Since its inception the Eurovision Song Contest has always pushed boundaries. Pioneering new broadcasting techniques and ways of performing. Compiling a list of ‘breakthrough’ songs is no easy task since the contest has seen so many diverse performances, breaking new ground in Eurovision history. This top ten features songs which have somehow broken the mould or shaped the contest in some way. As always we’d love to hear your views!
10) Iceland 1997 – Paul Oscar “Minn hinsti dans”
As far as contests go, 1997 was a fairly standard year. Celtic ballads which had been so much of a feature in the preceding years continued as did ethno-pop. Iceland’s “Minn Hinsti Dans” was a Eurovision song with a performance like no other. The song started with a thumping dance beat before the camera panned to a leather, PVC-clad Paul Oscar sitting legs akimbo, on a white sofa. Surrounded by women in risqué bodices and fishnet stockings, Oscar works the stage like none of the artists that evening. Arguably Eurovision’s first sexually charged performance, there’s even crotch caressing! Terry Wogan commented “I hope you didn’t let your mother watch that”. It deserves recognition as it broke the mould when it came to Eurovision songs, paving the way for more contemporary and perhaps more controversial acts in the future.
9) Netherlands 1966 – Milly Scott 'Fernando en Filippo'
Milly Scott went down in Eurovision history when she became the first black person to take to the stage in the competition. Her performance also broke new ground when she danced her way down the stairs of the set, sang her entry and danced her way back up the said stairs. Whilst it might look a bit twee now, at the time this performance stood out in contrast to the other more staid renditions of the day.
8) Norway 1986 – Ketil Stokkan “Romeo”
Norway hosted Eurovision for the very first time in 1986 and took the contest to its most northerly point, Bergen. The home entry that year was a mid-tempo number, “Romeo” performed by Ketil Stokkan. The song was a pretty standard 80s number; however, the performance featured drag queen backing dancers, the first time drag had been seen on the Eurovision stage. It would take nearly 30 years before a drag act would emerge as victorious in Eurovision.
7) United Kingdom 1981 – Bucks Fizz “Making Your Mind Up”
Bucks Fizz was formed specifically for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 and went on to take the trophy for the UK, providing the country with its fourth win. That performance in Dublin, with the ripping off of the skirts, has gone onto to become one of the most iconic moments in Eurovision history. Whilst Bucks Fizz was not the first act to have a gimmick like this, they were the first to win with such a trick. As Cheryl Baker herself says, more people remember the skirts coming off than they do the tune. Arguably in an attempt to emulate the success of Bucks Fizz, costume changes have gone onto be included in dozens of Eurovision performances since. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery!
6) Luxembourg 1965 – France Gall “Poupée de cire, poupée de son”
Ask your average person on the street what a winning Eurovision song sounds like, they’re unlikely to mention ballads. However back in the 1950s and 1960s ballads dominated the contest. That was until France Gall took to the stage and belted out “Poupée de cire, poupée de son”, penned by French music legend Serge Gainsbourg. This was the first pop song to win the contest and had a huge impact on the type of songs that would follow in the contest. A milestone in Eurovision history
5) Denmark 1957 – Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler “Skibet skal sejle i nat”
Denmark was the first Scandinavian country to enter the contest. In 1957 Eurovision was a very different show to the one we know and love today. Television was a little more sedate and sexuality was certainly something that was under the radar for most. The Danish song in 1957 told the story of a sailor saying goodbye to his love. At the end of the song the two singers embraced in a passionate kiss which lasted 11 seconds! This represented that first time we saw sexuality in Eurovision and also one of the earliest examples of performers really telling the story of their song through costumes and actions.
4) Israel 1998 – Dana International “Diva”
The announcement that Dana International, a transgender artist, was representing Israel at the 1998 caused considerable controversy. Orthodox Jews and more conservative elements in the country took exception to this decision and some even issued death threats against her. Security was tight in Birmingham when Dana International took to the stage however the diva emerged triumphant. This victory in the contest, according to Dana International, represented acceptance of difference. It was a landmark moment in the contest given that Dana International was the first and to date only, transgender artist to win the contest. Recent studies reveal that it was also a watershed moment for many Israeli gay men who took to the streets of Tel Aviv that night. Dana International’s victory shows that even 17 years ago, Europe was perhaps more open minded than people expected.
3) Estonia 2001 – Dave Benton and Tanel Padar “Everybody”
“Everybody” was an up-tempo song performed by Estonian star Tanel Padar, who took the trophy home in 2001. Padar was accompanied by the relatively unknown Dave Benton, who moved to Estonia in 1997. Despite its lack of popularity, it is a very significant moment in the history of Eurovision for a number of reasons. Dave Benton is the first and to date only black singer to have ever won the Eurovision Song Contest. The significance of this cannot be underplayed. 2001 also marked the first year since 1989 that a country had won Eurovision for the first time. This was the start of a major shift in power in the contest whereby every winner from that point onwards until 2009 would be from either a new entrant country or a long-term participant which had yet to score a victory in the competition. Estonia was the first post-communist country to be invited to join EU accession talks and the first to win Eurovision. The contest was changing. Estonia was the starting gun for this evolution.
2) Italy 1958 – Domenico Modugno “Nel blu dipinto di blu”
Eurovision was initially conceived as a television show rather than a hit-making machine, this something that critics of the contest often forget. That said, it’s fair to say that the juries failed to spot the potential of Italy in 1958. Following the 1958 contest the Italian entry, under the name of “Volare” would go onto become a huge international hit, even reaching number one in the United States. Domenico’s performance was also ground-breaking given that he did not remain static like so many of his day. Such a simple movement of the arms represented a new way of performing. Perhaps the biggest irony is that so many people don’t even know that “Volare” was a Eurovision entry. The song has stood the test of time and has gone onto become one of Eurovision’s biggest ever hits.
1) Sweden 1974 – ABBA “Waterloo”
Yes it’s a cliché! ABBA regularly top the polls for best Eurovision winner ever. However ABBA’s “Waterloo” represents an important milestone in the history of the contest. ABBA needed Eurovision to break out of Sweden and into the international market. Winning with “Waterloo” allowed them to do this, and whilst global domination arguably didn’t come until the release of the “Arrival” album in 1976, Eurovision offered ABBA that much-needed platform. The contest needed ABBA too since it hadn’t really had a huge hit since “Congratulations” or “Volare”, neither of which had won. The success of “Waterloo” and ABBA quashed assertions that the contest was bad for musical careers. It would also go on to inspire acts in later years, even another winning Swedish song at the turn of the century. The popularity of ABBA still endures today, a legacy that the Eurovision Song Contest should be rightfully proud of.
