Eurovision 1975: Back to the future! (Voting classic!) | Song super cut and animated scoreboard

[@thereorderboard]

A few other things I couldn’t fit in the description: Hopefully you’ll have seen my note about not needing to donate to me to see the behind the scenes recording from now on. If you’re considering giving money to me, why not donate to a charity that might help Ukrainians in this time of need. That’s not to say that I’m ungrateful to those who’ve supported me in that way, it helps to pay for Vimeo and a few other resources that go into making the channel. I also want to thank @SvenskTV for allowing me to steal one of his recordings, rescuing me from some of the poorer quality versions on KZbin. Thanks also to @Dave King who’s support is great, especially when I have translation issues on a Sunday morning! Thanks also to @MrJdsworld for sending me a helpful article on the background to this Contest. If you spot something about an old contest you think is interesting, do get in contact! I think in the behind the scene’s video I suggest the scoreboard might be some sort of eggcrate display system using bulbs…on close inspection this is not right at all. It looks like some sort of either liquid crystal display that’s back lit or perhaps a flip-disc (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip-disc_display). I’m not sure though…it works well under the studio lights anyway! @riva1958 allan summarised the horse trading to get to our new voting system in the comments of the 1974 video. Quaintly it seems that neither ARD or YLE put forward a simple top 10 with the top song getting 10 points and the bottom getting 1 (ARD suggested top 9 voting 1-8, then 10; YLE top 8 voting 1-7, then 10). The BBC came up with the douze point system and I still see seasoned fans occasionally lose themselves and wonder where the 9 points is! It’s worth noting though that the basis of the 71-73 system still exists - every jury member is evaluating every song, not just picking a favourite. They give a score of 1-5 and the totals are simply converted to points. It seems that this process was still used even for back up juries in the mid-00s. When juries made their permanent comeback in 2009, I think that’s when the ranking system started…although I’m sure someone will correct me! So here we are, for the first time, with our Swedish friends at SVT, who have gone on to produce some classic Contests, really culminating in the two massively successfully 2013 and 2016 shows. Who knows whether 2023 will see another one! SVT of course, doesn’t exist in 1975. Much of the early history of television in Sweden mimics that of the UK: television licences providing a service from a quasi-autonomous public organisation. Daily broadcasting started in 1957, somewhat later than the BBC on the confusingly named ‘Sveriges Radio’ brand. In line with the BBC, a second channel was discussed and launched the same year as BBC Two, and so the two channels were named TV1 and TV2 of Sveriges Radio. What is majorly different is the lack of commercial competition, ITV had launched in the UK in 1955 to great public and parliamentary debate about the role of advertising. Cable television came to Sweden in the 1980s and those cable companies started relaying international channels, usually via the UK to get around Sweden’s strict advertising rules. The late 80s saw commercial channels in Swedish launch on cable (TV3 and TV4) and eventually in 1992, TV4 won the right to be broadcast into Swedish homes without a subscription with a similar debate about the role of adverts that the UK saw in the 1950s. Over at SR a reorganisation took place in 1979, meaning this was the only contest organised with SR as the EBU member responsible. ‘SR’ became the mother of 4 companies, Sveriges Riksradio (RR), a local radio service (LRAB), educational service (UR) and the separate television company SVT. Not STV…just because STV in Scotland were already an EBU member. By 1996 the name of the channels had settled on SVT1 and SVT2 and in 1999 SVT’s services ballooned under the digital revolution. SVT remains at the forefront of the adoption of key new technologies like HD and streaming services likes SVTPlay. There are a couple of differences with the UK, most obviously that radio and television are separate companies, also conversely to what I’ve mentioned about advertising, some sponsorship is allowed (Melfest carries some sponsors). In 2018 the government voted to scrap the licence fee and apply a fee to income tax instead. Over on radio, if you’re wondering what happened to RR and LRAB, they were merged under the same name we see in the video, ‘Sveriges Radio’ in 1993. Luckily there’s lots of information easily available about our host venue naming. It’s listed as ‘Stockholmsmässan’ now but the original facility was opened in a different part of the city, with the business being named after Stockholm’s patron saint: S:t Eriks-Mässan (St. Erik’s Fair). In 1966 they moved to Älvsjö for more space and the venue acquired the popular name Älvsjömässen, although this was never it’s official name. In 1976 it was changed to ‘Stockholmsmässan’. In the UK there was some disquiet about the selection process that mimicked the outcry against the commercialisation of music in Stockholm - although I’d say it was much less dramatic. BBC Exec Bill Cotton specifically wanted a group to sing for the UK, I assume because of ABBA’s success but this was met with a negative response from the media and the song writing community. Members of the group were also responsible for writing two of the songs on offer, further angering music publishers associations. The Shadows were Cliff Richards backing group for a period and most of their songs were instrumental, with a few vocal numbers. The core members were Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch (lead vocals) and Brain Bennett, with various people on other instruments over the years. They’d conjured up 13 consecutive top-10 hits in the early 1960s but were perhaps not at their commercial peak when selected for Eurovision. Of course, being mainly instrumentalists , you can start to see why Bruce might have forgotten his words at the beginning! The song was not one written by one of the band members, but by Paul Curtis, who would go on to enter songs for the UK every year until 1992. ‘Love Games’ (1984), ‘Give a Little Love Back to the World’ (1990) and ‘A Message to Your Heart’ (1991) were the one’s that got through. So what about the selection show? Cliff? No, not on air. Cilla? Not this time. Nope, it’s Lulu’s show which featured six weeks of (recorded) songs for the public to pick. Unfortunately, ‘Let Me Be the One’ garnered a very low 17,477 votes - the lowest seen for a UK selection and it prompted the BBC to revamp its selection show for 1976, with the Music Publishers Assoc calling for songwriters and composers to be able to select the artist…obviously this change rendered quick results, but more on that in the next video. The Shadows released all six songs on an album and gave them their first hit since 1967, although it only peaked at 12. Eurovision 1963 co-winner Grethe Ingmann recorded a version in Danish and it’s on KZbin…search for ‘Lad mig live din’.

