"Après toi" (; "After you") is a song recorded by Greek singer Vicky Leandros, with music composed by her father Leo Leandros under his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Mario Panas, and German composer , with French lyrics by . It in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972 held in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, winning the contest.

Background

Conception

"Après toi" was composed by Leandros' father Leandros Papathanasiou, known as Leo Leandros under his

Mario Panas, and German composer , with French lyrics by . It is a dramatic

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, with the singer telling her lover what will happen to her once he has finally left her for someone else: "After you I will be nothing but the shadow of your shadow".

Eurovision

Originally, the song was written with German lyrics as "Dann kamst du" and was submitted to the German Eurovision national selection process. When the song did not qualify for that competition, Yves Dessca, who had co-written the lyrics of the winning song " Un banc, un arbre, une rue", penned French lyrics and the (CLT) internally selected it as for the of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. Dessca remains the only author/composer ever to score back-to-back Eurovision victories. In addition to the French version, Vicky Leandros recorded the song in English as "Come What May", in Italian "Dopo te", German "Dann kamst du", Spanish "Y después", Greek "Móno esý" , and Japanese "Omoide ni ikiru" . This was Leandros' second entry in the Eurovision Song Contest as she had finished fourth in the with " L'amour est bleu". On 25 March 1972, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Usher Hall in

hosted by the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

(BBC) and broadcast live throughout the continent. Leandros performed "Après toi" seventeenth on the evening, following 's " À la folie ou pas du tout" by Serge & Christine Ghisoland and preceding the ' " Als het om de liefde gaat" by Sandra & Andres. Klaus Munro conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the Luxembourgian entry. By the close of voting, the song had received 128 points, placing it first in a field of eighteen, and winning the contest, ahead of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

entry " Beg, Steal or Borrow", performed by

The New Seekers The New Seekers were a British pop group, formed in London, in 1969, by Keith Potger, after the break-up of his group, the Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music wou ...

. "Après toi" was succeeded as contest winner in by "

Tu te reconnaîtras "Tu te reconnaîtras" (; "You'll Recognise Yourself"), is a song recorded by French singer Anne-Marie David, with music composed by and lyrics written by . It in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973 held in Luxembourg, winning the contest. Back ...

", sung by

Anne-Marie David Anne-Marie David (born 23 May 1952) is a French singer. She has represented both Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest, Luxembourg and France in the Eurovision Song Contest, France at the Eurovision Song Contest, winning in Eurovision Song ...

, also for .

Aftermath

In the Eurovision fiftieth anniversary competition '' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', held on 22 October 2005 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

performed the song as part of the interval acts.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Sales

Legacy

"Après toi" has been afforded a number of translated cover versions including "Jak mám spát" (Czech) recorded by Helena Vondráčková, "Keď si sám" (Slovak) recorded by , "Rakastan saavuthan" (Finnish) recorded by Carola Standertskjöld, "Posle tebe" (Serbian) recorded by

Lola Novaković Zorana "Lola" Novaković ( sr-cyr, Зоранa "Лола" Новаковић); (25 April 1935 – 3 April 2016) was a Serbian singer, hugely popular during the 1960s and to a lesser degree the 1970s. She was born in Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugosla ...

, "Vắng bóng người yêu" (Vietnamese) recorded by Thanh Lan, "Si te vas" (Spanish) recorded by Paloma San Basilio, "Vad än sker" (Swedish) recorded by Ann-Louise Hanson, "Etter deg" (Norwegian) recorded by and Gro Anita Schønn, "Sled teb" ("", Bulgarian), recorded by Lili Ivanova, and "Aşk mı bu" (Turkish), recorded by Ayla Algan in 1973. The English version "Come What May" was covered by John Gummoe of the Cascades on a 1972

London Recordings London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

single, and by Filipina singer Pilita Corrales on her 1976 album ''Live At The Riveira With Pilita Amado Vol. 2''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Apres toi Eurovision songs of 1972 French songs Eurovision songs of Luxembourg Number-one singles in Switzerland Eurovision Song Contest-winning songs Philips Records singles 1972 singles 1972 songs Songs written by Leo Leandros