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Nora Brockstedt

1961

1961 Logo (copyright - EBU)
Basic information
Date: 
9 March 1961
Venue: 
Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France
Broadcaster: 
RTF
Presenter(s): 
Jacqueline Joubert
About the contest: 

The number of participants continued to rise, with 16 countries travelling to Cannes for the 6th contest. Finland, Norway, Spain and Yugoslavia made their debuts. Perhaps encouraged by the success of ‘Tom Pillibi’, there was a notable moving away from what had been the typical Eurovision song at that point in the contests history, the slow, simple ballad. About half the countries entered more upbeat or contemporary songs. Despite this, the jurors went for a song which belonged in the 1940’s, beating the contemporary UK song into 2nd place. Three years after they gave the contest its first worldwide hit, Italy did it again, delivering a song which would sell a lot of records in a lot of countries.

The voting system remained the same, ten jurors from each country awarding 1 point to their favourite song.

Trivia: 
Denmark rarely gets points from Italy - and entering with Dario Campeotto, born in Italy, did not help them much. Although Italy had split its votes between 5 different countries in 1961, Denmark did not get one single point from them.
About the songs: 
Conchita BautistaConchita Bautista

Spain – Conchita Bautista – Estando Contigo (Spanish)

Music/Lyrics: Antonio Guijarro/ Antonio Guijarro

Conductor: Rafael Ferrer

The first of the debutants, Spain gave us something with an international feel, rather than traditional Spanish which would be a feature in future years.

Colette DeréalColette Deréal Monaco – Colette Deréal – Allons, Allons, les Enfants (French)

Music/Lyrics: Hubert Giraud/Pierre Delanoë

Conductor: Raymond Lefèvre

If nothing else, Monaco’s 3rd entry will make you smile.
Jimmy MakulisJimmy Makulis Austria – Jimmy Makulis – Sehnsucht (German)

Music/Lyrics: Leopold Andrejewitsch/ Leopold Andrejewitsch

Conductor: Franck Pourcel

Baritone Jimmy sung a ballad which although pleasant enough, was never going to stand out this year.
Laila KinnunenLaila Kinnunen Finland – Laila Kinnunen – Valoa Ikkunassa (Finnish)

Music/Lyrics: Eino Hurme/ Sauvo Puhtila

Conductor: George de Godzinsky

Finland’s contest debut is a very gentle little number with bursts of strings between the vocal lines.
Lililjana PetrovicLililjana Petrovic

Yugoslavia – Lililjana Petrovic – Neke Davne Zvezde (Serbo-Croat)

Music/Lyrics: Jozé Privsek/Miroslac Antic

Conductor: Jozé Privsek

A ballad opened Yugoslavia’s account in the contest. As with Spain, it’s more international than traditional in style.

Greetje KauffeldGreetje Kauffeld The Netherlands – Greetje Kauffeld – Wat Een Dag (Dutch) 

Music/Lyrics: Dick Schallies/Pieter Goemanns

Conductor: Dolf van der Linden

The pace of the song is slow at first, but it soon picks up to utilise the sounds of the brass section of the orchestra.

Lill-BabsLill-Babs

Sweden – Lill-Babs – April, April (Swedish)

Music/Lyrics: Bobby Ericson/ Bo Eneby

Conductor: Thore Ehrling

This is a perky little song with more than its fair share of whistling, always risky during a live performance. However, assuming that the whistling was coming from Lill, it worked well.

Lale AndersenLale Andersen

Germany – Lale Andersen – Einmal Sehen Wir Uns Wieder (German)

Music/Lyrics: Rudolf Maluck/Ernst Bader

Conductor: Franck Pourcel

The Germans brought a bit of their musical tradition to the contest. There was plenty of accordion accompanying Lale’s flowing ballad.

