1981 Eurovision Song Contest In Dublin Full Show (English Commentary by Terry Wogan)

Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Date: 4 April 1981
Host Venue: RDS Simmonscourt - Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland
Presenter: Doireann Ní Bhriain
Musical director: Noel Kelehan
Directed by Ian McGarry
Executive supervisor: Frank Naef
Executive producer: Noel D Greene
Host broadcaster: Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)
Interval act: "Timedance" performed by Planxty featuring dance performance by the 'Dublin City Ballet'

The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following Johnny Logan's win at the 1980 contest in The Hague, Netherlands with the song "What's Another Year". It was the second time the contest took place in Ireland, after 1971. The contest was held at the RDS Simmonscourt on Saturday 4 April 1981, and was hosted by Doireann Ní Bhriain.

Twenty countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the 1978 edition. Cyprus made their début this year, while Israel, and Yugoslavia both returned, after their one-year and five-year absence, respectively. Morocco and Italy, which had both participated the year prior, decided not to enter.

The winner was the United Kingdom with the song "Making Your Mind Up", performed by Bucks Fizz, written by Andy Hill and John Danter. This was the United Kingdom's fourth victory in the contest, following their wins in 1967, 1969 , and 1976. Germany finished second for the second consecutive year, while France finished third. Norway finished last, with its third nul points.

Bucks Fizz's performance on the Eurovision stage included a dance-routine where the two male members ripped the skirts off the two female members only to reveal mini-skirts, and today stands as one of the defining moments in the contest's history.

Runner-up Lena Valaitis was in good spirits while talking to the press following the contest and largely unconcerned about losing. Swedish singer Björn Skifs however was more outspoken saying; "This was not a song contest, it was a show – all these dancing girls, they take away from the songs. I also think there should be a change in the rules to allow us to sing in English. Then we would really be able to compete." Harald Tusberg, head of light entertainment for Norwegian television was upbeat about Norway's 'nul points' result as he claimed that their entry would be remembered above many others; "Who remembers who came second or third – people will remember us!". Finn Kalvik himself conceded graciously saying that he had enjoyed the week's holiday.
Germany, who had never won the contest up to this point, were becoming increasingly frustrated with their second placings in this and the previous year's contest and made a concerted effort for the following year. This was to pay off, as in 1982 they finally clinched their first victory which was achieved in an overwhelming manner.
Decades later, Debbie Cameron, who represented Denmark with Tommy Seebach, revealed in a book about Seebach that she was contacted by a BBC employee, who told her that Bucks Fizz's victory was planned. According to the employee, he had witnessed how BBC technicians had sabotaged the sound checks during the rehearsal of the Danish, the Israeli and the Western German performances. This claim however ignores the fact that the BBC did not host the 1981 Contest.
On August 22, 1981, the town of Mysen in Norway held a televised, live concert to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the contest, despite the recent 26th edition. The show Songs of Europe featured all but eight of the former winners of the contest, although one of the missing winning artists, Teddy Scholten, attended the event but did not perform.
Results
Draw Country Artist Song Language Place Points
01 Austria Marty Brem "Wenn du da bist" German 17 20
02 Turkey Modern Folk Üçlüsü & Ayşegül "Dönme Dolap" Turkish 18 9
03 Germany Lena Valaitis "Johnny Blue" German 2 132
04 Luxembourg Jean-Claude Pascal "C'est peut-être pas l'Amérique" French 11 41
05 Israel Hakol Over Habibi "Halayla" Hebrew 7 56
06 Denmark Tommy Seebach & Debbie Cameron "Krøller eller ej" Danish 11 41
07 Yugoslavia Seid Memić Vajta "Lejla" Serbo-Croatian 15 35
08 Finland Riki Sorsa "Reggae OK" Finnish 16 27
09 France Jean Gabilou "Humanahum" French 3 125
10 Spain Bacchelli "Y sólo tú" Spanish 14 38
11 Netherlands Linda Williams "Het is een wonder" Dutch 9 51
12 Ireland Sheeba "Horoscopes" English 5 105
13 Norway Finn Kalvik "Aldri i livet" Norwegian 20 0
14 United Kingdom Bucks Fizz "Making Your Mind Up" English 1 136
15 Portugal Carlos Paião "Playback" Portuguese 18 9
16 Belgium Emly Starr "Samson" Dutch 13 40
17 Greece Yiannis Dimitras "Feggari kalokerino" Greek 8 55
18 Cyprus Island "Monika" Greek 6 69
19 Switzerland Peter, Sue and Marc "Io senza te" Italian 4 121
20 Sweden Björn Skifs "Fångad i en dröm" Swedish 10 50

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