Retro Reviews: London 1960
After earning its second Eurovision victory in three years,
Dutch broadcaster NTS declined to stage the contest again, having done so in
1958. As the United Kingdom had finished second the previous year, hosting
rights were passed to the BBC, who hosted the fifth Eurovision Song Contest on
Tuesday 29th March 1960 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. All eleven
participating countries from the 1959 contest returned, and were joined by
Luxembourg, returning after an absence of one year and Norway, appearing at the
contest for the first time, bringing the number of entries to a record
thirteen.
The contest was presented by Katie Boyle (though she used
the name Catherine Boyle at this point in time), marking her first of what
would become four Eurovision appearances. Katie presents the show in English, which
was helpful for me! For the first time, I was also able to find a video of the
contest with English commentary. David Jacobs provided commentary for the BBC,
and this was also broadcast to the audience of around 2,500 people. The version
of the contest I watched is here.
This year, the responsibilities of the presenter and the commentator
once again shifted a bit: Katie presided over the opening of the show and the
voting procedure, whilst the various commentators introduced each act. David’s
script had been shared with the other countries’ commentators, largely for
timing purposes. The contest starts with Te Deum, and the names of the
participating countries displayed within the generic Eurovision network logo.
David then welcomes us to the programme, and we see some pictures of the South
Bank of the River Thames, where the Royal Festival Hall is located, though it’s
difficult to make out much because the picture is quite dark.
David explains the basic rules of the contest, and describes
the stage as “a blaze of blue, red and gold” – helpful as we are of course
watching in black and white! Eric Robinson and his orchestra then sound the
fanfare to officially begin the programme, and Katie makes her grand entrance.
She declares that the contest is being watched by “practically everybody in
Western Europe”, then introduces each of the competing artists in performance
order (and in their various national languages). Bryan Johnson of the UK and
Jacqueline Boyer of France both get a big round of applause from the audience.
Katie then introduces the audience to the “giant scoreboard”,
though somebody else is responsible for the big stick this time. After that,
she shows off the “very attractive silver gilt vases” to be awarded to the winning
artist, composer and lyricist. Then the camera zooms in on David and his fellow
commentators momentarily before the contest properly begins. Before each entry,
an information board is displayed containing the participating country,
competing artist and song title. David provides translations where necessary,
as well as explaining the context and/or meaning of the song and naming the
conductor. At the end of each performance, the curtain closes quite
dramatically on the competing artist and we straight away see the next
information board.
United Kingdom: Bryan Johnson – “Looking High, High,
High”
The contest certainly gets off to a chirpy start this year
with this song from the host nation. Bryan (brother of Teddy Johnson from last
year) is clearly at ease performing to a home crowd, and the orchestra do very
well on this as well. The song is very well put together; it’s a strong
composition with lyrics that are clever in their simplicity – though possibly a
little bit too much whistling! Bryan’s vocals are fantastic, but I struggled to
hear him over the orchestra in a couple of places. And just as the song was
beginning to feel a bit repetitive, the ending gives it a bit of a shake-up
which really adds to the package. An excellent, if slightly static, performance
which gets a warm reception from the audience.
Sweden: Siw Malmkvist – “Alla andra får
varann”
David describes this as “a very sad song, although it’s got
a very gay tune to it” – I was quite glad to have heard that, because I don’t
think I would have guessed the song’s meaning otherwise. It certainly is quite
upbeat and I would have been inclined to assume it was a much happier schlager
song. The song itself is quite jazzy, with a nice orchestral section in the
middle (although I did think that went on just a bit too long). It’s reasonably
catchy but nothing too special – I think the main issue with the package is
that it doesn’t really go anywhere and as such feels like it’s dragging a bit
by the time we get to the end. Not a bad effort though and probably Sweden’s best
so far.
