Francis Ruffelle

Basic information

Date:

30 March 1994

Venue:

Point Theatre, Dublin, Ireland

Broadcaster:

RTE

Presenter(s):

Cynthia Ni Mhurchu and Gerry Ryan

About the contest:

After the excursion to Millstreet the year before, RTE hosted the 1994 contest in the more purpose built surroundings of The Point Theatre, Dublin. The contest hadn’t seen so many debuts since it started in 1956. Seven countries entered for the first time, some more successfully than others! This gave the show a fresh feel which was slightly spoilt when the hosts won for the 3rd time in a row. It was a win that not many predicted, but all things Irish were popular in Europe at the time.

A worldwide phenomenon was launched in 1994 and it had nothing to do with the competing songs or singers. The interval act had been treated up to that point as a time filler, with sometimes only a film highlighting the delights of the host country filling the eight minutes the juries had to add up their scores. RTE changed the rules and set the bar very high for others to reach. The producers commissioned Bill Whelan to compose a piece of Irish music to feature traditional Irish dancing. What emerged was Riverdance, a routine that became a whole show that would sweep the world and turn principle dancers, Jean Butler and Michael Flatley into stars. Those lucky enough to be in the theatre to witness it live for the first time were swept to their feet for a standing ovation that seemed to last forever.

Returning to the contest for a second time was Evridiki. Elisabeth Andreasson and Sigga were competing for a third time. Roger Pontare and Alma would be seen in future shows, and Moira and Chris had both been backing singers the year before.

The relegation system was in operation again for the seven countries finishing at the bottom of the scoreboard. The scoring system remained unchanged from the 1-8, 10 and 12 points method.

Trivia:

Sigga did not perform Nætur in the Icelandic final. It had been performed by her partner from Heart 2 Heart (Iceland 1992), Sissa. However, the songwriters threatened to withdraw the song altogether if Sigga didn’t go to Dublin, so Sissa was paid a large sum of money to stay at home.

About the songs:

Marie Bergman and Roger Pontare	Sweden - Marie Bergman and Roger Pontare - Stjärnorna (Swedish) 4 Music/Lyrics: Peter Bertilsson/Mikael Littvold Conductor: Anders Berglund Getting things started were the odd couple! Marie and Roger had completely different images. What counts is the performance and their voices worked well together for this big (almost) ballad.
Cat Cat	Finland - Cat Cat - Bye Bye Baby (Finnish) Music/Lyrics: Karl Salli, Nake Lentonen/Karl Salli, Nake Lentonen Conductor: Olli Ahvenlahti Finland sent a fresh and contemporary dance number to Dublin. The image given to the two sisters of Cat Cat didn’t quite work and relying on the orchestra took away the punch that dance tracks need.
Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan	Ireland - Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan - Rock 'n' Roll Kids (English) Music/Lyrics: Brendan Graham/Brendan Graham Conductor: Noel Kelehan Surely Ireland couldn’t win for an unprecedented third time in a row? Not with two middle aged gentlemen singing an Irish folk song? It was too introspective to have broad appeal, wasn’t it? Yes, yes and no! Ireland made history and showed all those newcomers how it’s done.
Evridiki 1994	Cyprus - Evridiki - Ime Anthropos Ke Ego (Greek) Music/Lyrics: George Theophanous/George Theophanous Conductor: George Theophanous Two years after she finished 11th with a song written by her husband, they teamed up again, and finished 11th again. The Greek styles of the two songs aren’t worlds apart. There’s more of an ‘oomph’ this time and plenty of emoting by Evridiki.
Sigga	Iceland - Sigga - Nætur (Icelandic) Music/Lyrics: Fridrik Karlsson/Stefán Hilmarsson Conductor: Frank McNamara Under the circumstances, the pressure was on Sigga to give a good performance and deliver a result, and she succeeded with the first part. While pleasant enough to listen to, Nætur seems to drift along and doesn’t seem to go anywhere.
Frances Ruffelle	United Kingdom - Frances Ruffelle - We Will Be Free (Lonely Symphony) (English) Music/Lyrics: George de Angelis, Mark Dean/George de Angelis, Mark Dean Conductor: Michael Reed Following in the more famous footsteps of Michael Ball and Sonia, West End star Francis accepted the BBC’s invitation to represent her country. The result was a very different song than the United Kingdom had sent before. It wasn’t the musical number that many may have expected; it is more in the style of the new age/gothic genres. Someone had the idea of including a crown of ‘thorns’ in Francis’ clothes.
Tony Cetinski	Croatia - Tony Cetinski - Nek'ti Bude Ljubav Sva (Croatian) Music/Lyrics: Zeljen Klasterka/Zeljko Krznaric Conductor: Zdravko Sljivac Having failed to win the Dora (Croatia’s selection show for the contest) the previous year with arguably a much better song, Tony tried again with a ballad that is very sincere and traditionally Croatian in sound.
Sara Tavares	Portugal - Sara Tavares - Chamar A Música (Portuguese) Music/Lyrics: Joao Carlos Oliveira/Rosa Lobato de Faria Conductor: Thilo Krassman At first glance, the Portuguese song is a sad affair, but the lyrics are actually positive. Sara, one of the youngest singers in the contest, carried it well.
Duilio	Switzerland - Duilio - Sto Pregando (Italian) Music/Lyrics: Giuseppe Scaramella/Giuseppe Scaramella Conductor: Valeriano Chiaravalle Duilio’s ballad builds steadily chorus by chorus. The only verse is right at the beginning.
Silvi Vrait	Estonia - Silvi Vrait - Nagu Merelaine (Estonia) Music/Lyrics: Ivar Must/Leelo Tungal Conductor: Urmas Lattikas Estonia’s debut is more likely to appeal to appeal to older listeners than younger ones. Nagu Merelaine is easy to listen to and doesn’t fit into any particular genre.
Dan Bittman	Romania - Dan Bittman - Dincolo De Nori (Romanian) Music/Lyrics: Antonio Furtuna, Dan Bittman/Antonio Furtuna, Dan Bittman Conductor: Noel Kelehan The piano is the dominant instrument throughout Dan’s ballad. It works well, providing the song with an easy flowing feeling and a sound to make the listener maintain interest to the end.
$Moira Stafrace and Christopher Scicluna$ Moira Stafrace and Christopher Scicluna	Malta - Moira Stafrace and Christopher Scicluna - More Than Love (English) Music/Lyrics: Christopher Scicluna/Christopher Scicluna, Moira Stafrace Conductor: Anthony Chircop The tune is ok, but the lyrics are, at times, awful; ‘to tell you the truth, I’ll never change my youth’, and ‘not easy to say, there’s a will, there’s a way’, being a couple of examples. Chris should have taken the deeper notes as Moira couldn’t get down that far. Apart from that, it’s reasonable, and the theme of striving to succeed could be inspirational for some.
