VENUE Palais de Beaulieu, Lausanne		ENTRIES 22
HOSTS Lolita Morena Jacques Deschenaux		DEBUTS None

The last contest of the Eighties is perhaps most memorable for being the absolute nadir for little-brat performers, both Israel and France submitting child singers to deliver their songs. There was a rumour going around that the contest had been pre-recorded and that Israel's song had won. Total nonsense of course, but some heavy bets were apparently placed (and lost) on Gili and Galit.  The contest was also memorable for several of the performers being dressed up like contents of a box of Quality Street. 

A novel staging device was employed during the Danish entry as, halfway through the song, conductor Henrik Krogsgaard passed his baton to a sub and strode onto the stage, joining in as a backing singer/dancer. The impossibly old fashioned song romped to a top three position (pretty much the norm for the Danes at the time), once more emphasizing how cutting-edge Eurovision could be as we approached the Nineties. 

This contest produced perhaps the least popular (and obvious) winner ever in "Rock Me Baby". It was great for Yugoslavia to win after a couple of top six results the previous two years, but what appeal the song has has remained a mystery to most of us the last two decades.  The general concensus is that the song benefited from being performed last after the preceding orgy of ballads good and bad.

Voting

IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK:

Hungary opens it's borders to Western Europe, precipitating the fall of the Iron Curtain. 

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