Love Games (Belle and the Devotions song)
Encyclopedia
"Love Games", written and composed by Paul Curtis
and Graham Sacher, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984
, performed by the trio Belle and the Devotions, which was headed by Kit Rolfe.
Belle and the Devotions won the right to perform at Luxembourg
by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe
, where they were the fourth act to perform. At Luxembourg, the song was performed sixth on the night, following Norway
's Dollie de Luxe
with "Lenge leve livet
" and preceding Cyprus
' Andy Paul
with "Anna Maria Lena
". At the end of judging that evening, "Love Games" took the seventh-place slot with 63 points. At the time, the song was the third-worst performer for the United Kingdom since entering Eurovision in 1957 (the songs in 1966
and 1978
were the only ones to rank lower).
The song was an homage to the girl group sound of 1960s Motown, with the girls lamenting that their lovers had "played love games" with them and broken their hearts. The trio was dressed in bright day-glo coloured jackets and miniskirts, with similarly eye-popping hair (Rolfe went for a platinum blonde, while the other singers dyed their hair yellow and bright red, respectively).
At the end of their performance, some cheers in the audience were met with boos, as many people in Luxembourg were still upset with the United Kingdom
after English football fans rioted in the country as a result of being knocked out of the European Championship
the previous November.
After Eurovision, the song peaked at #11 on the UK Singles Chart
.
Paul Curtis (musician)
Paul Michael Curtis is an English singer, songwriter, record producer from London, who holds the record for the most number of songs to make the finals of the A Song for Europe contest, the BBC's annual competition to choose the UK entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, competing with 22 separate...
and Graham Sacher, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1984
Eurovision Song Contest 1984
The Eurovision Song Contest 1984 was the 29th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 5 May 1984 in Luxembourg. The presenter was Désirée Nosbusch. Nosbusch, only 19 years old at the time, hosted the show in a lax manner, which was quite unusual for this show back then...
, performed by the trio Belle and the Devotions, which was headed by Kit Rolfe.
Belle and the Devotions won the right to perform at Luxembourg
Luxembourg (city)
The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...
by winning the UK national final, A Song for Europe
A Song for Europe
A Song for Europe may refer to:*A Song for Europe, former name of British pre-selection competition for the Eurovision Song Contest, now known as Eurovision: Your Country Needs You...
, where they were the fourth act to perform. At Luxembourg, the song was performed sixth on the night, following Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's Dollie de Luxe
Dollie de Luxe
Dollie de Luxe were a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Benedicte Adrian and Ingrid Bjørnov. Their debut album Første Akt from 1980 was awarded Spellemannprisen. They participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 with the song "Lenge leve livet"....
with "Lenge leve livet
Lenge Leve Livet
"Lenge leve livet" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984, performed in Norwegian by Dollie de Luxe.In the song, the duo sings the praises of life...
" and preceding Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
' Andy Paul
Andy Paul (Cyprus)
Andy Paul is a Cypriot singer and songwriter and represented Cyprus with the song "Anna Maria Elena" in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 in Luxembourg....
with "Anna Maria Lena
Anna Maria Lena
"Anna Maria Lena" was the Cypriot entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984, performed in Greek by Andy Paul....
". At the end of judging that evening, "Love Games" took the seventh-place slot with 63 points. At the time, the song was the third-worst performer for the United Kingdom since entering Eurovision in 1957 (the songs in 1966
Eurovision Song Contest 1966
The Eurovision Song Contest 1966 was the 11th edition and was held on 5 March 1966 in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. The rule stating that a country could only sing in any of its national languages was originally created in this year. This was possibly created due to the 1965 Swedish entry, "Absent...
and 1978
Eurovision Song Contest 1978
The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd of its kind, and was held on 22 April 1978 in Paris. With Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone as the presenters - the first time more than one presenter hosted the contest - the contest was won by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta who represented Israel, with their...
were the only ones to rank lower).
The song was an homage to the girl group sound of 1960s Motown, with the girls lamenting that their lovers had "played love games" with them and broken their hearts. The trio was dressed in bright day-glo coloured jackets and miniskirts, with similarly eye-popping hair (Rolfe went for a platinum blonde, while the other singers dyed their hair yellow and bright red, respectively).
At the end of their performance, some cheers in the audience were met with boos, as many people in Luxembourg were still upset with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
after English football fans rioted in the country as a result of being knocked out of the European Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
the previous November.
After Eurovision, the song peaked at #11 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.