…which is ‘Dublin: Saturday, 3rd April 1971′ in Czech.
As I commence writing the Eurovision Song Contest was in full flow at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, with France’s Séverine – born 10th October 1948, in Paris, real name, Josiane Grizeau – on course for victory, but in this instance representing Monaco.
To celebrate the half-century of this auspicious event I have, this very evening, recorded and uploaded to YouTube a video of my copy. Here it is – the first recording I have taken off my stereo system in the ‘study’ at the back of the house, making the reproduction rather less ‘spacey’ than it had been in the much larger living room! The following are the musical credits for my very favourite ever Eurovision Song Contest Winner:
Music: Jean-Pierre Bourtayre
Lyrics: Yves Dessca
Arranged and conducted by Jean-Claude Petit
Here are the final placings of the Contest.
It’s quite notable that there are three big female solo artists occupying the 1-2-3 ‘podium’, with our very own Clodagh Rodgers completing a quartet thereof! This has previously been alluded to in that strange thing, a ‘Girls Of The Golden East’ Blog post where the former Eastern Bloc gets a mention only in passing. Also, in those days when top marks were «dix points» not «douze points», the contestant that got a ‘ten’ from the United Kingdom jury, Finland’s Markku Aro and Koivisto Sisters, with ‘Tie uuteen päivään’ (‘The Way To A New Day’), managed a very respectable eighth place!
This is a very opportune moment at which to introduce a new ‘Girl Of The Golden East’, Jana Matysová, born on 7th May 1952 in the north of the present-day Czech Republic, in Náchod, near the frontier with Poland, since she has the distinction of being the artist from the former Czechoslovakia chosen to take on this gigantic song, with her cover, ‘Hloupí kluci’ (‘Crazy Boys’), with the following musical credits:
Czech-language lyrics: Pavel Cmíral
Instrumental accompaniment: Orchestr studio Brno, conducted by Erik Knirsch.
…and as I finish compiling this ‘Girls Of The Golden East’ Blog post, Séverine was perhaps on the point of making the valedictory performance of ‘Un banc, un arbre, une rue’, which is a very good place at which to sign off for the evening!
Mes félicitations, Séverine…a gratuluji, paní Janko!