"Colorado" was the entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1979 The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised by the Euro ...

, performed in Dutch by the six-piece group Xandra, fronted by

Sandra Reemer Barbara Alexandra "Sandra" Reemer (17 October 1950 – 6 June 2017) was an Indo-Dutch singer and television presenter. She represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest on three occasions, tying with Corry Brokken for most appeara ...

. This was Reemer's third Eurovision entry; in 1972 she had finished 4th with " Als het om de liefde gaat", as part of the duo Sandra & Andres, and in 1976 9th with " The Party's Over", then as a solo artist. "Colorado" was written by brothers Rob & Ferdi Bolland and

Gerard Cox Gerardus Antonius "Gerard" Cox (born 6 March 1940, Rotterdam) is a Dutch singer, cabaret artist, actor, and director. For fifteen years, he played the lead character of the Dutch sitcom '' Toen Was Geluk Heel Gewoon''. Life In 2018, Cox had a l ...

. Internationally

Bolland & Bolland Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers and brothers, Rob Bolland (born 17 April 1955) and Ferdi Bolland (born 5 August 1956). They were born in Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Career The duo produced and wrote for such artists as F ...

are arguably best known for writing and recording the original version of

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

's 1986 hit " In the Army Now" (#1 Austria & Switzerland, #2 UK, France & Norway, #6 Sweden, #15 The Netherlands). Xandra recorded the song in three languages: the original Dutch, English and German – all with the same title. The song was performed fourteenth on the night, following 's Jeane Manson with "

J'ai déjà vu ça dans tes yeux The Eurovision Song Contest 1979 was the 24th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Jerusalem, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Organised by the Europe ...

" and preceding 's Ted Gärdestad with " Satellit". At the close of voting, it had received 51 points, placing 12th in a field of 19. Despite its moderate success in the Contest, "Colorado" was one of four entries to become a Top 10 hit in Sweden in 1979, the three others being the Swedish "Satellit", the Israeli winner "

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

" and Germany's "

Dschinghis Khan Dschinghis Khan (; "Genghis Khan") is a German Eurodisco Pop music, pop band. It was originally formed in Munich in Eurovision Song Contest 1979, 1979 to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Dschinghis Khan (song), Dschinghis K ...

". The English version of "Colorado" peaked at #9 and spent a total of 10 weeks on the Swedish singles chart. Furthermore, "Colorado" was covered in Swedish by singer Barbro 'Lill-Babs' Svensson, who previously had represented Sweden at the 1961 contest with "

April, april Sweden was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 with the song "", composed by Bobbie Ericsson, with lyrics by Bo Eneby, and performed by Lill-Babs. The Swedish participating broadcaster, (SR), selected its entry through a national ...

", and Svensson's recording of the song was also a minor hit on the

Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing on Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982–1985. In the years leading up to the January 20 ...

radio chart in June 1979. "Colorado" was succeeded as Dutch representative at the 1980 contest by

Maggie MacNeal Maggie MacNeal (born Sjoukje Lucie van 't Spijker; 5 May 1950) is a Dutch singer. She was a member of Mouth & MacNeal, a pop duet (music), duo from the Netherlands, who are best known for their million-selling recording of "How Do You Do (Mouth ...

with "

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

External links

Official Eurovision Song Contest, history by year, 1979

Detailed info and lyrics, Diggiloo Thrush, "Colorado".
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References

{{authority control Eurovision songs of the Netherlands Eurovision songs of 1979 Songs in Dutch 1979 songs Songs written by Rob Bolland Songs written by Ferdi Bolland Songs about Colorado