[@thereorderboard]

Also attempting to use past glory to ensure success was Luxembourg who paired little known Irish singer Geraldine Brannigan with a core of Eurovision song writing champions - Phil Coulter and Bill Martin had written ‘Puppet On A String’ and they paired with Pierre Cour, co-writer of ‘Tom Pilibi’, winner in 1960. ‘Toi’ provided me with some interesting translation issues (thanks to Dave King for help) as I think some of lyrics aren’t directly translatable to English. Luxembourg finished fifth, keeping Lux right at the top of their game, with an average finishing position of 2.75 over the last four years (to 1972), compared to 11.75 between 1968-71….quite and improvement! We see the addition of Turkey to the list of competitors, one year after Greece joined. Broadcasting in Turkey started at a similar time to its more European counterparts and the predecessor to the state broadcaster TRT was one of the founding members of the EBU, but was radio only. Television started much later than the West with test transmissions not starting until 1968, when Eurovision went colour. TRT joined the EBU in 1972 and it aired its first Eurovision Network event (a football match) in 1973. Participation in Eurovision was asked for in 1974 but at too late-a-date for the BBC to change their scoreboard. Colour television didn’t arrive in Turkey until very end of 1981, with a full colour service not operational until 1984, so Turkey’s debut performance would have been seen in black and white. Turkey would have patchy appearances in the Contest until 1980, which largely reflects the political situation surrounding the 1974 invasion of Cyprus. They tended to stick to a more Middle Eastern theme, sharply in contrast to the pan-European pop of other nations and it didn’t pan out well for Turkey in Stockholm, finishing last on their debut like Malta. Pre-1999, a high point was third in Dublin in 1997 and a 9th in 1986. In the post-1999 era, Turkey grew into somewhat of a Eurovision powerhouse, even though they’ve only won once. Following their 2003 win, Turkey only spent 2 years outside of the top 10 up to 2012, and only failed to qualify for the final in 2011. TRT withdrew from the Contest in 2012 citing dissatisfaction with the rules and the reintroduction of juries in 2009. In 2018 the Director-General of TRT states that Conchita Wurst’s win also counted against TRT’s involvement. Malta’s Renato returned to Malta a hero for not finishing last - clearly switching to English helped…although I would say the lyrics are some of the worst I’ve ever heard! On the other end of the scale I’ve kept Italy’s ‘Era’ entirely intact…something I haven’t done since Italy’s 1969 'Due grosse lacrime bianche’. The UK’s entry is also largely in tact too - despite the lyrics being a bit odious for 2022…essentially pressuring the subject of the song into sex, it sounds good! Worth noting about ‘The Dolls’, the backing group officially listed as performing with Sweden’s Lasse Berghagen. They were actually available for any performers who needed them, although I can only spot them with Portugal. They’d performed with the Nova in 1973 so had plenty of experience and sounded great!

