A few other things I couldn’t fit in the description: Once again, this took a long time. So much so, that I wanted to redesign the whole thing (I regret not using the circle segments that flank the 1977 stage). The delay in getting this out was originally because of the footage. @SvenskTV has helped enormously in providing footage that’s slightly better quality than that already on TH-cam. The problem was, better is available from other sources and it was a case of waiting..unfortunately that couldn’t be done, but I did get the best @SvenskTV has! I also got lots of help in de-interlacing the footage myself, which was challenging but a good learning opportunity. All this meant lost time, and life has gone back to super-speed at the moment…everyone wants to do everything! Work is proving particularly tough and some weekends I didn’t want to devote all my time to the computer. On Saturday I was at my desk from 0800 to 2400. I woke up at 0600 this morning to type this out so I could get it out before leaving to see my parents. It’s quite difficult to squeeze everything in, so 1978 and 1979 will be done - hopefully - a month at a time. I am using Gordon Roxburgh’s excellent books as a basis of my research now, so do consider picking them up! The channel isn’t going anywhere though, and I’d like to also create some infographics etc over on Twitter too, @thereorderboard. Design updates will continue on ko-fi and I want to thank those who’ve donated recently, it’s very kind of you! Thanks also to @mrjdsworld and his newspaper research - it provided interesting contemporaneous reports of the contest and the challenges the BBC faced. His review of the actual 1977 board is here: euroscoreboards.wordpress.com/2021/08/13/london-1977/ Two of the best bits found in the newspapers were the explanation of why Ireland hadn’t given the UK any points…something that Terry Wogan said he was embarrassed about. One Irish newspaper reports that, because of the delay to the Contest, Irish jurors had been exposed to ‘Rock Bottom’ enough and simply got tired of it. Secondly there is a line about Angela appearing flustered in remembering the French pronunciations - I’d be interested to know what French speakers think in the bits you can hear! The main threat to Eurovision was the industrial action, but also so many broadcasters wanted to show the contest on deferred recording was, according to the BBC, ‘the thin end of the wedge’ of the show becoming fully pre-recorded. In the end, Italy didn’t show it live but Austria and Germany did. Israel didn’t show it live in 1976 because of the Sabbath. It’s worth remembering that had pre-recorded become the norm, I expect interest from the broadcasters may well have waned - the technical thrill of the show being live was a big part of their involvement. A bit more detail on industrial action by the Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staff (ABS), and the BBC and EBU response: 15 March (just weeks before 2 April show) the BBC offered the show to NOS, although by then the ABS had warned the Dutch unions and likely action would have happened in the Netherlands too. Cancellation and the possible ‘link up’ idea were mooted, but strangely, unlike in 1972 and 1974, ITV did not offer to stage the show. An EBU meeting on 17 March decided that a plan would be hatched, that the BBC would have to go along with. Postponing the contest at this stage wouldn’t have solved the problem with the ABS but it might allow another broadcaster to step in, without the expensive of a short build up. The BBC then offered to host 1978 in any event, keen to keep Eurovision going. The three options made themselves clear at the EBU level: cancellation; a 2 April contest in another country, without the BBC entering; and a postponed contest, unlikely to be organised by the BBC. There was then concern by the BBC set designer that if the 2 April Contest did go ahead in Wembley, the set wouldn’t be ready. No one had seen the ‘A Song for Europe’ set on television, so that was muted as being available. 7 May started to looked better for everyone. On 24 March, the BBC confirmed that the 2 April contest was dead and the EBU announced they were looking for an alternative host. The cameramen then went to tribunal, effectively ending the strike action and 7 May was quickly confirmed. Unfortunately the Radio Times had already gone to print with it’s Eurovision edition, although the show was listed as ‘subject to confirmation’. On 2 April, BBC1 instead showed a repeat of the Morcambe and Wise Christmas show, featuring Angela Rippon. I think I’ve explained how Angela got the job, with her iconic performance on a very popular programme, ‘The Morecambe and Wise Show’. Interestingly it would be the 1977 Christmas Special that would make the history books for the amount of people watching - 28 million. The story of how Angela got there started with one of those Television Centre stories - she was simply showing a friend around the place and bumped into someone working on the show. Angela has said year after that presenting Eurovision was one of her worst experiences in television. She mentions just having a sea of red lights in the back of the hall and not being entirely aware of what camera to speak to - the awkward wait at the end with the Director-General also unsettled her, although there were cameras with Marie Myriam, so I’m not sure why there was so much panic. Lydia Vine, a production assistant on the show, refutes some of her claims, saying that Rippon had adequate rehearsal, but the show was very different to a single camera news broadcast of course. The production team had expected a chaotic bit with the winner!
There’s plenty about Stewart Morris and I did dive into only comments from technicians and former BBC staff. Ultimately Morris was a large character, in stature and vocally - he had grown in influence in the BBC by working - and making successes of - light entertainment, which was a large driver of the BBC’s television success. His crowning glory would probably be his direction of the 1986 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. The talkback clips often divide opinion in the comments. From those who don’t work in live television it seems alien and scary, and for those in television, I’m sure most can recognise it, but the experience Morris provided on this occasion would not be common. There’s those who claim it’s a lack of organisation on his part - they might be right, but the run up to this Eurovision was especially tough and Morris was pushing boundaries on the technical execution of the programme. Morris also worked on programmes with ‘talent’ who have since been found to have committed sexual abuse on BBC premises - there’s no suggestion of anything of the sort on Morris’ part, but I have seen that connection mentioned elsewhere, mainly because he had a management role at the time. There appears to be more than one reference to shots of female mid-sections - shots that appear in this edition of Eurovision for the first time. To today’s viewers, shots of this nature aren’t considered appropriate, even if the artists themselves were happy with them. In June 1976, countries were being asked about language rules in the Contest - I’m not sure why though. The rule had been relaxed in order to placate Scandinavian concerns…perhaps Sweden’s win in 1974 and the expensive and troublesome (politically) hosting meant the Swedes were less keen to win regularly. It was agreed that native languages would return. Gordon Roxburgh says that BRT in Belgium and ARD in Germany had commissioned English language songs on the basis the rule was a ‘recommendation’ and not compulsory. The Programme Committee could waive the rule if it was to cause any television stations any embarrassment because of the mix-up. Finland and Portugal withdrew their confirmed participation but went to Wembley anyway. In the end, a French language song took the title of course, and Belgium and Germany under-performed compared to expectations. My theory is that both these songs had strong American influences…they ultimately would do well in the British market, thus allowing good betting odds in London, but snooty European jurors were clearly not ready to embrace the sounds of 70s America. It appears RAI were late in confirming entry (sounds about right!). Sweden were returning (and perhaps they had lost some clout about the language rule) and positive noises were coming from Copenhagen - they would probably return in 1978. There had been changes in DR’s entertainment department and since 1974, the Contest was again broadcast in Denmark, the commentator was Claus Toksvig, father of broadcaster Sandi. The Wembley Conference Centre turned out to be a bit of duff choice according to Lydia Vine’s interview with Gordon Roxburgh. It wasn’t helped by the hotel being booked up for the late hosting, and artists being in hotels near the airport. She describes the Conference Centre as a bit ‘of a barn of a place’, without atmosphere. Perhaps this is why it was demolished as part of the Wembley regeneration between 2003-6. The UK’s selection show was interesting because of the sudden lack of television - lots of the acts were left disappointed and had relied on visual impact, which had been of growing importance in the Contest throughout the 1970s. Lynsey De Paul, the eventual winner felt especially bad and even suggested not performing because of the strike. Bill Cotton, head of light entertainment at the BBC was slightly ‘put off’ by people saying that, one of the artists in the selection show said that he wouldn’t repeat Bill’s exact words but he made it clear that everyone’s relationship with the BBC would be ended if that happened. One artist had brought their family, and knowing his daughter was distraught at the loss of visual representation, got one of the cameramen by the collar and threatened him! Lynsey de Paul was already successful, as mentioned by Pete Murray so de Paul’s involvement with Eurovision out of necessity. De Paul had had a terrible manager in Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne. He owed Lysney around £47,000 (£223,000 in 2021 terms) and was going into litigation with her. Arden was confident he could sue any rival record company, even though he didn’t have grounds. Polydor approached De Paul for a contract after hearing ‘Rock Bottom’. De Paul and Moran had written the song after Paul Moran had asked Lynsey to help for a new song for his group, Blue Mink. Polydor essentially protected Lynsey De Paul from any litigation. Moran wasn’t used to performing in a duet, and wasn’t keen on Eurovision. The original production was slightly more complex with two mics each, although De Paul says this confused the BBC somewhat so it was simplified. Lionel Blair helped on the choreography, making sure the pair looked at the audience together, and added specific hand or facial movements. De Paul’s expressions in the voting sequence are fantastic - clearly they went for the safer Paul Moran shots eventually though! Lynsey was quite poorly at the time, and mentions that in an era before videos, the artists were flying all over the place to promote the song. Ronnie Hazlehurst initially laughed off dressing up as a City gent but went with it, to great praise from everyone. De Paul was proud to go to Eurovision, but wouldn’t go as an artist, especially an established one, again. In comments to the Daily Express de Paul was quite direct, stating the winning song was unprofessional and lacked edge, with mundane lyrics. Noting that the French were the only ones not to do anything ‘special’ with their 3 minutes on stage, and perhaps that’s why they won - ‘they stood out’. She praises the sweet Myriam, though. The usual ‘political voting’ has also been mentioned in further interviews.
