The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the

Eurovision Song Contest 1976 The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was the 21st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song " Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In. Organised by the European Bro ...

. " Save Your Kisses for Me" won the national final, performed on stage with dance moves and four brightly dressed singers, it ultimately went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest itself.

Before Eurovision

A Song for Europe 1976

Following the lowest published figure known for the public vote in the UK finals that used either voting by mail or telephone in 1975 and the BBC's choice of

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

singing all the shortlisted songs, calls from the Music Publishers Association for the songwriters and composers to be allowed to select the artist of their choice to perform the songs in future UK selections for Eurovision led to an 'all-comers' final being reinstated in 1976. It was a reversion to the format used for UK finals from 1961-1963. Twelve songs were chosen by the Music Publisher's Association, with the songwriters choosing their own artist.

Final

The show took place on 25 February 1976 at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London. Michael Aspel (who had hosted the 1969 UK final) acted as presenter for the event.''Television's Greatest Hits'', Network Books, Paul Gambaccini and Rod Taylor, 1993. Fourteen regional juries voted on the songs: Bristol, Bangor, Leeds, Norwich, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff, Plymouth, Glasgow, Southampton and London. Each jury ranked the songs 1-12, awarding 12 points for their favourite down to 1 point for their least preferred. The songs were backed by the Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra. ''A Song for Europe'' was watched in 6.3 million homes (giving it a general viewing figure of 12.6 million viewers), and finishing as the 18th-most watched programme of the week. "Save Your Kisses for Me" won the national final and ultimately went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest itself. Host Michael Aspel did not name any of the jury spokespersons from the UK regions and none of them identified themselves by name, only naming the region they represented. Frank Ifield had taken part in the 1962 '' A Song for Europe'' contest in the UK, where he'd placed second. Polly Brown became the only artist to perform two songs in a multi-artist UK national final. Apart from her solo entry, Brown was also one half of the duo 'Sweet Dreams'. With a change in line-up, 'Co-Co' would return in the '' A Song for Europe 1978'' contest, which they would win and go on to represent the UK in the ''

Eurovision Song Contest 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 ...

''. The band featured

Cheryl Baker Rita Maria Stroud (''née'' Crudgington; born 8 March 1954), known professionally as Cheryl Baker, is an English singer and television presenter. She was a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, who won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest and now pe ...

who ultimately won Eurovision for the UK in 1981 with

Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and compr ...

. 'Sunshine' also returned two years later, also with a different line-up. Hazell Dean would return in the 1984 '' A Song for Europe'' contest.

Chart success

International singing stars

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles ch ...

and Jean Terrell (former lead singer of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

) both recorded and released versions of the song ''Do You Believe In Love At First Sight?'' despite the song's poor placing in the contest. Only the winning song reached the UK singles chart: "Save Your Kisses for Me" became a UK No.1 single, the group had a 2 further UK No.1 singles over the next 18 months. The track was the biggest selling single of 1976 in the UK and the sixth biggest selling for the 1970s in Britain, with sales well in excess of 1 million copies. Globally, the track attained sales of over 6 million, making it the biggest selling winning single in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official Celebration. Carlton Books Ltd (9 April 2015).

UK Discography

*Co-Co - ''Wake Up'': PYE 7N45567. *Polly Brown - ''Do You Believe In Love At First Sight?'': GTO GT54. *Dionne Warwick - ''Do You Believe In Love At First Sight?'': Warner Bros. WBS8419. *Brotherhood of Man - ''Save Your Kisses For Me'': PYE 7N45569. *Hazell Dean - ''I Couldn't Live Without You For A Day'': Decca F13622. *Champagne - ''A Love For All Seasons'': Thunderbird THE105. *Frank Ifield - ''Ain't Gonna Take No For An Answer'': Spark SRL1136. *Sunshine - ''Maria'': State STAT17. *Tammy Jones - ''Love's A Carousel'': Epic SEPC3980. *Joey Valentine - ''Going To The Movies'': Penny Farthing/Bellaphon BF18418. *Sweet Dreams - ''Love, Kiss And Run'': Bradley's BRAD7604. *Louisa Jane White - ''Take The Money And Run'': PYE 7N45568. *Tony Christie - ''Queen Of The Mardi Gras'': MCA MCA231.

At Eurovision

By scoring 164 points out of a possible maximum of 204, the UK achieved the highest relative score ever reached under the "Douze Points" voting system inaugurated in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1975 The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song " Waterloo" by ABBA. Organised by the European Broadcasting Un ...

and used ever since, with 80.40% of the possible score attained. No song has ever achieved this since, although previously in 1973, Luxembourg's winning entry scored 80.60% under a different voting system. Michael Aspel provided the television commentary for the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest for

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...

once again provided the radio commentary for

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

listeners and Andrew Pastouna provided commentary for British Forces Radio. Ray Moore acted as spokesperson for the UK Jury results.

Voting

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

"Save Your Kisses for Me" was one of fourteen Eurovision songs selected by fans to compete in the ''Congratulations'' 50th anniversary special in 2005. In spite of it and another British entry (" Congratulations") being among the participating songs, as well as the presence of

Katrina Leskanich Katrina Elizabeth Leskanich ( ; born April 10, 1960) is an American musician and the former lead singer of the pop rock band Katrina and the Waves. Their song " Walking on Sunshine" was an international hit in 1985. In 1997, the band won the E ...

(of the UK's victorious 1997 act

Katrina and the Waves Katrina and the Waves were a British rock band widely known for the 1985 hit " Walking on Sunshine". They also won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Love Shine a Light". History Pre-history (1975–1980) The band's earliest in ...

) as co-host, the United Kingdom did not broadcast ''Congratulations'' as they felt it wouldn't attract enough of an audience. They opted to create their own special, '' Boom Bang-a-Bang: 50 Years of Eurovision'', hosted by 1998 host and longtime British commentator

Sir Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekd ...

. The song was drawn to appear thirteenth in the running order, following " Hold Me Now" by Johnny Logan and preceding " My Number One" by

Helena Paparizou Helena Paparizou (; , ; born 31 January 1962) is a Swedish-born Greek singer, songwriter and television personality. Born and raised in Sweden to Greek parents, she enrolled in various arts schools before launching a career in Sweden in 1999 a ...

. At the end of the first round, "Save Your Kisses for Me" was announced as one of the five songs advancing to the final round. It was later revealed that the song finished fifth, scoring 154 points. "Save Your Kisses for Me" ultimately finished fifth in the final round, scoring 230 points (including, as in 1976, a maximum 12 from Israel).

Voting

Notes

References

External links

*
BBC's official Eurovision website
{{Congratulations (Eurovision) 1976 Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976

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 pri ...