[@thereorderboard]

Plenty going on in 1975 here’s a rundown: In the UK in February, Margaret Thatcher beats former PM Edward Heath to the leadership of the Conservative party, becoming Britain’s first female leader of any political party. Sentences for the Watergate scandal are handed out, some as long as 8 years in prison. Something which I think may happen in Europe pretty soon: in response to the energy crisis, the US moves to daylight savings time early (in February). The last day of February sees a major tube crash at London’s Moorgate station - 43 people die. The reasons for the driver fault are still largely unexplained. In March ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ opened to a limited run as a musical, closing after 3 previews and 45 performances…it would achieve much greater success as a movie. April 3rd sees ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ released at UK cinemas. In April the bloody Cambodian Civil war ends, with mass executions of American troops and Cambodian civilians, the Khmer Rouge begins its genocide. In Vietnam, the final stages of the war are playing out, with Saigon surrounded and ‘Operation Frequent Wind’ commencing - the helicopter evacuation of the Americans and their Allies. June 5th and the UK votes to stay in the European Community, 68-32%. 11th June modern day Greece is established as the Hellas Republic after seven years of military rule. June 20th, ‘Jaws’ is released. Portuguese colonies of Mozambique, Cape Verde and Angola gain their independence, ending, in the case of Cape Verde, 500 years of Portuguese presence. In August the Helsinki Accords are signed, they officially recognise Europe’s borders and respect for human rights, it’s seen as a significant step in reducing Cold War tensions. September and Rembrandt's painting The Night Watch is slashed a dozen times at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. UK classic sitcom, ‘Fawlty Towers’ airs for the first time. October 1st and Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match. On October 30th, General Francisco Franco in Madrid concedes is he too ill to govern, and Juan Carlos I of Spain becomes acting head of state. Franco dies on November 20th, beginning Spain’s transition to democracy. Once declared Spain’s King, Juan Carlos is head of state until his abdication in 2014. Oct 31st - Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is released. A vapor cloud explosion at a petroleum cracking facility in Geleen, Netherlands leaves 14 dead and 109 injured, with fires lasting for five days in November.

[@thereorderboard]

www.andtheconductoris.eu/ NED - Harry van Hoof Harry van Hoof especially remembers the hectic moments before going on stage: “Together with producer Fred Oster and commentator Willem Duys, I took a taxi from the hotel to the concert hall. I said to them: “We do not stand a chance of winning this - we have been drawn first and, by the time the jurors have to vote, they have long forgotten about us!” Well - how wrong can a man be? Meanwhile, the taxi driver took far too long to get us to the hall. It turned out he had misunderstood us, taking us in a totally wrong direction. Willem was the first to find out and he belted out some curses, telling the poor man to get us to the Eurovision venue right away. Can you imagine? We were due to open the show and I was nearly late to conduct the orchestra!” “A couple of days before the contest”, Van Hoof continues, “I had promised Dick Bakker I would jump into our hotel’s swimming pool wearing my smoking in case we would win the competition… and I kept my promise! Back in the hotel, we had a ball, even climbing the roof. Back in Holland, we discovered the weirdest photos of our celebrations had found their way to newspapers and magazines. At Schiphol Airport, we were given a heroes’ welcome. It was a nice feeling having played my own little role helping our representatives winning the contest, but I did not think of myself as a winner - Teach-In and Dick Bakker were the real winners. All the same, they showed their gratefulness to me abundantly. Teach-In was a group of very level-headed persons with a good sense of humour. I thought they thoroughly deserved their victory; ‘Ding-a-dong’ was a striking song in 100% Eurovision style.” “The early 1970s were a time when there were loads of creative people in the music industry in Holland”, Van Hoof continues, “which explains for part of the success many of our entries in Eurovision in those days. There was an amount of fresh ideas and inventiveness which seemed to be lacking later. In the case of ‘Ding-a-dong’, Dick Bakker had made a wise decision by pre-recording the rhythm section… the drums and guitars were visualised by the guys of Teach-In on stage anyway. He preferred playing safe, as he could not be sure in advance if the rhythm players of the Swedish Eurovision orchestra were good enough. It gave the members of our singing group some security, helping them pulling off a confident live performance. Perhaps ‘Ding-a-dong’ came close to the ideal festival song in the 1970s, but, realistically speaking, there is no concept for a Eurovision winner. If there was one, I would immediately compose one or two of them - no, seriously, I have never had the ambition to participate as a composer. In the Eurovision Song Contest, so many different people and cultures play a part in the voting that the outcome is totally unpredictable. Also bear in mind that Teach-In had the advantage of being allowed to perform their entry in English, which would not have been possible under the Eurovision rules of the 1980s or 1990s! The Dutch language with its many guttural consonants lacks the pleasant sound of English, French, or Spanish. Like the Scandinavians, we had a hard time of overcoming that problem in Eurovision for many years.”