Other quick bits: ‘Frère Jacques’, the nursery rhyme, does translate, for some reason, to ‘Brother John’, despite Jacques being James or Jack usually. Jack, I think, is a distant relative of the name John, or something like that! Flags! Obviously we have the peculiar use of the royal standards of England and Scotland in the beginning - I expect this was because they are more visually interesting. The Royal Standard of England, I think, has no official status…much like the flag of Northern Ireland, which is seen as solely Unionist. Greece’s correct flag for the time (the current trend for comments) made it to the stage ‘Revolve’ but not the scoreboard - the first scoreboard to feature flags, of course. Remember once again, graphic departments often relied on encyclopaedias for things like this at this time. During the Dutch voting giveing, Angela’s suggestion that we add more votes to an already wrong board gives me anxiety every time, but there was no real alternative! I like the fact Greece appeared to do well and they were shocked by a 20/1 price in the bookies’ odds…they then lost momentum in the voting, although they did achieve their best finish so far, which wouldn’t be topped until 2001! (They equalled it in 1992). It’s quite interesting that the UK’s momentum was stopped so quickly after Colin Berry’s first voting appearance! It looked like the UK might run away with it, but one round levelled the whole thing between Ireland, the UK and France. Despite the UK getting the most twelves, the other scores were often poor and some juries skipped the song altogether. Yes Colin makes his debut as UK spokesperson, a role he’ll take on until 2002 (apart from 1980 and 1998). Berry states this is probably because they asked for Roy Moore, but Moore had been given a regular Saturday night programme by then…Moore and Berry were good mates and Berry was recommended. His role was also to provide back up commentary in case something happened on site…an issue we appear to have in the recording I used. Pete Murray is silent after the early rounds of voting, which I expect might be down to the recording. Berry remembers going down to Wembley after the show and having to be helped into a taxi after the party…good for him! - We know this Eurovision started with an audience of 38% at 9pm. As the pubs closed, the audience rose to 45%. At this time UK audience research showed that only a small proportion of those asked like the show, thinking the songs were of low quality. Some were impressed with Angela Rippon, but some of those asked preferred Katie Boyle and thought Rippon was trying to steal the limelight. Only 19% agreed with the winning song and many mentioned the ‘inefficient scoreboard’ and praised Rippon’s response to the issues. Despite me mentioning the risqué camera shots, the audience did notice the long shots of the audience used instead of postcards…asking for more of the artists instead.
To my mind, Finland had the best performance and arrangement…I loved it! I always think that juries often might be struggling to find a winner if they prefer the final song. The whole slate was fun with only Israel really providing something that could be taken seriously I think. Certainly Brotherhood of Man’s victory heavily influenced a lot of acts. I actually quite like ‘L’oiseau et l’enfant’, even though it’s not catchy at all. You can’t help but feel pleased for such a young winner, so excited she almost forgot her birthday, according to reports of the time. The song, despite receiving English translation entered the UK charts at number 42. The rest of her career was mainly in France but didn’t go on to reach long term fame - winning Eurovision is nothing to be critical of, of course. By the late 1980s family was her main priority although she returned to performing in 1995. She’s a good friend to Eurovision, appearing on many French juries and of course reading the French results out for many years in the Grand Final. It’s worth mentioning that Ireland’s 1970s Eurovision hadn’t been amazing, averaging 10th place after the 1970 win. The Swarbriggs Plus Two (the original group had entered in Stockholm and finished 9th) gave the third best finish of Ireland’s 13 appearances so far. I just wanted to note that this year is the beginning of Irish dominance in the Contest. From 1977 to 1998 Ireland would only finish outside the Top 5 seven times. Four more would also be in the top 10. Needless to say, 6 out of Ireland’s 7 wins would be in this period. In 1977: January 18th sees Yugoslavia’s Prime Minister killed along with his wife and 6 others. Jimmy Carter is sworn in the US on January 20th. On January 24th, five people are shot in Madrid, known as the ‘Atocha Massacre’, the events are part of Spain’s transition to democracy and the reaction of the far-right to the end of Franco’s rule. On March 27th, a collision between a KLM and Pan AM Boeing 747s kills 583 people, the worst aviation disaster in history. On April 22nd optical fibre cables are used to transmit telephone calls for the first time, due to several odd decisions in the 1980s, optical fibre won’t replace the copper network in the UK until the 2020s. Apple begin selling the Apple II in June. In July, Virgina Wade wins the women’s singles title - she’s the last British woman to win a singles title at the Championships. In October, Four Palestinians hijack Lufthansa Flight 181 to Somalia and demand the release of Red Army Faction members. Troops storm the plane days later, killing four hijackers. October 26th sees the last known case of smallpox on the planet, the WHO consider this the beginning of the eradication of the deadly disease. November 10 sees the soundtrack to ‘Saturday Night Fever’ released, becoming the best selling album of time (BeeGees), although the film would not be widely released until December. November 22 sees BA start regular Concorde flights to New York.
"Despite the winner not being the strongest ever" I cant disagree more with you. I think L' oiseau et L' enfant is one of the best eurovision winner, the song is a masterpiece.
This shows why it’s much more sensible to announce the scores in ascending order - it’s much easier to spot an error and know the score they are giving.
Plus it adds to the excitement. If the _dix points_ and _douze points_ are the first to be announced, the remaining points are suddenly just a necessary technicality... 😐
This is also called the year eurovision got revived in Norway, because for the first time in years, Anita Skorgan was a big hit in Norway, and would pave the way for Jahn Teigen a year later
But the same team that wrote Casanova, lost the Norwegian pre selection with Anita in front, in 1978. (She sang a duet with her then boyfriend and producser George Keller, that also was a backing singer in 1977, together with Anne Lise Gjøstøl, that turned 70 recently 🙂
If I had to choose my favorite contest, probably would be this one. I love practically all the songs, the winner, the circular stage that give us wonderful perspectives. Well, it was a wonderful contest despite the problems that had around.
I'm so glad you're back! A wonderful song from France- and its last win so far... The Greek entry, is still very popular to this day in Greece, and the song is being played and remixed/performed through the years by different artists. Unfortunately one of the 4, Marianna Toli (the brunette singer) passed away in 2018.
Norway 1977, an interesting journey: For the first time, I think, NRK clearly stated that they did participate to win, not just taking part. The National pre selections were, for the first time, spread around the whole country, and for the first time since the start in 1960, it consisted of pre qualifications. Norway was devided into 5 parts, and local songwriters sent their entries to the nearest local NRK Radio office, that picked the 4-5 songs that was to take part in the local finale. The songs picked, was produced for radio, and broadcast on the regional programmes in radio only. That to secrure that only listeners for the region could vote. It was a postcard voting, and the winning song went on to the Grand Finale in Oslo. The regions were North, Midtst, West, South and East. (Casanova represented Midst. The vocalists in the Oslo finale, did not have to have any connection to the region.) All, apart form East, sent one song to the finale, east sent two, because it was a region including Oslo. In smosot regional semi finales, there were local artists taking part. % of the 6 songs got new singers for the finale. The veteran Nora Brockstedt, took part in the local semifinale from East, neither of her songs went on to the final round. She was now 55 years old, and for a long time, the eldest singer to ever take part. This was also her last attempt in Melodi Grand Prix.) The winning entry, "Casanova" is about a young girl, trying the get her "Don Juan lover" to stay faithful with her, and she loves him anyway. Strangely enough, the song was perforemd by a male vocalist in the radio semi finale. It represented Midst Norway , and for the semi, it was performed by a group of studio musicians, put together for this session only. For the finale, the composer Svein Strugtstad told me, NRK would like either Anne Karine Strøm or Gro Anita Schønn, both veteran singers, to perform the song. Gro Anita was on the height of her career, at the time, but had yet to win a norwegian pre selection. Even only 26 and 27 years of age at the time, the composer would have a younger singer to perform. They inisted on the up and coming, new fresh talent, 18 y.o Anita Skorgan. Svein Strugstad rang her mother, that had to give her conset, and agreeed that Anita was allowed to sing, since the ESC finale should take place in early april, and Anita then would have time to read for her final year examns. Then it all got postponed. (I haven''t got this offically confirmed, but it is said that this led to a doubt about Anitas participation, hence her examns, buit it was impossible to change the vocalist, and the composer would withdraw their song if so happend.) NRK meant that she was too young and too inexperienced yet to take on the huge pressure a victory would put on her. Anita Skorgan has told in later interwies that NRK was right. She was shot to an over night stardom, that one never had experienced before in Norway, and a complet "Anita mania" was a fact. She was not at all prepared for it, and for many years she didn't sing Casanova at all. But now, she has also stated in several interwievs that she is happy for the doors that was opened for her with Casanova, and she performs it regurarly in her best off shows. Casanova was a huge sucsess, and became the first song to both win the Norwegian Top, (on radio) and top the single charts in Norway. When composers saw that they, for the first time in many years, could get a hit by taking part in MGP, it was a record number of songs sent to the 1978 edition. Anita Skorgan was something of a pioneer. She refused to be marked as "Yet another pretty young vocalist", and insisted on getting influence on her recordings. She did not only do all her own vocals, she was the first, female Norwegian pop singer that got hits that she both compoed and performed, regularly. She also asisted as a producer on her own records,, and did all backing vocals as well as playing piano. She has her background as a classic pianist, and was supposed to go in that direction, and have the song as a part time/spare time activity. Anita Skorgan was the first femeale composer to take part in a ESC finale for Norway, and to win it as a compcer 3 times, (79,83 & 88), the first female in the Norwegian MGP history to sing her own song, (79) and also the first to win The Norwegian Radio Top (Norsktoppen) with a song form MGP. (That reraly happend in the 70's and 80's.) The recorded version of Cananova gos slighly faster than the one perforemd in the ESC. Most experts and weivers had expected a lt higher placing in the 1977 finale, so the dissapointment was big. Personally, i think it would have deserved a 8-10th placing. You canb read the detaiils here, in Norwegian: no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodi_Grand_Prix_1977
What a strong year and Marie Myriam is my third favourite winner of all times after Jamala 2016 and Niamh Kavanagh 1993. 1. France 2. Italy 3. Portugal 4. Switzerland 5. Greece 6. Finland 7. Israel all delivered top quality.
This voting is especially exciting! Monaco and Irelands rise, Belgium and UKs fall, this voting was a bit sll over the place (except for sweden) I think you handled the voting irregularities quite well!
