"Bad Old Days" was the entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1978 The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Paris, France, following the country's victory at the with the song " L'Oiseau et l'Enfant" by Marie Myriam. Organised by the European ...

, performed in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by Co-Co. The song, written by Stephanie de Sykes and Stuart Slater was an uptempo love song, with the narrator recalling the 'bad old days' before they met their current partner.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final, 22 April, the song was performed eighth, following 's

José Vélez José Velázquez Jiménez (born 15 November 1951 in Telde, Gran Canaria), better known by his stage name José Vélez (), is a Spanish singer. In the late 1960s, a music teacher from the Organización Juvenil Española (Spanish Youth Organisa ...

with " Bailemos un vals" and preceding 's

Carole Vinci Carole is a feminine given name (see Carl for more information) and occasionally a surname. Carole may refer to: Given name * Carole B. Balin (born 1964), American Reform rabbi, professor of Jewish history *Carole Bayer Sager (born 1947), America ...

with " Vivre". At the close of voting, it had received 61 points, placing 11th in a field of 20. At the time, this was the worst showing yet for the UK in Eurovision, surpassing the 9th place from 1966 which until 1978 had held the dubious distinction. "Bad Old Days" held the ignominious title until 1987, when the UK finished 13th. Of all the UK entries submitted from 1975-1993, this was the only UK song that did not receive either a 12 or a 10 point score at least once in the voting sequence. The highest score awarded to "Bad Old Days" was 8 points from Germany. "Bad Old Days" was succeeded as British representative at the 1979 contest by

Black Lace Black Lace are a British pop band, best known for novelty party records, including their biggest hit, " Agadoo". The band first came to the public eye after being selected to represent the UK in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, in which they ...

with " Mary Ann".

Charts

The single reached No.13 in the UK during a seven-week chart run. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at no.39 for the week the contest was staged. In the following week, it rose rapidly to no.16. Its eventual peak of 13 occurred three weeks after their failure in the contest. It was to be the group's only hit.

References

{{Authority control Eurovision songs of the United Kingdom Eurovision songs of 1978 Ariola Records singles Hansa Records singles 1978 songs 1978 singles Songs written by Stephanie de Sykes