United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973

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United Kingdom in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1973

Eurovision Song Contest 1973
Participating broadcaster| British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Country|  United Kingdom
Selection process| Artist: Internal selection
Song: A Song for Europe 1973
Selection date| 24 February 1973
Competing entry
Song| "Power to All Our Friends"
Artist| Cliff Richard
Songwriters|

* Guy Fletcher
* Doug Flett

Placement
Final result| 3rd, 123 points
Participation chronology
| ◄1972 • | 1973 | • 1974►

|
|

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1973 with the song "Power to All Our Friends", written by Guy Fletcher and Doug Flett, and performed by Cliff Richard. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally. Richard had previously represented the United Kingdom in 1968.

## Before Eurovision

[edit]

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Find sources: "United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2025)

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### A Song for Europe 1973

[edit]

The show was held on 24 February 1973 and presented by Cilla Black as part of her BBC1 series Cilla. Cliff Richard performed all of the six finalists in the final, where the performances were then immediately repeated. He had previously performed one of the songs weekly in the run up to the final. Richard had been permitted to choose two songs for the shortlist of 12 entries, from which a panel including his manager and producer selected the final six. Viewers cast votes by postcards through the mail to choose the winning song and "Power to All Our Friends" was the winner with 125,505 votes, very nearly four times the score of the runner-up "Come Back Billie-Jo" which polled 34,209.

A Song for Europe 1973 – 24 February 1973[1] Draw  | Song  | Songwriter(s)  | Votes  | Place

|
|
|
|

1  | "Come Back, Billie Jo"  | Mitch Murray, Tony Macaulay | 34,209  | 2
2  | "Ashes to Ashes"  | Tony Cole | 17,116  | 6
3  | "Tomorrow Rising"  | Mike Hawker, Brian Bennett | 21,868  | 4
4  | "The Days of Love"  | Dougie Wright, Alan Hawkshaw | 18,304  | 5
5  | "Power to All Our Friends"  | Guy Fletcher, Doug Flett | 125,505  | 1
6  | "Help It Along"  | Christopher Neil | 25,369  | 3

### Chart success

[edit]

Both of the Top 2 songs were released as the A & B-Sides of a single, which reached No.4 in the UK singles chart, Cliff's first top 5 hit since "Congratulations" in 1968 and his last until 1979. For the first and only time in the history of the contest, all the entries from the UK final reached the UK singles chart. Following the release of the top two songs, the remaining four were issued as an extended play Eurovision Special single, which reached No.29 in the charts later in the year. The lead track, "Help It Along" was later released as the title track of Cliff's 1974 live album of Christian gospel music. All six songs were eventually made available on CD compilations. Richard recorded German, Spanish and French versions of the winning song. Eurovision Song Contest 1971 winner Séverine reached No.46 in the French singles chart with her French-language version of the song, "Il faut chanter la vie".

## At Eurovision

[edit]

"Power to All Our Friends" placed 3rd in the Eurovision Song Contest.[2] The 1973 contest became the most watched Eurovision Song Contest in the UK, with 23.54 million watching Cliff Richard perform in Luxembourg, almost 1 million more viewers than the record set in 1972. For the second year running, the contest was the No.1 rated TV show for the entire year in the UK.[citation needed]

This was also the first Eurovision Song Contest where Terry Wogan provided the BBC television commentary, having previously provided the BBC radio commentary for the 1971 Contest. Pete Murray returned for the fourth time to provide the radio commentary for BBC Radio 1 and 2 listeners. The contest was seen by about 9.8 million viewers.[3]

Each participating broadcaster appointed two jury members, one below the age of 25 and the other above, who voted by giving between one and five points to each song, except that representing their own country. All jury members were colocated in a television studio in Luxembourg. The jury members from the United Kingdom were Catherine Woodfield and Pat Williams.[4]

### Voting

[edit]

Points awarded to the United Kingdom[5] | Score  | Country

|

10 points  |

*  Luxembourg
*  Netherlands

9 points  |

*  Finland
*  Ireland
*  Israel
*  Sweden

8 points  |

*  France
*  Monaco
*   Switzerland
*  Yugoslavia

7 points  |

*  Germany
*  Norway

6 points  |

*  Belgium
*  Portugal

5 points  |  Italy
4 points  |  Spain
3 points  |
2 points  |
Points awarded by the United Kingdom[5] | Score  | Country

|

10 points  |  Luxembourg
9 points  |

*  Finland
*  Monaco

8 points  |
7 points  |

*  Sweden
*   Switzerland

6 points  |
5 points  |

*  Belgium
*  France
*  Germany
*  Ireland
*  Israel
*  Italy
*  Portugal

4 points  |

*  Spain
*  Yugoslavia

3 points  |

*  Netherlands
*  Norway

2 points  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 99–112\. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
2. ^ "Final of Luxembourg 1973". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
3. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest tops ratings". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. 14 April 1973. p. 14. Retrieved 19 March 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn, United Kingdom: Telos Publishing. pp. 60, 124. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
5. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Luxembourg 1973". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.