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www.andtheconductoris.eu/ SUI - Peter Jacques The contest was and still is a stage which destroys artists’ careers before it has even begun. Sadly, in spite of her good result, Simone Drexel did not have any career to speak of in Switzerland afterwards. Having said all that, her song was not bad at all and I had no reason whatsoever to be ashamed being associated with her performance. I genuinely did my best to help her getting the best possible result. I never really considered the possibility of winning… I was always convinced that every song in such a competition could be the winner, as they sounded so much alike! www.andtheconductoris.eu/ ITA - Natale Massara I remember Silvio Noto was there as the commentator for Italian television - a famous name, but someone who I hadn’t met previously. It was nice to fraternise with him and others. One evening, our entire group ended up in a nightclub, attending a peepshow. Thinking back of it, the performance we saw there was rather innocent, something which would make a three-year-old child laugh nowadays… but it was a show the like of which in Italy would have caused a scandal in the 1970s. It was very obvious that in more than one way, Sweden was a much more liberal country than Italy.” “Please allow me to share with you one other memory of Stockholm!” Massara adds with a broad smile. “Probably my best memory of that festival! Like many other musicians of my generation, I was a huge fan of The Shadows. In fact, I even went to a concert by Cliff Richard and The Shadows in L’Olympia in Paris, which must have been back in 1961 or 1962. They were a huge inspiration to me and my fellow-bandmembers in I Ribelli… and all these years later, there I found myself, at one of the rehearsals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, sharing a dressing room with them! They were there to represent the United Kingdom. As the venue wasn’t big enough to allow everyone a separate dressing room, the organisation had put some participants from different countries together. In this room, there were just The Shadows and me. Incredible! Of course, I told them how I had idolised them fifteen years before. They took the time to have a chat with me, which was really nice.” In the end, ‘Era’ was awarded with 115 votes, finishing in a respectable third place behind Teach-In from the Netherlands and the runners up… The Shadows. Were the Italians happy with the result? “Oh yes, very much so,” Massara exclaims. “After having listened to all songs in general rehearsal, we agreed that there were some really good entries, but at the same time we started believing in our own chances. We were expecting to do well, perhaps even to win… and thinking of that possibility made us quite nervous, myself included - even more so because we were drawn last and had to wait for nearly two hours before we could finally perform. […] Nowadays, in San Remo, not only the conductor, but all musicians in the orchestra are wearing headphones which allow them to hear the click track, indicating the tempi by means of a metronome. They are simply playing what is already in their headphones. In such a situation, a conductor is superfluous - he is just there as a show element. A click robs an orchestral performance of any element of emotion or spontaneity; while intended to root out tiny imperfections in a performance, it has ruined music itself. I am dismayed to hear from you that there has been no orchestra in the Eurovision Song Contest for over twenty years now - that is very poor. A song festival without an orchestra, musically speaking, is the Third World. Punto. Basta!”

[@thereorderboard]

www.andtheconductoris.eu/ FRA - Jean Musy Musy, laughingly: “Frankly, I had completely forgotten about my flight to Stockholm and I was still asleep, blissfully unaware that the remainder of the French delegation was nervously waiting for me at the airport just outside Paris. It was Nicole Rieu’s producer, Claude Righi, who called me to ask why I was not there with them. I got dressed as quickly as I could and rushed from my home in Paris’ city-centre to the airport… I did not bring any luggage as there was no time to pack; I even forgot my wallet. Having arrived at the airport, I soon discovered that my passport was still at home. What to do? We decided to simply explain my situation to the custom-house officers and, to everybody’s surprise, they believed me and allowed me to board the plane. Same story upon arrival in Stockholm… when the officials on the airport there learnt I was there for the Eurovision Song Contest, they let me pass without further ado.” www.andtheconductoris.eu/ SWE - Matts Olsson Olsson’s preparations with the orchestra in the run-up to the contest were marred by opponents of the event: “In the 1970s, the left was very dominant in Sweden. People from such circles, with composer and journalist Roger Wallis as one of their ringleaders, tried to sabotage the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm in many different ways. They disliked the event, because, to their mind, it was only intended to make the ‘fat wallets of the record companies’ directors even fatter’ - as they put it. One of their schemes was to bully the orchestra musicians into refusing to work on the contest at all. I was told by the orchestra musicians that each of them had received a letter from the action group with this request. This was an official and very deliberate action, extensively covered by newspapers. Another plan was to organize an ‘Alternative Festival’ on the very same evening as the Eurovision Song Contest proper. As the contest’s musical director, responsible for this orchestra of seventy pieces, I was naturally asked for my opinion. I stated that it was unfair to intimidate musicians - most of all the freelancers who were added to the symphony orchestra and who were always looking for gigs to earn their money - into turning down the most attractive gig imaginable due to some obscure political idealism. In the end, just two out of all seventy orchestra musicians succumbed to the action group’s threats and left the orchestra. One of them was the guitarist, Janne Schaffer, who was very young at that time. So all in all, the vast majority of the orchestra went ahead with the preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest - and it genuinely was a fantastic group of professionals to work with! Nevertheless, this campaign was one of the reasons Sweden eventually withdrew from taking part in the 1976 contest in The Hague; the other was that, at that time, SR was dominated by people with far-left sympathies anyway.” www.andtheconductoris.eu/ MNC - André Popp The composer is quite reluctant to talk about this Eurovision participation: “What is the use of reminding people of that song? As far as I remember, we came last or second-last. I never decided I wanted to take part… I was invited by RMC to compose a song. They gave it to Sophie and she was no good. Why? Simply, because she was no good! She lacked the charisma and the voice to be a good singer. Sophie was a speakerine, a radio and TV announcer at RMC, and that was probably the only reason she was chosen. We recorded the song with her, but I do not believe that more than a couple of hundreds of copies were sold.”

