The Netherlands was represented by duo Mouth and MacNeal ( Willem Duyn and

Maggie MacNeal Maggie MacNeal (born Sjoukje Lucie van 't Spijker; 5 May 1950) is a Dutch singer. She was a member of Mouth & MacNeal, a pop duo from the Netherlands, who are best known for their million-selling recording of " How Do You Do" in 1972, which to ...

), with the song " I See a Star", at the

1974 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Brighton, United Kingdom and was organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporati ...

, which took place in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England on 6 April. Mouth and MacNeal were internally selected by broadcaster NOS to be the Dutch representatives .

Before Eurovision

Nationaal Songfestival 1974

The final was held on 27 February 1974 at the Jaarbeurs in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, hosted by

Willem Duys Willem Duys (17 August 1928 – 2 June 2011) was a Dutch radio and television presenter, commentator, tennis player and music producer. Duys was born in Bussum. He first started a career as a tennis player. Having made the final NK Older Youth ...

. Only three songs were performed and voted on by a jury. "Ik zie een ster" emerged the runaway winner.

At Eurovision

The free-language rule applied in 1974, so prior to the contest the song was translated into English as "I See a Star" and performed in English at the final. On the night of the final Mouth and MacNeal performed 12th in the running order, following

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and preceding

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1974 the voting system reverted to the ten jury members in each country with one vote each model, and at the close of voting "I See a Star" had received 15 points from ten countries, placing the Netherlands 3rd of the 17 entries. The Dutch jury awarded its highest score (4) to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

.ESC History - Netherlands 1974
/ref> Mouth & MacNeal's upbeat and engaging performance at Eurovision proved memorable, and following the contest "I See a Star" went on to become a major hit across Europe. It reached number 8 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, making it one of only four non-UK / non-winning Eurovision entries to have reached the British top 10 performed by its original artists (the others being " Volare" by

Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...

, third in 1958, and Gigliola Cinquetti's runner-up " Sì", also from 1974 and 2014's

Calm After the Storm "Calm After the Storm" is a song by Dutch country rock duo The Common Linnets ( Ilse DeLange and Waylon). It was chosen internally to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Denmark. In the contest it placed second with ...

, by The Common Linnets, also Dutch). The Dutch conductor at the contest was Harry van Hoof.

Voting

References

External links

Dutch Preselection 1974
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1974

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 ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974

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 ...