This and 1974 were my favourite Eurovision years in the 70s! I love almost all the songs. Coincidentally both were held in the UK 😁 thanks for your work I really enjoy this reorder board 🙌🏼
You do have to wonder how different the final result might have looked had the contest been held on the originally scheduled date. As you mention the Irish jury was tired of Rock Bottom by 7 May and so didn’t vote for it. I’ve seen similar written about Telegram. The songs of course were released for radio play and the charts to coincide with the April date, so it’s interesting to wonder if an April contest would have given a different result.
And given that during the final result the UK only finished 15 points behind France, I have no reason to doubt that the UK may have possibly done the double.
Welcome back! The work you did on this scoreboard is great; I'm actually touched by how you used the colors of the staging for each country. It's quite neat! For some reason, I think 1977 was a pretty strong year. Sure, the production was haphazard, but the song quality is great; I'm surprised that some people would consider this one of the worst years ever. Most of them are pretty lighthearted following the winner of the previous year, but with some exceptions (Sweden in particular), they have their charms! My top ten: 1 pt: IRL 2 pt: Bel (Originally, it was Germany, but it has grown off on me at the same time Belgium grew on me. Plus the lyrics are quite relatable) 3 pt: LUX 4 pt: NOR 5 pt: SUI 6 pt: ITA 7 pt: ISR (the BBC's transliteration of Ahava hi Shir Lishnayim was awful. Good song though). 8 pt: FIN -- Had Lapponia taken It's Nice to Be In Love Again's place, 1977's top three would be among the best ones ever. It's energetic and bombastic, with a sense of joy throughout. Monica has a fun stage presence, which the orchestra accompanies throughout. It's so grand! 10 pt: GBR -- Rock Bottom is such a charming song; the performance on stage just adds to it. While lyrically simple, it's still theatrical and all kinds of fun. Lynsey and Mike's stage presences work together, and it's such a gem--it always makes me smile. Probably my favorite UK entry ever. 12 pt: FRA -- In the end, L'oiseau et l'enfant was the right winner--it's not only composed beautifully, but the lyrics take you on a journey. Sometimes I wonder if I think it's more complicated than it actually is--a simple song about a perfect world. Marie and her backing vocalists sing this well, and it's a perfectly constructed three minutes. (That said, please win again France!)
@@FlavioGirl actually I was happy and release that we lost because I hated our song and Italy was really a deserved winner, I would have hate to win with a song that I don't like
Great job as always, you have such a talent for graphic design! And the "behind the scenes" audio footage at the beginning and the end is priceless... 😂
At last! 1977 is my favourite contest and you’ve done another great job - especially given the complex issues with the final scoreboard! Normally BBC contests promoted the host city or the BBC themselves. This year they really emphasised that the whole United Kingdom were hosts (and reigning champions) in that opening film. It’s an interesting time capsule - this was a period when St George’s Cross was not widely used for England (if you look at footage of the 1966 World Cup final the English fans mostly used the Union Jack). And when I went on a family holiday to Scotland in the 1980s the souvenir shops had as many flags with the lion rampant as the saltire. Similarly with the music - Scotland the Brave was much more associated with Scotland at this time than Flower of Scotland. (And I love that after Scotland the Brave, The Ash Grove and the Londonderry Air, Ronnie had a little joke for England!) Unfortunately Pete Murray spoils the opening with his unforgivable(!) mistake - which was very much noticed by Northern Ireland viewers at the time. Good luck looking for the Giant’s Causeway in landlocked Armagh…
I just wanted to drop by to say thank you and congratulations on a fantastic video, not to mention all the accompanying information you've provided here! Your presentation of the footage was first rate and the graphics were of their usual impeccable standard. I'm very grateful for all the time and effort you've put in to provide all this for us, and I look forward greatly to the next video. Give yourself a pat on the back. 🙂
One of the best ever contests in my opinion - the high quality of the songs, the excellent staging and the frequent sight of bored people in the audience! Personally, I would have liked to see Germany or Israel win.
I missed this one!! Thanks again for making it, I think this one is the best one to show why this channel is needed... WHAT A MESS!! Can´t believe the Dutch Juror just saying: ´Hey you are wrong´ and them not changing it!! 2x3 is in the end 6 hahaha
@@Tomek-mf2ln, Not at all . He used the correct flag of the time! The flag with the cross alone was our state flag! The flag with the stripes was our naval ensign, and became a state flag a bit later!
I’m a great fan of Stewart Morris’ work, and I think 1977 deserves a lot of praise. There is real ambition here which is mostly achieved (notwithstanding the missing postcards and the French aston wobbling). The set is gorgeous and at long last we have something that is designed properly for television rather than a theatre set with cameras stuck in. There is so much movement, little tricks (crossfades, defocuses, and a whip-pan) and each song gets something special to help it stand out. I don’t think we see camera work to beat this until at least 1988 if not 1996. The placement of the astons is also carefully thought out to suit each song. Stewart Morris also produced 1968 (which I think may still be the best contest ever) and he appears on screen beside Terry Wogan in 1984 and 1991. He may have been very difficult to work with, but he got results. And the talkback at the end suggest there was no hard feelings once the show was over. I worked very briefly and in a very junior capacity in TV some years ago and there were plenty of bad tempered people about then too!
"We've got fuck all sound in here!" When you have a live outside broadcast of the magnitude of the Eurovision Song Contest, you can understand how stressful it can be for those working behind the scenes.
Wow, what a treat! I have been looking forward to this year from the start of this series and I'm not at all dissapointed. It is your best scoreboard yet, (inluding all the confusing errors in a splendid way) and it is very impressive to see how much you have improved from the 1980 video, and that was certainly great too.
Tunisia was set to participate in the contest and had been drawn to participate in fourth place, but later withdrew. Yugoslavia decided not to enter this contest and would not return to the contest until 1981, while Sweden returned to the competition, having missed out the year before. This made for eighteen participating nations.
Does anybody know the reason why Yugoslavia withdrew for those four years? The only tangential source I can find on it is that Yugoslavia participated in the Soviet Union’s Intervision Song Contest in 1977 and 1979. However, countries such as Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Finland also participated between 1977-1980, so there may have just been an internal conflict between where to send the winner of Jugovizija.
I love these supercuts! I recognized Penny McLean in the German group instantly. She was famous for a very interesting solo piece called ‘Lady Bump’, look it up if you want to be entertained. :p
If anyone is interested in seeing more of the interior of the Wembley Conference Centre in the late 70s have a look at the Blake’s 7 season 2 episode ‘Voice from the Past’. Wembley doubles as an intergalactic conference centre and the denouement takes place in the arena. In fact, Supreme Commander Servalan may well be wearing Angela Rippon’s sequinned dress…
What a mess with the voting! So many mistakes and noone noticed except the Dutch guy 🤣! And the ending is just hilarious, the producer keeps yelling "Run the roller"! Something we wouldn't expect from such a powerful broadcaster like BBC.
I think I read somewhere Tunisia had considered a debut at Eurovision this year and were actually drawn to perform 4th but later withdrew. Does anyone have any further information in this potential Tunisian participation?
I wasn’t able to find out very much about it, but it’s definitely true and not a Eurovision urban legend. According to newspaper reports from early 1977, Tunisia was definitely in the running order draw, drawn to perform fourth. Tunisia’s withdrawal was reported in February 1977 but there wasn’t much information. So you do have to wonder how serious its planned participation really was.
Yea so they definitely were appearing for long enough for the draw to be made, as @MrJsworld says. They didn’t get as far as getting an artist from what I could find, and I expect the reason might be in some EBU meeting minutes from the time. The only suggested reason I’ve seen on wiki was that Israel were participating.
Tunesia was set to perform as 4th out of 19 countries between the Netherlands and Austria. (Source: Het vrije volk, 24th January 1977) On 9 February 1977 the same newspaper says it withdrew without giving an explanation, but it is very obvious Israel participating had something to do with it!
I think the songs are lots of fun this year and I like almost all of them. I’m not sure any of them are truly great though. My winner is Ireland, followed very closely by Austria and Germany. I’ve no complaints about France or the UK though. It’s a real shame that we didn’t get that A Song For Europe on TV though - there are some great songs apart from Rock Bottom.
The worst organised, compered *and* directed edition of the Eurovision, bar none, presented in the most superb way, with some actually functioning moving elements (gives RAI a stern look) - well done yet again ❤️
Oh dear ! The Re-Order scoreboard completely fluffed it when the votes from Athens came through ! But then their jury did offer 4 points to TWO countries !
Bit late with this one lol. Greece cocked that up didn't they lol. Quite amazed the bookies though Belgium was the favourite. Couldn't see it myself other than the fact that it was one of the normal songs, but defo France had the better hook in the song. Side note about that producer, I probably would have done the same to get things done lol Great scoreboard man as always
Top 3 for me in 1977 1. 🇫🇮 Finland 2. 🇫🇷France 3. 🇲🇨Monaco Great thing about 1977 contest was it started the tradition of hosting the contest in May ,( some exceptions by RTE on 30th April 1988 and 1994) ... May is a great month for Eurovision.. Hopefully if the BBC does host In 2023 it will do a better job than in 1977.. I feel confident it will .. Ps great video again thanks
I really enjoy your videos, the design and attention to detail is really excellent, thankyou! it really brings something new to contests I have seen many times.
Remarkable work. And the graphics were splendid!! It was so beautiful to watch. Quite thrilling and the end bit with the director simply hilarious. Certainly one for the books. I hate to be a bore, but what happened to the UK 1 missing point? was it deducted after the show? also the Greek flag seemed like the Icelandic flag methinks. Sorry to ask. All in all, wonderful edition and great work, thanks a lot!!!!
Hi! Thanks for the nice comments! Not sure what you mean with the UK point? It was erroneously given during the Greek voting so I didn’t show it, along with the other points. The Greek flag is correct for this period.
