Germany was represented by the

Les Humphries Singers The Les Humphries Singers was a 1970s pop group formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1969 by the English-born Les Humphries. The group had several chart hits in Germany and in other European countries. The Les Humphries Singers dissolved at the end ...

, with the song "Sing Sang Song", at the

1976 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was the 21st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In (band), Teach-In. Organised by t ...

, which took place on 3 April in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. "Sing Sang Song" originally placed runner-up in the German national final but became the German entry when the winner, "Der Star" by Tony Marshall, was disqualified.

Before Eurovision

Ein Lied für Den Haag

The final was held over two nights – 31 January and 1 February – at the TV studios in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, hosted by Max Schauzer. 12 songs took part with six performed on each evening, with the winner chosen by postcard voting, the results of which were announced on 18 February. "Der Star" was the public choice by a margin of over 20,000 votes, but was later disqualified when it was discovered that the song had been performed in public prior to the national final. "Sing Sang Song" was therefore promoted and announced as the 1976 German entry. Other participants with Eurovision connections were

Ireen Sheer Ireen Sheer (born 25 February 1949) is a German-English singer. She had a top five hit on the GfK Entertainment Charts, German singles chart with "Goodbye Mama" in 1973. She went on to finish fourth at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 represent ...

(Germany

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Lena Valaitis Lena Valaitis (born 7 September 1943) is a Lithuanian–German schlager singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. Early life and education Valaitis was born on 7 Se ...

(Germany

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

) and

Piera Martell Piera Martell (born 2 July 1943, in Jona, St. Gallen) is a Swiss singer, best known for her participation in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. In 1974, Martell took part in the Swiss Eurovision selection with the song " Mein Ruf nach dir" ("My ...

(

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

1974).

At Eurovision

On the night of the final the Les Humphries Singers performed 3rd in the running order, following Switzerland and preceding

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. In comparison to the slickly presented, precisely choreographed stage routines put together by other acts in the early part of the show (such as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Brotherhood of Man Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me". Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller, Brotherhood of Man was initia ...

and

Chocolate, Menta, Mastik Shokolad, Menta, Mastik ( he, שוקולד מנטה מסטיק, translate: Chocolate, mint, gum) was an Israeli female musical trio, active in the 1970s, composed of Yardena Arazi, and either (1972-1973) or . All the women served in the IDF as ...

from Israel), the German presentation came across on screen as ragged and untidy in the extreme, with no apparent thought having been given to providing a focused ensemble performance, and the audience response at the end of the song was noticeably muted and unenthusiastic. At the close of voting "Sing Sang Song" had received 12 points, placing Germany 15th of the 18 entries. The German jury awarded its 12 points to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.ESC History - Germany 1976
/ref> "Sing Sang Song" has a very negative reputation, with both song and performance often being mentioned as among the worst ever heard and seen in a Eurovision final. An open online poll of Eurovision fans rated the song as the worst of the 1970s. The Les Humphries Singers had enjoyed considerable success prior to the contest but disbanded shortly thereafter: the Eurovision disaster is thought to have been a major factor in this decision.

Voting

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1976

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...