OK, I have bandwidth to burn now, so time to go nuts on the Eurovision stuff.
First up, the song mentioned in the comments on my last post:
Quite a good little crooner number, this song is listed as having placed 9th, but 4th place is more accurate. Only 3 songs scored higher than this one, but there was a four-way tie for first place, and a tie between this and Monaco's entry. There are a few hidden unknown gems like this in the Eurovision back catalogue, it seems, but it takes wading through some serious crap to discover them, so thanks Bruno for suggesting this one.
Louis Neefs bio here. He even made it onto a postage stamp.
Greek singer Vicky Leandros first competed for Luxembourg (yes, this contest confuses me too) in 1967, aged just fourteen. 'L'Amour Est Bleu' came fourth that year, and kicked off her singing career. The song was written by Pierre Cour and André Popp, the team who also wrote 1960's winning song (for France) 'Tom Pillibi', performed by Jacqueline Boyer - currently up on the wonderful Paradise Garden (thanks Mordi). Check out Space Age Pop's guide to Popp's career here. He also did the music for the film Tintin and the Golden Fleece, which is supposedly a pretty cool soundtrack (I haven't heard it) and yes, of course I have to mention he co-wrote two stunning France Gall songs, 'Deux Oiseaux' and 'Les Rubans Et La Fleur'.
In 1972, Vicky again competed for Luxembourg, this time taking first prize. I personally prefer the earlier tune, but 'Après Toi' is pretty good in a big, sappy Eurovision ballad type of way. It was a big hit across Europe, including the UK, and is considered to be a surprising omission from the final 14. Vicky continues to have success as a singer today.
Brit bombshell Kathy Kirby came second to 'Poupée De Cire, Poupée De Son' in 1965 with 'I Belong', a great track with a very typically 60s big girl pop sound that serves as a perfect showcase for her magnificent vocals. And it sounds pretty damn cool in Italian too:
Check out her official website - her autobiography looks like it'd be a top read!
Scott Salsman
Christine
btw, i'm not fussed either way, but if you (or anyone) want me to see comments, you can still leave them on old posts. i can see all new comments here from my little overlord console.
zoe
Christine