Jean-Paul MauricJean-Paul Mauric

France – Jean-Paul Mauric – Printemps (Avril Carrillone)  (French)

Music/Lyrics: Francis Baxter/Guy Favereau

Conductor: Franck Pourcel

France defended their title with something very different to all their previous songs. This is fun and bouncy and even finds room from a few ‘bing-a-bongs’

Franca di RienzoFranca di Rienzo

Switzerland – Franca di Rienzo – Nous Aurons Demain (French)

Music/Lyrics: Géo Voumard/Emile Gardaz

Conductor: Fernando Paggi

Maybe in an attempt to win the contest for a second time, Switzerland returned to the formula which won them the first contest. In terms of the placing, it almost worked.

Bob BennyBob Benny

Belgium – Bob Benny – September, Gouden Roos (Flemish)

Music/Lyrics: Hans Flower/Wim Brabants

Conductor: Francis Bay

This song fluctuates between the quiet and the dramatic. Bob was making his second and final appearance for Belgium.

Nora BrockstedtNora Brockstedt

Norway – Nora Brockstedt – Sommer I Palma (Norwegian)

Music/Lyrics: Jan Woelner/Egil Hagen

Conductor: Øivind Bergh

Nora was back, this time with a most understated of songs. Some would find it boring, others classy.

Dario CampeottoDario Campeotto

Denmark – Dario Campeotto – Angelique (Danish)

Music/Lyrics: Aksel van Rasmussen/ Aksel van Rasmussen

Conductor: Kai Mortensen

A lot of the ballads entered in the contest sound quite dated today. ‘Angelique’ has aged quite well and, although it lasts for almost three and a half minutes, the time doesn’t drag.

Jean-Claude PascalJean-Claude Pascal Luxembourg – Jean-Claude Pascal – Nous, Les Amoureux (French)

Music/Lyrics: Jacques Datin/Maurice Vidalin

Conductor: Léo Chauliac

In a year when other countries tried something more modern or chirpy, the most popular song with the juries was this old fashioned French ballad sung by an old fashioned crooner.

The AllisonsThe Allisons UK – The Allisons – Are You Sure? (English)

Music/Lyrics: Bob Allison and John Allison/ Bob Allison and John Allison

Conductor: Harry Robinson

This is possibly the most contemporary song to appear in the contest at that time. It reflected the UK charts and could easily have been a hit for the Everly Brothers, who in fact were at number 1 in the UK on the date of the contest.

Betty CurtisBetty Curtis

Italy – Betty Curtis – Al di là (Italian)

Music/Lyrics: Carlo Donida/Giulio Rapetti

Conductor: Gianfranco Intra

The second worldwide hit to emerge from the contest, as with ‘Nel Blu, di Pinto di Blu’, came from Italy. It’s almost ageless, only the style of the backing vocals reveal its age.

1960

1960 Logo (copyright - EBU)
Basic information
Date: 
23 March 1960
Venue: 
The Royal Festival Hall, London, UK
Broadcaster: 
BBC
Presenter(s): 
Katie Boyle
About the contest: 

The BBC hosted the contest for the first time. Katie Boyle would go on to host three more contests, more than any other presenter. The hosts were represented by the brother of Teddy Johnson, who had represented his country the year before. There were more countries than ever before with Luxembourg returning and Norway making its debut.

The same voting system as the previous three contests was used, with each country having ten jurors giving 1 point to their favourite song.

The voting system in the ESC has always been a topic for discussion. Even before televoting was introduced, the idea of the idea of neighbourly voting and so-called mafias had been discussed. The most recent example is the Balkan mafia, who seems to have replaced the Scandinavian mafia to some extent.

When Norway joined the Contest in 1960, they only gave two points to Denmark and none to Sweden - although over the years, the four countries which have received most points from Norway are Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Russia - all Norway's four neighbours! It has to be mentioned though, that only Sweden to some extent pay those points back to Norway - which actually receive most of its points from Belgium and Ireland. Who talks about a Scandinavian mafia?

France won in 1960 with the song "Tom Pillipi", only two years after their first victory and once again the United Kingdom came second.

Trivia: 
The winner, Jacqueline Boyer, was the daughter of Jacques Pills, who represented Monaco the year before. With only one single point for dad, the daughter turned out to win the family competition quite clearly.
About the songs: 
Bryan JohnsonBryan Johnson

UK – Bryan Johnson – Looking High, High, High (English)

Music/Lyrics: John Watson/John Watson

Conductor: Eric Robinson

Bryan sounded rather cheerful considering he was singing about looking for his lost love. Like his brother, Teddy, the year before, he gave the listener a reason to smile as all ended happily.