[@mysticgirl916]

Fun fact: Five members of the Yugoslavian group Pepel in Kri would go on to be Toto Cutugno's backing singers at the 1990 contest in Zagreb for his song "Insieme: 1992"

[@berniedu7185]

I just discovered this there’s a few days ago.

[@kulera]

Really? I thought they were all Italian!

[@bostjansch5362]

Slovenians

[@nadirhajjour]

I really LOVE the postcards this year!! Really one of my favorites. I really think that Norway, Germany and Spain were underrated. I am from the Netherlands myself and I understood why it won - but the English version really has ridiculous lyrics compared to the original Dutch lyrics who were actually pretty sad. Italy and France really deserved their top 5! Swiizerland and Finland were very good as well!! Great year. :)

[@thereorderboard]

Yea I love how modern the postcards are! I've read that they were tiresome, but I think they are way ahead of their time!

[@jezt42]

Not everyone is a fan of 1975, but there are some interesting songs here. I love Teach-In’s winning effort (search KZbin for “Teach In Ding a Dong, Disco of the 80’s” to hear it sung in G minor!), but there are other curiosities too. Would the UK have got more points if the lead singer hadn’t fluffed his lines at the beginning? Perhaps. Joy Fleming representing Germany should never have got such a small score. She was a phenomenal singer, but I suspect the song was too modern for the judges’ ears in 1975. Or maybe it was political? Do check out “Joy Fleming, Bridge of Love” to hear her in full flow in English! The strangest song for me is France’s Nicole Rieu: the song is essentially Pachelbel’s Canon, but the studio recorded version is far, far better than the live version: the mics here don’t pick up the strings which are essential to the build of the song. It then begs the question: would France have done better if the mics had been balanced properly? Lastly, not everyone is a fan of host Karin Falck: ok, she’s no Katie Boyle, but she’s charming here and I find her quite delightful. The music over the end credits is very “Shaft”!! Anyway, the ReOrderBoard has done us proud again, another superlative effort! I do miss your background notes, which are always fascinating, but the graphics alone bring the show alive: I hadn’t realised how relatively close it was this year! 😊👍

[@thereorderboard]

Ah thank you...apologies, you should be seeing the description and the usual comments appear in the next few hours or so!

[@jezt42]

@@thereorderboard You star, thank you! Just enjoyed reading all the background notes: fascinating and enjoyable. 😊👍 Already looking forward to 1976: I love “Save Your Kisses for Me” although I can’t help feeling it hastened the advent of punk!! 😂

[@berniedu7185]

I really don’t get what you are saying about the French song in studio version…. Do I miss something ? About Germany I love the song but she’s screaming a bit too much here IMO. The one for me who’ve really been underrated is the sweat song from Norway. This is a mystery …

[@esczaman1299]

Beautiful presentation! I am excited for the 1976 version. All the best of luck!

[@quiquebellido2657]

I admire your work but the investigation behind and the wonderful comments on every video you upload are really great. Thanks everybody for it.

[@luukjoling1]

It made me so happy to see Teach-In at the 2020 ESC, 44 years of hurt indeed hahaha! Germany shouldve been in the top 10, what a song! Finland and Germany are my favorite songs, thanks again for the history and the stories!

[@FlavioGirl]

thanks for including the whole winning song and funky closing music :)

[@cungvureview9182]

Hello, I'm one of your first watchers and your scoreboard is extraordinary! Also after some kind of "lags" in the voting system in the early-70s contests we can finally return to this - the most classic voting system of all!

[@Starfilter1]

There's lots to enjoy with this first Swedish ESC production. The intro and postcards are more informal and fun than normal and the camera work is very good. SR must have been taking good notes in Brighton as their cameras are placed in similar positions to the stage, but there's a lot more movement - it looks really well. On the downside, the use of blue is almost oppressive and Karin Falck seems a little under-rehearsed (in a charming way). I do love that Danish poem though!

[@debonidaniel]

This is the first Eurovision in Sweden.After that,we just know the excelent work that SR/SVT does.

