A Song for Europe 1985

[@pepez5263]

I was part of the Scottish jury for this 1985 Song For Europe, our host in the BBC studio in Glasgow was Viv Lumsden.

[@joshlevicq6823]

😮 Honey, if You tell people that You were a jury member, You also have to confess how You voted. How else should we know whether You did a decent job or should have been fed to Nessie ... 🐲

[@berniedu7185]

@@joshlevicq6823why ???

[@peterkirby7270]

​@@berniedu7185. Hi there. Ignore that rude comment I see. I am sure it must have been very exciting and they increased the jury to 22 members. They also seemed to have increased the number of voting areas of the UK. Love is was by far the best song and came fourth eventually in Sweden.

[@berniedu7185]

@@peterkirby7270 👍😉 thank you for the answer.

[@oiooi6460]

And u thort Love Is was a winner? Lol

[@peterkirby7270]

I attended as part of the udience. Thank you for sharing. Thr right song was chosen and came 4 th

[@Arghans]

I like how Waterloo was mixed into the opening sequence of UK entries, showing just what a massive hit it was.

[@mjb22]

That’s brilliant! Thanks for posting.

[@escukfan6389]

Glad you enjoyed it, there are more to come - I'm just going through old VHS tapes!

[@MrEurominx]

Loved Alvin Stardust “clock on the wall”

[@jamesmt142]

Not a bad little production as national finals in the 80's go. Of particular note is an electronic scoreboard some three years before Eurovision proper gets one.

[@johninman1989]

Dave the butcher from Wales was part of the UK jury with me in 1985 (ever such a nice guy). A very poor national final in 85. Though " I'm crying" sounds better in 2023 than it did in 85. The 4 song rule per writer was brought in, as I think Paul Curtis had 7 out of 8 songs in the 84 final. (85 he picked some shocking singers). I agree that ' Energy' would be better sung by a woman, especially as Des Dyer comes across a little like " Jim Bowen does Eurovision". Does anyone else find the way Fiona Kennedy held her microphone really distracting?

[@davidarmstrong3817]

loved clock on the wall by alvin stardust

[@andrewfaduk214]

Best song won

[@clivegchesterman]

Pretty sure "Energy" was recorded and retitled "Voice of America" by Nicki French on her "Secrets" album!

[@GRAHAM2109]

Des recorded it it also kzbin.info/www/bejne/j32TZpSkjL6lhLc

[@Ernstberger]

20:55 Wish he had won !

[@welshieallovertheplace]

He'd have blown Eurovision sky high if he had!

[@jonathanbrett-warren2031]

The orchestra played the song wayyyy too fast

[@riinak7212]

Vikki Watson records more new-age-sounding music as Aeone now. Good stuff - I highly recommend you check it out!

[@prbsnoop1974]

Fiona Kennedy went on to present Record Breakers

[@riinak7212]

This dance interlude is like acid in the 80s.... or what they'd play over an informational video.

[@some.random.baldie2111]

The UK chose sensibly with Vikki and it is a catchy little song. I do think Kerri Wells would have been the better choice. Very hi-NRG disco and she performs it with gusto. Might have challenged Bobbysocks for that win! A missed chance there. In reply to the comment about Energy - yes it is the same song as the Nikki French cover. I do think that would have been a good choice, but Des needed to perform it with a bit more convincingly. Very difficult song to sing. Alvin Stardust was decent and catchy, but he has had better. The rest were decent songs as well. The last song may have been a good choice - sort of ballad that did well at ESC in that era and strong voices.

[@riinak7212]

Des doesn't have the voice for "Energy", at least not the high parts in the chorus. This should've been sung by a female or as a duo. Also the chorus lyrics could've done with a onceover, and perhaps heavier on the bass. I ended up liking Annabelle a lot but her stage presence could've used some work. Her voice was good and the song was decent. She should've tried again the next year. Alvin Stardust was catchy but I didn't get into it as much as I thought I would. Kerri Wells was very good. The backing singers definitely help out more and more as the song goes on but I'd be really interested in seeing how this would've done in Eurovision. I don't think it would've beaten Norway, and Vikki already placed fourth, so...*shrug* You'd be angling for a top three or two placing instead of fourth. The last track had really pretty female vocals but was really boring and the other songs weren't worth really talking about. It was between Vikki and Kerri. I would've been happy with either but Vikki has the superior voice. I know what Vikki's up to today; anyone know what Kerri's doing?

[@GRAHAM2109]

She records under her real name Suzanne Rhatigan

[@joshlevicq6823]

😏😼 Ah, back in time when a fourth place still was considered a bad result for the UK - and when people obviously wore shocking glasses. By the way, i never really understood the urge to drag along chairs onto stage. And what's the black thing she's crumpling? Fishnet tights? Anyway, I would have preferred "Dancing in the night", but on the other hand the UK has sent much worse entries to Eurovision than "Love is". 🐚

[@edmund184]

I'm watching a different country

[@johnsullivan3421]

A nice song But it need a bit of extra power in place

[@stevebbuk9557]

Yes it did, especially right at the end on contest night when she seemed to fade away.

[@Mrbuggle]

This was the year that the BBC, in all their wisdom, banned any groups from participating. The result is a complete dirge-fest....every song is just dire. With the exception of Alvin Stardust, and even he was just going through the motions, none of the singers had any charisma or stage presence whatsoever. Both Annabel and Kerri Wells look like they bought their outfits for twenty quid from the Littlewoods catalogue. How Vikki placed fourth at Eurovision with that completely lacklustre song and performance, beggared belief. This was the start of the whole Contest becoming a complete irrelevance for the rest of the 80s.

[@DarkCornerProductions]

Des Dyer should've won to host UK. Just superb.

[@keithw9290]

No diversity here. Those were the days.