Luxembourg: Camillo Felgen – “So laang we’s du do
bast”
The first of not very many appearances of the Luxembourgish
language at Eurovision here, from Camillo who is a good performer, but
generally has quite a serious demeanour when he sings. The song is a little bit
dreary, though it does pick up a bit as it goes along, and has really quite a
nice melody. The first time I watched this, I ended up getting distracted and
pausing it halfway through to make a note of something else, which I thought
was quite telling, though on re-watching it I actually don’t think it’s too bad
at all, and the audience certainly seemed to enjoy it as well.
Denmark: Katy Bødtger – “Det var en yndig tid”
This song, introduced somewhat confusingly by David as “song
number three” is probably as close as we will come to a novelty act this year,
with Katy appearing on stage in a very big dress, with a hat and parasol to
boot. Her performance is quite earnest, though does feel a bit childish at
points, which isn’t helped by the song. It’s a perfectly fine composition with
quite a bouncy tune, but feels oddly misplaced in a competitive environment. The
melody is sweet, and Katy performs it well, but unfortunately my first
impression of this was that it was a bit boring, and seemed to go on for quite
a long time.
Belgium: Fud Leclerc – “Mon amour pour toi”
Going into this, one of the things I was most excited about was the
return of Fud Leclerc, who David describes as “a young man who I’m sure will
sway the ladies’ votes in our audience”. I loved his entry in 1958 but
unfortunately this one isn’t quite as good in my opinion. It’s another jazzy
entry but the song doesn’t feel quite so accessible to me, and whilst Fud does
perform it well, he doesn’t engage with the camera as much as I would like.
That being said, it is a nice song and I do have to acknowledge that I came in
with unfairly high expectations, though I don’t think this is an entry I’ll be
coming back to often.
Norway: Nora Brockstedt – “Voi-voi”
Norway is making its Eurovision debut this evening, and from the
description that David gave, I really wanted to like this song. It gets going
quite quickly and is a rather bouncy number, but Nora sounds a bit off to me,
almost like she is struggling to keep up at times. Everything about this
package is good fun but doesn’t seem to fit together particularly well, and overall
I think the performance doesn’t quite add up to the sum of its parts. I kept
wanting this song to go somewhere else, but it never does – it rather stays in
third gear throughout and then ends quite abruptly without feeling like it’s
come to a satisfying conclusion. Not an excellent start for Norway but at least
it did reasonably well.
Austria: Harry Winter – “Du hast mich so fasziniert”
Firstly, I’d like to say that I very much enjoyed watching the
rather energetic conductor at the start of this performance! As with many older
Eurovision songs, this entry has a very upbeat opening, which I enjoyed, before
slowing down a bit for the verse. It takes a while to get going, but this song really
is lovely, and sounds quite Christmassy at points. A little bit like Norway’s
entry, and some others I have reviewed, this song is a little bit winding and incohesive,
but when it’s good, it’s good. The most annoying part about the song was
the slightly annoying tinkling during the chorus, which was too loud for me and,
to be honest, sounded a bit tuneless. However, Harry is a competent and
expressive performer and this song gets a good reception from the audience.
Monaco: François Deguelt – “Ce soir-là”
David describes this as a “very sad song”, and it’s certainly
quite downbeat, though strangely intriguing and almost Bond-esque in its
melody. François is an engaging performer and his vocals are excellent
throughout. I also enjoyed the mini crescendo in the middle of the song, which
piqued my interest and kept me engaged. This song truly is impassioned, and
everything about it is very good – though I think I might have liked something a
bit different to come in about halfway through to switch it up slightly. All in
all though, it is most certainly an improvement on last year’s Monégasque entry.
Switzerland: Anita Traversi – “Cielo e terra”
Anita Traversi is introduced as a “famous Swiss star of radio and
television” – and she performs her song very well here, with her voice
complementing the orchestra quite nicely. The song, quite like Austria’s, has a
slow first verse but is good when it gets going, with a lovely melody, and sounds
quite Italian in its composition (of course, the song being in the Italian
language may contribute to that impression!). It ends well, and doesn’t go down
the well-trodden path of just being loud, which is a bit of a breath of fresh
air. In my view, Switzerland has sent the most consistently strong entries in
these early years of Eurovision, and this one is no different.
