Retro Reviews

Welcome to “Retro Reviews”, my journey through the brilliant history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Moving in chronological order, this series looks at each year's contest with fresh eyes – setting the scene with some important context of the time, recapping how the show itself unfolded and diving into the songs that defined (or occasionally derailed) the night. Along the way, I'll be sharing my own thoughts, favourites and potentially hot takes; celebrating the classics, questioning some of the choices and rediscovering what made each contest unique and memorable. For lifelong Eurovision fans and curious newcomers alike, this is a look back at how Europe's biggest music spectacle became what it is today.

Whilst of course the idea of reviewing contests from years gone by isn't in any way unique, and there are many people in the Eurovision fan community doing similar things, I would like to give particular credit to Anna from the Love Love Peace Peace blog, which has provided the main inspiration for this series. I absolutely love reading her reviews, and mine will follow a similar format. At the end of each review, I will award both my douze points and nul points, before sharing my top ten songs and awarding them 1-8, 10 and 12 points – exactly as we are used to seeing at the contest today. I hope you enjoy reading my reviews just as much as I enjoy reading Anna's.

Follow the series so far:

  1. Frankfurt 1957
  2. Hilversum 1958
  3. Cannes 1959

All-Time Scoreboard:

Position

Country

Points

Douze Points

Nul Points

1

Switzerland

25

1957

 

2

Italy

23

1958

 

3

Denmark

22

 

 

4

France

20

 

 

5

Germany

17

 

 

6

Netherlands

17

 

 

7

United Kingdom

13

1959

1957*

8

Austria

11

 

 

9

Belgium

11

 

1959

10

Luxembourg

7

 

1958*

11

Sweden

6

 

 

12

Monaco

2

 

 

* Both 1957 and 1958 only featured ten competing songs, so despite receiving my 'nul points' for being the worst song of their respective fields, the indicated entries still score 1 point.

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