Willeke Alberti	The Netherlands - Willeke Alberti - Waar Is De Zon (Dutch) Music/Lyrics: Edwin Schimscheimer/Coot van Doesburgh Conductor: Harry van Hoof Willeke was the choice Dutch broadcaster, NOS, to go to Dublin. The public selected a good, musical style big ballad for her to sing.
MeKaDo	Germany - MeKaDo - Wir Geben 'ne Party (German) Music/Lyrics: Ralph Siegel/Bernd Meinunger Conductor: Norbert Daum Mekado were three ladies put together by prolific contest writers, Siegel and Meinunger. Justifiably one of the favourites, their song is a contemporary, up-tempo tune which stays long in the memory. The performance was very professional.
Martin Durinda	Slovakia - Martin Durinda and Tublatanka - Nekovecná Piesen (Slovak) Music/Lyrics: Martin Durinda/Martin Sarvas Conductor: Vladimir Valovic Old fashioned (in a good way) rock band Martin Durinda and Tublatanka got Slovakia’s so far occasional participation off to a good start. As you might expect, it’s a rock song, although the strings take away some of the impact.
Ovidijus Vyshniauskas	Lithuania - Ovidijus Vyshniauskas - Lopsine Mylimai (Lithuanian) Music/Lyrics: Ovidijus Vyshniauskas/Gintaras Zdebskis Conductor: Tomas Leiburas Lithuania’s history in the contest started very inauspiciously with a failure to score even a single point. Ovidijus did deserve a few. Perhaps the shaven head with the leather trousers pt a few people off.
Elisabeth Andreasson and Jan Werner Danielsen	Norway - Elisabeth Andreasson and Jan Werner Danielsen - Duett (Norwegian) Music/Lyrics: Rolf Lövland/Hans Olav Mörk Conductor: Pete Knutsen Experienced Elisabeth teamed up with the youthful Jan for this ballad that remains popular with the fans. Big ballads need big voices to pull them off and these two coped easily. Jan’s immense talent is a big loss to music after his tragically early death.
Alma and Dejan	Bosnia - Alma and Dejan - Ostani Kraj Mene (Bosnian) Music/Lyrics: Edo Mulahalilovic/Adi Mulahalilovic Conductor: Siman Alimanovic The audience applauded Alma and Dejan so loudly for so long at the beginning of the song that Dejan missed his cue because he couldn’t hear the orchestra. He maintained concentration enough to come in at the right place. Sentimentality aside, this is a very solid ballad.
Costas Bigalis	Greece - Costas Bigalis and the Sea Lovers - To Trehantiri (Diri Diri) (Greek) Music/Lyrics: Costas Bigalis Costas Bigalis Conductor: Noel Kelehan Costas and his band looked like a recession hit Showaddywaddy in their colourful jackets. It’s definitely Greek, but doesn’t represent Greek music well, being a bit too juvenile.
Petra Frey	Austria - Petra Frey - Für Den Frieden Der Welt (German) Music/Lyrics: Alfons Weindorf/Karl Brunner, Johann Brunner Conductor: Richard Österreicher Petra was one of the younger singers in the contest, and it showed during her sometimes nervy performance. The song is an understated anthem.
Alejandro Abad	Spain - Alejandro Abad - Ella No Es Ella (Spanish) Music/Lyrics: Alejandro Abad/Alejandro Abad Conductor: Jose LLobel The scene is reflective and melancholy for the verse. When the chorus arrives, the song almost explodes into life and develops a rock feel.
Friderika Bayer	Hungary - Friderika Bayer - Kinek Mondjam El Vétkeimet (Hungarian) Music/Lyrics: Silvester Jenei/Silvester Jenei Conductor: Peter Wolf Another country losing its Eurovision virginity. Frederika only needed to stand absolutely still to perform her folk song. It received the first maximum of the night, and deserved to do well.
Youddiph	Russia - Youddiph - Vechni Stranik (Russian) Music/Lyrics: Lev Zemlinski/Youddiph Conductor: Lev Zemlinski Russia’s first song starts gently but builds into the epitome of dramatic! Her cleverly designed dress allowed the choreography to increase the dramatic atmosphere as it waved and curled around her. A majestic debut indeed!
Edyta Górniak	Poland - Edyta Górniak - To Nie Ja! (Polish) Music/Lyrics: Stanislaw Syrewicz/Jacek Cygan Conductor: Noel Kelehan Only the seemingly unstoppable Irish prevented a debut win for Poland. Petite Edyta was the little lady with the big voice with a fine ballad that has aged very well.
Nina Morato	France - Nina Morato - Je Suis Un Vrai Garçon (French) Music/Lyrics: Bruno Maman/Nina Morato Conductor: Alain Goraguer The eccentric Nina looked and sounded like Barbara Streisand performing a number from ‘Cabaret’. It’s one of those you love or hate with not much room for views in-between.