Luxembourg was represented by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

singer

France Gall Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall (9 October 1947 – 7 January 2018), known professionally as France Gall, was a French ''yé-yé'' singer. In 1965, aged 17, she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg. Between 1973 and 1992, s ...

, with the song " Poupée de cire, poupée de son", at the

1965 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was the tenth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Naples, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "Non ho l'età" by Gigliola Cinquetti. Organised by the European ...

, which took place on 20 March in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. The song, composed by

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

, was chosen internally by broadcaster RTL and went on to bring Luxembourg their second Eurovision victory. "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" is considered one of the most significant and influential songs in Eurovision history, as its victory proved that a thoroughly up-to-the-minute song performed by a trendy young artist could be just as successful as the more traditional style of song and performer which had previously dominated the contest. Its success is said to have finally dragged Eurovision into the 1960s and changed the direction of the whole event. Its influence was apparent immediately, as the 1966 contest saw many more countries sending entries in a contemporary pop style than had ever been the case before. The only slight controversy following the win was a degree of reproach from the French media and public towards Gainsbourg and Gall for having submitted this song to represent Luxembourg rather than France.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Gall performed 15th in the running order, following

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and preceding

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Gall's pert and gamine performance has since become one of the most famous and widely-shown in Eurovision history. In the voting "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" led from start to finish, gaining 32 points and winning by a 6-point margin over another very contemporary song by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's Kathy Kirby. The Luxembourgian jury awarded its 5 points to Denmark, who had arguably the most old-fashioned song of the night.ESC History - Luxembourg 1965
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Voting

''Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest''

"Poupee de cire, poupée de son" was one of the fourteen Eurovision songs chosen by fans to compete in the ''Congratulations'' 50th anniversary special in 2005. Gall did not appear at the event, nor did Luxembourg (who withdrew from competing in Eurovision after 1993) broadcast it. The song appeared ninth in the running order, following "

Fly on the Wings of Love "Fly on the Wings of Love" is a song by Danish pop-rock duo Olsen Brothers, which was the winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2000, performing for in English. The song was performed fourteenth on the night, following 's Serafín Zubiri with " Col ...

" by the

Olsen Brothers Olsen Brothers ( da, Brødrene Olsen) are a Danish rock/pop music duo, formed by brothers Jørgen (born 15 March 1950) and Niels "Noller" Olsen (born 13 April 1954), both from Odense, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. They formed their f ...

and preceding " Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Like the other songs on the evening, it was represented by dancers performing alongside video footage of Gall's original performance. At the end of the first round, "Poupee de cire, poupee de son" was not announced as one of the five songs proceeding to the second round. It was later revealed that the song finished fourteenth and last, scoring 37 points (five more than her winning score in 1965).

Voting

References

{{Congratulations (Eurovision)

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...