United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982

A Song for Europe 1982

Terry Wogan once again hosted the contest, held on March 24th. Eight songs were shortlisted from those submitted to the Music Publishers Association.

Q-Feel opened the contest with a high-speed dance number called 'Dancing in Heaven (Orbital Be-Bop)'. Aided by dancers called Frankie and Foxy, the song, many years later, became a minor hit in the USA in a techno remix. In 1989 the song reached #75 in the Billboard Hot 100.

By 1982 Paul Curtis was something of a veteran of the UK selection but this was his first appearance as a solo singer. He performed a mid-tempo song called 'No Matter How I Try'.

Song three was 'Every Step of the Way' sung by The Touring Company, a six-piece vocal group. The song was uptempo in style.

Paul Curtis and Tony Hiller were responsible for 'Diff'rent worlds, diff'rent people' performed by three girls and a boy named Lovin' Feeling. Among the performers was lead singer Bobby McVey who would find success in the 1983 contest with Sweet Dreams.

The pre-contest favourite was 'Every Day of My Life' sung by Good Looks. This group followed the standard Eurovision format of two boys and two girls. Indeed one of the ladies, Lavinia Rodgers, had previously sung backing vocals at the Eurovision Song Contest for her sister, Clodagh, in 1971. The song itself was professionally performed and had the right number of key changes to appeal to the Eurovision jury. However, a year after the Bucks Fizz victory, was the UK likely to send another indentikit group?

Next up was the only female soloist in the contest, Rich Gypsy (real name Kay Webber). 'You're the only good thing in my life' was catchy and well-performed yet it proved to be highly unpopular with the regional juries.

A duo called Bardo performed the Simon Jeffries composition, 'One Step Further'. The two members were Sally Ann Triplett and Stephen Fischer. Triplett had previously represented the UK before, finishing third in 1980 as a member of Prima Donna. 'One Step Further' was catchy but perhaps relied too heavily on a fussy dance routine.

Finally, a family group called The Weltons with another Paul Curtis composition, 'How Long'. Arguably the whole package seemed a little dated for 1982.

The Voting

The regional juries awarded the traditional 15,12,10,9,8,7,6 and 5 points in order of preference. The juries were based in Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast, London, Manchester and Cardiff. Bardo were victors of this close contest scoring 76 points. The Touring Company and Good Looks tied for second place with 69 points. Paul Curtis and Lovin' Feeling both scored 60 points and were followed in sixth place by Q-Feel. That left The Weltons in seventh place with 58 points and Rich Gypsy last with 53.

Eurovision Song Contest 1982

Since Bucks Fizz won the Contest in 1981, the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Harrogate and presented by Jan Leeming. The UK entered Bardo with 'One Step Further' but it took several steps back based on the 1981 success as it only gained 76 points and was positioned seventh over all, despite being in the top three for most of the point awarding.

Germany won with Nicole's "A Little Peace".