It wasn't random. It was done in the traditional way of performance order as per the original jury voting prior to 1975, hence why you can see the extra graphic at the bottom of the songs in performance order. I think this changed the following year (78) to make it more exciting and its the way we do today
The results are being read out in the order the countries performed. So for example, if Ireland got any number of points from another jury, it would be read out first as they were first to perform on the night. It wasn't until 1980 that they went with ascending order 1,2,3,4 etc..
I have a book about the history of the Portuguese preselections on Eurovision and it mentions that in Eurovision 1977, the Portuguese and Austrian delegations were accomodated in a hotel near Heathrow airport whereas the other were accomodated in central London, and it was probably because both the Austrian (a critique of the music industry) and Portuguese (a reflection on a post-Revolution Portugal) were deemed as too left-wing leaning.
Rock bottom was great with Steed the conductor as well ! 2 billion people watching as well, the French winner one of the best ever, And Angela speaking french mmmmm.
You know, if Angela had been clever about it, she’d have made it a condition that the BBC let her perform a dance as the interval act, and she’d have beaten Marlene Charell to it by six years. Certainly couldn’t have been worse than the interval act we actually saw on the night.
HOW did Ireland almost win with that?? Way too sickly sweet for my good. I mean, Sweden weren’t objectively the best, but the fact they finished last with Ireland 3rd is a crying shame.
@@djbillybopdjbillybop2817 Rock Bottom was a good song with a catchy hook and expertly staged. And it stood out very well. Meaning it stood out very well. France however was the best, I do agree.
Lo que me gusta de eurovision en esos años es la traducción de las canciones en su idioma original y en inglés debería hacerse así en eurovision actual así la gente entenderían las canciones
Hi I'm using a number of sources, but I do recommend Gordon Roxburgh's excellent books. They are written from a UK perspective but they have plenty of info on each Contest too.
And here are the Norwegian cover version of the winning entry: th-cam.com/video/XlIqSCrnkBI/w-d-xo.html And the cover of the second place, taht became musch more popular than the original, in Norway :-) th-cam.com/users/results?search_query=inger+lise+og+stein+norkstoppen
This could have been a great year, without the absolute chaos within the BBC and strike action, etc. As for the songs… eh, they’re fine. I love love LOVE my top 4, though. I would like Finland a lot more had it not been for that scream. My points: 1p 🇬🇷 Greece 2p 🇳🇴 Norway 3p 🇫🇮 Finland 4p 🇩🇪 Germany 5p 🇪🇸 Spain 6p 🇨🇭 Switzerland 7p 🇧🇪 Belgium 8p 🇮🇱 Israel 10p 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 12p 🇫🇷 France
Yes, points were revealed in performance order until 1980 when it switched to what we know now...that's why I've added the song order roller at the bottom to help a long a bit!
@@olechristianen739 See the reorder board’s comments. It was due to countries mistaken attributions and duplication of points. Greece gave points to 11 countries and France to 12.
Hi - I use a number of sources, but for this one I used Gordon Roxburgh's book 'Songs for Europe'. Most betting companies are in London though, and they tend to put the UK entries higher because a lot of British people would bet on the home team, lowering their price.
Yup, I have done so in other descriptions and comments. I just Googled when the Greek government wanted the Greek flag (I think abroad) to be the land flag (the one that looks like an England flag but blue and white)...that was from 1975 to December 1978. The Greek Olympic team also walked out with the land flag in the 1976 Olympic Opening Ceremony. Why is it wrong in Wembley? You're approaching it with the bias of having the Internet. I know that graphic departments everywhere had books...encyclopedias of flags, and other things, which they bought regularly, but even the research of those was slow. It was just a slower pace of information...I expect the Greek delegation arriving in Wembley might have asked why it's wrong...and of course it wasn't wrong - it's 'a' flag of Greece - perhaps not the Government's official flag of Greece. If you look at 1:20:20 you'll see the land flag is on the rotating part of the set...so they had some knowledge...which asks the more interesting question: why weren't the scoreboard technicians able to correct it? I expect this came down to timing, and other priorities.
@@thereorderboard Didn't the host of this edition went on record saying that this contest was one of the worst things she ever made for how poorly put together it was?
@@dramaticScar Well yes and no...she said it was the worst thing she'd worked on certainly. The issue mainly came from the arena and how many cameras there were...she claimed she never knew where to look and that it was chaotic. Other interviews from production staff don't agree with her assessment and that she was comfortable during rehearsals, but very used to reading the news...which back then was more like a single camera and the presenter read to the camera for 20 minutes or so. I think it's easy to put Rippon's comments and the delayed transmission due to strikes together, whereas they were two separate issues. Certainly, compared to other years, this one was eventful!
Wasn’t the Greek flag on the scoreboard the civil ensign of Greece between those years? Remember that was the same Greek flag used in 1976 and 78. Much like how Spain also use the coat of arms… the red and yellow minus the coat of arms.
I wasn't mad about your scoreboard at first but then the way it moved around liked the stage and changed colours won me over. What I really love is the fact that Finland is your favourite entry. It is one of my all-time favourite Eurovision entries; its just wonderful. I think that 1977 and 1978 are two of the weakest contests in terms of production, the various problmes you outlined obviously didn't help matters. And I wouldn't rank Angela (I love her in other ways) high in my rankings of Eurovision presenters. My points for 1977 are as follows: 1 pt Monaco 2 pt Italy 3 pt Netherlands 4 pt Israel 5 pt Luxembourg 6 pt Norway 7 pt France (great performance by the wonderful Marie but not a winner) 8 pt UK (I love it despite the proto-Thatcherism of it) 10 pt Germany [deserved a MUCH higher ranking; sometimes its my #1 of this year] and finally... FINLAND 12 POINTS !!!! I'm very proud of the Irish jury giving it 12 points. Random fact: I also think that [at least under the 12 points sytem] this was the only time that Finland would lead the scoreboard until Lordi won in 2006.
The Irish jury definitely got it right in ‘77. And yes, so rare to see Finland at the top of the scoreboard. This contest reminds me a lot of 1991 (or rather 1991 reminds me of 1977 to put it in chronologically), great songs but terrible, terrible production. And Angela was very poor…she just seemed so unprepared, despite having an extra few weeks to prepare. I still don’t understand how she couldn’t find the right camera during her introduction, surely that would all have rehearsed? I appreciate it wasn’t quite the newsroom, but she would have had the chance to rehearse all of this. Thing is, she comes across like she didn’t attend a single rehearsal.
![Eurovision 1977 - My Top 18 [with comments]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DwO7pDD9YKE/mqdefault.jpg)
A few other things I couldn’t fit in the description:
Once again, this took a long time. So much so, that I wanted to redesign the whole thing (I regret not using the circle segments that flank the 1977 stage). The delay in getting this out was originally because of the footage. @SvenskTV has helped enormously in providing footage that’s slightly better quality than that already on TH-cam. The problem was, better is available from other sources and it was a case of waiting..unfortunately that couldn’t be done, but I did get the best @SvenskTV has! I also got lots of help in de-interlacing the footage myself, which was challenging but a good learning opportunity. All this meant lost time, and life has gone back to super-speed at the moment…everyone wants to do everything! Work is proving particularly tough and some weekends I didn’t want to devote all my time to the computer. On Saturday I was at my desk from 0800 to 2400. I woke up at 0600 this morning to type this out so I could get it out before leaving to see my parents. It’s quite difficult to squeeze everything in, so 1978 and 1979 will be done - hopefully - a month at a time. I am using Gordon Roxburgh’s excellent books as a basis of my research now, so do consider picking them up! The channel isn’t going anywhere though, and I’d like to also create some infographics etc over on Twitter too, @thereorderboard. Design updates will continue on ko-fi and I want to thank those who’ve donated recently, it’s very kind of you!
Thanks also to @mrjdsworld and his newspaper research - it provided interesting contemporaneous reports of the contest and the challenges the BBC faced. His review of the actual 1977 board is here: euroscoreboards.wordpress.com/2021/08/13/london-1977/
Two of the best bits found in the newspapers were the explanation of why Ireland hadn’t given the UK any points…something that Terry Wogan said he was embarrassed about. One Irish newspaper reports that, because of the delay to the Contest, Irish jurors had been exposed to ‘Rock Bottom’ enough and simply got tired of it. Secondly there is a line about Angela appearing flustered in remembering the French pronunciations - I’d be interested to know what French speakers think in the bits you can hear!
The main threat to Eurovision was the industrial action, but also so many broadcasters wanted to show the contest on deferred recording was, according to the BBC, ‘the thin end of the wedge’ of the show becoming fully pre-recorded. In the end, Italy didn’t show it live but Austria and Germany did. Israel didn’t show it live in 1976 because of the Sabbath. It’s worth remembering that had pre-recorded become the norm, I expect interest from the broadcasters may well have waned - the technical thrill of the show being live was a big part of their involvement.
A bit more detail on industrial action by the Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staff (ABS), and the BBC and EBU response: 15 March (just weeks before 2 April show) the BBC offered the show to NOS, although by then the ABS had warned the Dutch unions and likely action would have happened in the Netherlands too. Cancellation and the possible ‘link up’ idea were mooted, but strangely, unlike in 1972 and 1974, ITV did not offer to stage the show. An EBU meeting on 17 March decided that a plan would be hatched, that the BBC would have to go along with. Postponing the contest at this stage wouldn’t have solved the problem with the ABS but it might allow another broadcaster to step in, without the expensive of a short build up. The BBC then offered to host 1978 in any event, keen to keep Eurovision going. The three options made themselves clear at the EBU level: cancellation; a 2 April contest in another country, without the BBC entering; and a postponed contest, unlikely to be organised by the BBC. There was then concern by the BBC set designer that if the 2 April Contest did go ahead in Wembley, the set wouldn’t be ready. No one had seen the ‘A Song for Europe’ set on television, so that was muted as being available. 7 May started to looked better for everyone. On 24 March, the BBC confirmed that the 2 April contest was dead and the EBU announced they were looking for an alternative host. The cameramen then went to tribunal, effectively ending the strike action and 7 May was quickly confirmed. Unfortunately the Radio Times had already gone to print with it’s Eurovision edition, although the show was listed as ‘subject to confirmation’. On 2 April, BBC1 instead showed a repeat of the Morcambe and Wise Christmas show, featuring Angela Rippon.