[@j.t.5178]

Yes, I agree the production for this contest was very good. I do agree on the use of too much blue. Honestly, if they overlaid any blue screen effects on the stage, everyone would just disappear! All I have to say about Karin Falck is "Bless Her." She was clearly nervous the entire show but did her best to overcome it. People stated that she seemed both distant and warm at the same time, and I got that as well. She seems like a very lovey lady. Although, "Can we give 3 points to the Turkey" is quite simply the best and most legendary quote in classic Eurovision history.

[@cdoakley]

Another fabulous scoreboard design that reeks of 1975 - well done!! Regarding the music, does anyone else think that the closing line of the UK's song is sung like the line in The Beatles' 'Hello Goodbye' where it goes 'Hela, heba helloa'? Very similar if you ask me... :) Also it was amusing during the Dutch reprise at the end that Teach In's drummer had given up pretending he was really playing those drums, and we didn't get to see the bell being tinkled at the end because (presumably) the first one got smashed... They obviously didn't expect to win!

Thank you so much for your videos ! Can't wait to reach the year 1977, the last time France won ;)

[@ttheone3518]

i like how you can kinda make out the commentary in the voting process, find that kinda charming also, really well done, i was interested to see how you would take this weird way of presenting the points, and you did it really well!

[@andrewwilson287]

This is awesome great Eurovision history, I miss old Eurovision. Excellent show in 1975, Teach in is a great song.

[@nadirhajjour]

OMG thank you will be watching now

[@Cilla0415]

1975 is my favorite year of the 70s. So many good songs, Germany, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Malta, United Kingdom, and Ireland. Even the weaker songs are good, Yugoslavia and Turkey. Keep up the great work as usual!

[@Starfilter1]

Thanks for another great board! I'm glad you worked in the black from the logo, this contest was already too blue (what's the point of colour television when everything is blue!). And I really like the way the display flashes between the points and the placement - you could imagine something like that actually working in 1975.

[@89moonboy]

The Belgium woman painted a super saiyan 😅 25:55

[@j.t.5178]

I was wondering when you were going to do 1975! This was such a strong year, with many countries being deserved top 10 placings. A very...blue year. I loved your integration of the logo into the scoreboard, and making it a little more readable. Yeah, I didn't understand why the fonts were so small on the scoreboard. There was so much empty space! Now that I think about it, they could have solved the problems with voting by song order with simply having a second slot for point allocation or do what you did and have lights on scoreboard that would turn off when a score was given to a country. As for the entries themselves, Spain, Germany, Yugoslavia, and Turkey were seriously underrated. Spain is my personal #1 that year. Either way, another great job! I cant wait for 1976 and 1977. Oh baby! 1977's voting was completely chaotic.

[@thesnesgeek]

No one is shouting about the 12 points or any other. Nothing bad about that, just odd not to hear it. Karin has one of the soothing voices in Eurovision history and her blue dress in magnifique. I want it for myself.

[@aknigge]

Here are my personal votes/rankings, i'am from the Netherlands 12 points: Italy - Wess & Dori Ghezzi - Era 10 points: Luxembourg - Geraldine - Toi 8 points: France - Nicole Rieu - Et bonjour à toi l'artiste 7 points: United Kingdom - The Shadows - Let me be the one 6 points: Israël - Shlomo Artzi - At Va' Ani 5 points: Belgium - Ann Christy - Gelukkig zijn 4 points: Yugoslavia - Pepel in kri - Dan ljubezni 3 points: Finland - Pihasoittajat - Old man fiddle 2 points: Norway - Ellen Nikolaysen - Touch my life (with summer) 1 point : Spain - Sergio & Estibaliz - Tú Volverás

[@JKMMOC]

As always... a fabulous 21st century recreation of the creaky 1975 scoring system. Well done. Just one tiny mention... each time France gets a score, up pops a picture of the Yugoslavian singer. Perhaps they were sisters? ;)

[@thereorderboard]

Dang. Even if I wasn't under time pressure I doubt I would have spotted that oversight. The original French image I had was too wide for the short space so I replaced it, but unintentionally put the other fuzzy haired lady in! They do look quite similar! Unfortunately even if I did a patch up job replacing it I think I've worked out it'd take 5 mins to render out the replacement image, another 5 to make the patch in the editing software. 30-75 mins to make frame perfect throughout. 2+ hours re-render. 2+ hours upload. All for something that took about 35 seconds to overlook! So we'll put this down as an easter egg, and congrats for finding it :-)

[@JKMMOC]

@@thereorderboard Nicole's red haired step sister works for me!

[@jayjayarray]

For some reason, I actually like or love how they gave their votes. Haha.

[@SchinniNobody]

Oh I missed you sooooo much!

