An edited down version of the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 once again from (this time stormy) Cannes with a scoreboard using today’s technology. This all started as a lockdown project!
This edit will give a flavour of the evening (Saturday 18th March) with commentary from the BBC’s Tom Sloan.
I expect as Eurovision returned to Cannes fans might have asked ‘can anyone other than France or the Netherlands win this year?!’ The obvious answer is ‘yes, Luxembourg’, but in truth the winner was composed, sung and written by Frenchmen. As the fourth French language song (out of possible 6) took the prize, I expect too, that the meaning of the lyrics washed over the audience like the waves on the beach outside.
As I started this project in the 80s, my first edit of Jean-Claude Pascal was in 1981 (Wogan doesn’t even mention his win in his commentary). In Chris West’s Eurovision book, he uses the entry to talk about the state of LGBT rights in Europe…I felt he might have been jumping the gun: yes, the lyrics suggest a forbidden love affair that will hopefully be allowed to be public someday soon but I, naively, like the 1961 audience, just thought he was talking about someone who was married/divorced. The lyrics do not reveal any genders, which I think is very telling. An article by Belgian broadcaster RTBF in 2019 (French) claims that Pascal recognised the double meaning of the lyrics: that it was about a gay relationship.
Of course, some will say this all conjecture, and not verifiable, but the lyrics do fit well: “He [God] gave us the right, To be happy and to be joyful together” is the most moving line, I think. Only the acting circles of Paris knew of Jean-Claude’s sexuality and therefore I can’t find evidence to say he ever came out, but it was suggested that actor Jean Chevrier was his lover. Jean-Claude died in 1992, single and childless (unlike so many other gay men of the time) having had a remarkable life as a soldier, stylist at Hermès and Christian Dior, actor, singer, writer and of course, Eurovision Song Contest winner.
The 1957 Wolfenden Report in the UK had already suggested homosexuality be decriminalised but at the time of the contest, nearly half the countries in the Contest had laws against it including the UK, who hadn’t yet changed anything yet.
1961 really feels like Eurovision has come of age as a competition, with a greater variety of styles and there was also a big name on show: Lale Andersen for Germany. She had been a massive war-time star, transcending the front lines to even be popular with Allied troops. Tom Sloan mentions her meeting her wartime rival, Vera Lynn during the week. At 56 (she was born in the German Empire, 1905) she remained the oldest contestant for over 45 years, until ’75 Cents’ stepped on stage for Croatia in 2008 (remember him?!). Unfortunately, Eurovision tends to like creating international success, rather than celebrating it, and she finished thirteenth. Italy (=5), once again, with a gorgeous song had some commercial success with a cover of the song later in the year, that charted 6th in the US.
There was also a couple of happenings that would have had us all gasping if they’d happened in the 2021: firstly a whole chunk of the scoring with a mistake on the leader’s total. So odd that the board operators and Sloan came to the same arithmetical conclusion that 11+7 = 22? And secondly, imagine the BBC ending coverage early because it had (a forerunner of) Match of The Day on!
*DESIGN AND THE BOARD*
There were a few improvements to the 1959 staging as each broadcaster picked up a trick or two from the previous. The opening of RTF’s show looked very similar, Jacqueline (HOW MANNAYY) Joubert took the title of first to host the Contest twice too. That stage though! One of the most ornate, complex ever, it seemed to serve little purpose, apart from the interval act…none of the singers utilised it. For my approach then, I wheeled out the 59 board, removed the grey and added some dramatic pictures of garden statues…it’s potentially too grand, but I don’t think (in terms of setting) we get much grander than Cannes! In terms of typefaces, I’ve stuck exactly to 59, and I’ve reverted to a two-column board. I’ll stick with this from now one, apart from for 1970.
*TRANSFER NEWS* (source: Wiki)
OUT: None.
IN: FIN, ESP, YUG. More in the comments.
BACK: None.
Total = 13 +3 = 22?...16.
*INTERVAL ACT*
RTF thought they could do a presentation of the singers, an interval act and have 5 extra songs compared to 1959 and still fit into 80 mins…hmn. Some ballet from Paris!
*CREDITS*
@ESC Stuff for the show upload (commentary), @NATI NATAN for sound/NTS
Flags: countryflags.com
All Copyright belongs to RTF/BBC/NOS.
Statues from unsplash.com: Emma Fabbri, Mark Fletcher-Brown, Pavel-Nekoranec
00:00 Intro
04:12 Song super-cut
22:31 Interval
22:52 Voting intro
23:25 The reorder board 61
41:34 Recap, data & reprise