I think I’ve explained how Angela got the job, with her iconic performance on a very popular programme, ‘The Morecambe and Wise Show’. Interestingly it would be the 1977 Christmas Special that would make the history books for the amount of people watching - 28 million. The story of how Angela got there started with one of those Television Centre stories - she was simply showing a friend around the place and bumped into someone working on the show. Angela has said year after that presenting Eurovision was one of her worst experiences in television. She mentions just having a sea of red lights in the back of the hall and not being entirely aware of what camera to speak to - the awkward wait at the end with the Director-General also unsettled her, although there were cameras with Marie Myriam, so I’m not sure why there was so much panic. Lydia Vine, a production assistant on the show, refutes some of her claims, saying that Rippon had adequate rehearsal, but the show was very different to a single camera news broadcast of course. The production team had expected a chaotic bit with the winner!
There’s plenty about Stewart Morris and I did dive into only comments from technicians and former BBC staff. Ultimately Morris was a large character, in stature and vocally - he had grown in influence in the BBC by working - and making successes of - light entertainment, which was a large driver of the BBC’s television success. His crowning glory would probably be his direction of the 1986 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. The talkback clips often divide opinion in the comments. From those who don’t work in live television it seems alien and scary, and for those in television, I’m sure most can recognise it, but the experience Morris provided on this occasion would not be common. There’s those who claim it’s a lack of organisation on his part - they might be right, but the run up to this Eurovision was especially tough and Morris was pushing boundaries on the technical execution of the programme. Morris also worked on programmes with ‘talent’ who have since been found to have committed sexual abuse on BBC premises - there’s no suggestion of anything of the sort on Morris’ part, but I have seen that connection mentioned elsewhere, mainly because he had a management role at the time. There appears to be more than one reference to shots of female mid-sections - shots that appear in this edition of Eurovision for the first time. To today’s viewers, shots of this nature aren’t considered appropriate, even if the artists themselves were happy with them.
In June 1976, countries were being asked about language rules in the Contest - I’m not sure why though. The rule had been relaxed in order to placate Scandinavian concerns…perhaps Sweden’s win in 1974 and the expensive and troublesome (politically) hosting meant the Swedes were less keen to win regularly. It was agreed that native languages would return. Gordon Roxburgh says that BRT in Belgium and ARD in Germany had commissioned English language songs on the basis the rule was a ‘recommendation’ and not compulsory. The Programme Committee could waive the rule if it was to cause any television stations any embarrassment because of the mix-up. Finland and Portugal withdrew their confirmed participation but went to Wembley anyway. In the end, a French language song took the title of course, and Belgium and Germany under-performed compared to expectations. My theory is that both these songs had strong American influences…they ultimately would do well in the British market, thus allowing good betting odds in London, but snooty European jurors were clearly not ready to embrace the sounds of 70s America.
It appears RAI were late in confirming entry (sounds about right!). Sweden were returning (and perhaps they had lost some clout about the language rule) and positive noises were coming from Copenhagen - they would probably return in 1978. There had been changes in DR’s entertainment department and since 1974, the Contest was again broadcast in Denmark, the commentator was Claus Toksvig, father of broadcaster Sandi.
The Wembley Conference Centre turned out to be a bit of duff choice according to Lydia Vine’s interview with Gordon Roxburgh. It wasn’t helped by the hotel being booked up for the late hosting, and artists being in hotels near the airport. She describes the Conference Centre as a bit ‘of a barn of a place’, without atmosphere. Perhaps this is why it was demolished as part of the Wembley regeneration between 2003-6.
The UK’s selection show was interesting because of the sudden lack of television - lots of the acts were left disappointed and had relied on visual impact, which had been of growing importance in the Contest throughout the 1970s. Lynsey De Paul, the eventual winner felt especially bad and even suggested not performing because of the strike. Bill Cotton, head of light entertainment at the BBC was slightly ‘put off’ by people saying that, one of the artists in the selection show said that he wouldn’t repeat Bill’s exact words but he made it clear that everyone’s relationship with the BBC would be ended if that happened. One artist had brought their family, and knowing his daughter was distraught at the loss of visual representation, got one of the cameramen by the collar and threatened him!
Lynsey de Paul was already successful, as mentioned by Pete Murray so de Paul’s involvement with Eurovision out of necessity. De Paul had had a terrible manager in Don Arden, father of Sharon Osbourne. He owed Lysney around £47,000 (£223,000 in 2021 terms) and was going into litigation with her. Arden was confident he could sue any rival record company, even though he didn’t have grounds. Polydor approached De Paul for a contract after hearing ‘Rock Bottom’. De Paul and Moran had written the song after Paul Moran had asked Lynsey to help for a new song for his group, Blue Mink. Polydor essentially protected Lynsey De Paul from any litigation. Moran wasn’t used to performing in a duet, and wasn’t keen on Eurovision. The original production was slightly more complex with two mics each, although De Paul says this confused the BBC somewhat so it was simplified. Lionel Blair helped on the choreography, making sure the pair looked at the audience together, and added specific hand or facial movements. De Paul’s expressions in the voting sequence are fantastic - clearly they went for the safer Paul Moran shots eventually though! Lynsey was quite poorly at the time, and mentions that in an era before videos, the artists were flying all over the place to promote the song. Ronnie Hazlehurst initially laughed off dressing up as a City gent but went with it, to great praise from everyone. De Paul was proud to go to Eurovision, but wouldn’t go as an artist, especially an established one, again. In comments to the Daily Express de Paul was quite direct, stating the winning song was unprofessional and lacked edge, with mundane lyrics. Noting that the French were the only ones not to do anything ‘special’ with their 3 minutes on stage, and perhaps that’s why they won - ‘they stood out’. She praises the sweet Myriam, though. The usual ‘political voting’ has also been mentioned in further interviews.
Other quick bits: ‘Frère Jacques’, the nursery rhyme, does translate, for some reason, to ‘Brother John’, despite Jacques being James or Jack usually. Jack, I think, is a distant relative of the name John, or something like that! Flags! Obviously we have the peculiar use of the royal standards of England and Scotland in the beginning - I expect this was because they are more visually interesting. The Royal Standard of England, I think, has no official status…much like the flag of Northern Ireland, which is seen as solely Unionist. Greece’s correct flag for the time (the current trend for comments) made it to the stage ‘Revolve’ but not the scoreboard - the first scoreboard to feature flags, of course. Remember once again, graphic departments often relied on encyclopaedias for things like this at this time. During the Dutch voting giveing, Angela’s suggestion that we add more votes to an already wrong board gives me anxiety every time, but there was no real alternative! I like the fact Greece appeared to do well and they were shocked by a 20/1 price in the bookies’ odds…they then lost momentum in the voting, although they did achieve their best finish so far, which wouldn’t be topped until 2001! (They equalled it in 1992). It’s quite interesting that the UK’s momentum was stopped so quickly after Colin Berry’s first voting appearance! It looked like the UK might run away with it, but one round levelled the whole thing between Ireland, the UK and France. Despite the UK getting the most twelves, the other scores were often poor and some juries skipped the song altogether.
Yes Colin makes his debut as UK spokesperson, a role he’ll take on until 2002 (apart from 1980 and 1998). Berry states this is probably because they asked for Roy Moore, but Moore had been given a regular Saturday night programme by then…Moore and Berry were good mates and Berry was recommended. His role was also to provide back up commentary in case something happened on site…an issue we appear to have in the recording I used. Pete Murray is silent after the early rounds of voting, which I expect might be down to the recording. Berry remembers going down to Wembley after the show and having to be helped into a taxi after the party…good for him!
- We know this Eurovision started with an audience of 38% at 9pm. As the pubs closed, the audience rose to 45%. At this time UK audience research showed that only a small proportion of those asked like the show, thinking the songs were of low quality. Some were impressed with Angela Rippon, but some of those asked preferred Katie Boyle and thought Rippon was trying to steal the limelight. Only 19% agreed with the winning song and many mentioned the ‘inefficient scoreboard’ and praised Rippon’s response to the issues. Despite me mentioning the risqué camera shots, the audience did notice the long shots of the audience used instead of postcards…asking for more of the artists instead.
To my mind, Finland had the best performance and arrangement…I loved it! I always think that juries often might be struggling to find a winner if they prefer the final song. The whole slate was fun with only Israel really providing something that could be taken seriously I think. Certainly Brotherhood of Man’s victory heavily influenced a lot of acts. I actually quite like ‘L’oiseau et l’enfant’, even though it’s not catchy at all. You can’t help but feel pleased for such a young winner, so excited she almost forgot her birthday, according to reports of the time. The song, despite receiving English translation entered the UK charts at number 42. The rest of her career was mainly in France but didn’t go on to reach long term fame - winning Eurovision is nothing to be critical of, of course. By the late 1980s family was her main priority although she returned to performing in 1995. She’s a good friend to Eurovision, appearing on many French juries and of course reading the French results out for many years in the Grand Final.
It’s worth mentioning that Ireland’s 1970s Eurovision hadn’t been amazing, averaging 10th place after the 1970 win. The Swarbriggs Plus Two (the original group had entered in Stockholm and finished 9th) gave the third best finish of Ireland’s 13 appearances so far. I just wanted to note that this year is the beginning of Irish dominance in the Contest. From 1977 to 1998 Ireland would only finish outside the Top 5 seven times. Four more would also be in the top 10. Needless to say, 6 out of Ireland’s 7 wins would be in this period.
