian TV. "J'aime la vie" was succeeded as Belgian representative at the 1987 Contest, held in Brussels, by Liliane Saint-Pierre performing "Soldiers of Love". 1985 - Norway Bobbysocks, "La Det Swinge" "La det swinge" ("Let it swing") is a song in Norwegian, sung by the pop duo Bobbysocks!.

It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 - Norway's first victory in the contest. The song is a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard on the radio. Befitting the subject matter, the song itself is written in an old-fashioned style, with a memorable saxophone melody setting the chorus off. The melody arrangement is in retro style, containing elements of contemporary 1980s music and throwbacks to the 1950s. The song was performed thirteenth on the night, following Italy's Al Bano and Romina Power with "Magic Oh Magic" and preceding the United Kingdom's Vikki Watson with "Love Is". At the close of voting, it received 123 points, placing 1st in a field of 19. For their Eurovision appearance, the two members - Hanne Krogh and Elisabeth Andreasson - appeared in sparkling, bright purple jackets, worn over black and white outfits; Krogh sported a striking, black-and-white striped floor-length gown.

This was Elisabeth Andreasson's second appearance in the Eurovision Song Contest; in 1982 she represented Sweden in the duo Chips with Kikki Danielsson singing "Dag efter dag". Danielsson incidentally finished third after Bobbysocks and West Germany's Wind, with "Bra vibrationer" in the 1985 contest, again representing Sweden. Andreasson in turn went on to appear in the contest on two more occasions - she finished sixth in 1994, performing a duet with Jan Werner Danielsen, entitled simply, "Duett" and in 1996, she appeared as a solo artist, finishing second to Ireland's Eimear Quinn. Krogh finished 17th (second from last) in the contest in 1971, with the song "Lykken er", and in 1991 she returned to the Contest as part of the group Just 4 Fun, finishing 17th with "Mrs. Thompson". "La Det Swinge" was succeeded as Norwegian representative at the 1986 Contest by Ketil Stokkan with "Romeo".

Following their win, the single "La det swinge" peaked at #1 in the Norwegian and Belgian singles chart, and entered the charts in Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, United Kingdom to name a few. 1984 - Sweden Herrey's, "Diggi-loo Diggi-ley" "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984. Performed in Swedish by a trio of brothers named Herrey's. Lyrics were written by Britt Lindeborg, and the tune by Torgny Söderberg. It was produced by Anders Engberg and Torgny Söderberg.

The song is a perfect illustration of the time period in which it was performed; a very upbeat 1980s-style dance song, performed by three impossibly clean cut young men - fellow Swedish Eurovision participant Tommy Körberg famously dubbed them "the dancing deodorants" in the press, a derogatory nickname that stuck with them for the rest of their career in their home country - and the nonsensical title harking back to previous entries such as "Boom Bang-a-Bang", "Ding-A-Dong" and "La La La". The song has achieved considerable fame among Eurovision Song Contest fans, with a well-known archive of Contest lyrics using the domain name diggiloo.net, named after it. Despite the reception the song receives today, in the run-up to the Contest it was not an immediate favorite to win; bookmakers Ladbrokes had Ireland's "Terminal 3" and Italy's "I treni di Tozeur" as higher favourites, so the song winning came as a surprise to many.

According to author John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, The Herrey's opened the contest and thus became the third winners of the competition to sing from pole position, following Teach-In in 1975 and Brotherhood of Man in 1976. No song sung first or second has won since. The song itself deals with the lead singer discovering a pair of golden shoes in the street one day. He puts them on and immediately feels like dancing in the street, entering a "magical world". Thus, he wishes for everyone to have a pair. The English translation, released some time after the Contest, took much the same theme, titling the song "Golden Shoes". Richard Herrey, lead singer of the band, performed at the Congratulations special in late 2005. The song was succeeded as winner in 1985 by Bobbysocks representing Norway with "La det swinge". "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" as best reached a 2nd place at the Swedish singles charts.

