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United Kingdom In The Eurovision Song Contest 1977
The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, which was held in Wembley, London following the United Kingdom's victory in the previous year's contest. Before Eurovision A Song for Europe 1977 The national final to select the entry, ''A Song for Europe 1977'', was held on 9 March 1977 at the New London Theatre and presented by Terry Wogan. Minutes before the show went live, a strike by BBC cameramen was called, preventing the televised broadcast of the show. The contest went ahead and a few hours later, the audio was aired on BBC Radio 2. Fourteen regional juries voted on the songs: Bristol, Bangor, Leeds, Norwich, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff, Plymouth, Glasgow, Southampton and London. The juries voted internally and then ranked the songs from 1–12, awarding 12 points to the song that received the highest number of votes, 11 points to the second, 10 to the third an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UK National Selection For The Eurovision Song Contest
''Eurovision: You Decide'' is the most recent name of a BBC television programme that was broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry into the Eurovision Song Contest. The show had previously gone under several other names, including ''Festival of British Popular Songs'' (1957), ''Eurovision Song Contest British Final'' (1959–1960), ''The Great British Song Contest'' (1996–1999), ''Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up'' (2004–2007), ''Eurovision: Your Decision'' (2008), and ''Eurovision: Your Country Needs You'' (2009–2010), but was known, for most of its history, as ''A Song for Europe'' (1961–1995, 2000–2003). The selection process, originally broadcast on BBC One, has varied between selecting both the performer and song, or just the song in some years. For most years the public has been able to vote for the winner, in the past with postcard voting, where the viewers sent postcards with their vote to the BBC, but more recently televoting and online. In 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoff Stephens
Geoffrey Stephens (1 October 1934 – 24 December 2020) was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British songwriters including Tony Macaulay, John Carter, Roger Greenaway, Peter Callander, Barry Mason, Ken Howard, Alan Blaikley, Don Black, Mitch Murray, and Les Reed. He also formed The New Vaudeville Band, and their song "Winchester Cathedral" won Stephens the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording. Early life Stephens was born in New Southgate, North London in 1934. At the end of the Second World War, the family moved to Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex to open a guesthouse. There on its easterly location Stephens was able to listen to jazz and American pop on the American Forces Network broadcast from Germany and Radio Luxembourg, which together with listening to classical music at home, instilled a love of music in him. Howeve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurovision Song Contest 1972
The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Edinburgh, United Kingdom and was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), who agreed to stage the event after , who won in , were unable to meet the demands of hosting the event and could not find a suitable venue. The contest was held at the Usher Hall on 25 March 1972 and was hosted by Scottish ballet dancer Moira Shearer. Eighteen countries took part in the contest, the same countries as the previous year. The winner was with the song " Après toi", performed by Vicky Leandros, with lyrics by Yves Dessca, and music composed by Mario Panas (which was the writing pseudonym of Vicky's father Leo Leandros). "Après toi" became the winner with the lowest percentage of the total vote, winning with just 8.30% of the points available. Yves Dessca also wrote "Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue" that had won the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New Seekers
The New Seekers are a British pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would have pop as well as folk influences. They achieved worldwide success in the early 1970s with hits including "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" and "Beg, Steal or Borrow". Formation The group was formed after the disbanding of the successful 1960s Australian group the Seekers. Keith Potger, a member of the Seekers, put together the New Seekers in 1969, featuring Laurie Heath, Chris Barrington, Marty Kristian, and Eve Graham and Sally Graham (no relation), the latter of whom was a member of '' The Young Generation''. Potger himself also performed and recorded with the group. Despite their having only released one album with no commercial success, ITV's Scottish Television gave the group their own TV s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gary Benson (musician)
Gary Benson (born Harry Hyams) is an English singer and songwriter. Career Benson spent eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart in 1975 with his own composition, " Don't Throw It All Away". The single, released on the State Records label (State Records STAT10), reached No. 20 on the chart, leading to an appearance on BBC Television's ''Top of the Pops''. The song had originally been recorded by the Shadows, and they had performed it in the 1975 ''A Song for Europe'' contest, where it finished fourth of six entries. The song was covered in the United States by the Delfonics in 1978. There are also a number of reggae versions that include a dancehall style cut by Barrington Levy. Olivia Newton-John recorded a version of the track, including it on her 1976 album ''Come On Over''. Benson had previously written a finalist for the 1974 UK competition, finishing last with the song "Someday", one of the six shortlisted entries performed by Olivia Newton-John. Benson had further attempts a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Mindel