* v
* t
* e

United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

National selection (former; contestants)

Participation|

* 1957
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Artists|

* Andy Abraham
* Olly Alexander
* The Allisons
* Michael Ball
* Bardo
* Belle and the Devotions
* Black Lace
* Blue
* Patricia Bredin
* Brotherhood of Man
* Bucks Fizz
* Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson
* Ronnie Carroll
* Co-Co
* Josh Dubovie
* Electro Velvet
* Emma
* Jade Ewen
* Scott Fitzgerald
* James Fox
* Nicki French
* Jessica Garlick
* Gina G
* Mary Hopkin
* Engelbert Humperdinck
* Imaani
* Samantha Janus
* Javine
* Jemini
* Joe and Jake
* Bryan Johnson
* Lucie Jones
* Katrina and the Waves
* Kathy Kirby
* Lindsay
* Live Report
* Love City Groove
* Lulu
* Kenneth McKellar
* Molly
* Matt Monro
* Mike Moran
* Mae Muller
* The New Seekers
* James Newman
* Olivia Newton-John
* Lynsey de Paul
* Precious
* Prima Donna
* Remember Monday
* Michael Rice
* Cliff Richard
* Rikki
* Clodagh Rodgers
* Frances Ruffelle
* Ryder
* Sam Ryder
* Daz Sampson
* Scooch
* The Shadows
* Sandie Shaw
* Sonia
* SuRie
* Sweet Dreams
* Bonnie Tyler
* Vikki

Songs|

* "All"
* "Are You Sure?"
* "The Bad Old Days"
* "Beg, Steal or Borrow"
* "Believe in Me"
* "Better the Devil You Know"
* "Bigger than Us"
* "Boom Bang-a-Bang"
* "Children of the Universe"
* "Come Back"
* "Congratulations"
* "Cry Baby"
* "Dizzy"
* "Don't Play That Song Again"
* "Embers"
* "Even If"
* "Flying the Flag (For You)"
* "Give a Little Love Back to the World"
* "Go"
* "Hold On to Our Love"
* "I Belong"
* "I Can"
* "I Love the Little Things"
* "I Wrote a Song"
* "I'm Never Giving Up"
* "It's My Time"
* "Jack in the Box"
* "Knock, Knock Who's There?"
* "Let Me Be the One"
* "Long Live Love"
* "Looking High, High, High"
* "Love City Groove"
* "Love Enough for Two"
* "Love Games"
* "Love Is..."
* "Love Shine a Light"
* "Love Will Set You Free"
* "Making Your Mind Up"
* "A Man Without Love"
* "Mary Ann"
* "A Message to Your Heart"
* ~~"My Last Breath"~~
* "Never Give Up on You"
* "No Dream Impossible"
* "One Step Further"
* "One Step Out of Time"
* "Only the Light"
* "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"
* "Power to All Our Friends"
* "Puppet on a String"
* "Ring-A-Ding Girl"
* "Rock Bottom"
* "Runner in the Night"
* "Save Your Kisses for Me"
* "Say It Again"
* "Say Wonderful Things"
* "Sing, Little Birdie"
* "Space Man"
* "Still in Love with You"
* "Storm"
* "Teenage Life"
* "That Sounds Good to Me"
* "Touch My Fire"
* "We Will Be Free (Lonely Symphony)"
* "What the Hell Just Happened?"
* "Where Are You?"
* "Why Do I Always Get It Wrong"
* "You're Not Alone"

* Note: Entries scored out signify where the United Kingdom did not compete. Italics indicate an entry in a future contest.
* See also: UK Eurovision discography

* v
* t
* e

Eurovision Song Contest 1973

Countries|

| Final|

* Belgium
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Ireland
* Israel
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Portugal
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* Yugoslavia

|

Withdrawn|

* Malta

Artists|

* Bendik Singers
* Martine Clémenceau
* Zdravko Čolić
* Ben Cramer
* Anne-Marie David
* Gitte
* Ilanit
* Patrick Juvet
* Marie
* Maxi
* Mocedades
* Nicole and Hugo
* Nova and the Dolls
* Massimo Ranieri
* Cliff Richard
* Marion Rung
* Fernando Tordo

Songs|

* "Baby, Baby"
* "Chi sarà con te"
* "Do I Dream"
* "Eres tú"
* "Ey Sham"
* "Gori vatra"
* "It's Just a Game"
* "Je vais me marier, Marie"
* "Junger Tag"
* "De oude muzikant"
* "Power to All Our Friends"
* "Sans toi"
* "Tom Tom Tom"
* "Tourada"
* "Un train qui part"
* "Tu te reconnaîtras"
* "You're Summer"

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