"Don't Play That Song Again" was the entry for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2000 The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson. Organised by the Europea ...

. The song was performed by

Nicki French Nicki is a given name, and may refer to: Film and television * Nicki Aycox (1975-2022), American actress best known for her roles as Syl on the series ''Dark Angel'' and Stella Vessey on the dramedy ''Ed'' * Nicki Chapman (born 1967), English tel ...

, already a well-known name, having had a worldwide hit in 1995 with a cover of

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

's "

Total Eclipse of the Heart "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was written and produced by Jim Steinman, and released on Tyler's fifth studio album, ''Faster Than the Speed of Night'' (1983). The song was released as a single b ...

": on the night she wore a lilac

trenchcoat A trench coat or trenchcoat is a variety of coat made of waterproof heavy-duty fabric, originally developed for British Army officers before the First World War, and becoming popular while used in the trenches. Originally made from gabardine, ...

over a bright purple two-piece outfit.

Background

The song's composer John Springate had in 1994 produced French's first recording of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – which preceded her 1995 hit recording – and Springate had asked French to perform "Don't Play That Song Again" to vie at Song For Europe 2000 where the song came first in a field of four with total televotes of 47,355.

At Eurovision

The scoring for Eurovision 2000 began with "Don't Play that Song Again" receiving a single point from the first reporting jury (that being ): subsequently "Don't Play That Song Again" was awarded points by only seven of the twenty-one (not counting the UK) remaining juries with both the Maltese and the jury responding best to "Don't Play That Song Again" by awarding it six points. At the close of the voting "Don't Play That Song Again" had accrued a vote tally of 28 points to earn sixteenth place in a field of twenty-four – the worst ever result for a UK entry up to that time.

Charts

"Don't Play That Song Again" reached No. 34 on the UK Charts, the lowest chart placing for a British Eurovision entry since 1989.Official Charts Company , UK Chart info
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References

{{authority control Eurovision songs of the United Kingdom Eurovision songs of 2000 2000 songs Nicki French songs