David Richard Mindel (born 25 October 1946 in Twickenham, England) is a British songwriter, jingle writer and composer of music for film and television. Early life Mindel was educated at Finchley County Grammar School in London which he left at sixteen to attend La Colline Language School in Vevey, Switzerland. A self-taught musician, Mindel teamed up with school friend David Seys to form the singing duo "David and David" in 1970. In 1972 EMI released two self-penned singles, "Good Morning Morning" and "In The City". Career In 1972, Mindel joined the Noel Gay Organisation as a record plugger and junior A&R person. The company also published Mindel's songs, and the first to be recorded was "Let Him Go Home" by Canadian artist Nanette Workman and then by Palk Salad in 1971. In 1972 David Ballantyne and Solitude recorded "Roof Above Our Head" on the Regal Zonophone label with another Mindel composition "Sad Song of a Sad Man" as the B-side. Later that year Ballantyne formed a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweet Sensation (band)
Sweet Sensation was an eight piece British soul group who had some success in the mid-1970s. They are best known for their 1974 No. 1 UK hit, " Sad Sweet Dreamer". Career Formed in Manchester in 1971, the band came to prominence after appearing on the ITV talent show ''New Faces''. Under the guidance of panellist Tony Hatch, the band signed to Pye Records. The debut single "Snowfire" failed to reach the charts, but the follow-up " Sad Sweet Dreamer" was a UK number one single in October 1974 that also reached No. 14 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the following spring. The follow-up "Purely by Coincidence" reached No. 11 in the UK in January 1975. Both songs were written by David Parton. Follow-up singles "Hide Away from the Sun", "Mr Cool", "Sweet Regrets" and "Mail Train" all failed to make the charts over the next couple of years. In 1977, the band participated in ''A Song for Europe'' in an attempt to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Moran (music Producer)
Michael Moran (born 4 March 1948) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Biography Moran studied at the Royal College of Music in London prior to becoming a session musician and a composer and arranger. His work in the latter field includes scoring music for such HandMade Films productions as ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''The Missionary'' (1982) and ''Water'' (1985). His other film scores included ''Bloodbath at the House of Death'' (1984), ''The Turnaround'' (1995), '' A Fox's Tale'' (2008), ''Blessed'' (2008) and '' A Thousand Kisses Deep'' (2011), as well as arranging the score to ''Death Wish 3'' (1985), and his TV work includes providing music for ''Strangers'' (1978), ''Harry's Game'' (1982), ''The Bombmaker'' (2001) and '' Sherlock: Case of Evil'' (2002). He also played with the Ian Gillan Band. " Rock Bottom", which he wrote in partnership with Lynsey de Paul, was the UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, and put him in the spotlight for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Macaulay
Tony Macaulay (born Anthony Gordon Instone; 21 April 1944) is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Award twice as 'Songwriter of the Year' (1970 and 1977). He is a nine time Ivor Novello Awards winning songwriter. In 2007, he became the only British person to win the Edwin Forrest Award for outstanding contribution to the American theatre. Macaulay's best-known songs include "Baby Now That I've Found You" and " Build Me Up Buttercup" with The Foundations, "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All," as well as "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" and " Don't Give Up on Us". Career Macaulay was born in Fulham, London, England. In the early 1960s he worked as a song plugger for Essex Publishing, then moved to Pye Records as a record producer. It was here that he had his first major success with The Foundations, when they recorded, "Baby Now That I've Found You", a song he had co-wr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Greenaway
Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic million selling songs "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (in Perfect Harmony)" and "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". They were the first UK songwriting partnership to be granted an Ivor Novello Award as 'Songwriters of the Year' in two successive years. In 2009, Greenaway was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Life and career Roger Greenaway was born in Fishponds, Bristol, England. Both Greenaway and Roger Cook were members of the close harmony group the Kestrels. While on tour they decided to begin writing songs together. Their first was "You've Got Your Troubles", a No. 2 UK hit single for the Fortunes (1965), which also made No. 7 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was the first of several successes they enjoyed during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Wayne
Carl Wayne (born Colin David Tooley; 18 August 1943 – 31 August 2004) was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s. Early days Wayne was born in Winson Green, Birmingham, and grew up in the Hodge Hill district of the city. Inspired by the American rock'n'roll of Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent, he formed the G-Men in the late 1950s, and joined local band the Vikings, where his powerful baritone voice and pink stage suit helped make them one of the leading rock groups in the Midlands. His change of name was inspired by the movie star John Wayne, with the Scandinavian 'Carl' to fit into the 'Vikings' theme. In 1963 they followed in the footsteps of the Beatles and other Liverpool bands by performing in the clubs of Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Nuremberg. On returning to Birmingham, in the wake of the Beatles' success, record companies were keen to sign similar guitar bands. The Vikings signed with Pye Records, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biddu
Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro disco, and Indian pop, he has sold millions of records worldwide, and has received an Ivor Novello award for his work. He has been ranked at number 34 on '' NME''s "The 50 Greatest Producers Ever" list. Biddu was born in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. He began his music career in the 1960s, singing as part of a music band in India before moving to England where he would start his career as a producer. He eventually found some success producing a hit song for Japanese band The Tigers in 1969, scoring the soundtrack for 1972 British film ''Embassy'', and producing several early disco songs that would find a niche audience in British northern soul clubs during the early 1970s. His international breakthrough came in 1974 with " Kung Fu Fight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