1983 - Luxembourg Corinne Hermes, "Si La Vie Est Cadeau" "Si la vie est cadeau" ("If Life is a Gift") was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1983. Written by Jean-Pierre Millers (music) and Alain Garcia (lyrics), performed in French by French singer Corinne Hermès for Luxembourg. The song is a dramatic ballad dealing with the wonder of life, likening it to a gift. The lyrics tell of the singer's suffering in love with a man; "who promised her the whole world" and did not follow through, "what about the baby I wanted to give to you in the spring?". She then sings that any kind of gift is welcome, whether it be given, stolen or returned, and warns that the good times are too short, implying that the listener should savor them for all they are worth. Hermès also recorded the song in English and German, as "Words of Love" and "Liebe gibt und nimmt" ("Love Gives and Takes") respectively. The song was performed 20th (last) on the night, following Belgium's Pas de Deux with "Rendez-vous".

At the close of voting, it had received 142 points, placing 1st in a field of 20. The win brought Luxembourg equal with France on five Contest wins apiece, however both countries would later be eclipsed by the Republic of Ireland, which would win seven. Compared to the previous year's Eurovision winners, "Si la vie est cadeau" only proved to be a moderate commercial success, peaking at #2 in France, #3 in Belgium, #12 in Ireland, #13 in Sweden, #14 in Switzerland, #31 in the Netherlands and failing to chart in most other European countries. The song was succeeded in 1984 as winner of the Contest by Herreys representing Sweden with "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley". It was succeeded as Luxembourgish representative at the 1984 Contest by Sophie Carle with "100% d'amour". The Finnish rendering "Lahjan Sain" was recorded by Lea Laven being the title cut of her 1983 album release.

1982 - Germany Nicole, "Ein Bisschen Frieden" (winner's performance) "Ein bißchen Frieden" ("A Little Peace" in English) won the 1982 ESC and was sung by Nicole. "Ein bißchen Frieden" was written by prolific German Eurovision-writing duo Ralph Siegel (music) and Bernd Meinunger (lyrics) for the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. The song was performed by 17-year-old high-school student Nicole, resulting in Germany's first win at the Eurovision Song Contest by a record margin of sixty-one points, setting a new record for the largest winning margin that lasted until the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, at which "Love Shine a Light" by Katrina and the Waves won by 70 points. "Ein bißchen Frieden" was the eighteenth and final song performed that evening (following Ireland's The Duskeys with "Here Today Gone Tomorrow"). At the close of voting, it had received 161 points, placing first in a field of 18.

The performance was unlike most other Eurovision entrants in that Nicole performed while seated on a stool, playing a white acoustic guitar and accompanied by a backing group which included a harpist. The gentle ballad describes a wish for world peace, with the lyrics sung in first person, and also describes the beauty of the natural world. After winning the contest, Nicole performed the reprise in four different languages: German, English, French and Dutch, and released recordings in five additional languages across Europe: Danish, Italian, Russian, and a German-English-Dutch combination and a German-English-Italian combination. It topped the charts in many countries, selling more than three million copies and the English version was the last Eurovision winner to top the charts in the United Kingdom. The English version also holds the honour of becoming the 500th British Number One. The song was chosen in an internet poll conducted by the European Broadcasting Union in 2005 as one of the 14 most popular songs in the history of the Eurovision, and was one of the entrants in the Congratulations 50th anniversary concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, held in October 2005.

Although Nicole was not at the concert, it was re-enacted by dancers equipped with white guitars and a live orchestra as the original footage was shown in the background. "Ein bißchen Frieden" finished as the seventh most popular song in the history of the contest. The song was succeeded as Contest winner in 1983 by "Si la vie est cadeau" by Corinne Hermès representing Luxembourg. It was succeeded as German representative at the 1983 Contest by Hoffmann & Hoffmann with "Rücksicht". In 1982 "Ein bißchen Frieden" was covered in Czech as "Jsme deti slunce" by Jaromír Mayer, in Croatian as "Malo Mira" by Ana Štefok, in Danish as "En smule fred" by Susanne Lana, in Hungarian as "Egy kis nyugalmat kívánok én" by Neoton Família and in Finnish as "Vain Hieman Rauhaa" by Katri Helena.

