Ryder was a purpose-made pop group led by Maynard Williams whose primary purpose was to represent the United Kingdom at the

1986 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcastin ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Norway. Ryder performed the song "

Runner in the Night "Runner in the Night", written by Maureen Darbyshire and composed by Brian Wade, was the 's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed by the sextet Ryder, led by Maynard Williams. Song information Ryder won the right to perform at Ber ...

" which was placed 7th. They were criticised in the media for being a particularly weak and unsuitable entry. The song was the first UK Eurovision entry to fail to reach the top 75 since 1964, managing a peak of only #98. "Runner In The Night" was the only single released by the band, but Williams teamed up with the song's composers Maureen Darbyshire and Brian Wade to compose the theme song to the BBC drama series ''Truckers'', in which he appeared. The single from the programme failed to chart. Williams, the son of actor

Bill Maynard Walter Frederick George Williams (8 October 1928 – 30 March 2018), better known by his stage name Bill Maynard, was an English comedian and actor. He began working in television in the 1950s, notably starring alongside Terry Scott in ''Gre ...

, had previously reached the final 24 of the UK heat in 1985. He had earlier featured in the BBC's 1975 Christmas production ''Great Big Groovy Horse'', a rock opera based on the story of the Trojan Horse shown on BBC2 starring

Julie Covington Julie Covington (born 11 September 1946) is an English singer and actress, best known for recording the original version of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", which she sang on the 1976 concept album Evita. Early life Julie Covington was born in Lon ...

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

and Paul Jones. It was later repeated on BBC1 in 1977.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control British pop music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1986 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the United Kingdom