In 1977: January 18th sees Yugoslavia’s Prime Minister killed along with his wife and 6 others. Jimmy Carter is sworn in the US on January 20th. On January 24th, five people are shot in Madrid, known as the ‘Atocha Massacre’, the events are part of Spain’s transition to democracy and the reaction of the far-right to the end of Franco’s rule. On March 27th, a collision between a KLM and Pan AM Boeing 747s kills 583 people, the worst aviation disaster in history. On April 22nd optical fibre cables are used to transmit telephone calls for the first time, due to several odd decisions in the 1980s, optical fibre won’t replace the copper network in the UK until the 2020s. Apple begin selling the Apple II in June. In July, Virgina Wade wins the women’s singles title - she’s the last British woman to win a singles title at the Championships. In October, Four Palestinians hijack Lufthansa Flight 181 to Somalia and demand the release of Red Army Faction members. Troops storm the plane days later, killing four hijackers. October 26th sees the last known case of smallpox on the planet, the WHO consider this the beginning of the eradication of the deadly disease. November 10 sees the soundtrack to ‘Saturday Night Fever’ released, becoming the best selling album of time (BeeGees), although the film would not be widely released until December. November 22 sees BA start regular Concorde flights to New York.
Can someone explain what France is doing giving two sets of "un point" to both AUT and BEL?
@@HarryHayfield And two sets of 3 to ISR and SUI (I think)
"Despite the winner not being the strongest ever" I cant disagree more with you. I think L' oiseau et L' enfant is one of the best eurovision winner, the song is a masterpiece.
I agree, it is in the steam of the "timless french ballads" of 71,72 and 73. And she is a srtong performer, starting a capella.
A work of art
This shows why it’s much more sensible to announce the scores in ascending order - it’s much easier to spot an error and know the score they are giving.
Plus it adds to the excitement. If the _dix points_ and _douze points_ are the first to be announced, the remaining points are suddenly just a necessary technicality... 😐
This is also called the year eurovision got revived in Norway, because for the first time in years, Anita Skorgan was a big hit in Norway, and would pave the way for Jahn Teigen a year later
But the same team that wrote Casanova, lost the Norwegian pre selection with Anita in front, in 1978. (She sang a duet with her then boyfriend and producser George Keller, that also was a backing singer in 1977, together with Anne Lise Gjøstøl, that turned 70 recently 🙂
I thought you called it that because Sweden came last
If I had to choose my favorite contest, probably would be this one. I love practically all the songs, the winner, the circular stage that give us wonderful perspectives. Well, it was a wonderful contest despite the problems that had around.
I'm so glad you're back! A wonderful song from France- and its last win so far...
The Greek entry, is still very popular to this day in Greece, and the song is being played and remixed/performed through the years by different artists. Unfortunately one of the 4, Marianna Toli (the brunette singer) passed away in 2018.
Norway 1977, an interesting journey: For the first time, I think, NRK clearly stated that they did participate to win, not just taking part. The National pre selections were, for the first time, spread around the whole country, and for the first time since the start in 1960, it consisted of pre qualifications. Norway was devided into 5 parts, and local songwriters sent their entries to the nearest local NRK Radio office, that picked the 4-5 songs that was to take part in the local finale. The songs picked, was produced for radio, and broadcast on the regional programmes in radio only. That to secrure that only listeners for the region could vote. It was a postcard voting, and the winning song went on to the Grand Finale in Oslo. The regions were North, Midtst, West, South and East. (Casanova represented Midst. The vocalists in the Oslo finale, did not have to have any connection to the region.) All, apart form East, sent one song to the finale, east sent two, because it was a region including Oslo. In smosot regional semi finales, there were local artists taking part. % of the 6 songs got new singers for the finale. The veteran Nora Brockstedt, took part in the local semifinale from East, neither of her songs went on to the final round. She was now 55 years old, and for a long time, the eldest singer to ever take part. This was also her last attempt in Melodi Grand Prix.) The winning entry, "Casanova" is about a young girl, trying the get her "Don Juan lover" to stay faithful with her, and she loves him anyway. Strangely enough, the song was perforemd by a male vocalist in the radio semi finale. It represented Midst Norway , and for the semi, it was performed by a group of studio musicians, put together for this session only. For the finale, the composer Svein Strugtstad told me, NRK would like either Anne Karine Strøm or Gro Anita Schønn, both veteran singers, to perform the song. Gro Anita was on the height of her career, at the time, but had yet to win a norwegian pre selection. Even only 26 and 27 years of age at the time, the composer would have a younger singer to perform. They inisted on the up and coming, new fresh talent, 18 y.o Anita Skorgan. Svein Strugstad rang her mother, that had to give her conset, and agreeed that Anita was allowed to sing, since the ESC finale should take place in early april, and Anita then would have time to read for her final year examns. Then it all got postponed. (I haven''t got this offically confirmed, but it is said that this led to a doubt about Anitas participation, hence her examns, buit it was impossible to change the vocalist, and the composer would withdraw their song if so happend.) NRK meant that she was too young and too inexperienced yet to take on the huge pressure a victory would put on her. Anita Skorgan has told in later interwies that NRK was right. She was shot to an over night stardom, that one never had experienced before in Norway, and a complet "Anita mania" was a fact. She was not at all prepared for it, and for many years she didn't sing Casanova at all. But now, she has also stated in several interwievs that she is happy for the doors that was opened for her with Casanova, and she performs it regurarly in her best off shows. Casanova was a huge sucsess, and became the first song to both win the Norwegian Top, (on radio) and top the single charts in Norway. When composers saw that they, for the first time in many years, could get a hit by taking part in MGP, it was a record number of songs sent to the 1978 edition. Anita Skorgan was something of a pioneer. She refused to be marked as "Yet another pretty young vocalist", and insisted on getting influence on her recordings. She did not only do all her own vocals, she was the first, female Norwegian pop singer that got hits that she both compoed and performed, regularly. She also asisted as a producer on her own records,, and did all backing vocals as well as playing piano. She has her background as a classic pianist, and was supposed to go in that direction, and have the song as a part time/spare time activity. Anita Skorgan was the first femeale composer to take part in a ESC finale for Norway, and to win it as a compcer 3 times, (79,83 & 88), the first female in the Norwegian MGP history to sing her own song, (79) and also the first to win The Norwegian Radio Top (Norsktoppen) with a song form MGP. (That reraly happend in the 70's and 80's.) The recorded version of Cananova gos slighly faster than the one perforemd in the ESC. Most experts and weivers had expected a lt higher placing in the 1977 finale, so the dissapointment was big. Personally, i think it would have deserved a 8-10th placing. You canb read the detaiils here, in Norwegian: no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodi_Grand_Prix_1977
the end is hilarious because of all the people yelling its amazing
anyway another amazing reorderboard, was definately worth the wait mate
Cheers pal!
What a strong year and Marie Myriam is my third favourite winner of all times after Jamala 2016 and Niamh Kavanagh 1993.
1. France
2. Italy
3. Portugal
4. Switzerland
5. Greece
6. Finland
7. Israel
all delivered top quality.
This voting is especially exciting! Monaco and Irelands rise, Belgium and UKs fall, this voting was a bit sll over the place (except for sweden)
I think you handled the voting irregularities quite well!
Eurovision 1977, the year of voting mistakes 😂
This and 1974 were my favourite Eurovision years in the 70s! I love almost all the songs. Coincidentally both were held in the UK 😁 thanks for your work I really enjoy this reorder board 🙌🏼
You do have to wonder how different the final result might have looked had the contest been held on the originally scheduled date. As you mention the Irish jury was tired of Rock Bottom by 7 May and so didn’t vote for it. I’ve seen similar written about Telegram. The songs of course were released for radio play and the charts to coincide with the April date, so it’s interesting to wonder if an April contest would have given a different result.
And given that during the final result the UK only finished 15 points behind France, I have no reason to doubt that the UK may have possibly done the double.
@@JeSuisRene Rock Bottom was immensly popular in a norwegian cover version, fare more than the original :-)
Even if the UK had scored a full 12 from Ireland it would not have won, so I think speculation is pointless there.
Greece would've won.
So this people in 1977 were capable to make spin the rings in the stage but in 2022 that was not posible?
Italy just shouldn't host the show
Welcome back! The work you did on this scoreboard is great; I'm actually touched by how you used the colors of the staging for each country. It's quite neat!
For some reason, I think 1977 was a pretty strong year. Sure, the production was haphazard, but the song quality is great; I'm surprised that some people would consider this one of the worst years ever. Most of them are pretty lighthearted following the winner of the previous year, but with some exceptions (Sweden in particular), they have their charms!
My top ten:
1 pt: IRL
2 pt: Bel (Originally, it was Germany, but it has grown off on me at the same time Belgium grew on me. Plus the lyrics are quite relatable)
3 pt: LUX
4 pt: NOR
5 pt: SUI
6 pt: ITA
7 pt: ISR (the BBC's transliteration of Ahava hi Shir Lishnayim was awful. Good song though).
8 pt: FIN -- Had Lapponia taken It's Nice to Be In Love Again's place, 1977's top three would be among the best ones ever. It's energetic and bombastic, with a sense of joy throughout. Monica has a fun stage presence, which the orchestra accompanies throughout. It's so grand!
10 pt: GBR -- Rock Bottom is such a charming song; the performance on stage just adds to it. While lyrically simple, it's still theatrical and all kinds of fun. Lynsey and Mike's stage presences work together, and it's such a gem--it always makes me smile. Probably my favorite UK entry ever.
12 pt: FRA -- In the end, L'oiseau et l'enfant was the right winner--it's not only composed beautifully, but the lyrics take you on a journey. Sometimes I wonder if I think it's more complicated than it actually is--a simple song about a perfect world. Marie and her backing vocalists sing this well, and it's a perfectly constructed three minutes. (That said, please win again France!)
I think, Loisseau et lénfant is the best song in Esc history 🇹🇷❤️🇫🇷
Last time that my country won...
hi vincent. last year barbara pravi should've won. her song was much better than my country's song. hugs from italy :)
@@FlavioGirl actually I was happy and release that we lost because I hated our song and Italy was really a deserved winner, I would have hate to win with a song that I don't like
France deserved it again in 1990, 1991 and 2002.
