"Ein bißchen Frieden" (; "A Bit of Peace") is a

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-language song, written by prolific German Eurovision-writing duo

Ralph Siegel Ralph Siegel (born 30 September 1945) is a German record producer and songwriter. Siegel is one of the most notable figures at the Eurovision Song Contest, in which he has participated with 24 songs so far, among them the 1982 winner song Ein bi ...

(music) and

Bernd Meinunger Bernd Meinunger (born 30 September 1944 in Meiningen) is a German lyricist and record producer (with Hanne Haller) who frequently works with Ralph Siegel and David Brandes. Several of his songs have represented Germany in the ''Eurovision Song ...

(lyrics) for the

Eurovision Song Contest 1982 The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Harrogate, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song "Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz. Organised by the ...

, held in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

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. It was performed by 17-year-old German high-school student Nicole Hohloch, resulting in 's first win at the Eurovision Song Contest by a record margin of 61 points, setting a new record for the largest winning margin that lasted until the

Eurovision Song Contest 1997 The Eurovision Song Contest 1997 was the 42nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 3 May 1997 at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (RTÉ) and prese ...

. Nicole's single is still the only Eurovision entry to top the sales charts in every territory it was released in.

Background

After winning the contest, Nicole performed the reprise in four different languages:

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, French and

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. She decided on the spur of the moment to do this, to the bewilderment of her backing group. She later released recordings in five additional languages across

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, and a German-English-Dutch combination and a German-English-Italian combination. It topped the charts in many countries, selling more than three million copies, and the English version was the last Eurovision winner to top the charts in the

. The English version also holds the honour of becoming the 500th British Number One. The song was chosen in an internet poll conducted by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

in 2005 as one of the 14 most popular songs in the history of the Eurovision, and was one of the entrants in the ''

Congratulations Congratulations may refer to: Film and television *'' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', 2005 television programme to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary Music Albums * ''Congratulations'' (album), an album by ...

'' 50th anniversary concert in

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Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, held in October 2005. Although Nicole was not at the concert, it was re-enacted by dancers equipped with white guitars and a live

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

as the original footage was shown in the background. "Ein bißchen Frieden" finished as the seventh most popular song in the history of the contest. "A Little Peace", the English version (translated by

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), was soon after released in predominantly English speaking territories and reached number 1 on the charts in the UK and

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, among others. "A Little Peace" was covered by

Daniel O'Donnell Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell, MBE (born 12 December 1961) is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. After rising to public attention in 1983, he has since become a household name in Ireland and Britain; he has also had cons ...

for his 1997 album ''I Believe''. "Ein bißchen Frieden" was covered in Slovene as "Malo miru" by Irena Tratnik, in Czech as "Jsme dĕti slunce" by Jaromír Mayer, in Croatian as "Malo Mira" by , in Danish as "En smule fred" by , in Hungarian as "Egy kis nyugalmat kívánok én" by

Neoton Família Neoton Família (also known in some countries as Newton Family) was one of the most successful Hungarian pop-bands, their career spanning several decades, with changes in line-up. Most active from 1977 to 1989, they released albums and singles a ...

, in Polish as "Troszeczkę ziemi, troszeczkę słońca" by

Eleni Tzoka Eleni Tzoka (née Milopoulou; 27 April 1956, Bielawa) is a Polish singer of Greek descent. Biography Tzoka was born to a Greek family which emigrated to Poland in the 1950s.Papiernik, Joanna"Eleni - wielkie greckie serce" ludzie.senior.pl; acce ...

, in Spanish as "Un poco de paz" by mexican singer Laura Flores and in Finnish as "Vain Hieman Rauhaa" by

Katri Helena Katri Helena Kalaoja (née Koistinen, born 17 August 1945) is a Finnish singer. Career Katri Helena released her first songs in 1963 and has since sold over 630,000 certified records, which makes her the second-best-selling female soloist ...

. In 1996, the Swedish techno/folk/bluegrass band

Rednex Rednex is a Swedish musical group whose style is a mix of American country music and modern Eurodance, with their appearance and stage names taking inspiration from the American redneck stereotypes. The band originally consisted of the lead sin ...

, known for their hit Cotton-Eye Joe around that time, did a cover of "Ein bißchen Frieden", also played in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song has since been rendered in Dutch as "Een Beetje Vrede" recorded by

Kathleen Aerts Kathleen Aerts (born 18 June 1978 in Geel, Belgium) is a Belgian singer, actress and host. She was a member of the successful girl group K3 (band), K3. Early life Aerts was born in Geel, Belgium, on 18 June 1978. She has been involved in singing ...

for her 2009 album ''In Symfonie''.

Monica Forsberg Monica Yvonne Forsberg (born 14 September 1950) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and actress. She was a member in the group Ritz, which competed in Melodifestivalen in 1983 (which finished number 4 with the song "Marionett") and 1985 (with the ...

wrote lyrics in Swedish as "En liten fågel", and the song became popular among

dansband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by ...

groups. It was recorded in Swedish by Stefan Borsch on his 1982 album '' En liten fågel'' as well as releasing it as a single the same year and Mats Bergmans on his 2004 album '' Vänd dig inte om''. It was also recorded by

Ingmar Nordströms Ingmar Nordströms was a dansband from Växjö, Sweden that was established in 1955 by Ingmar Nordström. Their first appearance occurred in the Eringsboda folkpark. Their last appearance occurred in Växjö on 19 December 1991. In 1987, the band ...

on 1982 album '' Saxparty 9''. German techno-punk band DAF released "Ein bißchen Krieg" ("A Bit of War") as a response to the supposed sentimentality of the song.

Chart positions

Ein bißchen Frieden

A Little Peace

References

External links