United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978

Eurovision Song Contest 1978
Participating broadcasterBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Country United Kingdom
National selection
Selection processA Song for Europe 1978
Selection date(s)31 March 1978
Selected artist(s)Co-Co
Selected song"The Bad Old Days"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result11th, 61 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1977 • 1978 • 1979►

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 with the song "The Bad Old Days", written by Stephanie de Sykes and Stuart Slater, and performed by the band Co-Co. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final.

Before Eurovision

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A Song for Europe 1978

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The national final was held on Friday 31 March 1978 at the Royal Albert Hall, presented by Terry Wogan. The songs were backed by the Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra.[1]

Fourteen regional juries voted on the songs: Bristol, Bangor, Leeds, Norwich, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff, Plymouth, Glasgow, Southampton, and London. Each jury voted internally and ranked the songs 1–12, awarding 12 points for their highest scoring song, down to 1 point for the lowest scoring entry.

"The Bad Old Days" won the national and came 11th in the contest. Broadcast on Good Friday, a national holiday in the United Kingdom, A Song for Europe 1978 was watched by 13.7 million viewers and was the 16th-most watched programme of the week – the show's highest ever rating.[1]

A Song for Europe 1978 – 31 March 1978[2]
Draw Artist Song Songwriter(s) Points Place
1 Christian "Shine It On" Bill Martin & Phil Coulter 114 3
2 Brown Sugar "Oh No, Look What You've Done" Wayne Bickerton & Tony Waddington 49 11
3 Fruit Eating Bears "Door in My Face" Neville Crozier & Chris Crash 49 11
4 Jacquie Sullivan "Moments" Jacquie Sullivan 106 6
5 Sunshine "Too Much in Love" Wayne Bickerton & Tony Waddington 81 8
6 Ronnie France "Lonely Nights" Paul Curtis 68 9
7 The Jarvis Brothers "One Glance" Paul Curtis 114 3
8 Co-Co "The Bad Old Days" Stephanie de Sykes & Stuart Slater 135 1
9 Bob James "We Got It Bad" Bob James & Labi Siffre 66 10
10 Midnight "Don't Bother to Knock" Kenny Lynch, Steve O'Donnell & Colin Horton-Jennings 116 2
11 Babe Rainbow "Don't Let Me Stand in Your Way" Irving Martin & Peter Morris 84 7
12 Labi Siffre "Solid Love" Labi Siffre 110 5

Both groups Co-Co and Sunshine had participated in A Song for Europe 1976, albeit with different line-ups. Co-Co would return to A Song for Europe 1980 with another line-up, under the name The Main Event. Co-Co's member Cheryl Baker would eventually win the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the group Bucks Fizz.

Detailed Jury Votes[2]
Draw Song
Aberdeen
Norwich
Manchester
Bangor
Southampton
Leeds
Belfast
Bristol
Glasgow
Birmingham
London
Cardiff
Newcastle
Plymouth
 Total
1 "Shine It On" 12 11 9 10 5 4 11 12 12 7 9 3 5 4 114
2 "Oh No, Look What You've Done" 7 2 2 1 3 2 2 9 5 2 3 1 4 6 49
3 "Door in My Face" 2 1 7 2 1 7 3 3 2 3 1 2 10 5 49
4 "Moments" 8 8 11 7 8 3 9 6 10 8 10 6 3 9 106
5 "Too Much in Love" 9 3 5 4 2 6 10 7 9 5 6 7 6 2 81
6 "Lonely Nights" 1 4 1 8 4 5 1 2 1 10 7 11 12 1 68
7 "One Glance" 6 7 3 5 9 12 6 11 11 9 12 4 11 8 114
8 "The Bad Old Days" 11 12 12 11 10 11 7 4 3 11 11 12 8 12 135
9 "We Got It Bad" 3 6 10 3 12 1 4 1 8 1 4 5 1 7 66
10 "Don't Bother to Knock" 4 9 8 6 11 10 8 5 7 12 8 10 7 11 116
11 "Don't Let Me Stand in Your Way" 5 5 4 9 7 8 5 10 6 6 5 9 2 3 84
12 "Solid Love" 10 10 6 12 6 9 12 8 4 4 2 8 9 10 110
Jury Spokespersons[2]
Jury Spokesperson
Aberdeen Gerry Davis
Norwich Chris Denham
Manchester Mike Riddoch
Bangor Gwyn Llewelyn
Southampton Peter Macann
Leeds Brian Baines
Belfast Michael Baguley
Bristol Derek Jones
Glasgow Ken Bruce
Birmingham Tom Coyne
London Ray Moore
Cardiff Frank Lincoln
Newcastle Mike Neville
Plymouth Donald Heighway

UK Discography

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  • Christian – Shine It On: Polydor 2059012.
  • Brown Sugar – Oh No, Look What You've Done: State STAT77.
  • Fruit Eating Bears – Door in My Face: DJM DJS10857.
  • Jacquie Sullivan – Moments: Air CHS2219.
  • Sunshine – Too Much in Love: State STAT76.
  • Ronnie France – Lonely Nights: Pye 7N46062.
  • The Jarvis Brothers – One Glance: EMI EMI2777.
  • Co-Co – The Bad Old Days: Ariola/Hansa AHA513.
  • Bob James – We Got It Bad: Polydor 2059016.
  • Midnight – Don't Bother to Knock: Ariola/Hansa AHA514.
  • Babe Rainbow – Don't Let Me Stand in Your Way: Mercury 6007113.
  • Labi Siffre – Solid Love: EMI EMI2750.

Only the winning song reached the UK Singles Chart.

At Eurovision

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The contest was broadcast on BBC1, with commentary by Terry Wogan,[3] and on radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, with commentary by Ray Moore.[4][5] The contest was watched by 21 million viewers.[6]

The BBC appointed Colin Berry as its spokesperson to announce the British jury results.[7]

Voting

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References

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  1. ^ a b Television's Greatest Hits, Network Books, Paul Gambaccini and Rod Taylor, 1993. ISBN 0 563 36247 2
  2. ^ a b c Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 288–311. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
  3. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1978 – BBC1". Radio Times. 22 April 1978. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via BBC Genome Project.
  4. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 1978 – BBC Radio 2". Radio Times. 22 April 1978. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via BBC Genome Project.
  5. ^ "Schedule – BBC Radio 1 – 22 April 1978". Radio Times. 22 April 1978. Retrieved 10 January 2023 – via BBC Genome Project.
  6. ^ "Audience reaction". BBC Handbook 1979. pp. 33–34. Retrieved 4 November 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 312–327. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
  8. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Paris 1978". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
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