[@mrjdsworld80]

And that is still the Sveriges Radio (SR) logo to this day! I think the 1975 contest logo is the only one that includes the date of the contest.

[@MiroHeinonen]

BTW, the contest logo includes the then-used logo of SR TV1 (nowadays SVT1), Sweden's first television channel.

[@johnwainwrigh7855]

Every time I hear Ding-a-dong it reduces me to tears

[@EldaMengisto]

Good job with this! I like how you used the logo for the overall base, and the font works here too. It's great, especially how we're in the 12-point era! 1975 was a good year, though any positive feelings of the contest came from the songs on top. The postcards were charming in particular, though the rest of the production was not up to par. To be fair, Sweden wasn't as enthusiastic about Eurovision as they are today. Finally, here are the results from yours truly!: 1 pt: LUX 2 pt: BEL 3 pt: NED (Admittedly, Ding-a-Dong is my least favorite 1970s winner, though I like it more than others in subsequent decades). 4 pt: SWE 5 pt: PRT 6 pt: FRA 7 pt: GBR (I love the rock-n-roll vibe of this one; would've made a better winner) 8 pt: GER: It could switch places with my fourth, but what a bolt of energy this song gives out! Joy is a true performer on stage, and the orchestration makes it better. I agree with all who suggest this deserved a higher score). 10 pt: TUR -- Similarly, Seninle bir Dakika has to be the most unfair last placing at Eurovision. Everything about Turkey's debut is gentle and sweet, and you could sense the innocence in it all. It feels like a hug. 12 pt: ITA -- However, Era was love at first listen, with the groovy strings and bluesy vibe. Everything about Era screams cool, from the playful lyrics to Wess and Dori's chemistry singing to each other. It's just too awesome to see (I'm surprised by how many 10s they got in the voting, haha). One of my absolute favorites from the 1970s.

[@lionnelpapon9993]

GREAT JOB

[@giovannimanchia1062]

Wess was the first (and the only one) black man to represent Italy. May he rest in peace 🙏

[@mrjdsworld80]

Poor Karin, she seemed like a nice lady but she was woefully out of her depth. Apparently she was/is a big name in Swedish television but more behind the camera instead of in front of it, and wasn’t really known as a presenter. The story I’ve heard is that she was given the job of hosting Eurovision to cheer her up since her husband had died the year before.

[@j.t.5178]

All I have to say is Bless her! It's not easy to host a show with hundreds of million people watching. She was clearly nervous the entire show, but it gave her a bit of an awkward charm around her. I want to give her a hug and tell her she's doing a great job! Either way, I think she did alright job. Interesting fact on how she got the job.

[@ariccua6101]

The only time LUX would vote in English in the Contest under the 12 points system... And to think they will return in a Contest held in Sweden.

[@mrjdsworld80]

I think this was the last contest where all the competing artists were credited in the closing credits, up to 1975 the credits always featured the names of the artists...”with Dolls” of course. That closing music sounds like it was taken from a movie with an 18 rating.

[@JeSuisRene]

Well, 1977 could have done so too, but we’ll never know…

[@Starfilter1]

Hmmm... That got me thinking - and I'm going to make an educated guess that the full 1977 credits wouldn't have featured the artists' names! The 'run the roller' cue would have been back timed so that the credits finish at the end of the reprise. It comes quite late in the song so they must have been quite short. On the other hand the artists names would have helped the situation in 1988 when the credits were cued too early!

[@vincentesc]

Imo it was one of the most forgettable year in terms of song but the winner is imo one of the best ever !

[@Amyangina]

1:18:05 Netherlands 12 points

[@JCEurovisionFan1996]

What font is used for the 1975 scoreboard? Also, please compile the projects into one .zip file.

[@dimivall]

Karin Falck was a sweet presenter even though the part of the voting it's not a good time from her

[@FlavioGirl]

awesome!!!! i cant wait for 1976 :D

[@JeSuisRene]

Does the UK commentary still exist to this? I’m struggling to find it on KZbin. Thank you!

[@Starfilter1]

The mid 70s is a great time for ESC songs! My favourite is France followed by Luxembourg (despite Geraldine's French accent - "twaaa!"). Germany and Switzerland are great as well, and I can certainly see the appeal of Netherlands and the UK.

[@mrjdsworld80]

1:21:13 - that’s some nice coordination. I assume Mr Brown’s assistants were SR staff, so perhaps there was a uniform for Karin and the assistants.

[@SalmonLee98]

i love how Netherland open the show and won the contest made rest of country were kust like a kind of "Interval Act" lol

[@ponyclub3198]

Same as 1984

[@DitzyNizzy2009]

I wonder if, back then, they thought we'd be using the same voting system almost half a century later (and, who knows, may also be used in the EBU-organised American Song Contest).

