EuroVisionary.com - Everything you need to know about the Eurovision Song Contest - We welcome the 2009 Contest in Moscow

Music/Lyrics: Johnny Holshuyzen/Karel Prior

Conductor: Dolf van der Linden

The Dutch song starts off full of energy but as it progresses, it loses a bit of the initial impact.

Music/Lyrics: Peter Lee-Sterling/Phil Peters

Conductor: Eric Robinson

After moving away slightly in the previous two years from contemporary music, the United Kingdom sent a 1960’s pop song.

Spain - Conchita Bautista - Qué Bueno, Qué Bueno (Spanish)

Music/Lyrics: Antonio Figueroa Egea/ Antonio Figueroa Egea

Conductor: Adolfo Ventas Rodriguez

A touch of the bull-fight his year for Spain. It gave a contest debut to that most Spanish of instruments, the castanets.

Music/Lyrics: Joe Harrigan and George Prendergast/Teresa Conlon

Conductor: Gianni Ferrio

Ireland’s debut was an inoffensive ballad, starting as they mean to go on perhaps.

Germany - Ulla Wiesner - Paradies, Wo Bist Du? (German)

Music/Lyrics: Barbara Kist and Hans Blüm/Barbara Kist and Hans Blüm

Conductor: Alfred Hause

The title, translated as Paradise Where Are You?, might lead you to expect something a little more solemn. The song has a 60’s movie feel to it.

Austria - Udo Jürgens - Sag Ihr, Ich Lass' Sie Grüßen (German)

Music/Lyrics: Udo Jürgens/Frank Bohlen

Conductor: Gianni Ferio

Udo returned for his second year in succession with another emotional, piano based ballad. The strings were used well in the arrangement and Udo deserved to be even higher than 4th.

Music/Lyrics: Jolly Kramer-Johansen/Jolly Kramer-Johansen

Conductor: Øivind Bergh

Kirsti sings with a smile on her face while the song has a wintery, perhaps even a Christmas feel to it.

Music/Lyrics: Jef van den Berg/Jaak Dreesen

Conductor: Gaston Nyuts

As the year ended in an odd number, it was the turn of Flemish to be the language of the Belgian song. The arrangement improves the song no end.

Music/Lyrics: Raymond Bernard/Jacques Mareuil

Conductor: Raymond Bernard

Monaco chose a soft ballad which is not a million miles away in style to Non Ho L’Eta. She even sings about being young, in the same way Gigliola had sung about being too young to fall in love.

Music/Lyrics: Dag Wiren/Alf Henriksson

Conductor: William Lind

Tenor Ingvar sings one of those songs whose title doesn’t appear in the song. It’s a pleasant ballad which Ingvar sang well sung and sensitively.

Music/Lyrics: Guy Mardel/ Françoise Dorin

Conductor: Franck Pourcel

The word jamais is sprinkled liberally throughout the song. The song moves along nicely and is not a typical French song.

Music/Lyrics: Carlos Nobrega e Sousa/ Jeronimo Bragança

Conductor: Fernando de Carvalho

Not put off after scoring zero at their first attempt, Portugal bravely returned with a dramatic ballad.

Italy – Bobby Solo – Se Piangi, Se Ridi (Italian)

Music/Lyrics: Satti Marchetti/ Giulio Rapetti

Conductor: Gianni Ferrio

The winner of the Sanremo festival again provided Italy with its Eurovision entry. Like a lot of Italian songs, it has aged well and could easily have brought Italy a second successive victory.  

Music/Lyrics: Jørgen Jersild/ Poul Henningsen

Conductor: Arne Lamberth

Quiet and understated are the words that spring to mind. It is a bit difficult to stay with the song until the end.

Music/Lyrics: Serge Gainsbourg/ Serge Gainsbourg

Conductor: Alain Goraguer

French rebel Serge Gainsbourg wrote this, Luxembourg’s second winner. In true Gainsbourg style, it was different to anything that had won the contest before and by far the most up tempo.

Music/Lyrics: Toivo Kärki/Reino Helismaa

Conductor: George de Godzinsky

The saxophone provides a bright, if slightly misleading opening. The jazz feel continues and the saxophone returns for the instrumental.

Music/Lyrics: Julijo Maric/ Zarko Roje

Conductor: Radivoj Spasic

Vice gives an emotive and sensitive performance of this strong ballad. Many would argue it deserved a lot better than twelfth.

Music/Lyrics: Bob Calfati/ Jean Charles

Conductor: Mario Robbiani

The cymbal is used quietly and constantly throughout the song, which is a lilting ballad.

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.

Music/Lyrics: Hubert Giraud/Pierre Delanoë

Conductor: Raymond Lefèvre

If nothing else, Monaco’s 3rd entry will make you smile.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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’

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.