@@vincenteschow stupid is your commentary. Honte à toi ! Shame.
@@berniedu7185 still hate the song though
Good luck with 1978. I feel you might need it with the poor footage available, the dire, dire songs and TF1’s poor production
Indeed, the 1978 was such a low point in between two of the great contests of 1977 and 1979
But no need to worry about incorrect scores on the doors…the scoreboard was actually correct at the end of voting in ‘78.
Great job as always, you have such a talent for graphic design! And the "behind the scenes" audio footage at the beginning and the end is priceless... 😂
At last! 1977 is my favourite contest and you’ve done another great job - especially given the complex issues with the final scoreboard!
Normally BBC contests promoted the host city or the BBC themselves. This year they really emphasised that the whole United Kingdom were hosts (and reigning champions) in that opening film. It’s an interesting time capsule - this was a period when St George’s Cross was not widely used for England (if you look at footage of the 1966 World Cup final the English fans mostly used the Union Jack). And when I went on a family holiday to Scotland in the 1980s the souvenir shops had as many flags with the lion rampant as the saltire.
Similarly with the music - Scotland the Brave was much more associated with Scotland at this time than Flower of Scotland. (And I love that after Scotland the Brave, The Ash Grove and the Londonderry Air, Ronnie had a little joke for England!)
Unfortunately Pete Murray spoils the opening with his unforgivable(!) mistake - which was very much noticed by Northern Ireland viewers at the time. Good luck looking for the Giant’s Causeway in landlocked Armagh…
Murray was supposed to say County Antrim, right?
@@JeSuisRene That's right. (Just a few miles away from where I'm writing this.)
I just wanted to drop by to say thank you and congratulations on a fantastic video, not to mention all the accompanying information you've provided here! Your presentation of the footage was first rate and the graphics were of their usual impeccable standard. I'm very grateful for all the time and effort you've put in to provide all this for us, and I look forward greatly to the next video. Give yourself a pat on the back. 🙂
Ditto :)
Ah cheer Chris! I'm glad you enjoyed it! This was fun but also epic - hopefully 78 won't take me too long but it's looking tricky already!
@@thereorderboard It certainly looked like it would have been a monster to work on! Well done for persisting with it, though... 👍
One of the best ever contests in my opinion - the high quality of the songs, the excellent staging and the frequent sight of bored people in the audience! Personally, I would have liked to see Germany or Israel win.
I missed this one!! Thanks again for making it, I think this one is the best one to show why this channel is needed... WHAT A MESS!! Can´t believe the Dutch Juror just saying: ´Hey you are wrong´ and them not changing it!! 2x3 is in the end 6 hahaha
Greece's first Top-5 !
The person who made this video has used te wrong flag to Greece at the scoreboard.
@@Tomek-mf2ln, Not at all . He used the correct flag of the time! The flag with the cross alone was our state flag! The flag with the stripes was our naval ensign, and became a state flag a bit later!
I’m a great fan of Stewart Morris’ work, and I think 1977 deserves a lot of praise. There is real ambition here which is mostly achieved (notwithstanding the missing postcards and the French aston wobbling).
The set is gorgeous and at long last we have something that is designed properly for television rather than a theatre set with cameras stuck in. There is so much movement, little tricks (crossfades, defocuses, and a whip-pan) and each song gets something special to help it stand out. I don’t think we see camera work to beat this until at least 1988 if not 1996. The placement of the astons is also carefully thought out to suit each song.
Stewart Morris also produced 1968 (which I think may still be the best contest ever) and he appears on screen beside Terry Wogan in 1984 and 1991. He may have been very difficult to work with, but he got results. And the talkback at the end suggest there was no hard feelings once the show was over. I worked very briefly and in a very junior capacity in TV some years ago and there were plenty of bad tempered people about then too!
"We've got fuck all sound in here!"
When you have a live outside broadcast of the magnitude of the Eurovision Song Contest, you can understand how stressful it can be for those working behind the scenes.
The Netherlands and Norway were underrated this year tbh
Wow, what a treat! I have been looking forward to this year from the start of this series and I'm not at all dissapointed. It is your best scoreboard yet, (inluding all the confusing errors in a splendid way) and it is very impressive to see how much you have improved from the 1980 video, and that was certainly great too.
Thank you Jacob - very king! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Another fantastic work. Thank you so much.
Yeah! You are back! Great as always.
Thank you for this historical masterpiece. In between, and especially towards the end, sounds like a Benny Hill sketch :D
French spokesperson must have looked at the odds just before voting and opened the champagne too early
Totally - I think that’s my theory, their victory was assured!
Omg thank you so much❤️❤️❤️
Tunisia was set to participate in the contest and had been drawn to participate in fourth place, but later withdrew. Yugoslavia decided not to enter this contest and would not return to the contest until 1981, while Sweden returned to the competition, having missed out the year before. This made for eighteen participating nations.
Does anybody know the reason why Yugoslavia withdrew for those four years? The only tangential source I can find on it is that Yugoslavia participated in the Soviet Union’s Intervision Song Contest in 1977 and 1979. However, countries such as Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Finland also participated between 1977-1980, so there may have just been an internal conflict between where to send the winner of Jugovizija.
I love these supercuts! I recognized Penny McLean in the German group instantly. She was famous for a very interesting solo piece called ‘Lady Bump’, look it up if you want to be entertained. :p
Very chaotic final performance of the winning song :D
If anyone is interested in seeing more of the interior of the Wembley Conference Centre in the late 70s have a look at the Blake’s 7 season 2 episode ‘Voice from the Past’. Wembley doubles as an intergalactic conference centre and the denouement takes place in the arena. In fact, Supreme Commander Servalan may well be wearing Angela Rippon’s sequinned dress…
It's surprising to me that the big favourite before the festival was BELGIUM
What a mess with the voting! So many mistakes and noone noticed except the Dutch guy 🤣! And the ending is just hilarious, the producer keeps yelling "Run the roller"! Something we wouldn't expect from such a powerful broadcaster like BBC.
Appreciate very much your accurate Hebrew!
One of the best orchestras in the history of the contest, everything sounds just great.
Good thing Mr Morris wasn't in Zagreb in 1990. He'd have had a coronary.
I think I read somewhere Tunisia had considered a debut at Eurovision this year and were actually drawn to perform 4th but later withdrew. Does anyone have any further information in this potential Tunisian participation?
I wasn’t able to find out very much about it, but it’s definitely true and not a Eurovision urban legend. According to newspaper reports from early 1977, Tunisia was definitely in the running order draw, drawn to perform fourth. Tunisia’s withdrawal was reported in February 1977 but there wasn’t much information. So you do have to wonder how serious its planned participation really was.
Yea so they definitely were appearing for long enough for the draw to be made, as @MrJsworld says. They didn’t get as far as getting an artist from what I could find, and I expect the reason might be in some EBU meeting minutes from the time. The only suggested reason I’ve seen on wiki was that Israel were participating.
One word: Israel. Same as 2005 Lebanon.
France: *is performing its winning song*
Production team: **PURE UNCONTROLLABLE CHAOS NOISES**
XD
Finland and Luxembourg are very underrated
Please can you uploud the 1979 version is my favourite one.
He's probably working on it
@@ponyclub3198 ok thank you
Tunesia was set to perform as 4th out of 19 countries between the Netherlands and Austria. (Source: Het vrije volk, 24th January 1977) On 9 February 1977 the same newspaper says it withdrew without giving an explanation, but it is very obvious Israel participating had something to do with it!
Better they didn't participate. Eurovision is no place for them if they choose to have conditions to participate in it
It's about Israel probably
From a time when the arc / sun COULD move ;)
I think the songs are lots of fun this year and I like almost all of them. I’m not sure any of them are truly great though. My winner is Ireland, followed very closely by Austria and Germany. I’ve no complaints about France or the UK though. It’s a real shame that we didn’t get that A Song For Europe on TV though - there are some great songs apart from Rock Bottom.
The worst organised, compered *and* directed edition of the Eurovision, bar none, presented in the most superb way, with some actually functioning moving elements (gives RAI a stern look) - well done yet again ❤️
Wow 77’ and 78’ were really strong years ❤
CUE THE ROLLER!
I thought it was said that Angela Rippon could speak French ?! She seems to be having difficulty understanding it here ! 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤪
Last victory for France and last ESC in London.
Had the roller run, would this have been the first time the end credits ran over the reprise? I think it was…and it’s something I hate.
Yes, it would have been. What actually transpired is that RTÉ would be the first to do so in 1988 IIRC.
@@JeSuisRene And the credits went wrong in 1988 as well!
Oh dear ! The Re-Order scoreboard completely fluffed it when the votes from Athens came through ! But then their jury did offer 4 points to TWO countries !
Bit late with this one lol. Greece cocked that up didn't they lol. Quite amazed the bookies though Belgium was the favourite. Couldn't see it myself other than the fact that it was one of the normal songs, but defo France had the better hook in the song.
Side note about that producer, I probably would have done the same to get things done lol
Great scoreboard man as always
Top 3 for me in 1977
1. 🇫🇮 Finland
2. 🇫🇷France
3. 🇲🇨Monaco
Great thing about 1977 contest was it started the tradition of hosting the contest in May ,( some exceptions by RTE on 30th April 1988 and 1994) ... May is a great month for Eurovision..
Hopefully if the BBC does host In 2023 it will do a better job than in 1977.. I feel confident it will ..
Ps great video again thanks
The BBC did a great job in 1998 so I shouldn’t expect 2023 to be bad either.
L' oiseau et l'enfant, que de souvenirs ! J' avais 6 ans, je l' ai si souvent chanté !
I really enjoy your videos, the design and attention to detail is really excellent, thankyou! it really brings something new to contests I have seen many times.
