United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991

Samantha Janus represented United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 with the Paul Curtis-written song "A Message to Your Heart", which was placed 10th.

A Song for Europe

That year's A Song For Europe was held on 29 March 1991 and was hosted by Terry Wogan. Following the somewhat negative comments by one member of the 'expert' panel in 1990, the panel idea was dropped in 1991. For the first time the orchestra was visible in the studio.

The contest was opened by The Ravenscroft Partnership, a group assembled by Raf Ravenscroft, the man responsible for re-working the theme tune to soap opera Crossroads. "We Will Protect You" was an uptempo anthem. Other members of the Partnership were: Mark Arnell from Portsmouth, Al Vosper of Exeter, Don Richardson from London, Anthony Clark who played keyboards, Graham Ward of Cheshunt on drums and Siobhan Cunnigham on tambourine. Al Vosper had previously been in the group First Class who had a hit in the UK with "Beach Baby" in 1974. One of the writers of "We Will Protect You" Julian Littman was a Womble

Next on stage was Christopher Ellis with the romantic ballad "Straight to Your Heart".

Eighteen-year-old Samantha Janus was the performer of the Paul Curtis composition, "A Message to Your Heart", an uptempo effort with a memorable hook. Janus was backed by three female vocalists one of whom, Nicky Belcher, was the sister of former New Seekers member Lyn Paul.

Christie was the female soloist singing a mid-tempo ballad called "Nothing on This Earth". Christie was actually Joanne Castle from Croydon and had won "Young Performer of the Year 1987" at the Theatre Royal, Norwich

Malcolm Roberts was a well-known face from the 1960s and had previously represented Luxembourg in the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest. His 1991 entry was a big ballad called "One Love". Malcolm had previously won the Hawaiian Song Festival and Knokke Cup.

"A Little Bit of Heaven" was a typical Eurovision anthem performed by Lorraine Craig with aid of a female backing singer and two men strumming guitars. Lorraine had already won "WHICH cd Magazine" award for Best Jazz Newcomer in 1986. She also appeared in "Intervision" in Russia and East Germany.

Julie Finney had fought off a throat infection to participate in the final and did so with the dramatic ballad, "True Love".

Finally, a mid-tempo entry in an almost folk style, "Lover Come In" sung by Brendan Faye. Brendan was a former member of the Holywood Swing Jazz Band and is managed by Wayne Bickerton co-author of "A Love for all Seasons" by Champagne at the 1976 "Song for Europe" contest.

Results

Draw	Artist	Song	Place	Votes
01	The Ravenscroft Partnership	We Will Protect You	5	36,047
02	Christopher Ellis	Straight To Your Heart	7	14,231
03	Samantha Janus	A Message To Your Heart	1	108,896
04	Christie	Nothing On This Earth	6	17,296
05	Malcolm Roberts	One Love	8	11,250
06	Lorraine Craig	A Little Bit of Heaven	3	61,589
07	Julie Finney	True Love	4	58,146
08	Brendan Faye	Lover Come In	2	95,696

At Eurovision

Samantha Janus went on to represent United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 finishing 10th with 47 points. Her backing singers on the night included Hazell Dean and former Belle and the Devotions lead singer, Kit Rolfe. While Janus was performing live in front of millions at the Eurovision Song Contest, she famously said "turn right" to her backing singers.

Points Awarded by United Kingdom^[1]

12 points	Sweden
10 points	Israel
8 points	Switzerland
7 points	Malta
6 points	France
5 points	Turkey
4 points	Ireland
3 points	Luxembourg
2 points	Belgium
1 point	Spain

Points awarded to United Kingdom

Points Awarded to United Kingdom (Final)
12 points	10 points	8 points	7 points	6 points
	Malta			Austria Italy
5 points	4 points	3 points	2 points	1 point
Israel Switzerland		Belgium Denmark Greece Luxembourg		Cyprus France Portugal

Participation

~~1956~~ 1957 ~~1958~~ 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Artists

1950s	~~1956~~ Patricia Bredin ~~1958~~ Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson

1960s	Bryan Johnson The Allisons Ronnie Carroll Ronnie Carroll Matt Monro Kathy Kirby Kenneth McKellar Sandie Shaw Cliff Richard Lulu

1970s	Mary Hopkin Clodagh Rodgers The New Seekers Cliff Richard Olivia Newton-John The Shadows Brotherhood of Man Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran Co-Co Black Lace

1980s	Prima Donna Bucks Fizz Bardo Sweet Dreams Belle and the Devotions Vikki Watson Ryder Rikki Scott Fitzgerald Live Report

1990s	Emma Samantha Janus Michael Ball Sonia Frances Ruffelle Love City Groove Gina G Katrina and the Waves Imaani Precious

2000s	Nicki French Lindsay Jessica Garlick Jemini James Fox Javine Hylton Daz Sampson Scooch Andy Abraham Jade Ewen

2010s	Josh Dubovie Blue Engelbert Humperdinck Bonnie Tyler Molly Electro Velvet

Songs

1950s	~~1956~~ "All" ~~1958~~ "Sing, Little Birdie"

1960s	"Looking High, High, High" "Are You Sure?" "Ring-A-Ding Girl" "Say Wonderful Things" "I Love the Little Things" "I Belong" "A Man Without Love" "Puppet on a String" "Congratulations" "Boom Bang-a-Bang"

1970s	"Knock, Knock Who's There?" "Jack in the Box" "Beg, Steal or Borrow" "Power to All Our Friends" "Long Live Love" "Let Me Be the One" "Save Your Kisses for Me" "Rock Bottom" "The Bad Old Days" "Mary Ann"

1980s	"Love Enough for Two" "Making Your Mind Up" "One Step Further" "I'm Never Giving Up" "Love Games" "Love Is" "Runner in the Night" "Only the Light" "Go" "Why Do I Always Get it Wrong?"

1990s	"Give a Little Love Back to the World" "A Message to Your Heart" "One Step Out of Time" "Better the Devil You Know" "Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free)" "Love City Groove" "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" "Love Shine a Light" "Where Are You?" "Say It Again"

2000s	"Don't Play That Song Again" "No Dream Impossible" "Come Back" "Cry Baby" "Hold On to Our Love" "Touch My Fire" "Teenage Life" "Flying the Flag (for You)" "Even If" "It's My Time"

2010s	"That Sounds Good To Me" "I Can" "Love Will Set You Free" "Believe in Me" "Children of the Universe" "Still in Love with You"

(Note: Entries scored out are when United Kingdom did not compete)

Eurovision Song Contest 1991

Countries

Final (by final results)	Sweden (winner) France Israel Spain Switzerland Malta Italy Portugal Cyprus Ireland United Kingdom Turkey Greece Luxembourg Iceland Belgium Norway Germany Denmark Finland Yugoslavia Austria

Artists

Final (by final results)	Carola Amina Duo Datz Sergio Dalma Sandra Simó Georgina & Paul Giordimaina Peppino di Capri Dulce Pontes Elena Patroklou Kim Jackson Samantha Janus İzel Çeliköz, Reyhan Karaca & Can Uğurluer Sophia Vossou Sarah Bray Stefán & Eyfi Clouseau Just 4 Fun Atlantis 2000 Anders Frandsen Kaija Kärkinen Baby Doll Thomas Forstner

Songs

Final
(by final results)

References

↑ Eurovision Song Contest 1991

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, July 27, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.