 Maria Christian
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Ireland - Maria Christian - Wait Until the Weekend Comes (English)
Music/Lyrics: Brendan Graham/Brendan Graham
Conductor: Noel Kelehan
The contest was opened by a below par Irish ballad. Maria’s performance was a bit on the sickly side. |
 Sonja Lumme |
Finland - Sonja Lumme - Eläköön Elämä (Finnish)
Music/Lyrics: Petri Laaksonen/Veli-Pekka Lehto
Conductor: Ossi Runne
Finland is capable of sending a song which is capable of sounding good only to natives. Not this time!! Eläköön Elämä is one of their best entries, a powerful, almost rock song, which Sonja delivered very well.
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 Lia Vishy |
Cyprus - Lia Vishy - To Katalava Arga (Greek)
Music/Lyrics: Lia Vishy/Lia Vishy
Conductor: Haris Andreadis
Lia (sister of Anna - Greece 1980 and Cyprus 1982), looked very vulnerable as she sung, sometimes with a wobble, this nice, soothing ballad.
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 Hot Eyes |
Denmark - Hot Eyes - Sku' Du Spør Fra No'n (Danish)
Music/Lyrics: Soren Bundgard/Keld Heick
Conductor: Wolfgang Käfer
Kirsten and Soren, who had represented their country the year before, came back for more and this time, they had a secret weapon, or at least they thought they did; an ever so slightly annoying child. Not content with joining in with the song, the child (boy or girl, who knows? Who cares?!) got dressed into adult clothes while the others did their bits.
|
 Paloma San Basilio |
Spain - Paloma San Basilio - La Fiesta Terminó (Spanish)
Music/Lyrics: Juan Carlos Calderón/ Juan Carlos Calderón
Conductor: Juan Carlos Calderón
Classic elegance was the order of the day for Paloma. La Fiesta Terminó shows how good Spanish songs can be when they really try. This is how big ballads should sound.
|
 Roger Bens |
France - Roger Bens - Femme Dans Ses Rêves Aussi (French)
Music/Lyrics: Didier Pascalis/Didier Pascalis
Conductor: Michel Bernholc
The most memorable thing about this song is the fantastic string arrangement. It dominates the whole song, lifting it out of the realms of the ordinary into something that should have been placed in the top five.
|
 MFÖ |
Turkey - MFÖ - Di Dai Di Dai Dai (a'sik Oldum) (Turkish)
Music/Lyrics: Mazhar, Fauat, Özkan/ Mazhar, Fauat, Özkan
Conductor: Garo Mafyan
MFO were three chaps who clearly enjoyed their three minutes on stage. They gave a cheery performance of a cheery song. You might not vote for it, but it will make you smile.
|
 Linda Lepomme |
Belgium - Linda Lepomme - Laat Me Nu Gaan (Flemish)
Music/Lyrics: Pieter Verlinden/Bert Vivier
Conductor: Curt-Eric Holmquist
Linda can count herself unlucky to have finished last with this sincere ballad for which she gave a sincere, professional performance.
|
 Adelaïde |
Portugal - Adelaïde - Penso Em Ti, Eu Sei (Portuguese)
Music/Lyrics: Tozé Brizo/Adelaïde Ferreria, Luis Fernando
Conductor: José Calvário
If ever Portugal deserved a place in the top five, this was it. The powerful and emotional ballad seemed to take its toll on Adelaïde. She ended her performance of one knee with her head bowed and took time to stand up again. Eigtheenth? The juries must have been listening to a different song!
|
 Wind |
Germany - Wind - Für Alle (German)
Music/Lyrics: Hanne Haller/Hanne Haller
Conductor: Rainer Pietsch
This song is more highly regarded than it deserves. The ‘peace for all’ theme was starting to become boringly predictable in the German entries, a description which can also be applied to Für Alle.
|
 Izhar Cohen 1985 |
Israel - Izhar Cohen - Olé Olé (Hebrew)
Music/Lyrics: Kobi Oshrat/Hamutal Ben Ze’ev
Conductor: Kobi Oshrat
Izhar won the contest in 1979 and went for the double with a song which is almost guaranteed to fill dance floors and sounds as good today as it did then. It’s full of bounce and zip.
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 Al Bano and Romina Power 1985 |
Italy - Al Bano and Romina Power - Magic, Oh Magic (Italian)
Music/Lyrics: Dario Farina, Michael Hofmann/Christiano Minellono
Conductor: Fio Zanotti
Italy’s favourite husband and wife team came back for a second attempt nine years after their first, with a slightly cheesy cabaret number. That said, it’s given a lift by the quality of Al’s voice, and when you look as good as Romina, you can get away with anything.
|
 Bobbysocks |
Norway - Bobbysocks - La Det Swinge (Norwegian)
Music/Lyrics: Rolf Lövland/Rolf Lövland
Conductor: Terje Fjaern
The country which had unfairly become famous for not scoring found itself at the top of the scoreboard for the first time. It’s a bouncy, catchy, clap-along which was given an appropriately lively performance by Elisabeth Andreasson and Hanne Krogh, both experienced song contest performers.
|
 Vikki |
United Kingdom - Vikki - Love Is (English)
Music/Lyrics: Vikki Watson/James Kaleth
Conductor: John Coleman
Chosen from a high quality ‘A Song For Europe’ competition, it might have been expected for Love Is to do well. So it proved for the contemporary pop song.
|
 Mariella Farré and Pino Gasparini |
Switzerland - Mariella Farré and Pino Gasparini - Piano, Piano (German)
Music/Lyrics: Anita Kerr/Trudi Muller-Bosshard
Conductor: Anita Kerr
Having sang solo two years earlier, Mariella was joined by the splendidly moustached Pino for this fairly unmemorable song.
|
 Kikki Danielsson |
Sweden - Kikki Danielsson - Bra Vibrationer (Swedish)
Music/Lyrics: Lasse Holm/Ingela ‘Pling’ Forsman
Conductor: Curt-Eric Holmquist
Kikki wisely moved only a little, leaving her two dancers to perform the acrobatics. Her song spoke for itself, an up-tempo, foot tapping and wonderful slice of Schlager. The title also allowed Lill Lindfors to make a saucy joke about the English translation of the title.
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 Gary Lux |
Austria - Gary Lux - Kinder Dieser Welt (German)
Music/Lyrics: Mick Jackson, Geoff Bastow/Michael Kunze
Conductor: Richard Österreicher
Singing the first of two successive songs in the 1985 contest about children, Gary appeared for the first time as a solo artist. His song is not quite an anthem, but moves along freely.
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 Margo, Franck Olivier, Diane Solomon, Ireen Sheer, Malcolm Roberts and Chris Roberts |
Luxembourg - Margo, Franck Olivier, Diane Solomon, Ireen Sheer, Malcolm Roberts and Chris Roberts - Children, Kinder, Enfants (French)
Music/Lyrics: Ralph Siegel/Bernd Meinunger, Jean-Michel Beriat
Conductor: Norbert Daum
An array of singers from almost as many countries as were in the contest joined forces for Luxembourg to sing what is almost a series of duets. It should have been messy, but it actually worked reasonably well.
|
 Takis Biniaris |
Greece - Takis Biniaris - Miazoume (Greek)
Music/Lyrics: Takis Biniaris/Maro Bizani
Conductor: Haris Andreadis
The contest ended with a very gentle song. Takis' performance was rightly understated and respectful of his own composition.
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