United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984
Encyclopedia
The United Kingdom was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984 by Belle and the Devotions with the song "Love Games
". It was chosen as the British entry through the A Song for Europe national selection process and placed seventh at Eurovision, receiving 63 points.
.
Nina Shaw performed a more sturdy effort, Look at me now. With an endearing lisp, she belted out this mid-tempo song.
A former Welsh miner named Bryan Evans sang the first ballad of the night, This love is deep, a pleasant enough song but not memorable enough for a Euro audience.
The ever-present Paul Curtis had a hand in four of the finalists in 1984. Belle & the Devotions
were the first of his performers, ostensibly three traffic lights on long legs. Dressed in day-glo bin-liners they sang Love games, a sub-Motown effort.
First Division ticked all the required Eurovision boxes i.e. two boys and two girls with an uptempo song, Where the action is. The entry involved a great deal of dancing, performed at a frenetic pace. Too manic for Eurovision?
Things quietened a little with Miriam Anne Lesley and Let it shine. This was a strong, anthemic ballad which Miriam had to perform while descending a spiral staircase. Surely an unfair move by the show's producers?
And then came Sinitta. Just a few months before So macho hit the charts, the lithe chanteuse tried her hand at Eurovision with the song Imagination. This was an energetic, repetitive pop song accompanied by dizzying camerawork.
Finally, another singer popular with the gay audience, Hazell Dean
. She had previously appeared in the 1976 UK final, sporting an evening gown and a pudding-bowl hairdo. Surprisingly her 1984 entry, Stay in my life, was a pleading ballad. It did not fare well.
were booed off the stage at the Contest while the three backing singers for the group were never seen by the TV viewers (the BBC maintained that this was because one was pregnant) and The Devotions mimed along. English football
fans in the previous Autumn had run riot in Luxembourg, causing damage to the city. The hostile reception of boos and jeers can therefore be understood. Despite the reception, the group finished 7th with 63 points. Sweden ended up winning the competition with the song "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley".
Love Games (Belle and the Devotions song)
"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....
". It was chosen as the British entry through the A Song for Europe national selection process and placed seventh at Eurovision, receiving 63 points.
A Song for Europe 1984
The television show A Song for Europe was used once again to select the British entry, as it had since the United Kingdom's debut at the Contest in 1957. It was held on Wednesday 4 April and was hosted once again by Terry WoganTerry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
.
Entries
The contest got off to an unmemorable start with Caprice singing Magical music. Alas it wasn't. This was a mid-tempo offering with a particularly weak orchestration. The lyrics told of a "sonic vibration, ungodly creation".Nina Shaw performed a more sturdy effort, Look at me now. With an endearing lisp, she belted out this mid-tempo song.
A former Welsh miner named Bryan Evans sang the first ballad of the night, This love is deep, a pleasant enough song but not memorable enough for a Euro audience.
The ever-present Paul Curtis had a hand in four of the finalists in 1984. Belle & the Devotions
Belle & the Devotions
Belle and the Devotions was a British pop music group, ostensibly a group name for the singer Kit Rolfe. Under this name she released the singles "Where Did Love Go Wrong?" and "Got To Let You Know" in 1983....
were the first of his performers, ostensibly three traffic lights on long legs. Dressed in day-glo bin-liners they sang Love games, a sub-Motown effort.
First Division ticked all the required Eurovision boxes i.e. two boys and two girls with an uptempo song, Where the action is. The entry involved a great deal of dancing, performed at a frenetic pace. Too manic for Eurovision?
Things quietened a little with Miriam Anne Lesley and Let it shine. This was a strong, anthemic ballad which Miriam had to perform while descending a spiral staircase. Surely an unfair move by the show's producers?
And then came Sinitta. Just a few months before So macho hit the charts, the lithe chanteuse tried her hand at Eurovision with the song Imagination. This was an energetic, repetitive pop song accompanied by dizzying camerawork.
Finally, another singer popular with the gay audience, Hazell Dean
Hazell Dean
Hazell Dean is a British dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading Hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top ten hits "Searchin' ", "Whatever I Do " and "Who's Leaving Who"...
. She had previously appeared in the 1976 UK final, sporting an evening gown and a pudding-bowl hairdo. Surprisingly her 1984 entry, Stay in my life, was a pleading ballad. It did not fare well.
Voting and results
Edinburgh, Norwich, Belfast, London, Cardiff, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham were the centres delivering their votes. As usual it was 15 points to their favourite followed by 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5. Belle and the Devotions romped home with 112 points followed by First Division with 79. Nina Shaw scored 78, Sinitta 77 followed by a gap of fifteen points. Miriam Anne Lesley's 62 points was followed by Caprice with 60, Hazell Dean with 55 and Bryan Evans trailing with 53.At Eurovision Song Contest 1984
Belle & the DevotionsBelle & the Devotions
Belle and the Devotions was a British pop music group, ostensibly a group name for the singer Kit Rolfe. Under this name she released the singles "Where Did Love Go Wrong?" and "Got To Let You Know" in 1983....
were booed off the stage at the Contest while the three backing singers for the group were never seen by the TV viewers (the BBC maintained that this was because one was pregnant) and The Devotions mimed along. English football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
fans in the previous Autumn had run riot in Luxembourg, causing damage to the city. The hostile reception of boos and jeers can therefore be understood. Despite the reception, the group finished 7th with 63 points. Sweden ended up winning the competition with the song "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley".
See also
- United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
- Eurovision Song Contest 1984Eurovision Song Contest 1984The 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...