Netherlands: Rudi Carrell – “Wat een geluk”
Or “Holland”, as it says on the information board. This song got
me moving almost immediately – it’s nice and upbeat with an almost Caribbean sound
that I really enjoyed. Rudi, however, seems a bit nervous performing it, which
is odd given that he was a seasoned entertainer at this point in time. He doesn’t
seem to know where to look for most of the song! I enjoyed seeing the orchestra
at work on a faster number, though the package loses points for an annoying “la
la la” section. Overall, this is a catchy song and certainly something that
feels very ‘of its time’, but manages to avoid sounding too dated – which is
more than can be said for quite a few other entries!
Germany: Wyn Hoop – “Bonne nuit ma chérie”
Well this is certainly a departure from the past few German
entries! The song is quite soulful to begin with, but there are some big
orchestral contributions which don’t really seem to match. As such, it’s
another package that feels a bit disjointed, although I have no major gripes
with any of the individual layers. Wyn’s manner of performing is a little bit
intense at times; he has a bit of a tendency to stare off into the distance –
thankfully not down the camera! Unfortunately, this song didn’t particularly
manage to keep me engaged for the entirety of its duration, though it does have
an impressive finish and the audience seemed to enjoy it.
Italy: Renato Rascel – “Romantica”
I think I’ve just about managed to avoid it so far, so it’s about
time for me to wheel out my new catchphrase… nice but unremarkable. This is
another slower song which is pleasant enough, and has a nice melody, but isn’t helped
in the slightest by its performer. Renato is not at all engaging or
charismatic, and isn’t able to give the song the boost it so desperately needs.
It isn’t understated necessarily, but still somehow isn’t enough, and
just ends up feeling slightly dull. This was a performance carried by the
orchestra, and the song isn’t a patch on either of Domenico Modugno’s previous
Eurovision entries.
France: Jacqueline Boyer – “Tom Pillibi”
David remarks that Jacqueline is “only eighteen, but almost as
famous as her mother and father” – of course, Jacqueline’s father is last year’s
Monégasque representative; thankfully she managed to do a bit better than he
did! This is a strong composition, and fits together well. It gives the
impression of a nursery rhyme at points, and I enjoyed the bouncier parts of
the song. Jacqueline’s vocals are generally good and certainly controlled,
though occasionally bordering on whiny. However, this is definitely one of the
better songs of the night, and gets another good reception from the audience –
I do have to say that it is a deserving winner.
Katie then emerges once again and explains the rules of the
voting, telling the audience that they “will be able to follow the voting
procedure very easily on this board”. And with that, we are straight into the
voting, which has not changed much at all from last year, the only new
innovation being that juries were now allowed to listen to the dress rehearsal,
which was recorded to give jurors the chance to hear the competing entries in
advance of the contest. The scoreboard is of course manual, and displays the
song title, number of votes and the name (in English) of the participating
country. A small arrow indicates which country is in the lead. Once again,
countries vote in reverse performance order.
The spokespeople announce the song number, participating country
and the number of votes – Katie repeats just the song number and votes, which
is slightly confusing as song number is not displayed on the scoreboard. There
is also no indicator of how many votes each country has received from the jury
that is currently voting. Of course, the voting provides several fun moments,
including Katie announcing “I can hear nothing at all” when the French jury
fails to pick up the phone, telling the audience “I’m afraid if you clap each
one, I won’t be able to hear the playback” and asking the Monégasque
spokesperson “Have you finished, Monte Carlo?”.
The audience seems to enjoy the voting as well, with big applause
whenever the United Kingdom ends up in the lead – and also support for various
other countries, including Denmark when it is the last to score any points, which
I thought was rather sporting. The scoreboard operators are quite slow to
update the votes, and the audience also applauds when a mistake is corrected on
the scoreboard (I must say that Katie dealt with that blip very well indeed).
It’s quite an exciting voting sequence, with the lead changing
hands several times – Monaco gets a huge vote from the German jury which pushes
it ahead. The United Kingdom soon catches up, and manages to extend its lead a
couple of times. After a slow start, France begins to score well and eventually
takes the lead after the votes of the Danish jury (which is met with a
surprisingly warm reception from the British audience).