[@TheNathanj2009]

The Blue Eurovision. Italy should have won easily, by far the best that year.

[@fryede]

Does anyone know what ever became of all the paintings created for the postcards?

[@JeSuisRene]

You’ve left the UK entry almost intact, I think. One of my favourites from the UK; should have been a winner (well… that, Italy or Germany)

[@thereorderboard]

Yes true...Italy is entirely intact. Unusual, but I enjoyed them both!

[@JeSuisRene]

@@thereorderboard Interesting stat… Italy received 0 only from Netherlands, and United Kingdom received 0 only from Turkey.

[@michelski3528]

Could we have 3 points on the turkey please 😂

[@metinisler9135]

Keşke 3 puanı da vermeseydiniz. 😏

[@thomasnisbet3035]

What a strange year with great songs and some pure unadulterated robberies, most notably Yugoslavia and Turkey.

[@dynamoninja8510]

When is the 1976 voting will be upload!!

[@mike.a5726]

The presenter may look like she didn't really rehearsed( SVT would never nowdays🤣) but she's still very charming, funny and entertaining. A far cry from some stiff presenters( Not Katie Boyle of course) that preceded her or broken English humor-empty presenters that succeed her(The worst being Tuto, although 2012 presenters gave him a run for his money)

[@JeSuisRene]

Karin reminds me a lot of one of my lecturers for first semester at uni. A little out of her depth but someone who is funny and clearly puts in the effort.

[@debonidaniel]

If this voting was on the format used between 1980 to 2003 wich to be very tense from start to the end,as the UK and the Netherlands started at the first juries a two horse racing and wich had to end at the Italy jury.

[@JeSuisRene]

Were the captions during the show still being filmed physically and then placed on screen?

[@Starfilter1]

Yes, these are being shot live and overlaid. Electronic caption generators existed from the late 1960s but they were very rudimentary. I think 1979 was the first year they were used in the contest, and then 1982 by which time they were much more impressive.

[@wdym100]

The Turkish song was one of the best of the night…Europe showing its double standards as usual

[@lorofcb3]

The song was nice and I agree Turkey was often underrated, but I think it was a bit too quiet for that era.

[@toxr280]

No it wasn't

[@nadirhajjour]

The Dutch newspapers state France and the Netherlands as potential winners btw and said Germany and Belgium would end last!

[@thereorderboard]

I honestly think Germany might be the most underrated song of the entire Song Contest, 1956-to date!

[@nadirhajjour]

@@thereorderboard it was!! In the Netherlands it was a big hit covered in Dutch by Gerard Joling (ESC 1988)

[@quiquebellido2657]

@@thereorderboard Don’t forget Italy 1966

[@josecervantesochoa8807]

I would have liked Germany to win🥰 i like too Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Israel and Monaco🤩, greeting from México 🤗

[@martinbertilsson1654]

The word "Omröstningen" seems a bit odd.. Don´t know what you would like the have there... as it is now you have written "THE vote"... If it should been "Voting" it might been "röstande" but it don´t feel like correct swedish either...

[@JeSuisRene]

I fear the Netherlands’ entry is growing on me. I still find the lyrics to be rather poor though.

[@pierremorgat4713]

Last victory for the Nederlands before Duncan Laurence.

[@JeSuisRene]

I do like this year rather a lot. My points (I can now too move on to 1-12!) 1p 🇲🇹 Malta 2p 🇲🇨 Monaco 3p 🇹🇷 Turkey 4p 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 5p 🇫🇮 Finland 6p 🇫🇷 France 7p 🇪🇸 Spain 8p 🇮🇹 Italy 10p 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 12p 🇩🇪 Germany

[@wdym100]

How funny that the backup singers were recycled through some of the songs 😂

[@artsed08]

Non, un moment...

[@mkrsd_]

euro(politic)vision

[@Bungle-UK]

Germany should have won this

[@nadirhajjour]

The thumbnail when France gets votes looks like the Yugoslavian singer lol but could be me

[@michaeloreilly8215]

France again!!

[@nt8705]

im laughing with albania in second place hahahahhahaa..... literally u serious?

my opinion the uk should have won

[@jonathanbrett-warren2031]

The 'French' accent Geraldine has is terrible! 😂

[@celik2978]

0 puan türkiye'den ingiltere'ye 😉

[@TheNathanj2009]

The Maltese entry might the worst ever song in Eurovision history!

[@tobyrose6906]

She must've the worst. Hostess.

[@tobyrose6906]

Presentation. Dreadful. She ruined it .

[@JuvatVivere]

The host is terrible 😢

[@David.Lee-CM-THAI]

[@Amyangina]

1:18:07 Netherlands 12 points