 Siw MalmqvistSiw Malmqvist

Sweden – Siw Malmkvist - Alla Andra Får Varann (Swedish)

Music/Lyrics: Ulf Källqvist/Åke Gerhard

Conductor: Thore Ehrling

A Big Band sound dominated in the background while Siw confidently made her way through the song. The instrumental lasts for almost a minute, maybe one of the longest ever in the contest.

 Camillo FelgenCamillo Felgen Luxembourg – Camillo Felgen – So Lang We’s du do Bast (Luxembourgish)

Music/Lyrics: Henri Mootz & Jean Roderes/Henri Mootz

Conductor: Henri Mootz

Instead of French, Luxembourg tried their own language for the first time. Baritone Camillo delivered a song which wouldn’t have been out of place in a Hollywood musical.

 Katy BødtgerKaty Bødtger

Denmark – Katy Bødtger – Det Var en Yndig Tid (Danish)

Music/Lyrics: Vilfred Kjær/Sven Buemann

Conductor: Kai Mortensen

The song is pleasant enough to listen to but doesn’t hold the listeners ear very well.

 Fud LeclercFud Leclerc

Belgium – Fud Leclerc – Mon Amour Pour Toi (French)

Music/Lyrics: Jack Say/Robert Montal

Conductor: Henry Segers

For their third year entering a song in French, Belgium turned to Fred Luclerc for the third time. There is a slow jazz feel to this song.

 Nora BrockstedtNora Brockstedt

Norway – Nora Brockstedt – Voi, Voi (Norwegian)

Music/Lyrics: George Elgaaen/ George Elgaaen

Conductor: Øivind Bergh

Norway’s debut was a happy sounding tune, using soft swing as the basis for the arrangement.

 Harry WinterHarry Winter Austria – Harry Winter – Du Hast Mich So Fasziniert (German)

Music/Lyrics: Robert Stolz/Robert Gilbert

Conductor: Robert Stolz

After entering something a bit different in 1959, Austria opted went for something more typical of the period, a well sung ballad.
 Francois DegueltFrancois Deguelt

Monaco – Francois Deguelt – Ce Soir-là (French)

Music/Lyrics: Hubert Giraud/Pierre Dorsey

Conductor: Raymond Lefèvre

The intro features swirling strings and energetic piano before calming down for the rest of the song. The strings and piano return for the outro.

 Anita TraversiAnita Traversi

Switzerland – Anita Traversi – Cielo e Terra (Italian)

Music/Lyrics: Mario Robbiani/Mario Robbiani

Conductor: Cedric Dumont

This mid-tempo song jogs along nicely without really going anywhere.

 Rudi CarrellRudi Carrell

The Netherlands – Rudi Carrell – Wat Een Geluk (Dutch)

Music/Lyrics: Dick Schallies/Willy van Hemert

Conductor: Dolf van der Linden

The Dutch went for two in a row with this bouncy little number which features several repetitions of la-la-la.

 Wyn HoopWyn Hoop

Germany – Wyn Hoop – Bonne Nuit, Ma Chérie (German)

Music/Lyrics: Franz Josef Breuer/Kurt Schwabach

Conductor: Franz Josef Breuer

Although Germany didn’t ‘Wyn’, it was another strong effort. Elements of the Cha-Cha-Cha are to the fore.

 Renato RascelRenato Rascel

Italy – Renato Rascel – Romantica (Italian)

Music/Lyrics: Renato Rascel/Dino Verde

Conductor: Cinico Angelini

Another Italian entry, another Sanremo winner. Imagine a traditional Italian ballad of the time and you will hear this.

 Jacqueline BoyerJacqueline Boyer

France – Jacqueline Boyer – Tom Pillibi (French)

Music/Lyrics: André Popp/Pierre Cour

Conductor: Franck Pourcel

France’s second win came with this quirky song delivered well by Jacqueline. Certainly a case of last but not least.

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