The United Kingdom quickly takes it back again, but ends up in
second place with only one jury left to vote… its own. The audience realise
that France can’t be caught and seem to fluster Katie a bit as she speaks to
the British spokesperson, who introduces himself with a rather formal “Hello Ms
Boyle”. A healthy vote for France from the United Kingdom confirms its victory,
and the audience give Jacqueline a big round of applause.
The United Kingdom is runner-up for the second year in a row, with
Monaco getting by far its best result to date in third place. Norway performs well
on its debut, tying with Germany for fourth, and they are followed by Belgium
and Austria. Switzerland and Italy tie for eighth, with Sweden and Denmark in
joint-tenth. The Netherlands and Luxembourg bring up the rear, with the latter
narrowly avoiding the dreaded nul points thanks to the Italian jury.
Final Results:
- France – 32 points
- United Kingdom – 25 points
- Monaco – 15 points
- Norway – 11 points
- Germany – 11 points
- Belgium – 9 points
- Austria – 6 points
- Switzerland – 5 points
- Italy – 5 points
- Sweden – 4 points
- Denmark – 4 points
- Netherlands – 2 points
- Luxembourg – 1 point
Katie announces the top three countries, songs and scores,
each prompting a hearty round of applause from the audience. Last year’s winner
Teddy Scholten then comes out from behind the curtain to award Jacqueline her
prize. The curtain closes rather awkwardly on the pair of them before Katie
declares “I’m sure that we’d all like to hear that winning song again” to introduce
Jacqueline’s reprise. After that, she declares “the contest is over” and wishes
us a good night.
This was probably the most interesting ‘retro’ contest I’ve
watched so far, at least from the production point of view. Of course with the
show being staged by the BBC and presented in English, I understood what was
going on a bit more clearly, and English commentary certainly made a difference.
The style of David’s commentary was very interesting as it felt like he was
acutely aware that not only was he representing the BBC on home soil, but his words
were being heard by everybody in the venue. This did mean that there was no
commentary during the voting sequence, but I didn’t feel that I needed it
particularly.
David’s explanations of the songs’ lyrics and meanings definitely
helped me to understand them a bit more, particularly as several of this year’s
entries didn’t necessarily have lyrics that seemed to align with their tune or
tempo. He introduced several singers and conductors as if they would be
household names for a British audience – and whilst I’m sure that some of the
viewing public would have been aware of them, I also wondered the extent to
which this was said because they were in the very same room.
But what of the songs? It’s probably not quite as strong as
1959 on the whole, but similar in that there were no entries I actively
disliked, just several that failed to make much of an impression, positive or
otherwise. There’s definitely a good mixture of songs in here as well, with light-hearted
entries from the UK, Denmark and France standing in contrast with Luxembourg,
Belgium and Germany (and others), which feel more like the type of song we’re
used to seeing in the contest at this point.
Douze Points: For the second year in a row, it’s
going to the United Kingdom. Perhaps I’m biased, but this song has been
stuck in my head for days now and I think that speaks for itself. Although
maybe for the sake of Johnson family relations it’s for the best that Bryan
couldn’t quite outdo Teddy!
Nul Points: It simply has to go to the most
forgettable song of the lot, which comes from Italy. It’s not bad, but I
struggle to find many redeeming qualities for this package in a line-up where
the other songs all have something else going for them. A shame really, as I
felt this song did have more potential.
My Votes:
Again, a field which I can quite easily separate into ‘the
best’ and ‘the rest’. I enjoyed precisely six songs this year, and the rest
were varying levels of dull. Much like 1959, there’s nothing too dreadful in
this line-up, but not an awful lot to write home about either.
1 point: Luxembourg
2 points: Belgium
3 points: Germany
4 points: Sweden
5 points: Netherlands
6 points: Switzerland
7 points: France
8 points: Monaco
10 points: Austria
12 points: United Kingdom
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