My final comment here for a while, but this contest features one of my two absolute favourite Eurovision winners; the other is Only Teardrops
Remarkable work. And the graphics were splendid!! It was so beautiful to watch. Quite thrilling and the end bit with the director simply hilarious. Certainly one for the books. I hate to be a bore, but what happened to the UK 1 missing point? was it deducted after the show? also the Greek flag seemed like the Icelandic flag methinks. Sorry to ask. All in all, wonderful edition and great work, thanks a lot!!!!
Hi! Thanks for the nice comments! Not sure what you mean with the UK point? It was erroneously given during the Greek voting so I didn’t show it, along with the other points. The Greek flag is correct for this period.
@@thereorderboard wow i didn't know that!!!!! thanks!!!
Worth noting that Ronnie wrote that overture for 1974 and not only was it reused here but also in ou-est 'arrogate...
Ah, the famous Armagh coast...
The lower thirds seem very Panorama title card. I like it!
Yo what’s the name of the restaurant they were at for the interval act
Weird question, but why does the spokesperson read out the points in a random order?
It wasn't random. It was done in the traditional way of performance order as per the original jury voting prior to 1975, hence why you can see the extra graphic at the bottom of the songs in performance order. I think this changed the following year (78) to make it more exciting and its the way we do today
@@JamieJooESC They changed announcements to point order in 1980.
The results are being read out in the order the countries performed. So for example, if Ireland got any number of points from another jury, it would be read out first as they were first to perform on the night. It wasn't until 1980 that they went with ascending order 1,2,3,4 etc..
I have a book about the history of the Portuguese preselections on Eurovision and it mentions that in Eurovision 1977, the Portuguese and Austrian delegations were accomodated in a hotel near Heathrow airport whereas the other were accomodated in central London, and it was probably because both the Austrian (a critique of the music industry) and Portuguese (a reflection on a post-Revolution Portugal) were deemed as too left-wing leaning.
Score board wrong for Netherlands. ...why didn't they say scores 1-12 ...
Presentation by British. Bad. 😢
The end sounded like a sketch from Monty Python; let’s hope that next year in Liverpool there’s no dramarama !
What. On earth. Was happening with the commentators during the winning performance?!
''Get the roller back, you bloody idiot''
What?!
When will you do Eurovision 2003? Btw I love your videos
Has anyone noticed that parts of the opening tune is used for 1974 and 1982.
Yes - which isn’t a coincidence, as Ronnie Hazelhurst was the musical director in 1974, 77 and 82.
Later in the 1980s Ronnie used that theme again for the Royal Variety Performance.
Has anyone noticed Greece has the wrong flag on the scoreboard?
@@Tomek-mf2lnit was the right one, used before they changed it
Rock bottom was great with Steed the conductor as well ! 2 billion people watching as well, the French winner one of the best ever, And Angela speaking french mmmmm.
You know, if Angela had been clever about it, she’d have made it a condition that the BBC let her perform a dance as the interval act, and she’d have beaten Marlene Charell to it by six years. Certainly couldn’t have been worse than the interval act we actually saw on the night.
I rather liked that Jazz band! They were rather skilled musicians.
Rippon. Said. 3 to Netherlands. 3 points but only gave 2...on board
France she's said 10. When it was 4. She at fault.
HOW did Ireland almost win with that?? Way too sickly sweet for my good. I mean, Sweden weren’t objectively the best, but the fact they finished last with Ireland 3rd is a crying shame.
What are you on if that is the case how the hell did the UK finish 2nd Rock Bottom France was the best by a mile.
@@djbillybopdjbillybop2817 Rock Bottom was a good song with a catchy hook and expertly staged. And it stood out very well. Meaning it stood out very well. France however was the best, I do agree.
What's up with French juries messy votes at the end?
Is there a place where I can find the entire talkback audio. It would be great to hear how a Eurovision production sounds like
Sarcastic Angela. No need to be rude.
LOL @ reprise they forgot to put the mic off I guess
Who the fuck is yelling during France's song reprise????
Lo que me gusta de eurovision en esos años es la traducción de las canciones en su idioma original y en inglés debería hacerse así en eurovision actual así la gente entenderían las canciones
great show. sorry you couldnt edit out stewart morris's vulgar outtakes. cant wait for the next one. thank you so much :)
Where did you find the betting odds? I'm wondering where I could find the odds for other older years.
Hi I'm using a number of sources, but I do recommend Gordon Roxburgh's excellent books. They are written from a UK perspective but they have plenty of info on each Contest too.
I’ve just noticed… isn’t this the same typeface (Futura) used on the _Countdown_ letters?
Futura was also used on the BBC 1 ident during this period.
Can anyone help me why there as a problem with NED's score?
Monaco was prolly rhe best entry imo
Nobody mentioned you used the wrong flag to Greece.
And here are the Norwegian cover version of the winning entry: th-cam.com/video/XlIqSCrnkBI/w-d-xo.html
And the cover of the second place, taht became musch more popular than the original, in Norway :-) th-cam.com/users/results?search_query=inger+lise+og+stein+norkstoppen
This could have been a great year, without the absolute chaos within the BBC and strike action, etc. As for the songs… eh, they’re fine. I love love LOVE my top 4, though. I would like Finland a lot more had it not been for that scream. My points:
1p 🇬🇷 Greece
2p 🇳🇴 Norway
3p 🇫🇮 Finland
4p 🇩🇪 Germany
5p 🇪🇸 Spain
6p 🇨🇭 Switzerland
7p 🇧🇪 Belgium
8p 🇮🇱 Israel
10p 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
12p 🇫🇷 France
Strange order to reveal the points??
Yes, points were revealed in performance order until 1980 when it switched to what we know now...that's why I've added the song order roller at the bottom to help a long a bit!
There is a mistanke in The scoreboard. Greece have one point to UK that was missed out
And one point for Austria from France
@@olechristianen739 See the reorder board’s comments. It was due to countries mistaken attributions and duplication of points. Greece gave points to 11 countries and France to 12.
@@JeSuisRene ah thank you
Tips for organising BBC's Eurovision broadcasts: if British, don't use both a revolve and a roller.
Hello, maybe you told it in The description and I didn't see it
But my question is, where did you get the odds for some of the country ?
Thank you
Hi - I use a number of sources, but for this one I used Gordon Roxburgh's book 'Songs for Europe'. Most betting companies are in London though, and they tend to put the UK entries higher because a lot of British people would bet on the home team, lowering their price.
@@thereorderboard Oh ok, I don't know This book
Toen er nog echt gezongen werd.
Someone please explain ... if in the original scoreboard the flag is like we know it... why does the flag of Greece like that?!?
Yup, I have done so in other descriptions and comments. I just Googled when the Greek government wanted the Greek flag (I think abroad) to be the land flag (the one that looks like an England flag but blue and white)...that was from 1975 to December 1978. The Greek Olympic team also walked out with the land flag in the 1976 Olympic Opening Ceremony. Why is it wrong in Wembley? You're approaching it with the bias of having the Internet. I know that graphic departments everywhere had books...encyclopedias of flags, and other things, which they bought regularly, but even the research of those was slow. It was just a slower pace of information...I expect the Greek delegation arriving in Wembley might have asked why it's wrong...and of course it wasn't wrong - it's 'a' flag of Greece - perhaps not the Government's official flag of Greece. If you look at 1:20:20 you'll see the land flag is on the rotating part of the set...so they had some knowledge...which asks the more interesting question: why weren't the scoreboard technicians able to correct it? I expect this came down to timing, and other priorities.
@@thereorderboard Didn't the host of this edition went on record saying that this contest was one of the worst things she ever made for how poorly put together it was?
@@dramaticScar Well yes and no...she said it was the worst thing she'd worked on certainly. The issue mainly came from the arena and how many cameras there were...she claimed she never knew where to look and that it was chaotic. Other interviews from production staff don't agree with her assessment and that she was comfortable during rehearsals, but very used to reading the news...which back then was more like a single camera and the presenter read to the camera for 20 minutes or so. I think it's easy to put Rippon's comments and the delayed transmission due to strikes together, whereas they were two separate issues. Certainly, compared to other years, this one was eventful!
Wasn’t the Greek flag on the scoreboard the civil ensign of Greece between those years? Remember that was the same Greek flag used in 1976 and 78. Much like how Spain also use the coat of arms… the red and yellow minus the coat of arms.
I wasn't mad about your scoreboard at first but then the way it moved around liked the stage and changed colours won me over.
What I really love is the fact that Finland is your favourite entry. It is one of my all-time favourite Eurovision entries; its just wonderful.
I think that 1977 and 1978 are two of the weakest contests in terms of production, the various problmes you outlined obviously didn't help matters. And I wouldn't rank Angela (I love her in other ways) high in my rankings of Eurovision presenters.
My points for 1977 are as follows:
1 pt Monaco
2 pt Italy
3 pt Netherlands
4 pt Israel
5 pt Luxembourg
6 pt Norway
7 pt France (great performance by the wonderful Marie but not a winner)
8 pt UK (I love it despite the proto-Thatcherism of it)
10 pt Germany [deserved a MUCH higher ranking; sometimes its my #1 of this year]
and finally...
FINLAND 12 POINTS !!!!
I'm very proud of the Irish jury giving it 12 points. Random fact: I also think that [at least under the 12 points sytem] this was the only time that Finland would lead the scoreboard until Lordi won in 2006.
The Irish jury definitely got it right in ‘77. And yes, so rare to see Finland at the top of the scoreboard.
This contest reminds me a lot of 1991 (or rather 1991 reminds me of 1977 to put it in chronologically), great songs but terrible, terrible production. And Angela was very poor…she just seemed so unprepared, despite having an extra few weeks to prepare. I still don’t understand how she couldn’t find the right camera during her introduction, surely that would all have rehearsed? I appreciate it wasn’t quite the newsroom, but she would have had the chance to rehearse all of this. Thing is, she comes across like she didn’t attend a single rehearsal.
This whole contest is a Barbara Dex Award.
What is this shit noise in the background during her encore?
how are you so talented to make this and what do u use? i love this (the scoreboard obvs lol)
Monaco merecio mas