The United Kingdom and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) held a national final titled "A Song for Europe 1981" to choose who would represent them in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981. "A Song for Europe 1981" was held on 11 March 1981 where Bucks Fizz was chosen with "

Making Your Mind Up "Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the , and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut sing ...

" as the entrant. At Eurovision, they placed first winning the competition with 136 points.

Before Eurovision

A Song for Europe 1981

The BBC reduced the number of finalists from twelve to eight in 1981.

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 ...

hosted the contest on 11 March. It was held at the Television Theatre. 581 songs were submitted to the Music Publisher's Association to pick eight songs. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of John Coleman as conductor accompanied all the songs, but all the music was pre-recorded. The show was the 16th most watched programme of the week with a rating of 12.4 million viewers, the highest for three years. Johnny Logan was scheduled to appear as a guest on the programme, but had to cancel shortly before the air date. Seven regional juries voted on the songs. The regional juries voted internally and awarded 15 points to their favourite song, 12 points to the second, 10 points to the third and then 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5 points in order of preference for the songs from 4th to 8th. Before the reprise, Terry Wogan incorrectly read the title of the winning song as "Where Are You Now." The prizes were presented by Wogan to John Danter, one of the songwriters, and to

Mike Nolan Michael Tullis Nolan (born March 7, 1959) is a former American football coach. Nolan previously served as a head coach for the San Francisco 49ers, and a defensive coordinator for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Washington Redskins ...

, one of the performers.

UK Discography

Unusually for the UK competition, three of the finalists reached the UK Singles Chart. ''Making Your Mind Up'' spent three weeks at number one, whilst the runner-up, ''Don't Panic!'' reached number 42 at more-or-less the same time. ''Have You Ever Been in Love?'' was a UK no.10 hit for

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

in 1982, also reaching no.4 in Australia. The track was covered by many other artists, including

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His ...

and

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

. ''For Only A Day'' was later used as the theme song for the 1983 '' Miss World'' contest, performed live by all the contestants during the broadcast. *Gary Benson – ''All Cried Out'': Warner Bros./WEA K17773. *Unity – ''For Only A Day'': Epic A1066. *Beyond – ''Wish'': Radioactive RAD102. *Bucks Fizz – ''Making Your Mind Up'': RCA PB5339. *Paris – ''Have You Ever Been in Love?'': RCA PB5475. *Leo Sayer – ''Have You Ever Been in Love?: Chrysalis CHS2596 (1982). *Liquid Gold – ''Don't Panic'': Polo POLO12-8.

At Eurovision

1981 was the year that Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom with their song "

". It received 136 points from the 19 juries, beating

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Lena Valaitis Lena Valaitis (born 7 September 1943) is a Lithuanian–German schlager singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. Early life and education Valaitis was born on 7 Se ...

with the song " Johnny Blue". Members of the British jury included Norman Harper, S. Andrew, David Bratt, P. Green, A. Harmann, J.P. Robinson, D. Ruteledge, S. Tapper, I. Tyler, G. Wallbank, and Conor E. Young.

Voting

References

External links

Bucks Fizz Official Website
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1981

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 Eurovision Eurovision