In 1996, the Swedish techno/folk/bluegrass band Rednex, known for their hit Cotton-Eye Joe around that time, did a cover of "Ein bißchen Frieden," also played in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song has since been rendered in English as "A Little Peace" recorded by Daniel O'Donnell for his 1997 album I Believe, and in Dutch as "Een Beetje Vrede" recorded by Kathleen Aerts for her 2009 album In Symfonie. 1981 - United Kingdom Bucks Fizz, "Making Your Mind Up" "Making Your Mind Up" was sung by British group Bucks Fizz and the 1981 ESC winner. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut single, the group having been formed just two months earlier. From 2004 to 2007 the BBC used the name Making Your Mind Up for their Eurovision selection show in honour of the song.

In late 1980, songwriter Andy Hill teamed up with John Danter and composed "Making Your Mind Up" with an eye to entering it into the A Song for Europe finals the following year. Working with his then girlfriend, Nichola Martin, a former singer, they set about recording a demo of the song to enter. This featured the vocals of Hill, Martin and Mike Nolan, a singer Martin had worked with before. Martin then set about gathering a line-up to enter the song with, based around her and Nolan. With the song already entered under the name Bucks Fizz, Martin and future manager, Jill Shirley recruited Cheryl Baker, Bobby G and Jay Aston to the line-up, with Martin herself dropping out. The song secured an entry into the final along with another Hill/Danter composition, "Have You Ever Been in Love", which would be performed by Martin and Hill under the name Gem. Martin and Shirley secured a recording deal with RCA Records and Hill spent a week at Mayfair Studios in London with the group recording the song and its B-side. Backing vocals on the record were supplied by Alan Carvell, who also went on to be one of two backing singers in the Eurovision performance.

The song was published by Paper Music, which was a year-old publishing company owned by Billy Lawrie – himself a songwriter and brother of singer Lulu. Choreographer Chrissie Whickham, a former member of dance troupe Hot Gossip, spent two days with the group working on the dance routine. The lyrics of the song are largely meaningless, although it can be argued that they are about making the decision to commit to a serious relationship. On 11 March 1981, Bucks Fizz performed "Making Your Mind Up" at the Song for Europe finals and despite being up against favourites and current chart group Liquid Gold, won the contest with ease. From this point, the group undertook much promotion of the song around the UK, including an appearance on Top of the Pops, whereby the single entered the UK charts at 24. It rose to No.5 the following week. A promotional video was filmed by the BBC for the Eurovision previews as they had done in previous years. The video depicts the group walking around Harrods department store in London. In line with other previous preview videos, the group do not lipsynch any of the words.

This video has never been released on any official Bucks Fizz video or DVD releases, in its place is the group's first appearance on Top of the Pops. On 4 April the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest was staged in Dublin. In a close contest throughout the voting procedure, "Making Your Mind Up" managed to secure a victory with 136 points, beating second-placed Germany by a small margin of four. The song is held in affectionate regard by many Eurovision fans, and is generally considered to be a good example of a pop song from the Contest. Reaction was less favourable to the group's performance of the song, which was considered to be off-key, and led to much criticism that the members were chosen more for appearance than vocal ability. In addition, the performance is remembered for the point at which the two male members of the group removed the skirts of the two female members – only to reveal shorter skirts beneath them. Member Cheryl Baker has since commented on their poor performance stating that she sang the song in a higher key to the rest of the group due to nerves.

Mike Nolan has said that on the night the microphones got mixed up, with Baker and Jay Aston singing on the lead microphones which had a higher volume. "Making Your Mind Up" went to No.1 in the UK following the victory and remained there for three weeks, becoming one of the biggest selling songs of the year. It also saw the group in high demand throughout Europe, with the single hitting No.1 in many countries and charting in the top ten in Australia. The record eventually sold four million copies worldwide. The single began a run of 20 UK hits for Bucks Fizz and was quickly followed up by "Piece of the Action" and debut album, Bucks Fizz. At the end of the decade, "Making Your Mind Up" was No.47 in the UK top selling singles of the 1980s. Despite the success of the song, fans of the group don't consider it to be a good representation of their work, while member Cheryl Baker doesn't rate it as one of their best songs. In the Eurovision, the song was succeeded as a UK entry by "One Step Further" by Bardo, who were managed by the same team as Bucks Fizz.

As a winner, it was succeeded by "Ein Bisschen Frieden", sung by Germany's Nicole. The song title has also given the name to the UK selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest. The now infamous skirt rip of the dance routine (which was mirrored by Mick Jagger and Tina Turner at 1985's Live Aid) has appeared in many contests since that time – most notably as part of Latvia's Marie N's performance of "I Wanna", which won for Latvia, in 2002. "Making Your Mind Up" was spoofed by many artists following its success, with alternative titles: "Me vas a volver loco (You're Going to Drive Me Crazy)" (by Spanish group Parchís), "Rock and Roll Cowboy" by German singer Maggie Mae and "It's Only a Wind Up" by British comedy group Brown Sauce. 1980 - Ireland Johnny Logan & Choir, "What's Another Year" "What's Another Year" was Johnny Logan's first Eurovision Song Contest winner. "What's Another Year" achieved success in the 1980 edition of the Contest. This was Ireland's second Contest victory.

Composed by Shay Healy, the song reached number one in the UK for two weeks in May. The song is often misinterpreted as a power ballad, sung from the point of view of a man who has been waiting for the girl of his dreams to fall in love with him. On some level, he seems to recognise that she will never share his feelings, but he still holds them regardless. The title appears in the chorus, specifically "What's another year/To someone who is getting used to being alone?" In other words, he is prepared to wait as long as it takes. In reality, the song was written by Shay Healy (who also wrote "the Ultimate Country and Western Song" performed by Billy Connolly) about watching his father coming to terms with the death of his wife and companion, Mairin When showband frontman Glen Curtin, the original choice of singer, turned down "What's Another Year", the song was rearranged by Bill Whelan to suit Johnny Logan's singing style. Whelan later composed Riverdance for the interval entertainment slot at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin.

Musically, the song is easily identifiable by its saxophone introduction played by Scottish musician Colin Tully, who now lives and teaches in Wales. The success of "What's Another Year" launched Logan's Eurovision career (he would go on to success in 1987 with "Hold Me Now"). In addition, the song was selected as one of the 14 greatest Eurovision entries in a special to mark the 50th anniversary of the contest. It was covered by Shane McGowan of The Pogues in the "Song for Eurotrash" cover album of 1998. Famously, after being announced as the winner of the Contest, Logan was overcome with emotion and could not achieve the high notes near the end of the song in his reprise. Instead, he called out "I love you Ireland", a phrase he would repeat seven years later. The song was performed seventeenth on the night (following France's Profil with "Hé, hé M'sieurs dames" and preceding Spain's Trigo Limpio with "Quédate esta noche"). At the close of voting, it had received 143 points, placing 1st in a field of 19.

The song was succeeded as Eurovision winner at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 by British band Bucks Fizz and the song "Making Your Mind Up". It was succeeded as Irish representative at the 1981 Contest by Sheeba with "Horoscopes". In Germany, Johnny Logan released a German language version of "What's Another Year", entitled "Was ist schon ein Jahr". In Portugal the single was released (in English) with a minor typing error on the front sleeve as "What's Another Year!"

Question: Celine Dion won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest for which country?
Answer: Switzerland